Rapid development of warship design in the late 19th century transformed the ironclad from a wooden-hulled vessel that carried sails to supplement its steam engines into the steel-built, turreted battleships, and cruisers familiar in the 20th century. Ironclads were designed for several uses, including as high-seas battleships, long-range cruisers, and coastal defense ships. Ironclad gunboats became very successful in the American Civil War. Their performance demonstrated that the ironclad had replaced the unarmored ship of the line as the most powerful warship afloat.

They were first used in warfare in 1862 during the American Civil War, when ironclads operated against wooden ships and, in a historic confrontation, against each other at the Battle of Hampton Roads in Virginia.

The first ironclad battleship, Gloire, was launched by the French Navy in November 1859 – narrowly pre-empting the British Royal Navy. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells.

USS Monitor, in the March 1862 Battle of Hampton RoadsĪn ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The first battle between ironclads: CSS Virginia (left) vs. For pre-modern armored ships, see Pre-industrial armoured ships.

American civil war navy ships