In the foregoing illustration, showing the interior of a turret and barbette on a modern American battle ship, the section has been carried down through the structure of the ship to the keel. It is taken on a vertical plane in the line of the keel and includes enough of the ship in the fore and aft direction to take in the ammunition and handling rooms, and show the methods of storing the shot and shell and powder and the means for bringing it up to the breech of the gun. Commencing at the bottom of the section we have, first, the outside plating of the ship; then about four feet above that is the inside plating, or inner bottom, as it is called. This space is divided laterally by the frames of the ship, which run across the bottom and up the sides to the shelf, upon which the side armor rests. Upon the double bottom, and between that and the first deck above, is a magazine where the ammunition is stored in racks as shown in the illustration, this particular ammunition being for the rapid-fire guns of six-inch calibre. On the deck above and centrally below the turret, is located the handling room into which open by water-tight doors the magazines, where are stored the powder charges and the shells for the 12-inch guns above. Two decks above we come to the steel protective deck, 2 1/2 to 3 inches in thickness. Upon this deck is erected a great circular structure known as the barbette, whose walls will be from eight to twelve inches in thickness. The barbette is actually a circular steel fort, and it is thick enough and its steel protection hard enough, to break up and keep out the heaviest projectiles of the enemy, except when they are fired at close ranges. At about two-thirds of the height of the barbette is a heavy circular track upon which runs a massive turntable. The framing of this turntable extends to a point slightly above the top edge of the barbette, and upon it is imposed the massive structure of the turret, which is formed, like the barbette, of heavy steel armor carried upon framing, the form of the turret in plan being elliptical. Its front face, which slopes at an angle of about 40 degrees, is pierced with two ports, through which project the two heavy 12-inch guns. The mounting of these guns is carried also upon the turntable and revolves with the turret. From the handling room below a steel elevator track extends up through the barbette and curves back to the rear of the gun; and upon this there travel two ammunition cages which are loaded below upon the handling room floor and carry the projectiles and powder up to the breech of the guns, where it is thrust into the gun by mechanical rammers.