What was the very first ironclad ship?

kerry8888

The Merrimac (later renamed the Virginia) was built by the south in the American Civil War. The Union responded with their own ironclad vessel, the Monitor. May 01 03, 3:10 AM

Friar Tuck

HMS Warrior: The first ironclad warship, the HMS Warrior, was launched in 1860 and commissioned the following year. The iron hull was armored with 4 1/2 inches of wrought iron backed by 18 inches of teak, and was the largest, fastest, best protected and most formidable warship in the world. Rescued from a ignominious life as a floating jetty at Pembroke Dock, she has now been refitted, complete with masts and furled sails, 34 muzzle and breech loading guns and a massive replica of the original engine was moved to Portsmouth and opened to visitors in Spring/summer 1997. May 01 03, 6:58 AM

RickF

The first Iron steam ship, the Aaron Manby, sailed in 1821 on her maiden voyage from London to Paris but until 1839, when the Astronomer Royal Sir George Airey developed and published his work on correcting ships' compasses for the effect of the iron hull, ocean-going iron ships were not possible. The Admiralty ordered its first iron ship, the Dover in February 1839, but the credit for the first order for a real warship goes to the Honourable East India Company (HEIC) which ordered the Nemesis from Lairds early in 1839. Nemesis was laid down in August 1839, launched in November and carried out trials in December the same year, being completed the following month. http://website.lineone.net/~d.bolton/Misc/nemesis.htm May 01 03, 9:23 AM

kerry8888

After seeing the subsequent postings to mine I rechecked the information. A number of sites still maintain the Monitor and the Merrimac as the first ironclad ships, and others also claim the distinction. However, none seem to beat this reference, a Japanese ship built in 1592, known as the turtle boat. http://www.peulleroo.co.kr/metal_1.html May 01 03, 1:07 PM

kim001

kerry8888, you are partly right. The turtle ship was built in 1592 by Korea (Admiral Yi who had 23 battles and 23 wins against Japan) and was built to defeat the Japanese navy. One of the four great naval battles of the world - Battle of the Hansan Island. Do you need more about the turtle ship - the first ironclad ship ... http://www.koreanhero.net/en/TurtleShip.htm see some battle drama made in the site. Apr 06 07, 2:15 PM

Seikilos

The Kobukson (Korean turtle ship) would have indeed been the first ironclad, if it could be proven that it was, but contemporary evidence is lacking on this subject so it can not be a contender until more information is discovered. http://www.koreanhero.net/en/TurtleShip.htm An ironclad was a wooden warship fitted with iron or steel plates to protect the hull. Hill, Richard. War at Sea in the Ironclad Age ISBN 0-304-35273-X; p.17 The "Aaron Manby" was an iron hulled steamship, but not an ironclad. The East India Company's Nemesis was a the first armed iron ship (paddle wheel gunboat), not an ironclad. The HMS Warrior was built in answer to the French launching the first ironclad, the battleship La Gloire built in 1859. The first Ironclads 1859-1872 http://klaus-kramer.de/Schiff/Panzerschiffe/Panzerschiffe_1/Panzerschiffe_1_engl_top.html The French Ironclads New York Times 1878 http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9F0CE0DC143EE73BBC4953DFB2668383669FDE&oref=slogin Dec 21 07, 11:38 PM