Shipbucket

Menghean unique ironclad Ko Rang (Gorang), commissioned 1871



Main article: https://iiwiki.us/wiki/Menghean_ironclad_Ko_Rang

Brief summary:

Ko Rang, or Gorang in today's transliteration system, was a unique Menghean broadside ironclad, and one of the first ironclad warships to serve in a Menghean navy. She was ordered by the Emergency Provisional Government of Menghe, also known as the Namyang Government, to support its war against the rebel forces which in 1867 had proclaimed the formation of the Sinyi dynasty. Because she was primarily meant to see combat against unarmored war junks, she was designed with a mix of 24-pounder and 48-pounder guns in a broadside arrangement, and protected with cast iron plates totaling 10 to 15 centimeters thick. Even with these simplifications, she was still too advanced to be built in contemporary Menghean shipyards, and she was instead ordered in Ostland.

The Ko Rang was slow, short-ranged, and wet forward, and her guns had narrow firing arcs and poor armor-piercing capabilities. Against a modern navy, she would have performed poorly, and this fear motivated the ordering of the Young Choung-class ironclads of a previous challenge. Against pirate junks, warlord ships, and the early Sinyi navy, however, she racked up a reasonably distinguished service record, supporting the Ryongsan Army's campaign along the coast of Unsan Province in the 1870s and 1880s. By the 1890s, the Namyang Government considered her useless against the latest Sinyi vessels, and relegated her to reserve duties, which did offer her an opportunity to take part in the occupation of the Uzeri Sultanate in 1891-1894. In 1902 she was hulked and converted to an ammunition storage barge; in 1921, severely rotting, she was towed away for scrap.

Ram Challenge Poll and Next Challenge Poll Now Open
With the submission period for the Ram Challenge at an end, the corresponding community poll is now open.
Five options are available for the next challenge. They are listed below. A new ranked voting system has been introduced and a description for this too can be found below. You can vote here.
Both challenges will remain open until April 27th and end at 23:59 (UTC-12). Countdown Timer

Options for Next Challenge
Military Melee Weapon Challenge in Gunbucket, Weaponbucket, or Pistolbucket Scale
1. Your entry must depict a fictional melee weapon used by a military force.
2. The weapon should not be an improvised design.

Cold War Light Tank in Soldierbucket Scale
1. Your submission should depict a fictional Cold War-era light tank.
2. The empty weight of the tank should not exceed 25 tonnes (24.6 long tons, 27.6 short tons).
3. The tank must first enter active service between 1947 and 1991. The design process may commence before 1947.

Anti-Materiel Rifle Challenge in Gunbucket, Weaponbucket, or Pistolbucket Scale
1. Your entry must depict a fictional anti-materiel rifle.
2. The rifle should fire a projectile at least 12.7 mm (0.50 inches) in diameter.
3. The rifle's effective firing range must exceed 1000 m (1094 yards).

Next Generation Rifle in in Gunbucket, Weaponbucket, or Pistolbucket Scale
1. Your entry must depict a fictional service rifle designed between 2020 and 2025.
2. The rifle should be designed to replace an existing standard issue service rifle, but fictional failed prototypes and concepts are permitted.
3. The rifle's cartridge must differ from its predecessor. For example, if it was designed to replace the M4 Carbine, it cannot fire 5.56x45mm NATO.

Men-At-Arms Challenge in Soldierbucket Scale
1. You must draw three Alternate Universe military or law enforcement figures sharing a common theme. Non-standard poses are permitted.
2. The three figures must be shown on the special 'book cover style' template shown below, with an appropriate 'title' reflecting your chosen theme.



Next Challenge Poll Voting System
When voting for the next challenge, you are no longer forced to choose a single option. You can rank as many or as few options as you like, and assign the same rank to different options. In the simplified example below, the respondent favours the Blue Challenge and can't decide if the Red Challenge or Purple Challenge is their second choice. They don't particularly like the Yellow Challenge or the Green Challenge (empty fields are treated as least preferred). Please use whole numbers. The winning option will be selected using the Ranked Pairs or Tideman method.

Challenge Results
The Ram Challenge poll is now closed. To the 28 people who responded, thank you. I am sure our participants appreciate your time. They certainly put in a lot of effort. In first place with a total of 526 points is jjxindoweeb who created the wonderfully drawn warship Věštěnico Ruso II. This entry also achieved the highest score in both individual categories. The style may deviate somewhat from the Shipbucket standard in terms of shading and detail, but the result is absolutely beautiful. Following in second place is Armoured man, who achieved 483 with the ironclad Wanryū. I can't quite place my finger on it, but something about this design stands out. Its aesthetic feels unique. Great work! Soode attained a third place with our smallest entry, the Namyang Government ship Ko Rang. It's always great to see an entry from Soode and I enjoyed the IIWiki article which feels authentic. Good job! If your entry was not among the top three, do not worry. There is always next time, and you can use the skills you reinforced in this challenge in other projects. For those interested, the Cold War Light Tank Challenge is now open. It proved most popular under our new voting system. The other options, from most favoured to least favoured, were: men-at-arms challenge, anti-materiel rifle challenge, next-generation rifle challenge, military melee weapon challenge.