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Ship Artifacts
Turret
Mariners’
Museum
conservationist
studying a
shoe
recovered
from the
Monitor.
Photo
Credit:
Courtesy of
The
Mariners’
Museum |
NOAA and The
Mariners’
Museum Staff
excavating
the inside
of the
Monitor’s
turret.
Photo
Credit:
Courtesy of
The
Mariners’
Museum |
The turret is the
most famous feature
of the USS Monitor.
While Ericsson was
not the first man to
envision a revolving
turret, his design
for the Monitor
was
the first completed
turreted naval
vessel to ever be
built. The turret is
22 feet in diameter
and 9 feet tall. It
was constructed of
eight 1-inch thick
iron plates that,
with the exception
of the first two
layers, were bolted
together so that
they could be easily
replaced if needed.
It weighed about 120
tons and was able to
rotate with the help
of two steam engines
that used a crank to
turn four gears. The
position and shape
of the turret on the
Monitor led to it
being referred to as
a cheese-box on a
raft.
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When the Monitor
was
found in 1973, the
turret was upside
down under part of
the hull. In order
to bring it to the
surface for
conservation and
display, a large
portion of the
ship's stern hull
structure had to
removed. Once it was
exposed, the turret
was carefully
brought to the
surface and then
transported to The
Mariners' Museum in
2002. It was
carefully placed in
a specially designed
conservation tank
where it is now
undergoing a 12- to
15-year conservation
process so that it
can be displayed in
the future. The
public is currently
able to observe the
conservation process
through portholes in
the side of the
tank.
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