Warrior's forty-gun armament falls within the traditional fifth-rate count quoted here. The battery includes twenty-six 68-pounders and rifled breech-loading weapons, yet its total remains below forty-four guns. Applying that count places a heavily armed ironclad frigate in a band associated with much earlier vessels. Gun number alone conceals changes in weapon size and construction.
Notable Point · 7:47:13-7:48:28
HMS Warrior and the limits of gun-count ratings
Warrior's forty heavy guns expose the limited information supplied by the old gun-count rating system.