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Ironclad warships, frequently shortened to just ironclads, were wooden ships or
ships of composite construction (wooden planking on iron frames) sheathed
with thick iron plates for protection against gunfire. The first uses of iron for
naval protection occurred in the Far East in the 16th century, but the heyday of
the ironclad came in the mid-19th century, when ironclads supplanted wooden
ships, and then were themselves replaced by ships made of steel.
Pre-19th century ironclads
Geobukseon
Possibly the first ironclad warships were the turtle ships (Hangul:ê±°ë¶•ì„ ,
Geobukseon or Kobukson) of Korea. These are first mentioned in records from
1413 and 1415 in the Annals of Joseon Dynasty, though the actual design of the
ships, and whether they used iron armor, is unclear. Much more detailed
records are available for the turtle ships used by the Korean naval leader
Admiral Yi Sun-sin during the Imjin War (also known as the Seven-Year War)
of 1592-1598 between Korea and Ming Dynasty China versus Japan. These
geobukseon do not seem to have had side armor, but instead had a roof covered
in iron plates, giving the ships a turtle-like appearance. The armor plates of the
roof had sharp retractable iron spikes, making the primary Japanese tactic of
grappling and boarding an opposing ship much less effective. The turtle ships
were armed with an average of ten long-range cannons on each side and two
larger guns to the stern and bow, supplemented by archers firing flaming
arrows out of portholes. Retractable sails and oars made for a small profile, and
a dragon's head structure at the bow served as a gunport and could also emit
sulfur fumes as a smokescreen and irritant. Turtle ships were put to use once
again against the Russian fleet thirty years after the Seven-Year War.
A 16th century Japanese
"ÅŒatakebune" coastal
warship
In 1576, the Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga had six partially iron-covered war
ships (Ōatakebune 大安宅船) constructed. These ships were called
"Tekkousen" - literally, iron armored ships - and were armed with multiple
cannons and large caliber rifles. Nobunaga defeated the navy of his enemy Mori
Motonari with these ships at the mouth of the Kizu River, Osaka in 1578 with a
successful naval blockade. Despite being regarded as floating fortresses, they
were used as warships in the Seven-Year War with Korea. The most notable
and largest of these ships was the Nihon Maru, which briefly fought a Korean
turtle ship in the battle of Angolp'o harbor in 1592.
Although not a generally accepted theory, some postulate that the first instance
of an ironclad warship may have been a ship designed by General Qin Shifu
during the Song Dynasty in 1203. Some Chinese historical records credit Qin
Shifu with the invention of a ship that was shaped like a Falcon, which had
sheet-iron armor and an iron ram.[1]
19th century ironclads
At the Battle of Sinope in 1853, the Russian Baltic Fleet, equipped with newly
developed Paixhans guns using explosive shells, destroyed a flotilla of wooden
Turkish ships with contemptuous ease. This early engagement of the Crimean
War signaled the importance of iron armor to the navies of the world. During
the war, the French and British navies collaborated on the design of ironclad
floating batteries for reducing Russian defenses which had previously held off
attempts at bombardment by wooden hulled battleships. The French used theirs
in 1855 against the defenses at Kinburn on the Black Sea. The British were
delayed in bringing their batteries to the Black Sea to use against Kronstadt in
1856 and the war ended before they were used.
In 1859, France launched La Gloire, the first ocean-going ironclad warship in
history. Designed by the famous naval architect Dupuy de Lôme, she was
wooden hulled and covered with iron plates. The French would have gone for
an iron hull but their industry was not at the time able to manage it. In the
following year and nine months later than planned, the British Royal Navy
launched the iron-hulled and armored HMS Warrior, and the Black Prince in
1861. Although La Gloire was developed as a ship of the line, in effect a
battleship cut to one deck due to weight considerations, the larger Warrior was
classified as an armored frigate.
France proceeded to construct 16 ironclad warships, including two more sister
ships to La Gloire, and the only two-decked broadside ironclads ever built, the
Magenta and the Solferino, which were also the first warships to be equipped
with a spur ram. Only two of these ships were iron-hulled. In the meantime,
Britain continued building large armored frigates, often as powerful and more
seaworthy than the French ironclads.
The first use of steam-powered ironclads in combat was in the American Civil
War. The first of these vessels to see action in October 1861, the CSS Manassas,
was a turtleback ironclad ram formerly known as Enoch Train steam-tug. She
was used in combat against the U.S. Navy and proved somewhat effective
initially until U.S. ships learned to exploit her rather weak armor.
CSS Virginia.
The first engagement of two ironclad warships was the Battle of Hampton
Roads, from March 8-9, 1862. Though the engagement was inconclusive, the
Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia and her novel Federal counterpart, USS
Monitor, became somewhat legendary, and helped to usher in a new age of
armored, steam powered warships. The Virginia was built using the remains of
the scuttled, wooden-hulled USS Merrimack, and is often referred to the
Merrimack, even in her Confederate ironclad incarnation.
The Monitor, with its rotating turret and extremely low profile, was a
revolutionary design for a warship. After it had proven its capability, the U.S.
built a number of "monitor-class ships", as they became known; many seeing
use as river monitors. The use of monitor ships spread quickly throughout the
world after the war. John Ericsson, the designer of the USS Monitor, returned
to his native Sweden and constructed similar ships for the Swedish Navy.
Spain used ironclads against Chilean and Peruvian ports from 1864 to 1866,
destroying the fortress at El Callao (see Battle of Callao), and the ironclad
Numancia was the first to circumnavigate the world (arriving in Cádiz on
September 20 1867, and earning the motto: "Enloricata navis que primo terram
circuivit"). The largest battle involving ironclads of this type was the battle of
Lissa, in 1866. Waged between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian navies, the
battle pitted combined fleets of wooden frigates and corvettes and ironclad
warships on both sides in the largest European naval battle since the Battle of
Trafalgar. The victory won by Austria-Hungary established it briefly as the
predominant naval power in the Mediterranean. Ironclads were also used by
both Peru and Chile in the War of the Pacific in 1879.
The ironclad continued to be the dominant style of warship and developed into
what is sometimes called the "old" battleship before being replaced by more
advanced, far more seaworthy vessels known to history as pre-dreadnoughts.
Among the types of ironclad were monitors (patterned after the USS Monitor),
protected cruisers, armored cruisers and armored gunboats.
While the ironclad warship suffered from numerous flaws, the fact that it
became the prominent naval weapon of its era and inspired nearly a century of
progressively heavier armored warships can be ascribed to its massive
advantage over the previous ships of the line in terms of protection. While a
ship of the line could resist some damage, it was terribly vulnerable to fire and
found itself completely outclassed by the new developments in naval armament
beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century. Combined with steam
engine propeller propulsion, the ironclad warship could outfight, outgun, and
eventually outrun even the most powerful three decker.
The age of the ironclad as a main line battle craft came to an end around 1890,
as iron- or steel-hulled pre-dreadnought
During the American Civil War, the Confederacy attempted to redress an
imbalance in firepower and resources by investing in technology. One element of
this program involved the protection of Confederate warships with iron plating.
When Union naval officials learned that Southern shipwrights had converted the
scuttled steam frigate USS Merrimack into the ironclad CSS Virginia they feared
that this powerful vessel might be able to break the Union blockade at Norfolk, and
bombard Fort Monroe or even steam up the Potomac River and threaten
Washington, D.C. By mid-1861, the North desperately needed ships to counter the
Confederate ironclad, and on August 3, 1861 Congress authorized a board of naval
officers to inquire into the construction of armored vessels. One of the most
unconventional ship designs proposed to the United States Navy was by John
Ericsson, and his vessel featured the shallowest draft and shortest estimated
completion time of all the other projected models. Ericsson's design, however, met
with great skepticism. The vessel would have an extremely low freeboard, turretmounted guns, laminated iron plates, and relied completely on steam power. The
ship's quick construction time, however, was the key factor in the Navy's decision
to build from Ericsson's design (Roberts 1999; Roberts 2002).
Named the USS Monitor, John Ericsson's vessel illustrated
the industrial growth of the United States during the 19th century. The ship was
built by teams of inventors, mechanics, and engineers, and though these
individuals were intimately associated with technological change, they were
generally self-taught and worked without the benefit of a strong theoretical
background. The 172 ft long Monitor, completed by February 1862, featured a
revolving iron turret that was 22 ft in diameter, 9 ft high, and weighing 140 tons.
On March 6, after completing its sea trials, the new vessel was towed from
Brooklyn, New York to join the blockading squadron off Virginia (House of
Representatives Subcommittee 1998; Still 1988).
On March 9, 1862, the Monitor engaged the CSS Virginia in the historic Battle of
Hampton Roads. While the skirmish itself was a draw and neither vessel was
seriously damaged, the Monitor played a significant role in maintaining Union
control over this key Southern port. More important, the battle caused American
naval strategists to question their reliance on wooden warships. In addition, the
revolving turret and protective armor belt, made famous by the Monitor, became
standard features on latter generations of battleships.
On December 31, 1862, nature not cannon fire overpowered
the Monitor. While being towed to Charleston, South Carolina by the USS Rhode
Island, the Monitor sank during a large storm off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North
Carolina (House of Representatives Subcommittee 1998).
The USS Monitor's wreck site was discovered in 1973 about 16 miles off Cape
Hatteras in approximately 235 ft of water. The Monitor's wreck site was added to
the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. One year later, Congress
designated the wreck site as America's first National Marine Sanctuary. Today, the
one-nautical-mile in diameter Sanctuary boundary serves to protect the vessel's
remains and associated artifacts (House of Representatives Subcommittee 1998;
National Marine Sanctuary Program 2005).
From Henry Hudson’s historic voyage up the Hudson River in 1609 to the present day the
Spuyten Duyvil has had a long and storied history, but did you know there was once a Civil War
ironclad warship named after this peaceful body of water?
Built in 1864 by the Union Navy after suffering considerable losses to Confederate torpedoes,
the U.S.S. Spuyten Duyvil was initially christened the U.S.S. Stromboli after the island of
Stromboli off the Italian coast. Why the Navy changed the name of the 207 ton screw steam
torpedo boat to Spuyten Duyvil is unclear, but the renamed ship was re-christened on October
19th, 1864.
Designed by United States Naval Chief Engineer Captain
William W. Wood (right), the torpedo boat was constructed in a record three months. It would be
perhaps the first “stealth” ship in U.S. Naval history.
Built of timber and clad in iron plating, the Spuyten Duyvil’s state of the art weapons system
consisted of ‘spar torpedoes”. The torpedoes did not have locomotive capability and were more
akin to a naval mine than a modern torpedo. A mechanical boom with a torpedo attached to the
end was extended to the opposing ship and then detonated once the Spuyten Duyvil had backed a
safe distance away from the “torpedo.”
A true armored warship, the Spuyten Duyvil could be deployed for up to eight days with food
and water for its nine man crew. While not quite a submarine, the ironclad would partially
submerge by filling lower compartments with water until little but the gunwale showed above the
surface.
Six days after her 1864 christening the Spuyten Duyvil fired her first two torpedoes.
By December 5, 1864 the experimental craft arried at her home base of Norfolk, Virginia.
From Norfolk the Spuyten Duyvil was ordered up the James River to clear the waterway for
General Ulysses S. Grant who was leading a campaign on the Confederate stronghold in
Richmond.
As a patrol boat operating just below rebel defenses the Spuyten Duyvil saw relatively little
action until the night of January 23rd, 1865 when Confederate forces launched a downstream
assault on the Union squadron.
The deck stacked against the Confederacy, General Robert E.
Lee evacuated Richmond and the Spuyten Duyvil became part of the Union cleanup squad; using
her torpedoes to blow away obstructions blocking the waterway to the capitol city. This effort
made it possible for President Lincoln to steam upriver in another ship, The Malvern, to the
fallen Confederate capitol.
After the war, the Spuyten Duyvil continued her clean-up work on the James River. She was
later modified and used in Naval experiments that led to a more modern understanding of
torpedo technology before being dropped from the Navy list in 1880.
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Tagged as: battleship, civil war, confederate, grant, HISTORY, INWOOD, ironclad, james river,
lincoln, naval, navy, norfolk, richmond, robert e lee, ship, spar torpedo, spuyten duyvil. iron clad,
torpedo, william wood