The actual successor of the _Hercules_, in the matter of first-class ships, was the _Sultan_. She differed from the _Hercules_ merely in a somewhat increased draught and displacement, and increased provision for end-on bow fire--four 12½-ton guns able to fire ahead being substituted for the one smaller gun in the _Hercules_. This end-on fire was given because ram-tactics were then coming greatly into favour. Particulars of the _Sultan_,[106] which was the last of the central battery ironclads to be designed and built by Sir E. J. Reed, are as follows:-- Displacement--9,290 tons. Length--325ft. Beam--59ft. ½-in. H.P.--7,720. Mean Draught--26ft. 5ins. Guns--Eight 18-ton M.L.R., four 12½-ton M.L.R. Coal--810 tons. Armour (iron)--9ins., 8ins., and 6ins. Speed--14.13 knots (single screw). Builder of Ship--Chatham. Builder of Machinery--Penn. Cost--Hull and machinery, £357,415. Launched--1870; completed for sea in 1871. [Illustration: CERBERUS. DEVASTATION. FURY. DREADNOUGHT. BREASTWORK MONITORS.] Sir E. J. Reed’s “breastwork monitors” have already been referred to. They were received with little enthusiasm by the Admiralty, and the first of them were merely Colonial coast defence vessels. These were:-- ============+==========+======+=======+=======+========== Name. |Displ’m’t.|Speed.|Armour.|Turret |Completed. | Tons. |Knots.|Inches.|Armour.| ------------+----------+------+-------+-------+---------- _Cerberus_ | 3480 | 9.75 | 8 | 10 | 1870 _Abyssinia_ | 2900 | 9.59 | 7 | 10 | 1870 _Magdala_ | 3340 |10.67 | 8 | 10 | 1870 ============+==========+======+=======+=======+========== In general design all were identical, a redoubt amidships carrying two centre line turrets and a small oval superstructure between. Twin screws were employed. The belief in the ram already alluded to had by now attained such proportions that a ship specially designed for ramming was called for, and the _Hotspur_ was the result. Nothing written by Sir E. J. Reed (and he wrote a great deal) indicates that he was in sympathy with her design, though nominally responsible. The _Hotspur_ was not even a turret-ship. She carried a fixed armoured structure of considerable size,[107] inside of which a single 25-ton gun revolved, firing through the most convenient of several ports. She was fitted with two masts with fore and aft sails. Particulars of her were:-- Displacement--4,010 tons. Length--235ft. Beam--50ft. H.P.--3,060. Mean Draught--21ft. 10ins. Guns--One 25-ton M.L.R., two 6½-ton. Belt Armour--11in. to 8in.; complete belt. Turret Armour--10in. Coal--300 tons. Speed--12.8 knots (twin-screw). Builder--Napier, Glasgow. Launched--1870; completed, 1871. Cost--Hull and machinery, £171,528.