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Not to be confused with Fireboat. A fireboat is a specialized watercraft often resembling a Tugboat, with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard Fires They are frequently

A fire ship was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered (or, if possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or inexpensive vessels. An explosion ship or hellburner was a variation on the fire ship, intended to cause damage by blowing up in proximity to enemy ships. Hellburners ( Dutch: hellebranders; brander is Dutch for "fireship" are specialised fireships used in the Siege of Antwerp (1584-1585

Contents

History

Ancient era, first uses

See also: Early thermal weapons

One famous use of a fire ship happened in 208 at the Battle of Red Cliffs, when Huang Gai assaulted the enemy naval with a fire ship filled with bundles of kindling, dry reeds, and fatty oil. Early thermal weapons were devices or substances used in Warfare during the classical and medieval periods (approx 8th century BC until the mid-16th For the area code see Area code 208. Events By Place Roman Empire Roman emperor Septimius Severus The Battle of Red Cliffs, otherwise known as the Battle of Chibi, ( was a decisive battle at the End of Han Dynasty, immediately prior to the period of the Three Huang Gai was a military general for the Kingdom of Wu during the Three Kingdoms era of China.

The invention of Greek fire in 673 caused increased use of fire ships, at first by the Greeks and afterward by other nations as they came into possession of the secret of manufacturing this compound. Greek fire was a burning-liquid weapon used by the Byzantine Empire. Events By Place Europe Hlothhere becomes king of Kent. The city of Ely, England is founded A chemical compound is a substance consisting of two or more different elements chemically bonded together in a fixed proportion by Mass. In 951, and again in 953, Russian fleets narrowly escaped destruction by fire ships. This article is about the year 951 For the 951 Porsche sports car (a Events Europe First documented mention of the village of Aach in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending

Age of Sail, refinement

Warships of the age of sail were also highly vulnerable to fire. The Age of Sail was the period in which International trade and Naval warfare were dominated by Sailing Ships lasting from the 16th to the mid With seams caulked with tar, ropes greased with fat, and holds full of gunpowder, there was little that would not burn. Accidental fires destroyed many ships, so fire ships presented a terrifying threat.

With the wind in exactly the right direction a fire ship could be cast loose and allowed to drift onto its target, but in most battles fire ships were equipped with skeleton crews to steer the ship to the target (the crew were expected to abandon ship at the last moment and escape in the ship's boat). Fire ships were most devastating against fleets which were at anchor or otherwise restricted in movement. At sea, a well-handled ship could evade a fire ship and disable it with cannon fire. Other tactics were to fire at the ship's boats and other vessels in the vicinity, so that the crew could not escape and therefore might decide not to ignite the ship, or to wait until the fire ship had been abandoned and then tow it aside with small maneuverable vessels, such as galleys. A galley (from Greek γαλέα - galea is an ancient Ship which can be propelled entirely by human oarsmen, used for Warfare

During the period of the Crusades their use was frequent. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents In 1370 the English used them at Zuruckee. The English people (from the adjective in Englisc) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to England who predominantly speak English Their use peaked during the 18th and 19th centuries, with fireships such as HMS Pluto a permanent part of any naval fleet, ready to be deployed whenever necessary. Six ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Pluto, after Pluto, a God of Roman mythology: HMS ''Pluto'' was an 8-gun

Use in The Greek War of Independence

Constantine Kanaris (1793–1877) in escape boat after the fire ship attack on the Turkish flagship at the Greek island of Chios during the Greek War of Independence - Painting by Nikiforos Lytras
Constantine Kanaris (1793–1877) in escape boat after the fire ship attack on the Turkish flagship at the Greek island of Chios during the Greek War of Independence - Painting by Nikiforos Lytras
The attack on the Turkish flagship in the Gulf of Eressos at the Greek island of Lesvos by a fire ship commanded by Papanikolis during the Greek War of Independence - Painting by Volanakis
The attack on the Turkish flagship in the Gulf of Eressos at the Greek island of Lesvos by a fire ship commanded by Papanikolis during the Greek War of Independence - Painting by Volanakis

In the Greek War of Independence, 1821-1832, Greek fire ships were manned and sailed alongside a big Turkish ship (the flagship, if possible), attached to her with hooks, ropes and grips, and then set on fire by the captain alone when the crew was in the escape boat. Constantine Kanaris ( or Canaris, Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Κανάρης) (1793 or 1795September 14 1877 was a Greek admiral freedom The Greek War of Independence (1821–1829 also commonly known as the Greek Revolution (Ελληνική Επανάσταση Elliniki Epanastasi; Ottoman The Greek War of Independence (1821–1829 also commonly known as the Greek Revolution (Ελληνική Επανάσταση Elliniki Epanastasi; Ottoman The Greek War of Independence (1821–1829 also commonly known as the Greek Revolution (Ελληνική Επανάσταση Elliniki Epanastasi; Ottoman Year 1821 ( MDCCCXXI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Year 1832 ( MDCCCXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian As the small fire ships were more easy to handle compared with enemy ships of the line, especially in the coasts of the Aegean Sea where the islands, islets, reefs, gulfs and straits restrained big ships from being easily moved, they were a big danger for the ships of the Turkish fleet. A ship-of-the-line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th century through the mid-19th century to take part in the the naval tactic known as the Line of battle Many naval battles of the Greek war of independence were won by the use of fire ships.

Modern age, obsolescence

Operation Crossroads (Event Baker), conducted at Bikini Atoll (1946).
Operation Crossroads (Event Baker), conducted at Bikini Atoll (1946).

Soon after the beginning of the nineteenth century the decline of fire ships began, and the development of steam and the change from wood to iron in shipbuilding nearly destroyed their usefulness. A steam engine is a Heat engine that performs Mechanical work using Steam as its Working fluid. The use of fire ships was fully discontinued after the end of wooden fighting ships. An extension of the concept was however used in Operation Chariot of World War II, in which the old destroyer HMS Campbeltown was packed with explosives and rammed into the dry dock at Saint-Nazaire, France, to deny its use to the battleship Tirpitz, which could not drydock anywhere else on the French west coast. The St Nazaire Raid (also called Operation Chariot) was a successful British seaborne attack on the heavily defended docks of St World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including As USS Buchanan See also USS Buchanan (DD-131, L1=USS Buchanan USS Buchanan was a ''Wickes'' class destroyer ordered See also the St Nazaire Raid Saint-Nazaire ( Breton: Sant-Nazer) is a town and ''commune'' in the Loire-Atlantique département This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Operational history This battleship was launched on 1 April 1939 and she was planned to be deployed in a manner similar to the ''Bismarck'', as a Commerce raider

In 1946, as part of Operation Crossroads, the American landing ship LSM-60 demonstrated the potential of fire ships armed with nuclear weapons. Operation Crossroads was a series of Nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States in the summer of 1946 Landing craft are Boats and seagoing vehicles used to convey a Landing force ( Infantry and Vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an LSM-60 was a World War II era landing ship medium (LSM Amphibious assault ship of the US Navy. A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. A total of eight vessels were sunk in the test in addition to LSM-60 (which was obliterated), including the aircraft carrier Saratoga. An aircraft carrier is a Warship designed with Pre-War Years 1928 – 1940 Saratoga, the first fast carrier in the Navy quickly proved the value of her type

Notable uses

Notable fire ship attacks include:

References

Dictionary

fire ship

-noun

  1. (historical) A wooden ship set afire and then sent floating into an enemy flotilla, with the intent to set the enemy fleet afire too.
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