Ironclad
F1. Maritime HistoryDefinition
Mid-nineteenth century iron-armored warship; HMS Warrior and CSS Virginia are early examples.
The ironclad was the mid-nineteenth-century warship protected by wrought-iron armor plate, marking the end of the wooden ship of the line. The French Gloire of 1859 and the British HMS Warrior of 1860 were the first seagoing examples; the 1862 clash of USS Monitor and CSS Virginia at Hampton Roads showed armor and the rotating turret rendering wooden navies obsolete in a single afternoon. Within two decades the ironclad evolved into the steel battleship. HMS Warrior is preserved at Portsmouth.