Reed and Robinson accepted turret armament while rejecting the unsafe features of Coles's proposed implementation. Captain grew from a design of slightly under 7,000 tons to a completed displacement nearer 8,000 tons, aggravating the problem of weight and stability. Monarch kept her turrets closer together and carried higher freeboard, with more conservative provisions for seakeeping and safe operation. Captain was commissioned in April 1870 and lost in rough weather that September. Monarch was completed in June 1869 and survived until she was broken up in 1905, demonstrating that the turret concept could serve in an ocean-going ship.
Notable Point · 11:06-14:10
Why Monarch survived where HMS Captain failed
Monarch combined turret armament with higher freeboard and more conservative stability provisions, while Captain suffered substantial weight growth.