To achieve fire superiority, Isaac Watts, the designer of Warrior had to mount heavier guns - but he decided to do this on a single long gun deck, breaking the traditional design concept. Watts designed Warrior to carry 26 muzzle loading 68 pdr (32kg) guns - together with 10 of the new breech loading Armstrong 110 pdr (50kg) weapons. With all main armament on a single gun deck, Warrior was technically a frigate, the most powerful frigate in the fleet!

To protect the guns from bombardment by a similar ship, Watts designed the guns to be inside an armoured citadel. The citadel was sealed at each end with strong bulkheads and doorways (see photo at the top of this page) - the armoured box was constructed of 4.5 inch (11cm) wrought iron plate bolted to 9 inches (23cm) of teak - all mounted on to the ships hull and framework. The citadel was tested against the most powerful guns of the day and none were able to pierce the armour, even at point blank range. Watertight compartments (another newly introduced idea) were built into the bow and stern sections of the hull, further enhancing the ship's resistance to attack.
 

Unfortunately, the trials of the Armstrong design were not successful. The guns tended to overheat in use with the result that the breech block could be blown out as the barrel expanded - extremely dangerous for the gun crew! Just two years after first commissioning (1861), most of the Armstrong guns were sold to the Confederate forces in the American Civil War.
 

The 68 pdr cannon had a range of some 2,500 yards (2,300m - about 1 and a half miles) and generally fired round shot - iron or stone. The guns could fire round shells containing a variety of small fragments - and would then have a devastating effect against the crew of an enemy ship.
 

In action the barrels were sponged to remove any flaming residue from the previous shot. The outside was washed down to cool the barrel, then a fresh powder charge pushed down the muzzle and rammed home. This was followed by a rope ring (or grommet, then the shot was inserted followed by a further rope ring. Everything was firmly rammed together using a rammer - a cylindrical wooden block on the end of a rope (flexible rammers speeded up the reloading sequence - and required less space to use). The loaded gun could now be run out, manually hauled up to the gun port using blocks and tackle, and slewed (if required) by the use of a strong metal spike, worked between the deck and the bottom of the gun truck. A percussion cap (in a brass tube) was place into the firing lock and the lock cocked ready to fire. On the order - FIRE - the gun-captain pulled on a thin rope lanyard attached to the lock - the hammer fell, detonating the percussion cap which ignited the main charge - the gun fired!

When fired, the gun leapt back against the restraining ropes. The crew rushed forward to sponge out and reload - with the complete firing cycle taking only a matter of some 55 seconds (hauling a 5 tonne gun, manually, on a moving deck!)
 

On the other side of the Atlantic a new design was about to appear - John Ericsson's Union Ship Monitor with her guns mounted inside an armoured barbette or turret. Monitor engaged the Confederate Ship Merrimack on March 9th 1862 at the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first clash between armoured ships. Although the engagement was indecisive, the Monitor clearly indicated the future trend for warship design. The turret could be trained (swung from side to side) and could support the emerging heavier rifled guns which, over the next 40 years, developed to the immense firepower of the Dreadnoughts with 12" diameter and more long rifled barrels - and the long distance naval battles of the First World War (Jutland 1916)