warship

Introduction
The age of oar and ram
- Egypt
- Crete
- Phoenicia
- Greece
  - Biremes and triremes
  - Later developments
- Rome
- The Byzantine Empire
- Viking vessels
The age of gun and sail
- Gun-armed warships
- From oar to sail
  - The galleass
  - The galleon
- Ship of the line
- Frigates and smaller vessels
The age of steam and iron
- Toward the ironclad
  - Propulsion
  - Armament
  - Armour
- Toward the battleship
  - Ships
  - Armour
  - Armament
The age of big gun and torpedo
- Armament
  - Guns
  - Torpedoes
- Armour
- Propulsion
  - Steam turbines
  - Fuel
  - Internal combustion
- Battleships
- Cruisers
- Destroyers
The age of the aircraft carrier
- The last capital ships
- Aircraft carriers
  - World War I
  - Improvements between the wars
  - World War II
- Destroyers and escort ships
- Torpedo boats
- Amphibians
The age of the guided missile
- Propulsion
  - Nuclear power
  - Gas turbines
- Armour
- Aircraft carriers
  - Large carriers
  - Light carriers
- Fleet escort ships
  - Cruisers
  - Destroyers and frigates

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Medieval illustration showing a Byzantine dromon crew spraying Greek fire at an enemy ship, with Greek text above and below the scene.

Exhumed Viking ship with a tall, curved prow on display inside the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway, surrounded by stone flooring and visitors in the background.

Quizzes

Nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Carl vinson plows through the Indian ocean as aircraft on its flight deck are prepared for flight operations 3/15/05.

Ships and Underwater Exploration

Related Questions

How did breaking an enemy battle line help a fleet gain an advantage?
How did broadside guns affect the way sailing warships fought?
How did coaling stations support the operations of 19th-century steam-powered navies?
How did convoys protect merchant ships during naval wars?
How did corvettes frigates and destroyer escorts protect merchant convoys in World War II?
How did iron and steel armour improve the protection of warships?
How did radar reduce the danger of surface torpedo attacks on fleets?
How did ships of the line arrange their cannons across several gun decks?
How did steam propulsion create new fuel and logistics challenges for naval fleets?
How did the attack on Pearl Harbor demonstrate the power of aircraft carriers?
How did the compass contribute to the growth of long-distance ocean navigation?
How did the line-ahead formation allow warships to fire their broadsides effectively?
How did the stern rudder improve the steering of sailing ships?
How do warships protect merchant shipping during wartime?
How does a naval blockade attempt to weaken an enemy during war?
How have warships supported amphibious landings on enemy coastlines?
How were ships of the line different from frigates?
What duties did frigates perform for sailing battle fleets?
Why are nuclear-armed submarines difficult for an enemy to locate?
Why did aircraft carriers become more important than battleships during World War II?
Why did ancient galley fleets require so many rowers?
Why did battleships become the dominant surface warships in the late 19th century?
Why did ocean-going ships need greater freeboard than low-sided galleys?
Why did sail propulsion replace oars on major European warships?
Why did warships need supply ships repair ships and naval bases to remain at sea?
Why was the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 important in the history of galley warfare?
Why were Spanish Armada ships less effective at long-range gun battles than English ships?
Why were early oared warships built long and narrow?

History Wars, Battles & Armed Conflicts

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warship

Also known as: fighting ship, man-of-war

Written by

John F. Guilmartin

Associate Professor of History, Ohio State University, Columbus. Author of Gunpowder and Galleys: Changing Technology and Mediterranean Warfare at Sea in the Sixteenth Century and others.

John F. GuilmartinAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

History

warship, the chief instrument by which military power is projected onto the seas. Warships protect the movement over water of military forces to coastal areas where they may be landed and used against enemy forces; warships protect merchant shipping against enemy attack; they prevent the enemy from using the sea to transport military forces; and they attack the enemy’s merchant shipping. Naval ships are also used in blockade—i.e., in attempts to prevent an enemy from...

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