Japan's 114-year-old battleship Mikasa

[Zorch]

http://www.cnet.com/news/japans-114-yea ... ther-time/

"The Japanese battleship Mikasa is the only surviving pre-dreadnought battleship in the world. It's 114 years old and a fascinating look into history. Here's a full tour."

[sullafelix]

Thank you

[wings7]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing! [:)]

[Capitaine]

Great ship. Japanese flagship at the Battle of Tsushima, one of the most famous naval battles in history.

[Rodwonder]

Cool and very interesting... Thanks!

[Rising-Sun]

Nice, thanks for sharing that with us.

[burlesqueballer]

Still floating too! I thought it was gonna be dry docked when I clicked the link :p

[CGGrognard]

It's interesting the evolution of warships in general. On the Misaka, notice the 3" guns along the hull line on both sides of the ship. Just as the Ships of Line and Galleons before her but with the addition of turreted guns, ushering in the next phase of warship evolution. This evolution continues with ships carrying missiles today. Initially the missiles were launched along a rail; today they launch directly from launch tubes built into the ship. And guns, not so much a thing any longer. Of course there are experiments going on with rail guns which will continue the evolution of warships. But the Misaka itself is a beautiful warship from days gone by.
Thanks for the link.

[Zorch]

You're welcome. A beautiful ship marking the end of an era.
The problem with casemate mounted guns like Mikasa's was that they were too close to the waterline to be workable at high speed. And 3" guns were too light to beat off torpedo boat attacks.