Explore Naval History.
Discover the nations, ship types, classes and
warships that shaped naval history.
Naval warfare has envolved sice the days of the old wooden and sail creations that dotted the oceans. Such a naval ship, combatal ship or warship is a military ship (or sometimes boat, depending on classification) used by a navy of a certain country. Once iron became became a viable protection scheme, the ironclad was born and this forever changed the warplanner’s approach to naval combat. The steel capital ship was born. In general can be said that naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose. Generally, naval ships are damage resilient and armed with big guns and other weapon systems.
In wartime, the distinction between warships and merchant ships is often blurred. Until the 17th century it was common for merchant ships to be pressed into naval service, and not unusual for more than half of a fleet to be composed of merchant ships. There was not a large difference in construction, unlike the difference between a heavily armoured battleship and an ocean liner. Until the 19th century it was a normal practice to arm larger merchant ships such as wooden galleons. Warships have also often been used as troop carriers or supply ships.
Read more about the history and evolution of warships on the history page or choose a country below to see more about the warships of that country……….
Explore Historic Warships
After 1800, wooden tall ships made way for terrifying ironclads, battleships, destroyers and aircraft carriers. Historic-warships.com provides a groing database of the worlds most impressive naval vessels. Anchored by legendary giants like the German battleship Bismarck – a symbol of the height of modern naval warfare – I invite you to explore the historic fleets of nations across the globe.
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The Bismarck
In 1941, the German battleship Bismarck was the ultimate terror of the Atlantic Ocean. Representing the absolute peak of modern battleship engineering, her massive armor and devastating firepower triggered the greatest baval manhut in history.
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