![]() ( February 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)įrench fireship at anchorage. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ![]() Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. This section needs additional citations for verification. Ships used as fire ships were either warships whose munitions were fully spent in battle, surplus ones which were old and worn out, or inexpensive purpose-built vessels rigged to be set afire, steered toward targets, and abandoned quickly by the crew.Įxplosion ships, or hellburners, were a variation on the fire ship, intended to cause damage by blowing up in proximity to enemy ships.įireships were used to great effect by the outgunned English fleet against the Spanish Armada during the Battle of Gravelines, the Dutch in the raid on the Medway, Chinese warlord Sun Quan in the Battle of Red Cliffs, and the Greeks in their war of independence. The Burning of the Royal James at the Battle of Solebay, Ī fire ship, or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship, filled with gunpowder or other combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. For other uses, see Fire ship (disambiguation). For the firefighting vessel, see Fireboat. This article is about a ship deliberately set on fire.
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