Why did explosive shells make wooden warships more vulnerable?

Explosive shells made wooden warships significantly more vulnerable than traditional solid iron cannonballs due to their destructive internal impact and incendiary effects.

While solid shot was designed primarily to punch holes through a ship's hull, explosive shells were engineered with thicker walls to penetrate the wooden structure before detonating inside the vessel. This internal explosion caused far greater structural damage and posed a severe fire hazard to the ship's wooden frame and internal components. The effectiveness of this new armament was demonstrated in 1824, when shell guns showed remarkable incendiary power against a test frigate, and later in 1853, when a Russian fleet used them to dramatically destroy a Turkish squadron at the Battle of Sinop.1

The introduction of these shells, championed by figures like Henri-Joseph Paixhans, ultimately rendered the traditional wooden ship of the line obsolete, forcing navies to transition toward the development of ironclad warships to withstand such devastating firepower.1