Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 21:10-21:24

What did shell impacts sound like inside USS Monitor?

Armor protected Monitor's crew from shot, but impacts transmitted punishing noise through the ship.

Css VirginiaIroncladsNaval PersonnelUSS Monitor
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Question

How loud was it inside USS Monitor when she was hit?

Short answer

Extremely loud; some reports suggest crew members had difficulty hearing for several days after the fight.

Notes

Reports from Monitor's fight with CSS Virginia suggest that the crew endured extreme noise when shot struck the armored hull and turret. Some accounts say men could not hear normally for several days afterward. The answer is cautious about the exact severity, so the anecdote should not be read as a precise medical claim. It still points to a human cost of ironclad protection that armor tables do not show.