An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The first ironclad battleship, Gloire, was launched by the French Navy in November 1859 – narrowly pre-empting the British Royal Navy.
HNLMS Schorpioen is a Schorpioen-class monitor built in France for the Royal Netherlands Navy in the 1860s. These new ships were equipped with heavy rifled 23 cm (9 in) guns, and a heavy armor. The hull had an armor plated belt of 15 cm (6 in) and the gun turret, housing the two guns, had almost 30 cm (12 in) of armor.
USS Roanoke was a wooden-hulled Merrimack-class screw frigate built for the United States Navy in the mid-1850s. She served as flagship of the Home Squadron in the late 1850s and captured several Confederate ships after the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The ship was converted into an ironclad monitor during 1862–63; the first ship with more than two gun turrets in history. Her conversion was not very successful as she rolled excessively and the weight of her armor and turrets strained her hull. Her deep draft meant that she could not operate off shallow Confederate ports and she was relegated to harbor defense at Hampton Roads, Virginia for the duration of the war. Roanoke was placed in reserve after the war and sold for scrap in 1883.
USS Puritan was one of two ocean-going ironclad monitors designed by John Ericsson during the American Civil War of 1861–1865. Launched in mid-1864, construction was suspended sometime in 1865. The Navy Department had specified two twin-gun turrets over Ericsson's protests, but finally agreed to delete the second turret in late 1865. The Navy Department evaded the Congressional refusal to order new ships in 1874 by claiming that the Civil War-era ship was being repaired while building a new monitor of the same name.
The Danish ironclad Dannebrog was an armored frigate of the Royal Danish Navy that was originally built as an 80-gun ship-of-the-line by Andreas Schifter was launched in 1850 but was reconstructed into a steam-powered ironclad in the early 1860s. She had an uneventful career before the ship was stricken from the navy list in 1875. The ship was converted into an accommodation ship that same year and served until she became a target ship in 1896. Dannebrog was broken up in 1897.
Smerch was a monitor built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the early 1860s. She was designed by the British shipbuilder Charles Mitchell and built in Saint Petersburg. The ship spent her entire career with the Baltic Fleet. She ran aground and sank shortly after she entered service in 1865. Smerch was refloated and repaired shortly afterwards. She became a training ship sometime after 1892 and was stricken from the Navy List in 1904. The ship was hulked five years later and renamed Blokshiv No. 2. She was in Finland when that country declared its independence in 1918, but was returned to the Soviets after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed. Blokshiv No. 1, as the ship was now known, was sunk by German artillery fire in 1941. She was salvaged the following year and remained in service until she was stricken in 1959 and subsequently broken up.
The Charodeika class was a pair of monitors built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the late 1860s. They were designed by the British shipbuilder Charles Mitchell and built in Saint Petersburg. Both ships were assigned to the Baltic Fleet and had fairly uneventful careers mostly assigned to training units. Rusalka struck a rock in 1869 and had to be run aground lest she sink. They were reclassified as coast-defense ironclads in 1892 and Rusalka sank during a storm in the Gulf of Finland the next year with the loss of all hands. Her sister ship Charodeika continued in service until 1907 and was eventually scrapped in 1911–12. Rusalka's wreck was discovered in 2003 by an expedition sponsored by the Estonian Maritime Museum.
The Admiral Lazarev class was a pair of monitors built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the late 1860s, which designated them as armored turret frigates. Four ships were ordered, but the last two were significantly modified during construction and became the separate Admiral Spiridov class. The sister ships were assigned to the Baltic Fleet upon completion and remained there for their entire careers. Aside from one accidental collision, their careers were uneventful. They were reclassified as coast-defense ironclads in 1892 before they became training ships later that decade. The Admiral Lazarevs were stricken from the Navy List in 1907 and 1909; both were sold for scrap in 1912.
The Admiral Spiridov class were a pair of monitors built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the late 1860s. The sister ships were assigned to the Baltic Fleet upon completion and remained there for their entire careers. Aside from several accidental collisions and one grounding, their careers were uneventful. They were reclassified as coast-defense ironclads in 1892 before they became training ships in 1900. The Admiral Spiridovs were stricken from the Navy List in 1907; one ship became a stationary target and the other a coal-storage barge. Their ultimate fates are unknown.
The Russian ironclad Kreml was the third and last Pervenets-class broadside ironclad built for the Imperial Russian Navy during the mid-1860s. She joined the Baltic Fleet upon completion and accidentally sank a Russian frigate in 1869. The ship was assigned to the Gunnery Training Detachment in 1870 and was frequently rearmed. Kreml sank in shallow water after a storm in 1885; she was refloated and returned to service. The ship was placed in reserve in 1904 and disarmed the following year before being sold for scrap in 1908.
The Russian monitor Admiral Greig was the second and last of the two Admiral Lazarev-class monitors built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the late 1860s. She was assigned to the Baltic Fleet upon completion and remained there for her entire uneventful career. She was reclassified as a coast-defense ironclad in 1892 before she became a training ship later that decade. Admiral Greig was decommissioned in 1907, stricken from the Navy List in 1909 and scrapped in 1912.
Veshchun was an Uragan-class monitor built for the Imperial Russian Navy in Belgium in the mid-1860s. The design was based on the American Passaic-class monitor, but was modified to suit Russian engines, guns and construction techniques. She was one of two ships of the class to be built in Belgium and assembled in Russia. Spending her entire career with the Baltic Fleet, the ship was only active when the Gulf of Finland was not frozen, but very little is known about her service. She was stricken in 1900 from the Navy List, converted into a coal barge in 1903 and renamed Barzha No. 44 then Barzha No. 327. Abandoned by the Soviets in Finland in 1918, the ship was later scrapped by the Finns.
The Kalamazoo-class monitors were a class of ocean-going ironclad monitors begun during the American Civil War. Unfinished by the end of the war, their construction was suspended in November 1865 and the unseasoned wood of their hulls rotted while they were still on the building stocks. If the four ships had been finished they would have been the most seaworthy monitors in the US Navy. One was scrapped in 1874 while the other three were disposed of a decade later.
The Milwaukee-class monitors were a class of four riverine ironclad monitors built during the American Civil War. Several supported Union forces along the Mississippi River in mid-1864 before participating in the Battle of Mobile Bay in August. Chickasaw and Winnebago bombarded Confederate coastal fortifications during the battle and during subsequent operations as well as engaging the ironclad Tennessee II. The other two ships arrived at Mobile Bay after the battle and all four supported the land attacks on Mobile in March–April 1865. Milwaukee struck a torpedo during this time and sank. The surviving three ships were sold in 1874; Chickasaw was converted into a ferry and survived until 1944 when she was scuttled. Her wreck was discovered in 2004.
HNLMS Guinea was an Buffel-class monitor built for the Royal Netherlands Navy in the early 1870s. Rearmed in 1887 with more modern ordnance, she was sold for scrap in 1897.
HNLMSStier was a Schorpioen-class monitor built in England for the Royal Netherlands Navy in the 1860s.
The Buffel-class monitors were a pair of ironclad monitors built for the Royal Netherlands Navy in the 1860s. They had uneventful careers and were stricken from the Navy List in the late 1890s. Guinea was scrapped in 1897, but Buffel was hulked and converted into an accommodation ship in 1896. She was captured by the Germans during World War II, but survived the war. She became a museum ship in 1979.
The Russian monitor Admiral Spiridov was the name ship of her class of monitors built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the late 1860s. The ship was assigned to the Baltic Fleet upon completion and remained there for her entire career. Aside from an accidental collision her service was uneventful. The sister ships were reclassified as coast-defense ironclads in 1892 before they became training ships in 1900. Admiral Spiridov was stricken from the Navy List in 1907 and became a coal-storage barge. Her ultimate fate is unknown.
The Russian monitor Admiral Chichagov was the second and last of the two Admiral Spiridov-class monitors built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the late 1860s. The ship was assigned to the Baltic Fleet upon completion and remained there for her entire career. Aside from an incident where she ran aground, her service was uneventful. The sister ships were reclassified as coast-defense ironclads in 1892 before they became training ships in 1900. Admiral Spiridov was stricken from the Navy List in 1907 and became a target ship. Her ultimate fate is unknown.
The Russian monitor Admiral Lazarev was the name ship of her class of monitors built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the late 1860s. She was assigned to the Baltic Fleet upon completion and remained there for her entire career. Aside from one accidental collision in 1871, her service was uneventful. The ship was reclassified as coast-defense ironclad in 1892 and often served as a training ship. There was an unsuccessful proposal to convert her into an aircraft carrier in 1910. Admiral Lazarev was stricken from the Navy List in 1907 and sold for scrap in 1912. She sank while under tow to Germany later that year.
Royal Netherlands Navy 