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Lot Essay
The Japanese were the first to successfully build a warship using protective iron in 1576. Called Tekkousen - literally, iron armoured ships - they were used with great success in a battle in the mouth of the Kizu river in Osaka. Much later in 1853 at the battle of Sinope in 1853, the Russian Baltic Fleet used newly developed Paixhans guns using explosive shells which quite literally destroyed a flotilla of wooden Turkish ships with consumate ease. This early engagement signalled the importance of iron armour to the navies of the world.
The first battle between two iron clad ships was the battle of Hampton Roads during the American Civil War on 8 and 9 March 1862. This famous and inconclusive engagement was between the Confederate USS Virginia and the Federal USS Monitor. The Monitor, after which the present lot is modelled, with its rotating turret and very low profile, was a totally new and revolutionary design for a warship. Having proven its capability the U.S. Government built a number of 'Monitor-class' ships as they became known, many seeing use as river monitors. The concept of monitor ships quickly spread throughout the world and its original designer John Ericsson returned to his native Sweden and constructed similar ships for the Swedish Navy.
The first battle between two iron clad ships was the battle of Hampton Roads during the American Civil War on 8 and 9 March 1862. This famous and inconclusive engagement was between the Confederate USS Virginia and the Federal USS Monitor. The Monitor, after which the present lot is modelled, with its rotating turret and very low profile, was a totally new and revolutionary design for a warship. Having proven its capability the U.S. Government built a number of 'Monitor-class' ships as they became known, many seeing use as river monitors. The concept of monitor ships quickly spread throughout the world and its original designer John Ericsson returned to his native Sweden and constructed similar ships for the Swedish Navy.