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A warship or combatant ship is a
naval ship A naval ship is a military ship (or sometimes boat, depending on classification) used by a navy. Naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose. Generally, naval ships are Damage control, damage resilient a ...
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 maneuverable 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 A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
, though they have also been operated by individuals,
cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
s and
corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...
s. In wartime, the distinction between warships and merchant ships is often blurred. In war, merchant ships are often armed and used as auxiliary warships, such as the
Q-ship Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open f ...
s of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the armed merchant cruisers of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. Until the 17th century it was common for merchant ships to be pressed into naval service and not unusual for more than half a
fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...
to be composed of merchant ships. Until the threat of
piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
subsided in the 19th century, it was normal practice to arm larger
merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...
s such as
galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch W ...
s. Warships have also often been used as
troop carrier A troop carrier is a means of transporting soldiers. A troop carrier vehicle may be configured for troop transport while used for other purposes at other times. Examples The Douglas C-47 Skytrain is an aircraft used as a troop carrier; the ...
s or supply ships, such as by the
French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
in the 18th century or the
Japanese Navy , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...
during the Second World War.


History and evolution of warships


First warships

The first evidence of ships being used for warfare was in Ancient Egypt, specifically the northern Nile River most likely to defend against
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
inhabitants. The galley warship most likely originated in
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
an idea which was soon copied and popularized by the
Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
. In the time of
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 ...
,
Ancient Persia The history of Iran is intertwined with the history of a larger region known as Greater Iran, comprising the area from Anatolia in the west to the borders of Ancient India and the Syr Darya in the east, and from the Caucasus and the Eurasian Step ...
,
Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
,
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...
and the
Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
, warships were always galleys (such as
bireme A bireme (, ) is an ancient oared warship (galley) with two superimposed rows of oars on each side. Biremes were long vessels built for military purposes and could achieve relatively high speed. They were invented well before the 6th century BC a ...
s,
trireme A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean S ...
s and quinqueremes): long, narrow vessels powered by banks of
oar An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles is that oars are used exclusively for rowing. In rowing the oar is connecte ...
smen and designed to ram and sink enemy vessels, or to engage them bow-first and follow up with boarding parties. The development of catapults in the 4th century BC and the subsequent refinement of this technology enabled the first fleets of
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
-equipped warships by the
Hellenistic age In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...
. During
late antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...
,
ramming In warfare, ramming is a technique used in air, sea, and land combat. The term originated from battering ram, a siege weapon used to bring down fortifications by hitting it with the force of the ram's momentum, and ultimately from male sheep. Thus, ...
fell out of use and the
galley tactics Galley tactics were the dominant form of naval tactics used from antiquity to the late 16th century when sailing ships began to replace oared ships as the principal form of warships. Throughout antiquity and the Middle Ages until the 16th centu ...
against other ships used during the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
until the late 16th century focused on boarding. File:AssyrianWarship.jpg,
Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the ...
n warship, a
bireme A bireme (, ) is an ancient oared warship (galley) with two superimposed rows of oars on each side. Biremes were long vessels built for military purposes and could achieve relatively high speed. They were invented well before the 6th century BC a ...
with pointed bow circa 700 BC File:Trireme ugglan.gif,
Trireme A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean S ...
, a warship used by the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
s and
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
s in ancient times


The Age of Sail

Naval artillery Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firing weapons and exclude ...
was redeveloped in the 14th century, but
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 ...
did not become common at sea until the guns were capable of being reloaded quickly enough to be reused in the same battle. The size of a ship required to carry a large number of cannon made oar-based propulsion impossible, and warships came to rely primarily on sails. The sailing man-of-war emerged during the 16th century. By the middle of the 17th century, warships were carrying increasing numbers of cannon on their
broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...
s and
tactics Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics ** Political tact ...
evolved to bring each ship's firepower to bear in a
line of battle The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...
. The man-of-war now evolved into the ship of the line. In the 18th century, the frigate and sloop-of-war – too small to stand in the line of battle – evolved to escort
convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
trade, scout for enemy ships and
blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...
enemy coasts. File:Warship diagram orig.jpg, Diagrams of first and third rate warships, England, 1728 File:Foudroyante-IMG 8846-black.jpg, A sailing corvette scale model in the
Trianon model collection The Trianon model collection is a set of high-quality ship models ordered by Napoléon for documentary purposes. History In July 1810 Denis Decrès Denis Decrès (18 June 1761 – 7 December 1820) was an officer of the French Navy and cou ...
File:USS Constitution fires a 17-gun salute.jpg, sailing frigate File:Constellation bow.JPG, US sloop-of-war USS ''Constellation'' in 2012 File:HMS Victory.jpg, Starboard side of the ship of the line


Steel, steam and shellfire

During the 19th century a revolution took place in the means of
marine propulsion Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a watercraft through water. While paddles and sails are still used on some smaller boats, most modern ships are propelled by mechanical systems consisting of an electr ...
, naval armament and construction of warships.
Marine steam engine A marine steam engine is a steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat. This article deals mainly with marine steam engines of the reciprocating type, which were in use from the inception of the steamboat in the early 19th century to their ...
s were introduced, at first as an auxiliary force, in the second quarter of the 19th century. 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 the ...
gave a great stimulus to the development of guns. The introduction of explosive shells soon led to the introduction of
iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
, and later steel,
naval armour Naval armour refers to the various protections schemes employed by warships, and is distinguished from other kinds of armour. Naval sailing ships have had protection from weaponry since at least ancient times, when Greek and Roman warships used s ...
for the sides and decks of larger warships. The first ironclad warships, the French and British , made wooden vessels obsolete. Metal soon entirely replaced wood as the main material for warship construction. From the 1850s, the sailing ships of the line were replaced by steam-powered battleships, while the sailing frigates were replaced by steam-powered cruisers. The armament of warships also changed with the invention of the rotating
barbette Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protectio ...
s and
turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...
s, which allowed the guns to be aimed independently of the direction of the ship and allowed a smaller number of larger guns to be carried. The final innovation during the 19th century was the development of the
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
and development of the
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
. Small, fast torpedo boats seemed to offer an alternative to building expensive fleets of battleships. File:TheNapoleonAtToulonIn1852ByLauvergne.jpg, French ship-of-the-line ''Napoléon'', the first steam powered battleship. File:HMS warriorjune20092.jpg, HMS ''Warrior'', first
ironclad battleship 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. Th ...
of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
File:U.S. gunboat Cairo (a.k.a. USS Cairo) - Mississippi River Fleet - Original.tiff,
Casemate ironclad The casemate ironclad was a type of iron or iron-armored gunboat briefly used in the American Civil War by both the Confederate States Navy and the Union Navy. Unlike a monitor-type ironclad which carried its armament encased in a separate a ...
on a contemporary photograph. File:HMS Prince Albert (1864).jpg, HMS ''Prince Albert'', a pioneering
turret ship Turret ships were a 19th-century type of warship, the earliest to have their guns mounted in a revolving gun turret, instead of a broadside arrangement. Background Before the development of large-calibre, long-range guns in the mid-19th century, ...
, built by naval engineer
Cowper Phipps Coles Captain Cowper Phipps Coles, C.B., R.N. (1819 – 7 September 1870), was an English naval captain with the Royal Navy. Coles was also an inventor; in 1859, he was the first to patent a design for a revolving gun turret. Upon appealing for public ...
. File:HMS Devastation (1871).jpg, HMS ''Devastation'' was the first sea-going ironclad to not use sails and completely rely on its steam engines.


Pre-dreadnought era

Pre-dreadnought battleship Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, protec ...
s were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, protected by case-hardened steel armour, and powered by coal-fired triple-expansion steam engines, pre-dreadnought battleships carried a main battery of very heavy guns in fully-enclosed rotating turrets supported by one or more secondary batteries of lighter weapons. The role of corvettes, sloops and frigates were taken by new types of ships like destroyers,
protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...
s and armoured cruisers. File:HMS Havock (1893).jpg, HMS ''Havock'', the first true destroyer. File:USS Olympia;c0605.jpg, USS ''Olympia'', a
protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...
. File:Averof Today2.jpg, Greek cruiser ''Georgios Averof'', only surviving example of an armoured cruiser. File:Mikasa05.jpg,
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
battleship ''Mikasa'', only surviving example of a
pre-dreadnought battleship Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, protec ...
.


20th century to present


The dreadnought era

Another revolution in warship design began shortly after the start of the 20th century, when Britain launched the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
's all-big-gun battleship in 1906. Powered by steam turbines, it was bigger, faster and more heavily gunned than any existing battleships, which it immediately rendered obsolete. It was rapidly followed by similar ships in other countries. The Royal Navy also developed the first battlecruisers. Mounting the same heavy guns as the dreadnoughts on an even larger hull (watercraft), hull, battlecruisers sacrificed armour protection for speed. Battlecruisers were faster and more powerful than all existing cruisers, which they made obsolete, but battlecruisers proved to be much more vulnerable than contemporary battleships. The Destroyer, torpedo-boat destroyer was developed at the same time as the dreadnoughts. Bigger, faster and more heavily gunned than the
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
, the destroyer evolved to protect the capital ships from the menace of the torpedo boat. At this time, Britain also developed the use of fuel oil to produce steam to power warships, instead of coal. While reliance on coal required navies to adopt a "coal strategy" to remain viable, fuel oil produced twice the power and was significantly easier to handle. Tests were conducted by the Royal Navy in 1904 involving the torpedo-boat destroyer , the first warship powered solely by fuel oil. These proved its superiority, and all warships procured for the Royal Navy from 1912 were designed to burn fuel oil. File:HMS Dreadnought 1906 H61017.jpg, The all-big-gun steam-turbine-driven dreadnought battleship File:HMS Invincible (1907) British Battleship.jpg, left, HMS Invincible (1907), HMS ''Invincible'', one of the earliest and Britain's first battlecruiser


Decline of battleships

During the lead-up to the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, Nazi Germany, Germany and Great Britain once again emerged as the two dominant Atlantic sea powers. Germany, under the Treaty of Versailles, had its navy limited to only a few minor surface ships. But the clever use of deceptive terminology, such as ''Deutschland-class cruiser, Panzerschiffe'' deceived the British and French commands. They were surprised when ships such as , , and raided the Allies of World War II, Allied supply lines. The greatest threat though, was the introduction of the Kriegsmarine's largest vessels, and . ''Bismarck'' was heavily damaged and sunk/scuttled after a series of sea battles in the north Atlantic in 1941, while ''Tirpitz'' was destroyed by the Royal Air Force in 1944. The British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
gained dominance of the European theatre by 1943. The Second World War brought massive changes in the design and role of several types of warships. For the first time, the aircraft carrier became the clear choice to serve as the main capital ship within a naval task force. World War II was the only war in history in which battles occurred between groups of carriers. World War II saw the first use of radar in combat. It brought the first naval battle in which the ships of both sides never engaged in direct combat, instead sending aircraft to make the attacks, as in the Battle of Coral Sea.


Cold War-era

Modern warships are generally divided into seven main categories, which are: aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines, and amphibious assault ships. Battleships comprise an eighth category, but are not in current service with any navy in the world. Only the deactivated American s still exist as potential combatants, and battleships in general are unlikely to re-emerge as a ship class without redefinition. The destroyer is generally regarded as the dominant surface-combat vessel of most modern blue-water navies. However, the once distinct roles and appearances of cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and corvettes have blurred. Most vessels have come to be armed with a mix of anti-surface, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft weapons. Class designations no longer reliably indicate a displacement hierarchy, and the size of all vessel types has grown beyond the definitions used earlier in the 20th century. Another key differentiation between older and modern vessels is that all modern warships are "soft", without the thick armor and bulging anti-torpedo protection of World War II and older designs. Most Navy, navies also include many types of support and auxiliary vessels, such as minesweeper (ship), minesweepers, patrol boats and OPV (naval), offshore patrol vessels. By 1982 the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) treaty negotiations had produced a legal definition of what was then generally accepted as a late-twentieth century warship. The UNCLOS definition was : "A warship means a ship belonging to the armed forces of a State bearing the external marks distinguishing such ships of its nationality, under the command of an officer duly commissioned by the government of the State and whose name appears in the appropriate service list or its equivalent, and manned by a crew which is under regular armed forces discipline."


=Development of the submarine

= The first practical submarines were developed in the late 19th century, but it was only after the development of the
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
that submarines became truly dangerous (and hence useful). By the end of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
submarines had proved their potential. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
Nazi Germany's submarine fleet of U-boats almost starved Britain into submission and inflicted huge Second happy time, losses on US coastal shipping. The success of submarines led to the development of new anti-submarine
convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
escorts during the First and Second World Wars, such as the destroyer escort. Confusingly, many of these new types adopted the names of the smaller warships from the age of sail, such as corvette, sloop and frigate.


=Development of the aircraft carrier

= A seaplane tender is a ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are regarded by some as the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. A major shift in naval warfare occurred with the introduction of the aircraft carrier. First at Battle of Taranto, Taranto and then at Attack on Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor, the aircraft carrier demonstrated its ability to strike decisively at enemy ships out of sight and range of surface vessels. By the end of the Second World War, the carrier had become the dominant warship. Image:La Foudre.jpg, left, French seaplane carrier Foudre, ''Foudre'', the first seaplane carrier circa 1914. File:HMS Invincible 1991 DN-ST-92-01125s.jpg, (1991), a light aircraft carrier File:USS Enterprise (CVAN-65), USS Long Beach (CGN-9) and USS Bainbridge (DLGN-25) underway in the Mediterranean Sea during Operation Sea Orbit, in 1964.jpg, (1961) and escorts


=Development of the amphibious assault ship

= Japanese amphibious assault ship Shinshū Maru, Shinshū Maru was a ship of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. She was the world's first landing craft carrier ship to be designed as such, and a pioneer of modern-day amphibious assault ships. During some of her operations, she was known to have used at least four cover names, R1, GL, MT, and Ryujo Maru. An amphibious warfare ship is an amphibious vehicle warship employed to land and support ground forces, such as marines, on enemy territory during an amphibious assault. Specialized shipping can be divided into two types, most crudely described as ships and craft. In general, the ships carry the troops from the port of embarkation to the drop point for the assault and the craft carry the troops from the ship to the shore. Amphibious assaults taking place over short distances can also involve the shore-to-shore technique, where landing craft go directly from the port of embarkation to the assault point. Amphibious assault ships have a well deck with landing craft which can carry tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles and also have a deck like a helicopter carrier for helicopters and V/STOL aircraft. File:Shinshū Maru1937.jpg, Japanese amphibious assault ship Shinshū Maru File:Public Domain USS IWO JIMA in New Orleans Robert Jay Stratchko, 2005 (DOD 050910-N-8933S-001) (690281003).jpg, USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7), USS Iwo Jima in New Orleans Robert Jay Stratchko, 2005 File:LST-4001 おおすみ (5).jpg, left, Stern view of Ōsumi-class tank landing ship File:USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49).jpg, , a United States Navy dock landing ship


Types

* Amphibious warfare ships are warships employed to land and support ground forces, such as marines, on enemy territory during an amphibious assault. **Amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces with ship-deployed Military helicopter, helicopters and V/STOL aircraft on enemy territory by an amphibious assault. **Amphibious transport dock is an amphibious warfare ship, that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. **Dock landing ship is an amphibious warfare ship with a well dock to transport and launch landing craft and amphibious vehicles. **Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. ***Landing Craft Utility is a type of landing craft used by amphibious forces to transport equipment and troops to the shore. They are capable of transporting tracked or wheeled vehicles and marines from amphibious assault ships to beachheads. ***Landing ship, tank is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, armoured fighting vehicles, Military vehicle, transport vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore with no docks or piers. **Landing Craft Support were two distinct classes of amphibious warfare vessels used by the United States Navy during World War II to support landing crafts. * Armed merchantman is a type of
merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...
equipped with cannons, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail,
piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
and privateers. * Armed yacht were modified yachts that were armed with weapons and were typically in the service of a navy. * Dispatch boats were small boats, and sometimes large ships, tasked to carry military dispatches from ship to ship or from ship to shore or, in some cases from shore to shore. Dispatch boats were employed when other means of transmitting a message was not possible or safe or as quick. ** Aviso, a kind of dispatch boat * Brig, Brig of War is a brig (ship), brig armed for use by a
navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
. * Capital ship, the largest and most important ships in a nation's fleet. These were previously battleships, battlecruisers, and aircraft carriers, but the first two warship types are now no longer used. ** Aircraft carrier, a warship primarily armed with carrier-based aircraft. *** Fleet carrier is an aircraft carrier designed to operate with the main fleet of a nation's navy. *** Light aircraft carrier is an aircraft carrier that is smaller than the standard carriers of a navy. *** Escort carrier, also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" is a slow type of aircraft carrier used during WWII. *** Anti-submarine warfare carrier is a type of small aircraft carrier whose primary role is as the nucleus of an anti-submarine warfare hunter-killer group. ** Battlecruiser, a ship with battleship-level armament and cruiser-level armour; typically faster than a battleship because the reduction in armour allowed mounting of more powerful propulsion machinery, or the use of a more slender hull shape with a lower drag coefficient. ** Battleship, a large, heavily armored warship equipped with many powerful guns. A term which generally post-dates sailing warships. *** Ironclad battleship, battleships built before the Pre-dreadnought battleship, pre-dreadnought in the 1870s and 1880s. ***
Pre-dreadnought battleship Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, protec ...
, sea-going battleships built to a common design before the launch of dreadnoughts, between the mid-1880s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts commonly featured a mixed main battery composed of several different caliber guns. *** Dreadnought, an early 20th-century battleship, which set the pattern for all subsequent battleship construction. Dreadnoughts differ from pre-dreadnoughts in that they feature an all-big-gun main battery. The advantage lies in that if all the big guns have the same characteristics, only one firing solution will be needed to aim them all. **** Fast battleships were battleships which emphasized speed without – in concept – undue compromise of either armor or armament * Bomb vessels were wooden sailing ships which carried Mortar (weapon), mortars instead of cannons. * Coastal defence ship, a type of cruiser-sized warship built for the purpose of coastal defense. * Commerce raider, any armed vessel—privately or government-owned—sanctioned to raid a nation's merchant fleet. **Merchant raiders are disguised commerce raiders. * Corvette were small ships during the age of sail. The concept was revived again in WWII as a merchant convoy escort and anti-submarine ship. They were only used by the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy. Used by many navies now. * Cruiser, a fast, independent warship. Traditionally, cruisers were the smallest warships capable of independent action. Along with battleships and battlecruisers, they have largely vanished from modern navies. ** Armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast enough to outrun any battleship it encountered. ** Scout cruiser was a type of warship of the early 20th century, which were smaller, faster, more lightly armed and armoured than protected cruisers or light cruisers, but larger than contemporary destroyers. They were used for Reconnaissance, scouting. ** Protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. ** Torpedo cruiser is a type of cruiser that is armed primarily with torpedoes. ** Unprotected cruiser was a type of naval cruiser in use during the early 1870s Victorian era, Victorian or Pre-dreadnought battleship, pre-dreadnought era. ** Heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm in caliber, its parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930. *** Pocket battleship ** Light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. ** Large cruiser is the class of the battlecruiser-sized Alaska-class cruisers of the United States Navy during World War II. ** Guided Missile Cruiser are cruisers armed anti-ship missiles. * Aircraft cruiser (also known as aviation cruiser or cruiser-carrier) is a warship that combines the features of the aircraft carrier and a surface warship such as a cruiser or battleship. * Destroyer, a fast and highly maneuverable warship, traditionally incapable of independent action. Originally developed to counter the threat of
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
s, they are now the largest independent warship generally seen on the ocean. ** Guided missile destroyer are destroyers armed with anti-ship missiles. * Destroyer escort was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a 20-knot (37 km/h; 23 mph), warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships similar to frigates. * Fast attack crafts are a small, fast, agile, offensive, often affordable type of warships armed with anti-ship missiles, guns or torpedoes. * Fire ship, a vessel of any sort set on fire and sent into an anchorage or fleet with the intention of causing destruction and chaos. Exploding fire ships may be called hellburners. * Frigate, Originally a medium sized sailing ship. Frigates used in modern navies (although they date back to the 17th century) are typically used to protect merchant vessels and other warships. * Galleass, a sailing and rowing warship, equally well suited to sailing and rowing. * Galleon, a 16th-century sailing warship. * Galley, a warship propelled by oars with a sail for use in favorable winds. ** Bireme, an ancient vessel, propelled by two banks of oars. **
Trireme A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean S ...
, an ancient warship propelled by three banks of oars. ** Quinquereme, an ancient warship propelled by three banks of oars. On the upper row, two rowers hold one oar; on the middle row, two rowers; and on the lower row, one man to an oar. * Gunboats are naval watercrafts designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to Shore bombardment, bombard coastal targets. ** River gunboat is a type of gunboat for riverine use. ** Flat-iron gunboats were a number of classes of coastal gunboats generally characterized by small size, low freeboard, the absence of masts, and the mounting of a single non-traversing large gun, aimed by pointing the vessel. ** Torpedo gunboat were a form of gunboat armed with
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
es and designed for hunting and destroying smaller torpedo boats. ** Motor gunboat is a type of a fast gunboat armed with machine-guns and autocannons. * Grab (ship), Grab was a type of ship common on the Malabar Coast in the 18th and 19th centuries. The ghurāb was originally a galley, but the type evolved into sailing ships armed with
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 ...
s. * Gallivat were small, armed type of boats, with sails and oars, armed with a single or few
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 ...
s and used on the Malabar Coast in the 18th and 19th centuries. * Helicopter carrier, an aircraft carrier especially suited to carry Military helicopter, helicopters and V/STOL aircraft. * Ironclad, a wooden warship with external iron plating. **
Casemate ironclad The casemate ironclad was a type of iron or iron-armored gunboat briefly used in the American Civil War by both the Confederate States Navy and the Union Navy. Unlike a monitor-type ironclad which carried its armament encased in a separate a ...
were a type of ironclad gunboats used in the American Civil War. ** Central battery ship in European continental navies, was a development of the (high-freeboard) broadside ironclad of the 1860s ** Turret ship was a 19th-century type of warship, the earliest to have their guns mounted in a revolving gun turret, instead of a
broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...
arrangement. ** Floating battery is a kind of armed watercraft, often improvised or experimental, which carries heavy armament but has few other qualities as a warship. * Littoral Combat Ship is a United States Navy classification of warships with the size and role of corvettes. * Longship, a Viking raiding ship. * Man-of-war, a British Navy expression for a sailing warship. * Minesweeper (ship), Minesweeper are small warships designed to remove or detonate naval mines. * Minehunter are naval vessels that seek, detect, and destroys individual naval mines. * Minelayer are naval vessels that plant naval mines offshore. * Missile boats are small, fast warship armed with anti-ship missiles. * Monitor warship type, Monitor, a type of small, heavily gunned warships with shallow draft designed for Naval gunfire support, shore bombardment. **River monitor, a type of Monitor warship type, monitors used in rivers. **Breastwork monitor was a modification of the monitor by Sir Edward Reed of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
. * Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of fishing trawlers but fitted out for naval purposes * Naval drifters are boats built along the lines of a commercial fishing drifter but fitted out for naval purposes. * Offshore patrol vessels are relatively small naval vessels generally designed for coastal defence, border protection, immigration law-enforcement, search and rescue duties. *
Q-ship Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open f ...
, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them. * Seaplane tenders were a type of ship used to carry seaplanes into the open sea. They are considered by some as the predecessor of the aircraft carrier. * Submarine chaser is a small warship used in anti-submarine warfare. * Ship of the line, a sailing warship capable of standing in the
line of battle The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...
. A direct predecessor to the later battleship. * Sloop-of-war was a sailing vessel category later revived in WWII as a convoy escort ship. * Submarine, are ships capable of staying submerged for days. Modern submarines can stay underwater for months, with food supplies as the only limiting factor. **Cruiser submarine were a type of a very large submarine designed to remain at sea for extended periods in areas distant from base facilities. **Coastal submarine or littoral submarine is a small, maneuverable type of submarine with shallow draft well suited to navigation of coastal channels and harbors. **Midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine **Submarine aircraft carrier is a submarine equipped with aircraft for observation or attack missions. These submarines saw their most extensive use during World War II, although their operational significance remained small **Attack Submarine is a submarine with the purpose of attacking other submarines. **Ballistic Missile Submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with Nuclear weapon, nuclear warheads. **Cruise missile submarine are submarines equipped with cruise missiles * Geobukseon (literally ''Turtle ship'') were sailing wooden Korea, Korean warships armed with
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 ...
s. * Panokseon (literally ''board roofed ship'') were a type of Korea, Korean wooden warships propelled by both sailing and rowing armed with
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 ...
s and Hwacha multiple rocket launchers. * Atakebune were wooden
oar An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles is that oars are used exclusively for rowing. In rowing the oar is connecte ...
propelled Japanese warships armed with few
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 ...
s, arquebusiers and archers. They were mostly bulky floating fortifications. * Mengchong (literally ''Covered Assaulter'') was a type of leather-covered assault warship used in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE in China. * Louchuan (literally ''Tower Ship'') was a type of warship used as a floating fortress in Ancient China. The Louchuan was meant to board troops onto enemy ships. Although they were also armed with trebuchets for ranged combat. * Wugongchuan (literally ''Centipede Ship'') was a Chinese oared vessel of the 16th century inspired by the Portuguese galley. * Torpedo boat, are small, fast surface vessels designed for launching Torpedo, torpedoes. **Torpedo ram is a type of torpedo boat combining a Ramming, ram with
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
tubes. **Motor torpedo boat is a type fast torpedo boat, especially of the mid 20th century. * War canoe was a kind of watercraft of the canoe type designed and outfitted for warfare using Bow and arrow, bow, spear and shield wielding warriors. During the gunpowder era a single brass or iron
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 ...
was mounted on the Bow (watercraft), bow or stern along with musketeers. These warships were used by many tribes and cultures all around the globe. Image:Teniente Orella LM37.jpg, A fast attack craft of the Chilean Navy Image:Osa-I class Project205 DN-SN-84-01770.jpg, An Osa class missile boat, ''Osa'' I class missile boat in 1983. File:INS Sunayna returns to Kochi post an 80 day anti piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden.jpg, INS Sunayna (P57), INS ''Sunayna'', an Indian Offshore Patrol Vessel File:MAGDEBURG 130-02 2008-03-04 03.jpg, ''Magdeburg'', a German (2008) File:F221 Hessen-Kieler Woche 2007.jpg, A German (2006) File:HMS DARING sails in British Gibraltar territorial waters MOD 45160525.jpg, British destroyer HMS Daring (D32), HMS ''Daring'' visiting Gibraltar in 2016 File:US_Navy_030903-N-5024R-003_USS_Port_Royal_(DDG_73)_departed_on_deployment.jpg, American cruiser USS Port Royal (CG-73), USS ''Port Royal'' in September 2003 File:BCGN Kirov 1983.JPG, Russian battlecruiser Kirov-class battlecruiser, ''Kirov'', 1983


See also

* List of naval ship classes in service


Notes


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * * * * {{Authority control Naval warfare Warships, * Boat and ship designers