Has anyone done a thread about the two ironclad that were being secretly built for the Confederacy, in England, known as the laird rams. They had two turrets and were an overhanging ironclad. What if the the Confederacy had been able to get one or both of them. What kind of damage would they have done, break the blockade, destroy the union merchant fleet? Was it possible for the rebels to get them out without the royal navy stopping or the union navy for that matter? Does anyone have any ideas?
WI: the confederacy had received one or two of the laird rams
- Thread starter rob2001
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TFSmith121
Banned
Considering the reality of how such an action
Considering the reality of how such an action could have only come about, the realities are the British (as historically) would not let either ship leave the dockyard. The misadventures of the French equivalents seem applicable. Too little and too late for the rebels and far too risky a policy for the European power(s) to acquiesce it allowing it - the rebel raiders were one thing; the British authorities could let unarmed steamers go by, but an armored ironclad warship is a little more difficult to "miss"...
Best,
Considering the reality of how such an action could have only come about, the realities are the British (as historically) would not let either ship leave the dockyard. The misadventures of the French equivalents seem applicable. Too little and too late for the rebels and far too risky a policy for the European power(s) to acquiesce it allowing it - the rebel raiders were one thing; the British authorities could let unarmed steamers go by, but an armored ironclad warship is a little more difficult to "miss"...
Best,
three commerce raiders
Than how is it England let the C.S.A. get away with not one, but three commerce raiders? The C.S.S. Florida, the C.S.S. Alabama, which ironically was built by the same shipbuilders as those rams, and finally the C.S.S. Shenandoah. That mistake cost them millions of dollars after the during what was known as the Alabama claims. When the United States used Great Britain for what happened.
Than how is it England let the C.S.A. get away with not one, but three commerce raiders? The C.S.S. Florida, the C.S.S. Alabama, which ironically was built by the same shipbuilders as those rams, and finally the C.S.S. Shenandoah. That mistake cost them millions of dollars after the during what was known as the Alabama claims. When the United States used Great Britain for what happened.
TFSmith121
Banned
Wooden steamers that "could be" portrayed as
Those were wooden steamers that "could be" portrayed as merchant vessels, and were unarmed and unsupplied (with weapons and munitions) when they left British waters; little more challenging to do that with the Laird ironclads, especially given the time frame.
The British were past the point where they wanted to bet on the wrong horse by the time the Laird ships were launched in the summer of 1863, and they certainly weren't going to let them sail by the winter of '63-64.
It's also worth pointing out that an ironclad without weaponry, munitions, and trained crew is basically a mobile target...
Best,
Those were wooden steamers that "could be" portrayed as merchant vessels, and were unarmed and unsupplied (with weapons and munitions) when they left British waters; little more challenging to do that with the Laird ironclads, especially given the time frame.
The British were past the point where they wanted to bet on the wrong horse by the time the Laird ships were launched in the summer of 1863, and they certainly weren't going to let them sail by the winter of '63-64.
It's also worth pointing out that an ironclad without weaponry, munitions, and trained crew is basically a mobile target...
Best,
Because they weren't commerce raiders when they left Britain. The Foreign Enlistment Act prohibits British subjects from "equipping, fitting out, or arming" ships for service overseas. All three of your ships were built in British yards and sent somewhere else to be completed, including having their weapons fitted. The Alabama went to the Portuguese Azores, the Florida to the isolated Green Cay in the Bahamas, and the Shenandoah to Portuguese Madeira.
The British government did seize (CSS Alexandra) or attempt to seize (CSS Alabama) Confederate ships building in British yards. However, it was almost impossible to prove that they were intended for conversion to commerce raiders: the Alexandra case was thrown out of court. Building a normal ship for a belligerent is entirely legal (building an armed ship for a belligerent can also be legal under certain circumstances, but I'm not going to go into that). For instance, when the US built a ship for the Russians during the Crimean War, the US navy stepped in to protect it against a British attempt to seize it.