The idea to build a ship of the "transition era" between sail and steam is even more intriguing me, and when I saw on an issue of Seaway's Ships in Scale the excellent article of Edward Parent about his model of CSS Stonewall, it was a first-look love.

So, I decided to write to Mr. Parents asking more information about the vessel and the possibility to find plans of the ship. He wrote me back very kindly, and sent to me an enlarged copy of plans of Stonewall, from the book of Kozo Izumi, pluso some other pages extract from the same book of K. Izumi.

More, he send me also some nice colour pictures of his model, and looking thet, the idea to build a larger model of Stonewal become even more deep in me.

But, as usual in my last models, I understood that the historical research about as much informationa s possible of the ship in this case could become very significative to build a good model of this strange ship.

So, I started to research on Internet all the available information about the ship, both when she was the CSS Stonewall then she was renamed first Kotetsu and after Azuma, when she was in the Imperial Japanese Navy, at the middle of her carreer.

I was very lucky to found a lot of prints and pics about the vessel, and all those sources helped me to define the exact aspect of the Stonewall/Kotetsu/Azuma, also a bit different from the plans from Mr. Izumi and the plans that I have found on Internet and draught by Mr. David Meagher.

Indeed this vessel is enough out of ordinary... a sail and steam vessel, propelled driven, with a very long ram under the waterline and a bow armoured citadel with a 300 pdr gun, plus a fixed, also armoured turret with a couple of revolving 70 pdr Armstrong gun.

Another one more unusual characteristic of this ship is the fact that has three keels, one from bow ram to the middle of hull, and two separated other keels, from middle to stern, each driving a 4 blade propeller.

So...there are a lot of things for who, like me, loves unusual ships !!!

Actually the working is in progress, just closed the hull, but I have not yet decided if my model will be of the ship when she sailed (or steamed) under Confederacy's flag or when she was hosted the Rising Sun's flag.

We'll see....

Short History

The ironclad warship CSS Stonewall, was built in Bordeaux, France, by the French shipbuilder and naval architect M.L. Arman for the Confederate Navy. She was laid down in 1863 and was launched on 21 June 1864.

The French government prohibithed the ship from being sold to the Confederacy, and instead, arranged for it to be sold to Denmark (ath the time in war against Prussia) under the name of Staerkodder. The deal never happened (bacuse the war agains Prussia was close to end), and the manufacturer of the Stonewall eventually secretely resold her to the Confederacy.

The arrive of the "formidable" Stonewall in America was drad by the United States, and several ships tried to intercept her, among the USS Kearsage and the USS Sacramento.

The CSS Stonewall, was well-armed with casamated rotated tutter guns and well-armoured, and considered a "formidable" and "unsinkable" ship in her time. She could sustain direct hits without her armour being pierced, and prevail agains any wooden warship

After an eventful crossing of the Atlantic, the CSS Stonewall eventually arrived in the United States near the end of the American Civil War, too late to have a significant effect, because at the time of her commissioning (October 1864) the Confederacy was in disarray and near defeated and its Navy disintegrating, along with most other Confederate institutions.

After some years of holding, in the 1868 the Stonewall (renamed Kotetsu) was sold to the Shogun of Japan and it's supposed to be delivered to the Bakufu, in order to reinforce the ongoing modernization of its Army and Navy. 30.000 US$ had already been paid and the remaining 10.000 US$ were to be paid on delivery.

When the Boshin War between Bakufu and pro-Imperial forces broke out, however, Western took a neutral stance, retrieved any military advisors they had in Japan, and stopped the delivery of military material, including the delivery of Kotetsu to the Bakufu.

Kotetsu was finally delivered to the new Meiji government in February 1869. She was immediately put to use and dispatched with seven other steam warships to the northern island of Hokkaido, to fight the remnant of the Shogun's forces, who were trying to form an independent Ezo Republic there, with the help of French ex-military advisors.

On 25 March 1869, in Miyako Bay, Kotetsu succesfully repulsed a surprise night attempt at boarding by the rebel Kaiten, essentially thanks to the presence onboard of Gatling guns.

She then partecipated in the invasion of Hokkaido and various naval engagements in the Naval Battle fo Hakodate.

Kotetsu was renamed Azuma in 1871 and remained in military service until 1888, when she was turned to non-combat harbour service.

Ship's Data

Laid down : 1863
Launched : 21 June 1864
Commissioned : 25 October 1864
Sold to Japanese Imparial Navy : 3 February 1869
Decommissioned : 28 January 1888 - Scrapped

Dimensions

Lenght : 59 mt. o.a.
Width : 9,6 mt.
Draught : 4,3 mt.
Displacement: 1358 tons.

Armament :
* 1 x 300 pdr Armstrong rifled (bow)
* 2 x 70 pdr Armstrong (turret)

Armour :
* 124 to 89 mm (waterline)
* 124 mm turrets

Model's Data

Lenght : 78 cm o.a.
Width : 12 cm
Height : cm

Scale : 1:75
Building method : Plank on bulkheads

References and sources :
* Plans scale 1/75 by David G. Meagher
* Plans scale 1/244 by K. Izumi
* Article on CSS Stonewall by Edward Parents on Seaways' Ships in Scale
* Various reference and pics on Internet