10 Facts About Turtle ship

Geobukseon, 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.

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.

Early versions of the turtle ship would burn poisonous materials in the dragon's head to release a poisonous smoke.

Early illustrations show initial versions of the Turtle ship consisting of overlapping planks on the deck structure, while later depictions show the deck of the vessel covered with flush, hexagonal plates made of wood or iron.

Nonetheless, in both earlier and later versions, the Turtle Ship was designed to be surprisingly fast, as it was both oar and sail-powered.

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Until further information comes to light to the contrary, the likeliest conclusion is that Yi Sun-sin's turtle ship was armored only insofar as it was constructed of heavy timbers and covered with a thick plank roof studded with iron spikes - which against the light guns of the Japanese was armor enough.

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 something is covering the wood shell.

Later, the turtle ship was used for other purposes such as spearheading attacks or ambushing Japanese ships in tight areas such as in the Battle of Noryang.

The turtle ship had oar propulsion as well as sails, and could turn on its axis like the panokseon.

Turtle ship has been reconstructed by Geobukseon Research Center, a private commercial company.