USS Monitor and CSS Virginia: American Civil War Ironclads

[pTrevTrevs]

Hey look! I finally got around to releasing these! I would have done it sooner but the Steam winter sale hit and I had $20 to spend...

The American Civil War is not usually regarded as an important war in world history. The failed revolution and attempt at independence by the southern states has had less impact on the world at large than, say the Franco-Prussian War or the Boshin War. However, the war introduced many new weapons and tactics which began to transform warfare from the line infantry tactics of the Napoleonic Era to the modern warfare the 20th Century. Naval combat was likewise affected by the technological advances pioneered in this period. The most obvious of these is the ironclad warship. Ironclads were not new in 1862, they had been used in the Crimean War, but two ironclads had never faced each other in combat before until the Battle of Hampton Roads, where the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia (formerly known as USS Merrimack) fought the USS Monitor to a draw. I have replicated the two ships involved in this battle and fought a similar reenactment in the waters near KSC.

Before I show you the battle, I suppose I ought to give a little information about the ships.

CSS Virginia

CSS Virginia was originally a Federal frigate named USS Merrimack. When Confederate forces seized the Norfolk Naval yard, where the ship was docked, its crew attempted to flee the harbor, but they were unable to make good their escape and attempted to burn the ship instead. When Confederate engineers inspected the ship, they found that its hull below the waterline was completely unscathed, and so the decision was made to convert the ship into an ironclad to help break the ever-tightening Union blockade of the South. The ship was rechristened CSS Virginia and soon after made her maiden voyage. It was on this voyage when she encountered the Federal ironclad USS Monitor at Hampton Roads, Virginia. Although she failed to sink Monitor, Virginia destroyed two wooden ships and ran a third aground. She made several other sorties after the engagement at Hampton Roads in an attempt to draw out Monitor, but the two ships never met again. In May, 1862, Union forces reclaimed Norfolk, leaving the ship without a base. Because she was steam powered, she could not sail on the high seas, so she was scuttled on May 11.

My replica features eight projectiles (courtesy of selfish_meme) and seats for two Kerbals. The first is in the pilothouse and will need to be occupied to control the ship. The second is in the aft sleeping quarters and is mainly for decoration. The projectiles' firing angles mean they are batter for firing at long range or bombarding targets on land, so it might be a good idea to tweak them a little to fire at a ship.

USS Monitor

USS Monitor was a smaller, more lightly armed ship than Virginia, and was equipped with two cannon in a rotating turret. Most of the ship sat below the waterline, which presented a smaller target to the enemy, but would eventually be the cause of Monitor's demise. While sailing to join the naval blockade off the coast of North Carolina in December, 1862, she was caught in a storm and sank. The wreck has been found and parts of the ship, including the turret, have been raised from the ocean floor. Several other ships were built using Monitor's design and were used in several naval battles later in the war. Like Virginia, she was steam powered, and was therefore restricted to calm waters such as rivers, coastal areas, and harbors.

My replica features a working turret with two projectiles (courtesy of selfish_meme). The ship seems to fight better against other ships at short range, although its speed and maneuverability is somewhat lower than Virginia's.

Alright, now on to the good pictures!

The two ships meet in a small bay relatively close to KSC. Together, they lowered my FPS down to about 6 or 7, but my computer was able to struggle through it.

Monitor fires the first shots, using both her projectiles early on. The second one hits the southern behemoth, causing a magnificent explosion on board.

Virginia has a gaping wound in her side, but she is still afloat, and, miraculously, all eight cannons are still intact.

The Confederates fire their fist shot, but it simply flies over the top of the Federal ship...

...And crashes into the ridge in the background.

The rest of Virginia's ammunition does the same thing, so her captain decides to use the ship's ram as a last-ditch effort to kill her opponent.

Unfortunately, 7.5 m/s isn't nearly fast enough to damage Monitor.

With a large hole in her side, her ammunition expended, and a slight list to port, Virginia returns to base. Monitor gives chase, but her lower speed and sluggish maneuverability leaves her far behind her foe before long.

Well, I guess that about does it for this thread. Here, have some download links!

CSS Virginia      USS Monitor

Special thanks to selfish_meme for his help with the turret on USS Monitor and for providing the projectiles, as well as pointing out a few smaller problems. I would like to invite him to make a post on this thread so that you can give him a like for his assistance. If you like this post, like his as well. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this, remember, any feedback you give give me will be very appreciated! 

 

[Matuchkin]

Well done! You are the only one I know who actually knows about the Battle of Hampton Roads! There were way more ships there, though I know your computer would have turned into a black hole if you tried to put anything else that detailed into the game.

[selfish_meme]

That was magnificent, having had a sneak preview of these ships I can tell you they are absolutely amazing, I only played a small role providing a bearing and the 0.625 BFG (Big Friendly Greeting) rounds used. All the credit goes to pTrevTrev's for building the ships, I checked them against photos and they are very realistic. Oh, and don't use the Take Command mod or Hyperedit to place crew or move the Monitor, it will cause the bearing to fail. Use the provided capsules and VesselMover instead.

I still love playing around with something else of yours. I have not landed it whole on the Helicarrier I released the other day , but it is still stock and down to 80 parts, it may get a moving propeller next, it does not perform as well as your old one but is a bit more authentic looking.

Edited January 10, 2016 by selfish_meme

[322997am]

1 hour ago, pTrevTrevs said:

Hey look! I finally got around to releasing these! I would have done it sooner but the Steam winter sale hit and I had $20 to spend...

The American Civil War is not usually regarded as an important war in world history. The failed revolution and attempt at independence by the southern states has had less impact on the world at large than, say the Franco-Prussian War or the Boshin War. However, the war introduced many new weapons and tactics which began to transform warfare from the line infantry tactics of the Napoleonic Era to the modern warfare the 20th Century. Naval combat was likewise affected by the technological advances pioneered in this period. The most obvious of these is the ironclad warship. Ironclads were not new in 1862, they had been used in the Crimean War, but two ironclads had never faced each other in combat before until the Battle of Hampton Roads, where the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia (formerly known as USS Merrimack) fought the USS Monitor to a draw. I have replicated the two ships involved in this battle and fought a similar reenactment in the waters near KSC.

Before I show you the battle, I suppose I ought to give a little information about the ships.

CSS Virginia

CSS Virginia was originally a Federal frigate named USS Merrimack. When Confederate forces seized the Norfolk Naval yard, where the ship was docked, its crew attempted to flee the harbor, but they were unable to make good their escape and attempted to burn the ship instead. When Confederate engineers inspected the ship, they found that its hull below the waterline was completely unscathed, and so the decision was made to convert the ship into an ironclad to help break the ever-tightening Union blockade of the South. The ship was rechristened CSS Virginia and soon after made her maiden voyage. It was on this voyage when she encountered the Federal ironclad USS Monitor at Hampton Roads, Virginia. Although she failed to sink Monitor, Virginia destroyed two wooden ships and ran a third aground. She made several other sorties after the engagement at Hampton Roads in an attempt to draw out Monitor, but the two ships never met again. In May, 1862, Union forces reclaimed Norfolk, leaving the ship without a base. Because she was steam powered, she could not sail on the high seas, so she was scuttled on May 11.

My replica features eight projectiles (courtesy of selfish_meme) and seats for two Kerbals. The first is in the pilothouse and will need to be occupied to control the ship. The second is in the aft sleeping quarters and is mainly for decoration. The projectiles' firing angles mean they are batter for firing at long range or bombarding targets on land, so it might be a good idea to tweak them a little to fire at a ship.

USS Monitor

USS Monitor was a smaller, more lightly armed ship than Virginia, and was equipped with two cannon in a rotating turret. Most of the ship sat below the waterline, which presented a smaller target to the enemy, but would eventually be the cause of Monitor's demise. While sailing to join the naval blockade off the coast of North Carolina in December, 1862, she was caught in a storm and sank. The wreck has been found and parts of the ship, including the turret, have been raised from the ocean floor. Several other ships were built using Monitor's design and were used in several naval battles later in the war. Like Virginia, she was steam powered, and was therefore restricted to calm waters such as rivers, coastal areas, and harbors.

My replica features a working turret with two projectiles (courtesy of selfish_meme). The ship seems to fight better against other ships at short range, although its speed and maneuverability is somewhat lower than Virginia's.

Alright, now on to the good pictures!

The two ships meet in a small bay relatively close to KSC. Together, they lowered my FPS down to about 6 or 7, but my computer was able to struggle through it.

Monitor fires the first shots, using both her projectiles early on. The second one hits the southern behemoth, causing a magnificent explosion on board.

Virginia has a gaping wound in her side, but she is still afloat, and, miraculously, all eight cannons are still intact.

The Confederates fire their fist shot, but it simply flies over the top of the Federal ship...

...And crashes into the ridge in the background.

The rest of Virginia's ammunition does the same thing, so her captain decides to use the ship's ram as a last-ditch effort to kill her opponent.

Unfortunately, 7.5 m/s isn't nearly fast enough to damage Monitor.

With a large hole in her side, her ammunition expended, and a slight list to port, Virginia returns to base. Monitor gives chase, but her lower speed and sluggish maneuverability leaves her far behind her foe before long.

Well, I guess that about does it for this thread. Here, have some download links!

CSS Virginia      USS Monitor

Special thanks to selfish_meme for his help with the turret on USS Monitor and for providing the projectiles, as well as pointing out a few smaller problems. I would like to invite him to make a post on this thread so that you can give him a like for his assistance. If you like this post, like his as well. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this, remember, any feedback you give give me will be very appreciated! 

 

Also the download links reject you. Just FYI

[pTrevTrevs]

50 minutes ago, 322997am said:

Also the download links reject you. Just FYI

Fixed.

By the way, I'm using Google Drive instead of KerbalX this time, what do you guys think? It takes less time for me to upload a craft with it.

Edited January 10, 2016 by pTrevTrevs

[Azimech]

I don't care for other systems than KerbalX, I don't upload to or download from others. Today I uploaded my 132th craft there. It's Imgur taking most of the time for every craft.

[maybach123]

thats awsome

[Matuchkin]

4 hours ago, 322997am said:

Also the download links reject you. Just FYI

Did you just quote the whooooole post that the OP made? This thread became two times larger all for the sake of a small sentence. Not blaming you, I also do that sometimes.

Edited January 11, 2016 by 073198681

[Columbia]

20 hours ago, Azimech said:

I don't care for other systems than KerbalX, I don't upload to or download from others. Today I uploaded my 132th craft there. It's Imgur taking most of the time for every craft.

 

21 hours ago, pTrevTrevs said:

Fixed.

By the way, I'm using Google Drive instead of KerbalX this time, what do you guys think? It takes less time for me to upload a craft with it.

I once tried to use Kerbal X for a ship pack -- Honestly, it was a pain in dem arsch to have to be copying the same images, links and descriptions all over again per ship. I started using Mediafire soon enough and it was pretty much a godsend. Kerbal X is nice though if you want more people to see your ship. 

And I thought structural panels would instantly make a ship ugly.. Guess I was wrong. Such detail and functionality!

 

[selfish_meme]

44 minutes ago, Columbia said:

 

I once tried to use Kerbal X for a ship pack -- Honestly, it was a pain in dem arsch to have to be copying the same images, links and descriptions all over again per ship. I started using Mediafire soon enough and it was pretty much a godsend. Kerbal X is nice though if you want more people to see your ship. 

And I thought structural panels would instantly make a ship ugly.. Guess I was wrong. Such detail and functionality!

 

For packs I think Curse is better, I won't subject people to mediafire or mega because of the ads and it seems to auto convert .craft files into .craft.txt files on my mac where google and KerbalX don't do that.

[pTrevTrevs]

1 hour ago, selfish_meme said:

For packs I think Curse is better, I won't subject people to mediafire or mega because of the ads and it seems to auto convert .craft files into .craft.txt files on my mac where google and KerbalX don't do that.

Google drive is also better for me because I can share beta files with the people I want without releasing it to the entire general public. Unfortunately, I don't think I can track the amount of downloads with it, I just have to hope that people decided they wanted to download two largely useless floating hunks of iron and solid rocket fuel to look at for two minutes and never acknowledge again.

[Castille7]

Those are some really nice vessels you built pTrevTrevs, looking forward to trying their Armor!