Blockship: Difference between revisions
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It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of [[HMS Hood (1891)|HMS ''Hood'']] at [[Portland Harbour]]; or it may be brought by enemy raiders and used to prevent the waterway from being used by the defending forces, as in the case of the three old [[cruiser]]s [[HMS Thetis (1890)|HMS ''Thetis'']], ''Iphigenia'' and [[HMS Intrepid|''Intrepid'']] scuttled during the [[Zeebrugge]] raid in 1918 to prevent the port from being used by the [[Germany|German]] navy. |
It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of [[HMS Hood (1891)|HMS ''Hood'']] at [[Portland Harbour]]; or it may be brought by enemy raiders and used to prevent the waterway from being used by the defending forces, as in the case of the three old [[cruiser]]s [[HMS Thetis (1890)|HMS ''Thetis'']], ''Iphigenia'' and [[HMS Intrepid|''Intrepid'']] scuttled during the [[Zeebrugge]] raid in 1918 to prevent the port from being used by the [[Germany|German]] navy. |
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In the |
In the 19th century, '''blockships''' were mobile sea batteries developed by the Royal Commission on Coast Defense. They were made around 1845 by converting old [[Ship of the line|ships of the line]] into floating [[Artillery battery|batteries]], equipped with a steam/screw propulsion system. <ref>Sondhaus, L. ''Naval Warfare, 1815-1914''</ref> Also called "steam guardships", these were conversions of smaller ships of the line cut down into floating batteries, with [[sailing ballast|ballast]] removed, and a jury rig installed with a medium 450 [[horsepower|hp]] (340 kW) engine for speeds of 5.8—8.9 [[kts]] (11—16 km/h). These ships, converted in 1846, were ''Blenheim'', [[HMS Ajax (1809)|''Ajax'']] and their sisters.<ref>''A Century of Naval Construction''</ref> |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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Revision as of 08:43, 25 September 2007
A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used.
It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of HMS Hood at Portland Harbour; or it may be brought by enemy raiders and used to prevent the waterway from being used by the defending forces, as in the case of the three old cruisers HMS Thetis, Iphigenia and Intrepid scuttled during the Zeebrugge raid in 1918 to prevent the port from being used by the German navy.
In the 19th century, blockships were mobile sea batteries developed by the Royal Commission on Coast Defense. They were made around 1845 by converting old ships of the line into floating batteries, equipped with a steam/screw propulsion system. [1] Also called "steam guardships", these were conversions of smaller ships of the line cut down into floating batteries, with ballast removed, and a jury rig installed with a medium 450 hp (340 kW) engine for speeds of 5.8—8.9 kts (11—16 km/h). These ships, converted in 1846, were Blenheim, Ajax and their sisters.[2]