Turtle ship Informations

A Geobukseon (Korean: 거북선, Korean pronunciation: [kʌbuksən]), also known as turtle ship in western descriptions, was a type of large Korean warship that was used intermittently by the Royal Korean Navy during the Joseon dynasty from the early 15th century up until the 19th century. It was used alongside the panokseon warships in the fight against invading Japanese naval ships. The ships name derives from its protective shell-like covering. This design is often recognized as the first armored ship in the world.

The first references to older, first generation turtle ships, known as gwiseon (귀선; 龜船, Korean pronunciation: [kɥisʌn]), come from 1413 and 1415 records in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, which mention a mock battle between a gwiseon and a Japanese warship. However, these early turtle ships soon fell out of use as Koreas naval preparedness decreased during a long period of relative peace.

Turtle ships participated in the war against Japanese naval forces supporting Toyotomi Hideyoshis attempts to conquer Korea from 1592 to 1598. Korean Admiral Yi Sun-Shin is credited with designing the ship. His turtle ships were equipped with at least five different types of cannons. Their most distinguishable feature was a dragon-shaped head at the bow (front) that could launch cannon fire or flames from the mouth. Each was also equipped with a fully covered deck to protect against arrow fire, musket-shots, and incendiary weapons. The deck was covered with iron spikes to discourage enemy men from attempting to board the ship.

According to the Nanjung Ilgi, Yis wartime diary, Yi decided to resurrect the turtle ship in 1591 from pre-existing designs (see picture, illustrated nearly 200 years later) after discussing the matter with his subordinates. Once concluding that a Japanese invasion was possible, if not imminent, Yi and his subordinate officers, among whom Na Dae-yong (羅大用) is named as the chief constructor, designed and built the first modern turtle ship. Yis diary, along with the book entitled Hangnok written by his nephew Yi Beon, described numerous important details about the structures, construction progress, and the use of turtle ships in battle, as well as the testing of weaponry used in the ships.

The mounted weapons, Korean cannons with ranges from about 300 to 500 metres, were tested on March 12, 1592. Yi completed his first turtle ship and launched it on March 27, 1592, one day before the Siege of Busanjin and the Battle of Dadaejin.

Many different versions of the turtle ships served during the war, but in general they were about 100 to 120 feet (30 to 37 metres) long, and strongly resembled the panokseons bottom structure. The turtle ship was technically a hull that was placed on top of a panokseon with a large anchor held in the front of the ship and other minor modifications.

On the bow of the vessel was mounted a dragon head which emitted sulfur smoke to effectively hide its movement from the enemy in short distance combat. The dragon head, which is considered the most distinguishing feature of the vessel, was large enough for a cannon to fit inside. The dragon head served as a form of psychological warfare, with the aim of striking fear into the hearts of Japanese sailors. Early versions of the turtle ship would burn poisonous materials in the dragons head to release a poisonous smoke.

In the front of the ship was a large anchor. Below the anchor was a wooden crest that was shaped like a face, and these were used to ram into enemy ships.

Similar to the standard panokseon, the turtle ship had two masts and two sails. Oars were also used for maneuvering and increased speed. Another advantage the turtle ship had was that it could turn on its own radius.

The turtle ship had 10 oars and 11 cannon portholes on each side. Usually, there was one cannon porthole in the dragon heads mouth. There were two more cannon portholes on the front and back of the turtle ship. The heavy cannons enabled the turtle ships to unleash a mass volley of cannonballs (some would use special wooden bolts several feet in length, with specially engineered iron fins). Its crew complement usually comprised about 50 to 60 fighting marines and 70 oarsmen, as well as the captain.

Sources indicate that sharp iron spikes protruded from hexagonal plates covering the top of the turtle ship. An advantage of the closed deck was that it protected the Korean sailors and marines from small arms and incendiary fire. The spikes discouraged Japanese from engaging in their primary method of naval combat at the time, grappling an enemy ship with hooks and then boarding it to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

Korean written descriptions all point to a maneuverable ship, capable of sudden bursts of speed. Like the panokseon, the turtle ship featured a U-shaped hull which gave it the advantage of a more stable cannon-firing platform, and the ability to turn within its own radius. The main disadvantage of a U-shaped bottom versus a V-shaped bottom was a somewhat slower cruising speed.

There are sources that state in a generic form that the turtle ship was covered with metal plates, making it a form of ironclad warship, and the first known ship of this kind in history. Sources that question claims of iron plating also exist. While it is clear from the available sources that the roof of the ship was covered with iron spikes to prevent boarding, there is split opinion among historians on whether the turtle ship was iron clad.

One Japanese chronicle mentions a clash in August 1592 which involved three Korean turtle ships "covered in iron". However, according to Samuel Hawley, this phrase does not necessarily indicate that the vessels were covered with iron plates; it could refer to the iron spikes protruding from their roofs, a fitting described for the first time three weeks earlier in Yi Sun-sins diary. Stephen Turnbull, however, points out the fact that the Japanese government ordered in February 1593 the military to use iron plate in building ships, possibly in response to the Korean attacks.

There are no contemporary Korean sources from Yi Sun-sins time which refer to the turtle ship as ironclad. Admiral Yi Sun-sin himself makes no mention of such a design in his comprehensive war diary. His nephew Yi Beon, who too witnessed the war and left a historical account of the events also does not mention iron cladding. The annals of King Seonjo, a many thousand pages long compilation of all kinds of official documents of the period, are also silent on the subject. Prime Minister Ryu Seong-ryong even explicitly described the turtle ship as "covered by wooden planks on top".

There is also the question of motivation for adding metal plating. Since the Japanese did not commonly employ cannons on their ships until decades later, let alone use plunging cannon fire, any plating would have logically been designed as an anti-incendiary measure, not to withstand cannonballs. The Japanese did commonly use fire arrows and a form of exploding grenades called horokubiya (焙烙火矢) in naval battles during this period.

As it was, Yi Sun-Shin, who was largely cut off from government supplies throughout his campaigns, found the small amount of fifty pounds iron worth mentioning in his war diary. Therefore, Hawley believes that it is unlikely that Admiral Yi would have passed in silence over the estimated six tons (twelve thousand pounds) of iron necessary for even a single outfit. Such a large amount of iron was equivalent to one ships entire ordnance, and would have probably been regarded more useful for casting additional cannons, particularly since the Koreans were well aware that Japanese warships were practically devoid of naval guns. Confronted with a Japanese enemy who relied on small arms fire and boarding tactics, and faced by the logistical and financial difficulties involved in acquiring such a large amount of iron, any iron cladding of the Korean vessels has been deemed by Hawley inherently superfluous:

Evidence for an iron plated turtle ship is found, according to Stephen Turnbull, in a 1795 drawing of the turtle ship where the shell is shown as being covered by a distinct hexagonal pattern, implying that there is something covering the wood shell. Hawley, however, questions the historical accuracy of this drawing since it departs in important ways from the 16th century ships such as its lack of the reported iron spikes (see image) and the different shape and number of the dragon heads displayed at the bow. The Korean designation "turtle ship" is already attested in the year 1413, for an early type of the vessel which by all accounts did not feature any kind of armour.

Hawley puts forth the hypothesis that the idea of ironclad turtle ships has its origins in the writings of late 19th-century Westerners returning from Korea. The progression from casual comparison to a statement of fact that the turtle ships anticipated the modern ironclad by centuries can be roughly charted in retrospect, starting no earlier than ca. 1880. Coming in touch with local tales of ancient armoured ships in a period which saw the rise of Western-type ironclad warship to global prominence, these authors may have naturally conjured up the image of metal armour, instead of a more traditional heavy timber shell. For instance, when Korea was threatened by the French Navy, the government ordered an ironclad ship be built "like the turtle ship". However, despite all efforts the design failed to float. Turnbull believes that the 19th century experience should not rule out a "limited amount of armor plating in 1592".

The dragons head was placed on the top of the ship at the bow. Several different versions of the dragon head were used on the turtle ships. The dragon head was first placed as an early form of psychological warfare to scare Japanese soldiers. One version carried a projector that could release a dense toxic smoke that was generated to obscure vision and interfere with the Japanese ability to maneuver and coordinate properly.

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