MILITARY HISTORY: KOREAN TURTLE SHIPS... The turtle ships or geobukseon, were developed by Admiral Yi Sunshin shortly before the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592... The decks of the turtle ships were covered with iron sheets studded with spikes to deter borders, making them precursors of the 19th Century ironclads (armored warships)... The ships carried up to 23 cannons, which fired through gun ports in the sides, bow and rear plus archers releasing arrows... According to historical records, THE TURTLE SHIPS COULD INFILTRATE AMONG HUNDREDS OF ENEMY SHIPS AT WILL AT WILL, AND, WHENEVER THEY WENT MADE EASY PREY OF ALL.... The most fearsome aspect of the geobukseon was the dragons head at the bow, a cannon can be fired through its jaws or fires could be burned in it to create a smoke screen... Admiral Yi Sunshin was a naval commander of genius, a Korean equal to Great Britains greatest military hero Admiral Horatio Nelson... He won the great naval battles against the Japanese invasion fleet but at one time removed from command for annoying his political masters... (The life size replica shown in the photos is located at Korean War Museum at Seoul and the statue of Admiral Yi looks out over the modern day port of Pusan, South Korea)
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 03:42:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015