„Missouri“ – the American river ironclad

On October 3, 1863 the Confederate Navy Department ordered the construction of several warships in Shreveport, Louisiana. Lt. John Carter, a Confederate Navy officer in charge of military-naval activities in the vicinity of Shreveport and on the Red River, signed a contract for the construction of two ships on November 1. The keel of the first of them was laid the following month. The ship was launched on April 14, 1863, and entered service on September 12, 1863. The construction of another ship was quickly abandoned. "Missouri's" armor was made up of railroad tracks, placed with soles up or down every other rail. They were attached to a 580 mm thick base, made of yellow pine wood. The rails were placed lengthwise on the sides of the ship, and vertically on the front and back. The armor extended about 6 feet and below the waterline. Despite the fact, that the ship had three rudder plates, the control was very poor. The casemate had 8 gun ports, two in the front plate and three on each side. But the ship had only three cannons. A smooth-bore 279 mm Dahlgren cannon is mounted on the forward part of the starboard side. She could also fire through the forward starboard or starboard forward port. The old 32-pounder gun was similarly mounted on the port side forward. The third gun, a smooth-bore 229 mm Dahlgren gun, could fire from any of the four rear ports. Captain Charles Fauntleroy was appointed as the ship's captain. Because of the shallow water, the "Missouri" was unable to participate in the Red River Campaign of early 1864. Part of the battleship's crew took part in an unsuccessful attempt to seize the Federated States gunship "Rattler". In March 1865 the water level in the river rose and the "Missouri" left Shreveport for the first time. On April 8 he reached Alexandria, Louisiana, and took part in the city's defense. On June 3, Carter surrendered the ship to the Union Army and the "Missouri" became the last Confederate ship to surrender. After removing the armor, "Missouri" was sold at public auction on November 29, 1865.

An uncomplicated, small, well-detailed and designed model for modelers of all experience. Even a modeler with little experience, working under the supervision of a more experienced colleague, will be able to glue this model perfectly without any major problems, only he will have to get tired in a minute. Excellent graphic instructions, double-sided printing used, where appropriate.