London Times, 11 November 1867, p. 7: THE RUSSIAN IRONCLAD SQUADRON.
News from St. Petersburg informs us of the return of the Russian Baltic ironclad fleet into port after its summer cruise, under the command of that distinguished defender of Sebastopol, Admiral G. Boutakov. The monitor division of eight vessels, under Admiral Popoff, has turned out a perfect success. That officer swears by them, and has just returned to St. Petersburg after a flying visit of inspection to the naval department of the Paris Exhibition. The sea-worthiness and remarkable stability of the Russian turret-ships have quite won the confidence of the Russian admirals, and they go to the extent of recommending the low free board system to seamen in general for even large transports and passenger ships. We are evidently on the eve of important discoveries on this novelty in ship construction, and several of our naval officers and architects are giving attention to a subject which the genius of Erricson first practically applied to naval structures. -- Army and Navy Gazette
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