Pre-industrial armoured ships

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Armoured warships were wooden ships or ships of composite construction (wooden planking on iron frames) armored with thick metal plates. The first widespread uses of iron for naval protection combined with cannonry occurred in the Far East in the 16th century,^{[citation needed]} but the heyday of the ironclad came in the mid-19th century, when ironclads, powered by steam engines, supplanted wooden ships, and then were themselves replaced by ships made of steel.

Contents 1 Developments in Europe 2 Developments in East Asia 3 Notes 4 External links

[edit] Developments in Europe

Early examples of armored ships served in the Roman and Byzantine fleets, known as cataphracts^[1], though their armor was not proof against heavy missile weapons, such as ballistae^[2]. A few Norse longships were reinforced with armor as early as the 11th Century, such as the Iron Beard of Eric Hakonsson of Norway.^[3]

A ship with iron plating on the ribs which was commissioned in 1505 by Juan Lope de Lazcano, a Basque General of the Spanish Fleet.^[4]

[edit] Developments in East Asia

Although not a generally accepted hypothesis, 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.^{[citation needed]}

Korean turtle ships (Hangul:거북선, Geobukseon or Kobukson) of Korea are first mentioned in records from 1413 and 1415 in the Annals of Joseon Dynasty, although the usage of protective iron plates is not mentioned and remaining designs indicate the roof was left open. The usage of iron plates with Turtle ships is only documented at the end of the following century, during the 1592-1598 Imjin War with Japan.^[5] Admiral Yi Sun-Sin himself only writes in his memoirs about "iron spikes on its back to pierce the enemies feet when they tried to board", but Japanese sources also mention the ships were "covered in iron".^[6]

In 1576, the Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga had six partially iron-covered war ships (Ōatakebune) constructed. These ships were called "Tekkousen" (鉄甲船, literally "iron-armor ships"), were armed with multiple cannons and large caliber rifles, and were described by the Italian Jesuit Organtino as being protected by iron plates 2-3 inches thick.^[7] 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.

Detailed records are available for the Turtle ships said to have been resurrected by the Korean naval leader Admiral Yi Sun-sin prior to 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,^[8] 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.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Ancient Catapults. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
2. ^ The Roman Navy. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
3. ^ Norseman News (Spring 2000). Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
4. ^ Kurlansky, Mark. 1999. The Basque History of the World. Walker & Company, New York. ISBN 0-8027-1349-1, p. 56
5. ^ "Fighting ships of the Far-East (2)", Stephen Turnbull, pp16-18
6. ^ "Fighting ships of the Far-East (2)", Stephen Turnbull, p18
7. ^ Thach, Marcel. The Madness of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The Samurai Archives Japanese History Page. "Iron clad ships, however, were not new to Japan and Hideyoshi; Oda Nobunaga, in fact, had many iron clad ships in his fleet." (referring to the anteriority of Japanese ironclads (1578) to the Korean Turtle ships (1592)). In Western sources, Japanese ironclads are described in Boxer, C.R. (1993). The Christian Century in Japan 1549-1650. Carcanet Press, pg. 122. ISBN 1-85754-035-2. , quoting the account of the Italian Jesuit Organtino visiting Japan in 1578. Nobunaga's ironclad fleet is also described in Sansom, George (1991). A History of Japan, 1334-1615. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-0525-9. . Korea's "ironclad Turtle ships" were invented by Admiral Yi Sun-sin (1545–1598), and are first documented in 1592. Incidentally, Korea's iron plates only covered the roof (to prevent intrusion), and not the sides of their ships. The first Western ironclads date to 1859 with the French Gloire (Gardiner, Robert and Lambert, Andrew (2001). Steam, Steel and Shellfire: The Steam Warship, 1815-1905. Book Sales. ISBN 0-7858-1413-2. ).
8. ^ "Fighting ships of the Far-East (2)", Stephen Turnbull, pp16-18

[edit] External links

• A reproduction of a 16th century Korean turtle ship