HMS Minotaur (1863)
Armament
### Armament

[300px\|thumb\|*Minotaur*s deck in the late 1860s. A 7\-inch muzzle\-loading rifle on a [wrought iron](/wiki/Wrought_iron "Wrought iron") pivot [gun carriage](/wiki/Gun_carriage "Gun carriage") is at lower left.](/wiki/File:HMS_Minotaur_%281863%29_deck.jpg "HMS Minotaur (1863) deck.jpg")
The armament of the *Minotaur*\-class ships was intended to be 40 rifled [110\-pounder](/wiki/RBL_7_inch_Armstrong_gun "RBL 7 inch Armstrong gun") [breech\-loading guns](/wiki/Breechloader "Breechloader") on the main deck and 10 more on the upper deck on pivot mounts. The gun was a new design from [Armstrong](/wiki/Armstrong_Whitworth "Armstrong Whitworth"), but proved a failure a few years after its introduction. The gun was withdrawn before any were received by any of the *Minotaur*\-class ships. They were armed, instead, with a mix of  and  [rifled muzzle\-loading guns](/wiki/Muzzle-loading_rifle "Muzzle-loading rifle"). All four [nine\-inch](/wiki/RML_9_inch_12_ton_gun "RML 9 inch 12 ton gun") and 20 [seven\-inch guns](/wiki/RML_7_inch_6.5_ton_gun "RML 7 inch 6.5 ton gun") were mounted on the main deck while four seven\-inch guns were fitted on the upper deck as [chase guns](/wiki/Chase_gun "Chase gun"). The ship also received eight brass howitzers for use as [saluting guns](/wiki/Salute%23Heavy_arms:Gun_salutes "Gun salutes"). The [gun ports](/wiki/Glossary_of_nautical_terms_%28A-L%29%23G "Glossary of nautical terms (A-L)#G") were  wide which allowed each gun to fire 30° fore and aft of the beam.Parkes, p. 61

The shell of the 14\-[calibre](/wiki/Caliber_%28artillery%29 "Caliber (artillery)") 9\-inch gun weighed  while the gun itself weighed . It had a [muzzle velocity](/wiki/Muzzle_velocity "Muzzle velocity") of  and was credited with the ability to penetrate a  of [wrought iron](/wiki/Wrought_iron "Wrought iron") armour at the [muzzle](/wiki/Muzzle_%28firearms%29 "Muzzle (firearms)"). The 16\-calibre 7\-inch gun weighed  and fired a  shell. It was credited with the ability to penetrate  armour.Gardiner, p. 6

*Minotaur* was rearmed in 1875 with a uniform armament of 17 nine\-inch guns, 14 on the main deck, two forward chase guns and one rear chase gun. The gun ports had to be enlarged to accommodate the larger guns by hand, at a cost of £250 each. About 1883 two  breech\-loading guns replaced two 9\-inch muzzle\-loading guns.Parkes, p. 62 Four [quick\-firing (QF)](/wiki/Quick-firing_gun "Quick-firing gun") [4\.7\-inch (120\-mm) guns](/wiki/QF_4.7_inch_Gun_Mk_I_-_IV "QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I - IV"), eight [QF 3\-pounder Hotchkiss guns](/wiki/QF_3_pounder_Hotchkiss "QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss"), eight [machine guns](/wiki/Machine_gun "Machine gun") and two [torpedo tubes](/wiki/Torpedo_tube "Torpedo tube") were installed in 1891–2\.Gardiner, p. 10


Why did the Minotaur-class ships need to be rearmed in 1875?