British Ironclads 1860 75

Download or read book British Ironclads 1860–75 written by Angus Konstam and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-09-20 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In November 1859, the French warship La Gloire was launched. She was the world's first seagoing ironclad - a warship built from wood, but whose hull was clad in a protective layer of iron plate. Britain, not to be outdone, launched her own ironclad the following year - HMS Warrior - which, when she entered service, became the most powerful warship in the world. Just like the Dreadnought half a century later, this ship changed the nature of naval warfare forever, and sparked a frantic arms race. The elegant but powerful Warrior embodied the technological advances of the early Victorian era, and the spirit of this new age of steam, iron and firepower. Fully illustrated with detailed cutaway artwork, this book covers the British ironclad from its inception and emergence in 1860, to 1875, a watershed year, which saw the building of a new generation of recognisably modern turreted battleships.

Download or read book European Ironclads 1860–75 written by Angus Konstam and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-04-20 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Spain to Russia, and from Ottoman Turkey to Bismarck's Prussia, this book explores 15 years that transformed European naval warfare. When the Gloire slid down the Toulon slipway in 1859, it changed sea power forever. With this ship, the world's first oceangoing ironclad, France had a warship that could sink any other, and which was proof against the guns of any wooden ship afloat. Instantly, an arms race began between the great navies of Europe – first to build their own ironclads, and then to surpass each other's technology and designs. As both armour and gun technology rapidly improved, naval architects found new ways to mount and protect guns. The ram briefly came back into fashion, and Italian and Austro-Hungarian fleets fought the ironclad era's great battle at Lissa. By the end of this revolutionary period, the modern battleship was becoming recognizable, and new naval powers were emerging to dominate Europe's waters.

Download or read book Union River Ironclad 1861–65 written by Angus Konstam and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-12-20 with total page 87 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the start of the American Civil War, neither side had warships on the Mississippi River, which was a vital strategic artery. In what would prove the vital naval campaign of the war, both sides fought for control of the river. While the Confederates relied on field fortifications and small gunboats, the Union built a series of revolutionary river ironclads. First commissioned in January 1862, these ironclads spent the next two years battling for control of the Mississippi, fighting in a string of decisive engagements that altered the entire course of the war. This book explains how these vessels worked, how they were constructed, how they were manned and how they were fought.

Download or read book Warships in the War of the Pacific 1879–83 written by Angus Konstam and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2024-05-23 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Superbly illustrated with original artwork throughout, this book explores the ironclad warships that fought the little-known battles of South America's War of the Pacific. In the late 19th century, a war erupted between Chile and Peru, the catalyst for which was control of guano-rich Chincha islands. Given the geography of the two countries, with a narrow, arid land border and long exposed coastlines, it was inevitable that the War of the Pacific would predominantly be a naval war. It was a unique episode of military history, fought by two newly emergent South American states, using the latest technology – ironclad, steam-powered warships – and involving more naval battles than in the American Civil War, including a blockade, the capture of key warships, and bombardments of ports. Chile's navy was larger and more modern, while Peru's trump card was the small but powerful ironclad Huáscar. In this book, naval expert Angus Konstam offers readers an essential guide to this little-known naval war, illustrated with detailed profiles of the key ironclads, spectacular original artwork of the battles and a cutaway of Huáscar. He briefly covers the strategies of the warring powers as well as exploring all the key points of the naval campaign and the details of the warships involved, as a handful of ironclads fought for naval supremacy in South America.

Download or read book Arming the Warship written by Iver P. Cooper and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2024-11-04 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 16th century, warships engaged at close range, sometimes with yards touching, and small arms fire and hand-to-hand combat were at least as important as the "great guns." As time went on, the big guns became more decisive and increased in destructive power, range and accuracy. This book explores how naval armament, armor, ballistics and gunnery evolved from the 16th to 20th centuries from a scientific and technological perspective. It examines the functional aspects--the guns and their distribution on warships, the propellants, the projectiles and so forth--and examines the development of each.

Download or read book War at Sea in the Ironclad Age (Smithsonian History of Warfare) written by Richard Hill and published by Harper Perennial. This book was released on 2006-05-02 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The nineteenth century saw several major innovations in naval warfare. Reliable steam engines made it so that ships no longer depended on the wind and could maneuver more freely. At the same time, new explosive shells were developed, replacing cannonballs, and no wooden ship could withstand them. In response to these shells, a new class of self-propelled, armored "ironclads" was invented and quickly revolutionized naval warfare. A comprehensive look at the makeup of these "ironclad" warships. A technical view of the powerful weaponry that compelled these radical innovations. A look at the historic battles that proved the necessity of engines and armor. A discussion of the new tactics employed by nineteenth-century navies and the revival of an old classic -- the "ram."

Download or read book British Gunboats of Victoria's Empire written by Angus Konstam and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2022-03-17 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A beautifully illustrated history of the iconic ocean-going gunboats of British 'gunboat diplomacy', the hundreds of little warships that for 50 years demonstrated the power of the Royal Navy worldwide, and which maintained and enforced the rule of the British Empire at its peak. In recent years the phrase 'gunboat diplomacy' has been used to describe the crude use of naval power to bully or coerce a weaker nation. During the reign of Queen Victoria, 'gunboat diplomacy' was viewed very differently. It was the use of a very limited naval force to encourage global stability and to protect British overseas trade. This very subtle use of naval power was a vital cornerstone of the Pax Britannica. Between the Crimean War (1854–56) and 1904, when the gunboat era came to an abrupt end, the Royal Navy's ocean-going gunboats underpinned Britain's position as a global power and fulfilled the country's role as a 'global policeman'. Created during the Crimean War, these gunboats first saw action in China. However, they were also used to hunt down pirates in the coasts and rivers of Borneo and Malaya, to quell insurrections and revolts in the Caribbean or hunt slavers off the African coast. The first gunboats were designed for service in the Crimean War, but during the 1860s a new generation of ships began entering service – vessels designed specifically to fulfill this global policing role. Better-designed gunboats followed, but by the 1880s, the need for them was waning . The axe finally fell in 1904 when Admiral 'Jackie' Fisher brought the gunboat era to an end in order to help fund the new age of the dreadnought. This exciting New Vanguard title describes the rise and fall of the gunboat, the appearance and capability of these vital warships, and what life was like on board. It also examines key actions they were involved in.