Warrior’s composite armoured box

Weight limited Warrior and her sister Black Prince to a central armoured box protecting much of the battery, hull, and machinery rather than the entire ship. The layered construction used iron plate backed by thick teak, framing, and an inner wooden wall. These materials supported the armour, absorbed impact, and helped keep dangerous fragments from passing into occupied spaces. The physical armour display beside Warrior lets visitors feel the thickness and mass that drawings can obscure. The system explains both why sailing ships feared an approaching ironclad and why designers could not extend the same protection over every part of the hull.