The Steam warship classification system used during the 19th century was a classification scheme for the comparison of steam warships, including steam frigates and steam sloops. The system originally classified steam warships according to the thrown weight of their broadsides, then rated them by tonnage, using separate standards for ironclad and non-ironclad ships, with allowances for sailing ships still in commission. [1] [2] It was used in the United States and United Kingdom, officially and unofficially. [3] The United States Navy adopted the system by 1875. [4]
(Weights given are representative) [5]
Type | Shot weight (lbs) |
---|---|
First Rate | 2,606 [5] |
Second Rate | 1,220 [5] |
Third Rate | 434 [5] |
Fourth Rate | 210 / 294 [5] |
Type | Tonnage (non-ironclad) | Tonnage (ironclad) |
---|---|---|
First Rate (also sailing ships-of-the-line) [2] | 4000 + [2] | 8000 + [2] |
Second Rate (also sailing frigates) [2] | 2000 - 4000 [2] | 2000 - 8000 [2] |
Third Rate (also sailing sloops of war) [2] | 900 - 2000 [2] | 1200 - 2000 [2] |
Fourth Rate (also dispatch vessels and store ships) [2] | 0 - 800 [2] | 0 - 800 [2] |
An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates used in the early part of the second half of the 19th century. 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. The British Admiralty had been considering armored warships since 1856 and prepared a draft design for an armored corvette in 1857; in early 1859 the Royal Navy started building two iron-hulled armored frigates, and by 1861 had made the decision to move to an all-armored battle fleet. After the first clashes of ironclads took place in 1862 during the American Civil War, it became clear that the ironclad had replaced the unarmored ship of the line as the most powerful warship afloat. This type of ship would come to be very successful in the American Civil War.
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more manoeuvrable than merchant ships. Unlike a merchant ship, which carries cargo, a warship typically carries only weapons, ammunition and supplies for its crew. Warships usually belong to a navy, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations.
The Navy of the Confederate States (CSN) was the naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting against the Union Navy / United States Navy.
USS Galena was a wooden-hulled broadside ironclad built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship was initially assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and supported Union forces during the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. She was damaged during the Battle of Drewry's Bluff because her armor was too thin to prevent Confederate shots from penetrating. Widely regarded as a failure, Galena was reconstructed without most of her armor in 1863 and transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in 1864. The ship participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay and the subsequent Siege of Fort Morgan in August. She was briefly transferred to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron in September before she was sent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for repairs in November.
John Lorimer Worden was a U.S. Navy officer in the American Civil War, who took part in the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first-ever engagement between ironclad steamships at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 9 March 1862.
Kōtetsu, later renamed Azuma, was the first ironclad warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Built in Bordeaux, France in 1864 for the Confederate States Navy as CSS Stonewall, and acquired from the United States in February 1869, she was an ironclad ram warship. She had a decisive role in the Naval Battle of Hakodate Bay in May 1869, which marked the end of the Boshin War, and the complete establishment of the Meiji Restoration.
USS Canonicus was a single-turret monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War, the lead ship of her class. The ship spent most of her first year in service stationed up the James River, where she could support operations against Richmond and defend against a sortie by the Confederate ironclads of the James River Squadron. She engaged Confederate artillery batteries during the year and later participated in both attacks on Fort Fisher, defending the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina, from December 1864 to January 1865.
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 reserve after the war and sold for scrap in 1883.
USS Mingoe (1863) was a large double-ended, side wheel, ironclad steamer gunboat purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. With her heavy guns and a very fast speed of 11 kn she was planned by the Union Navy for use as a bombardment gunboat, but also as an interceptor gunboat stationed off Confederate waterways to prevent their trading with foreign countries.
Gatewood Sanders Lincoln was a United States Navy officer who served as the 19th and 22nd Governor of American Samoa. With Nathan Woodworth Post, Lincoln was one of only two American Samoan governors to serve non-consecutive terms. He commanded a supply ship during World War I, and was an instructor at the United States Naval Academy, serving as Department Head of the College of Electrical Engineering and Physics.
The Neosho-class monitors were a pair of ironclad river monitors laid down in the summer of 1862. After completion in mid-1863, both ships spent time patrolling the Mississippi River against Confederate raids and ambushes as part of Rear Admiral David Porter's Mississippi Squadron. Both ships participated in the Red River Campaign in March–May 1864, although Osage supported the capture of Fort DeRussy in March and participated in the Battle of Blair's Landing in April. Osage was grounded on a sandbar for six months after the end of the campaign while Neosho resumed her patrols on the Mississippi. The latter ship supported the Union Army's operations on the Cumberland River and provided fire support during the Battle of Nashville in December.
The Sailing frigate classification system used during the 19th Century was a classification scheme used in several western countries. It was officially adopted by the United States Navy. The system classified sailing frigates according to their gun rating.
James Wilson King was an American Navy Officer. He served as Chief Engineer of the United States Navy. During his career, he held every position in the Navy to which an engineering officer could be called. Today, he is best known for his 1880 book, The Warships and Navies of the World, which has been called "an important book to establish reliable contemporary information." It was republished by the U.S. Naval Institute in 1982.
The United States Hydrographic Office prepared and published maps, charts, and nautical books required in navigation. The office was established by an act of 21 June 1866 as part of the Bureau of Navigation, Department of the Navy. It was transferred to the Department of Defense on 10 August 1949. The office was abolished on 10 July 1962, replaced by the Naval Oceanographic Office.
Etruria was a protected cruiser of the Italian Regia Marina built in the 1891 by Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando Livorno. She was the third of six vessels of the Regioni class, all of which were named for current, or in the case of Etruria, former regions of Italy. The ship was equipped with a main armament of four 15 cm (5.9 in) and six 12 cm (4.7 in) guns, and she could steam at a speed of 18 knots.
Dogali was a unique protected cruiser built for the Italian Regia Marina in the 1880s. Notably, she was the first warship equipped with triple-expansion engines. The ship was originally ordered by the Greek Navy and named Salamis, but she was sold to the Regia Marina before she was completed and renamed for the Battle of Dogali. She was armed with a main battery of six 15-centimeter (5.9 in) guns and reached a speed of 19.66 knots on her sea trials, making her one of the fastest cruisers at the time.
SMS Custoza was an ironclad warship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1870s, the only member of her class. She was the first Austro-Hungarian ironclad to be built after the navy studied the results of the Battle of Lissa of 1866; she was also the first iron-hulled capital ship to be built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. She was laid down in November 1869, launched in August 1872, and completed in February 1875. Her career was fairly limited, in part due to reduced naval budgets in the 1870s that also delayed her completion. Custoza was somewhat more active in the 1880s, taking part in an international naval demonstration against the Ottoman Empire in 1880, being modernized in 1882, and a trip to Spain for the Barcelona Universal Exposition in 1888. The ship became a training ship in 1902, was converted into a barracks ship in 1914, and after World War I, was awarded as a war prize to Italy. Custoza was immediately broken up.
Tripoli was the first modern torpedo cruiser built for the Italian Regia Marina. She was built by the Regio Cantiere di Castellammare di Stabia shipyard in 1885–86. The only vessel of her class, she provided the basis for the Goito and Partenope classes that followed. She was armed with five 14-inch (356 mm) torpedo tubes and a battery of light guns, and was capable of a top speed of 17.5 knots. Tripoli spent her career in the main Italian fleet, where she was occupied primarily with peacetime training exercises. She was modernized several times throughout her career, and in 1910, was converted into a minelayer, a role she served in for another thirteen years, including during World War I. She was the longest serving torpedo cruiser in the Italian fleet, with over 36 years in service by the time she was discarded in March 1923.