Turret ship

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Turret ships were a 19th century type of warship, the earliest to have their guns mounted in a revolving turret, instead of a broadside arrangement.

The first experiment was the addition of a turntable-mounted shielded gun to HMS Trusty (a floating battery) in 1861. The USS Monitor, built in 1862, is more famous, being a ship mounted only with the turret and taking part in battle. Pressure from the Royal Navy's proponent of turrets, Captain Cowper Phipps Coles, led to the building of HMS Captain to his design in 1869. She was a low freeboard design and capsized during a heavy gale while under sail. HMS Monarch and HMVS Cerberus built at the same time proved more durable and HMS Devastation of 1871 led directly to the modern battleship.

Turret ship may be found applied to a type of late 19th century commercial steam vessel with an unusual hull shape. These ships were designed to minimize Suez Canal tolls, which were based on calculations of tonnage (a measure of volume) which were not adapted to such unusual vessels and did not take into account all parts of a ship's cargo hold. Turret deck ship describes these vessels.