There has been very little war experience to draw from,
and hence about all that is now known has been acquired in peaceful
experiments.
The fundamental object to be obtained by the use of armor is to keep
out the enemy's shot, and thus protect from destruction the vulnerable
things that may be behind it. The first serious effort to do this
dates with the introduction of iron armor. With this form of armor we
have had a small amount of war experience. The combat of the Monitor
and Merrimac, in Hampton Roads, in May, 1862, not only marked an epoch
in the development of models of fighting ships, but also marked one in
the use of armor. The Monitor's turret was composed of nine one-inch
plates of wrought iron, bolted together. Plates built in this manner
form what is known as laminated armor. (See Fig. 1.) The side armor of
the hull was composed of four one-inch plates. The Merrimac's casemate
was composed of four one-inch plates or two two-inch plates backed by
oak. The later monitors had laminated armor composed of one-inch
plates. The foregoing, with the Albemarle and Tennessee rams under the
Confederate flag, are about the sum of our practical experience in the
use of armor.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
European nations took up the subject of armor and energetically
conducted experiments which have cost large sums of money, but have
given much valuable data.
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