Armour

Manufacturer The armour plate was made by H. Miller and sections are marked with "top", "bottom", a serial number & the maker's name. This suggests that the armour plate for the turrets was prefabricated and then assembled at Palmer's yard. (Notes from the archives of the Museum of HMAS Cerberus.) The above photographs were taken on board Cerberus in January 2009 and February 2011.

The section shown missing above was cut from the aft turret using oxyacetylene equipment (see below). The purpose was to calculate the effort needed to break up the vessel. Museum Victoria holds a piece of this test block measuring 255 mm (10 inches) thick by 762 mm by 290 mm. There was a 300 mm (12 inch) oak backing behind the armour. Main photo Peter DeGruchy, 1991. Cutting armour photo from the Williamstown Maritime Association. Where the armour is cut away the nine inch thick plate can be seen next to the ten inch plate. Photo by John Torpey.

Trial of 8 inch Armour from Main Armour Belt

"Trials of armour plates, of Sheffield manufacture, took place last week......& comprised an 8-inch plate, for the colonial turret ship Cerberus, building at the Palmer Shipbuilding Company's Works at Jarrow-on Tyne.......

The 8-inch plate measured 12 feet in length by 3 feet 6 inches in width, & was struck by 9 shots within an area 32 inches across the breadth of the plate & 18½ inches across longitutinally; maximum indent 1.6 inch, minimum ditto 1.5 inch. Two shots fell on the edge of the bolt without doing any injury; & the result of the total pounding only brought out slight surface cracks within the area of the indentations. On the plate being unbolted & taken down from the proof butts its reverse side exhibited favourable results, the greatest amount of bulge being only 2 3/8 inches, & all the openings in the metal being longitudinal"

Thickness of Armour