A gunboat is a naval
watercraft
Any vehicle used in or on water as well as underwater, including boats, ships, hovercraft and submarines, is a watercraft, also known as a water vessel or waterborne vessel. A watercraft usually has a propulsive capability (whether by sail ...
designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more
guns to
bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for
naval warfare
Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large l ...
, or for
ferrying troops or
supplies.
History
Pre-steam era
In the
age of sail
The Age of Sail is a periodization, period that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th century, 16th (or mid-15th century, 15th) to the mid-19th century, 19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in globalization, global trade and ...
, a gunboat was usually a small undecked vessel carrying a single
smoothbore
A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.
History
Early firearms had smoothly bored barrels that fired projectiles without s ...
cannon
A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder duri ...
in the bow, or just two or three such
cannon
A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder duri ...
s. A gunboat could carry one or two masts or be oar-powered only, but the single-masted version of about length was most typical. Some types of gunboats carried two cannons, or else mounted a number of
swivel gun
The term swivel gun (or simply swivel) usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun w ...
s on the railings.
The small gunboat had advantages: if it only carried a single cannon, the boat could manoeuvre in shallow or restricted areas – such as rivers or lakes – where larger ships could sail only with difficulty. The gun that such boats carried could be quite heavy; a 32-pounder for instance. As such boats were cheap and quick to build, naval forces favoured swarm tactics: while a single hit from a
frigate's broadside would destroy a gunboat, a frigate facing a large squadron of gunboats could suffer serious damage before it could manage to sink them all. For example: in the
Battle of Alvøen (1808) during the
Gunboat War
The Gunboat War (, ; 1807–1814) was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the materially superior Royal N ...
of 1807–1814, five Dano-Norwegian gunboats defeated the lone frigate . Gunboats used in the
Battle of Valcour Island
The Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, was a naval engagement that took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain. The main action took place in Valcour Bay, a narrow strait between the New York mainland and ...
(1776) on
Lake Champlain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Champlainmap.svg
, caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
, coords =
, type =
, ...
during the American Revolutionary War were mostly built on the spot, attesting to the speed of their construction.
All navies of the sailing era kept a number of gunboats on hand. Gunboats saw extensive use in the Baltic Sea during the late 18th century as they were well-suited for the extensive coastal
skerries and
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
es of Sweden, Finland and Russia. The rivalry between Sweden and Russia, in particular, led to an intense expansion of gunboat fleets and the development of new gunboat types. The two countries clashed during the
Russo-Swedish war of 1788–90, a conflict that culminated in the massive
Battle of Svensksund in 1790, in which over 30,000 men and hundreds of gunboats,
galleys and other oared craft took part. The majority of these were vessels developed from the 1770s and onwards by the naval architect
Fredrik Henrik af Chapman for the Swedish
archipelago fleet. The designs, copied and refined by the rival Danish and Russian navies, spread to the Mediterranean and to the Black Sea.
Two variants occurred most commonly:
* a larger "gun sloop" (from the Swedish ''kanonslup'') with two 24-pounders, one in the stern and one in the bow
* a smaller "gun yawl" (''kanonjolle'') with a single 24-pounder
Many of the Baltic navies kept gunboats in service well into the second half of the 19th century. British ships engaged larger Russian gunboats off
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
in southeast Finland in 1854 during the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...
. The Russian vessels had the distinction of being the last oared vessels of war in history to fire their guns in anger.
Gunboats played a key role in
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
's plan for the
invasion of England
The term Invasion of England may refer to the following planned or actual invasions of what is now modern England, successful or otherwise.
Pre-English Settlement of parts of Britain
* The 55 and 54 BC Caesar's invasions of Britain.
* The 43 AD ...
in 1804. Denmark-Norway used them heavily in the
Gunboat War
The Gunboat War (, ; 1807–1814) was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the materially superior Royal N ...
. Between 1803 and 1812 the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
had a policy of basing its navy on coastal gunboats, experimenting with a variety of designs. President
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...
(in office: 1801–1809) and his
Democratic-Republican Party
The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...
opposed a strong navy, regarding gunboats as adequate to defend the United States' major harbors. They proved useless against the British blockade during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...
.
Steam era
With the introduction of steam power in the early 19th century, the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
and other navies built considerable numbers of small vessels propelled by side paddles and later by
screws
A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to f ...
. Initially, these vessels retained full sailing rigs and used steam engines for auxiliary propulsion.
The British Royal Navy deployed two wooden paddle-gunboats in the Lower
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...
and
St. Lawrence River during the
Rebellions of 1837
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
in Upper and Lower Canada. The United States Navy deployed an iron-hulled paddle gunboat, , to the Great Lakes in 1844.
became the first propeller-driven gunboat in the world.
Conradi shipyards Conradi is a surname. It comes from the Germanic Konrad: ''kuoni'' and ''rad'' meaning happy or laughing or ''rat'' meaning daring/experienced counsel.
* August Conradi (1821–1873), German composer
* Edward Conradi (1869–1944), American educ ...
in
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland pe ...
built the steam-powered gunboat in 1849 for the small navy of
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...
. Initially called ''"Gunboat No. 1"'', ''Von der Tann'' was the most modern ship in the navy. She participated successfully in the
First Schleswig War of 1848–1851.
Britain built a large number of wooden screw-gunboats during the 1850s, some of which participated in the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...
(1853–1856),
Second Opium War (1856–1860) and
Indian Mutiny
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...
(1857–1859). The requirement for gunboats in the Crimean War was formulated in 1854 to allow the Royal Navy to bombard shore facilities in the Baltic.
[ The first ships the Royal Navy built that met this requirement were the s.][ Then in mid-1854 the Royal Navy ordered six s followed later in the year by an order for 20 s.][Preston (2007), pp. 19–22.] In May 1855 the Royal Navy deployed six ''Dapper''-class gunboats in the Sea of Azov, where they repeatedly raided and destroyed stores around its coast.[Preston (2007), pp. 26–27] In June 1855 the Royal Navy reentered the Baltic with a total of 18 gunboats as part of a larger fleet.[ The gunboats attacked various coastal facilities, operating alongside larger British warships from which they drew supplies such as coal.][Preston (2007), p. 28]
Gunboats experienced a revival during the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...
(1861–1865). Union and Confederate forces quickly converted existing passenger-carrying boats into armed sidewheel steamers. Later, some purpose-built boats, such as , joined the fray. They frequently mounted 12 or more guns, sometimes of rather large caliber, and usually carried some armor. At the same time, Britain's gunboats from the Crimean War period were starting to wear out, so a new series of classes was ordered. Construction shifted from a purely wooden hull to an iron–teak composite.[Preston (2007), pp. 68–69]
In the later 19th century and early 20th century, "gunboat" was the common name for smaller armed vessels. These could be classified, from the smallest to the largest, into river gunboats, river monitors, coastal-defense gunboats (such as ), and full-fledged monitors for coastal bombardments. In the 1870s and 1880s, Britain took to building so-called "flat-iron" (or Rendel) gunboats for coastal defence.[Preston (2007), pp. 162–63] When there would be few opportunities to re-coal, vessels carrying a full sailing rig continued in use as gunboats; , a sloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular ...
preserved at Chatham Historic Dockyard in the United Kingdom, exemplifies this type of gunboat.
In the United States Navy, these boats had the hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ...
"PG", which led to their being referred to as "patrol gunboats". They usually displaced under , were about long, draught and sometimes much less, and mounted several guns of calibers up to . An important characteristic of these was the ability to operate in rivers, enabling them to reach inland targets in a way not otherwise possible before the development of aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. ...
. In this period the naval powers used gunboats for police actions in colonies or in weaker countries, for example in China (see e.g. Yangtze Patrol). This category of gunboat inspired the term "gunboat diplomacy
In international politics, the term gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of naval power, implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare should terms not be agreeable to t ...
". With the addition of torpedoes, they became " torpedo gunboats", designated by the hull classification symbol "PTG" (Patrol Torpedo Gunboat).
In Britain, Admiral Fisher
John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, (25 January 1841 – 10 July 1920), commonly known as Jacky or Jackie Fisher, was a British Admiral of the Fleet. With more than sixty years in the Royal Navy, his efforts to reform the service helped ...
's reforms in the 1900s saw the disposal of much of the gunboat fleet.[Preston (2007), pp. 122–124] A handful remained in service in various roles at the start of World War I in 1914.[Preston (2007), pp. 128–129] The last in active service were two of the second which survived until 1926, carrying out river patrols in west Africa.[Preston (2007), p. 131]
In the circumstances of World War I (1914–1918), however, the Royal Navy re-equipped with small , shallow-draught gunboats (12 ships of the ) with sufficient speed to operate in fast-flowing rivers and with relatively heavy armament. During the war and in the post-war period, these were deployed in Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
on the Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , ...
, in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
on the Euphrates and Tigris
The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
, in northern Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
on the Northern Dvina and in China on the Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flow ...
. In China, during anarchic and war conditions, they continued to protect British interests until World War II; other western Powers acted similarly.
More and larger gunboats were built in the late 1930s for the Far East. Some sailed there; others were transported in sections and reassembled at Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
.
World War II
United Kingdom
Most British gunboats were based initially in East Asia. When war with Japan broke out, many of these vessels withdrew to the Indian Ocean. Others were given to the Republic of China Navy (such as , which was renamed ''Ying Hao'') and some were captured by the Japanese.
Some were later redeployed to the Mediterranean theatre and supported land operations during the North African campaign, as well in parts of Southern Europe
Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Alba ...
.
United States
In late 1941 the US Navy's Yangtze Patrol boats based in China were withdrawn to the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
or scuttled. Following the US defeat in the Philippines most of the remaining craft were scuttled. However, survived until being sunk in action during the Battle of Java in 1942.
Soviet Union
During the 1930s, the Soviet Navy began developing small armoured riverboats or "riverine tanks": vessels displacing 26 to 48 tons, on which the turrets of tanks were mounted.
Three classes, numbering 210 vessels, saw service between 1934 and 1945:
* ''Project 1124'': their standard armament was initially two turrets from T-28 or T-34 tanks, each mounting a 76.2 mm gun and Degtyaryov tank machine gun (DT), as well as two anti-aircraft machine guns – in some cases the rear turret was replaced with a ''Katyusha'' rocket-launcher
* ': one T-28/T-34 turret with a 76.2 mm gun and DT, as well as four AA machine guns
* ''S-40'': one T-34 turret with a 76.2 mm gun and DT, as well as four AA machine guns
With crews of 10 to 20 personnel, riverine tanks displaced 26 to 48 tons, had armour 4–14 mm thick, and were 23 to 25 metres long. They saw significant action in the Baltic and Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, ...
s between 1941 and 1945.
Vietnam War
US riverine gunboats in the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, included Patrol Boats River (PBR), constructed of fiberglass; Patrol Craft Fast
Patrol Craft Fast (PCF), also known as Swift Boats, were all-aluminum, long, shallow- draft vessels operated by the United States Navy, initially to patrol the coastal areas and later for work in the interior waterways as part of the brown-w ...
(PCF), commonly known as Swift Boats
Patrol Craft Fast (PCF), also known as Swift Boats, were all-aluminum, long, shallow-draft vessels operated by the United States Navy, initially to patrol the coastal areas and later for work in the interior waterways as part of the brown-wate ...
, built of aluminum; and Assault Support Patrol Boats (ASPB) built of steel. U.S. Coast Guard 82-foot s supplemented these US Navy vessels. The ASPBs were commonly referred to as "Alpha" boats and primarily carried out mine-sweeping duties along the waterways, due to their all-steel construction. The ASPBs were the only US Navy riverine craft specifically designed and built for the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. All of these boats were assigned to the US Navy's " Brownwater Navy".[
]
Surviving vessels (incomplete)
* (1776) - USS ''Philadelphia'' resides at the National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and military history. Among the items on display is t ...
in Washington D.C
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
.
* (1861) - USS ''Cairo'' is on display at the Vicksburg National Military Park
Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the American Civil War Battle of Vicksburg, waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. The park, located in Vicksburg, Mississippi (flanking the Mississippi River), also commemorates the greate ...
in Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856.
Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vic ...
.
* (1863) - The remains of the CSS ''Chattahoochee'' are currently on display at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it o ...
.
*(1905) - BAP América resides in Iquitos Peru.
* (1912) - SS ''Zhongshan'' is currently preserved in Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...
, China.
* (1930) - ARP ''Humaitá'' (C2), Museum ship as of 1992 located in Asunción
Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay.
The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay o ...
, Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
.
* (1936) - ARM ''Guanajuato'' (C-07), located in Boca del Río, Veracruz and is undergoing restoration.
See also
* Monitor (warship)
* River gunboat
* River monitor
* Torpedo gunboat
* List of gunboat and gunvessel classes of the Royal Navy
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* TT-400TP gunboat
* NMS Grivița
* NMS Sublocotenent Ghiculescu
Notes
References
*Anderson, Roger Charles, ''Oared Fighting Ships: From classical times to the coming of steam.'' London. 1962.
* Chapelle, Howard, ''The History of the American Sailing Navy'' Norton. 1949.
*Friedman, Norman. ''US Small Combatants: An Illustrated Design History.'' 1987; Naval Institute Press. .
*Glete, Jan, ''Navies and Nations: Warships, Navies and State Building in Europe and America 1500–1860'' (vol 2) Almqvist & Wiksell International, Stockholm. 1993.
* Preston, John Antony, ''Send a Gunboat! The Victorian Navy and Supremacy at Sea, 1854–1904.'' Conway Maritime, London. 2007. .
External links
HMS Gannet
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Ship types
Naval ships