Confederate steam rams and Royal Navy purchase

The Battle of Lissa and the American Civil War made steam rams look like an important new capability. Cammell Laird built these two vessels officially for Egypt and, in the account given here, unofficially for the Confederacy. The Royal Navy bought them to prevent them from becoming a problem. The extra ships extended the fleet's presence and allowed the service to test the technology. Those benefits said little about whether ramming was a useful primary weapon. The purchase shows how strategic denial and an opportunity to experiment could bring a doubtful design into service.