The ''Ant''-class gunboat was a class of twenty-four Royal Navy

flat-iron gunboat Flat-iron gunboats (more formally known as Rendel gunboats) were a number of classes of coastal gunboats generally characterised by small size, low freeboard, the absence of masts,Some Rendel-type gunboats were fitted with masts (the British ''Med ...

s mounting a single 10-inch gun, built between 1870 and 1880. They carried no masts or sails, being among the first Royal Navy vessels not to do so. The last four vessels were ordered separately and are sometimes known as the ''Gadfly'' class, although they were essentially identical. Members of the class lingered on as steam lighters, dredgers, boom defence vessels and base ships, lasting in some cases into the 1950s.

Design

The flat-iron gunboats were designed for coastal defence and bombardment, and were constructed from iron. They were not rigged, and the single 10-inch (18 ton) muzzle-loading rifle was fitted forward on a hydraulic mount that allowed it to be lowered for a sea passage to improve the vessel's seaworthiness, and raised for action. Power was provided by a pair of two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engines driving twin screws. Together they developed , giving a top speed of about .

Ships

References

* {{Ant class gunboat Gunboat classes Ant Auxiliary gateship classes