The first big armoured ship to be laid down at all on Barnaby principles, the _Inflexible_, was built under somewhat peculiar circumstances. In the year 1871 a Committee was appointed. One of its findings was as follows:-- “As powerful armament, thick armour, speed, and light draught cannot be combined in one ship, although all are needed for the defence of the country; there is no alternative but to give the preponderance to each in its turn amongst different classes of ships which shall mutually supplement one another.”[1] Amongst the Committee’s suggestions had been the abolition of the complete belt, and its concentration amidships. This recommendation was mainly intended to refer to cruising ships rather than to ships definitely intended for the line of battle; but the idea soon spread. These suggestions had already been embodied in a modified form in the _Shannon_, of which particulars will be found later on. The _Shannon_, however, was frankly a “belted cruiser,” and no idea had then been entertained of adapting a similar system for heavy armoured ships. In the year 1874, however, it transpired that the Italians were evolving an entirely new type of battleship, the _Duilio_ and _Dandolo_, and adopting a central box system. By this means they were able to protect the citadel with 22-inch armour and mount four 100-ton guns in two turrets _en échelon_, so that all four could bear ahead and astern as well as on either broadside. The seriousness of the situation was increased by the fact that in most of the tactical ideas of the day, end-on approach figured largely.[2] Compared with these Italian designs, the most powerful British ironclad of those days, the _Dreadnought_, with a belt of only 14-inch to 11-inch armour, and bearing but two of her four 38-ton guns end-on, cut a sorry figure. [Illustration: _Photo_] [_Ellis_. THE _INFLEXIBLE_, AS ORIGINALLY COMPLETED, 1881.] It was deemed essential to build a “reply.” The largest gun actually available at the time was, however, the 81-ton M.L.; so this was adopted for the new ship. The _Inflexible_ being frankly an adoption of Italian ideas, she can hardly be described as the design of any one man; Sir N. Barnaby having been tied down to an extent with which (from his subsequent writings) he did not, it would appear, altogether agree. A smaller central citadel than that of the Italian ships was adopted, but the thickness was carried to 24-inch, the thickest armour ever introduced into an ironclad either before or since. The bulkheads were 20-in. The freeboard of the central redoubt was 10ft. Round about it, fore and aft, on an armoured raft-body were built a bow and stern, with superstructures curtailed to the centre line sufficiently to allow of unimpeded end-on fire from the big guns, which, like those of the Italians, were placed in échelonned turrets.