A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship

Naval ship

A naval ship is a ship used for combat purposes, commonly by a navy. Naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose...

. Its primary armament was not cannon

Cannon

A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

 (long gun

Long gun

The term long gun is used to describe classes of firearm and cannon with longer barrels than other classes. In small arms, a long gun is designed to be fired braced against the shoulder, in contrast to a handgun, while in artillery a long gun would be contrasted with a howitzer or carronade.-Small...

s or carronade

Carronade

The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...

s)—although bomb vessels carried a few cannon for self-defence—but rather mortars

Mortar (weapon)

A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....

 mounted forward near the bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a ballistic arc. Explosive shells or carcasses were employed rather than solid shot. Bomb vessels were specialized ships designed for bombarding (hence the name) fixed positions on land. In more modern times, the same role was carried out by battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

s, cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

s and destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s, as well as the purpose-built World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

– and II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

–era monitor.

Development

It is generally accepted that the first bomb vessels were built at the end of the 17th century, based on the designs of Bernard Renau d'Eliçagaray, and used by the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

. They were first called gáliote à bombe (a word derived from the Dutch galliot denoting a short, beamy vessel well suited for the powerful downwards recoil). Five such vessels were used to shell Algiers in 1682 destroying the land forts, and killing some 700 defenders. Two years later the French repeated their success at Genoa. The early French bomb vessels had two forward-pointing mortars fixed side-by-side on the foredeck. To aim these weapons, the entire ship was rotated by letting out or pulling in a spring anchor

Anchor

An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...

. The range was usually controlled by adjusting the gunpowder charge. The French later adopted the word bombarde for this vessel, but it should not to be confused with the horizontal fire, stone throwing bombard

Bombard (weapon)

A bombard is a large-caliber, muzzle-loading medieval cannon or mortar, used chiefly in sieges for throwing heavy stone balls. The name bombarde was first noted and sketched in a French historical text around 1380. The modern term bombardment derives from this.Bombards were usually used during...

 of earlier centuries.

The French design was copied by the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, who continued to refine the class over the next century or more, after Huguenot

Huguenot

The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...

 exiles brought designs over to England and the United Provinces. The side-by-side, forward-pointing mortars were replaced in the British designs by mortars mounted on the centerline on revolving platforms. These platforms were supported by strong internal wooden framework to transmit the forces of firing the weapons to the hull. The interstices of the framework were used as storage areas for ammunition.
Early bomb vessels were rigged as ketch

Ketch

A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...

es with two masts

Mast (sailing)

The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...

. They were awkward vessels to handle

Seamanship

Seamanship is the art of operating a ship or boat.It involves a knowledge of a variety of topics and development of specialised skills including: navigation and international maritime law; weather, meteorology and forecasting; watchstanding; ship-handling and small boat handling; operation of deck...

, in part because bomb ketches typically had the masts stepped farther aft than would have been normal in other vessels of similar rig, in order to accommodate the mortars forward and provide a clear area for their forwards fire. As a result, by the 1800s British bomb vessels were designed as full rigged ship

Full rigged ship

A full rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel with three or more masts, all of them square rigged. A full rigged ship is said to have a ship rig....

s with three masts, and two mortars, one between each neighboring pair of masts. Bomb vessels often had the front rigging made of chain, to better withstand the muzzle blast of the mortars.

Mortars were the only kind of naval armament to fire explosive shells

Shell (projectile)

A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...

 rather than solid shot. Since it was considered dangerous to have large stocks of shells on board the ships that were firing them, and because the reinforced mortar platforms occupied so much space below decks, bomb vessels were usually accompanied by a tender to carry ammunition as well as the ordnance officers in charge of firing the mortars.

Bomb vessels were traditionally named after volcano

Volcano

2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...

es, or given other names suggestive of explosive qualities. Some were also given names associated with the underworld

Underworld

The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...

. Vessels of other types which were later converted to bombs generally retained their original names.

Bomb vessels were highly specialized and expensive to fit out and maintain, and only marginally suited for their secondary role as cruisers. Because bomb vessels were built with extremely strong hulls to withstand the recoil of the mortars, several were converted in peacetime as ships for exploration of the Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

 and Antarctic

Antarctic

The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...

 regions, where pack ice and icebergs were a constant menace. Most famously, these ships included HMS Erebus

HMS Erebus (1826)

HMS Erebus was a Hecla-class bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in Pembroke dockyard, Wales in 1826. The vessel was named after the dark region in Hades of Greek mythology called Erebus...

 and HMS Terror

HMS Terror (1813)

HMS Terror was a bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in the Davy shipyard in Topsham, Devon. The ship, variously listed as being of either 326 or 340 tons, carried two mortars, one and one .-War service:...

. In this case, the volcanoes – Mount Erebus

Mount Erebus

Mount Erebus in Antarctica is the southernmost historically active volcano on Earth, the second highest volcano in Antarctica , and the 6th highest ultra mountain on an island. With a summit elevation of , it is located on Ross Island, which is also home to three inactive volcanoes, notably Mount...

 and Mount Terror

Mount Terror (Antarctica)

Mount Terror is a large shield volcano that forms the eastern part of Ross Island, Antarctica. It has numerous cinder cones and domes on the flanks of the shield and is mostly under snow and ice. It is the second largest of the four volcanoes which make up Ross Island and is somewhat overshadowed...

 on Ross Island

Ross Island

Ross Island is an island formed by four volcanoes in the Ross Sea near the continent of Antarctica, off the coast of Victoria Land in McMurdo Sound.-Geography:...

 in Antarctica – were named after the ships, instead of vice-versa.
Although horizontal fire naval guns propelling explosive shells had entered all major navies by the 1840s (see Paixhans gun

Paixhans gun

The Paixhans gun was the first naval gun designed to fire explosive shells. It was developed by the French general Henri-Joseph Paixhans in 1822-1823.-Background:...

), there was still room for a specialized vessel on occasion. During the American Civil War, the Union fleet included armored gunboats armed with 13 inch mortars; the weapon weighed 17,250 lbs and its bedding another 4,500 lbs. They fired 204-lb shells, with a bursting charge of 7 lbs of gunpowder, and had a range of three miles. At this distance, the projectile spent 30 seconds in flight. They were used to attack several forts, for example Fort Pulaski, Georgia.

Notable bomb vessels and actions

• The bomb vessels Racehorse
  HMS Racehorse
  Ten ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Racehorse:*HMS Racehorse was an 8-gun privateer captured from the French in 1757. She was on Arctic discovery in 1773. Captured by the American Andrea Doria in 1776 and destroyed by the Royal Navy in 1777 at Delaware Bay.*HMS Racehorse was a...
  
   and Carcass
  HMS Carcass (1759)
  HMS Carcass was an of the Royal Navy, later refitted as a survey vessel. A young Horatio Nelson served aboard her as a midshipman on an expedition to the Arctic.-Design and construction:The Infernal class were designed by Thomas Slade...
  
   were further strengthened for an expedition of discovery to the North Pole
  North Pole
  The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
  
   in the 1770s. The uncompleted expedition included a young Horatio Nelson
  Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
  Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
  
  . http://historicaltextarchive.com/books.php?op=viewbook&bookid=3&cid=1

• Bomb vessels Discovery
  HMS Discovery (1789)
  HMS Discovery was a Royal Navy ship launched in 1789 and best known as the lead ship in George Vancouver's exploration of the west coast of North America in his famous 1791-1795 expedition. She was converted to a bomb vessel in 1798 and participated in the Battle of Copenhagen. Thereafter she...
  
  , Explosion, Hecla, Sulphur, Terror, Volcano
  HMS Volcano
  HMS Heron was originally the merchant vessel Jason, which the Admiralty purchased in 1804 for the Royal Navy for use as 16-gun ship-sloop under the name HMS Heron. During the Napoleonic Wars she served as a convoy escort on the Leeward Islands station. Then in 1810 the Admiralty had her converted...
  
  , and Zebra
  HMS Zebra (1780)
  HMS Zebra was an 16-gun Zebra-class sloop of the Royal Navy, launched on 31 August 1780 at Gravesend. She was the second ship to bear the name. After twenty years of service, including involvement in the West Indies campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars she was converted into a bomb...
  
   participated in the 1st Battle of Copenhagen
  Battle of Copenhagen (1801)
  The Battle of Copenhagen was an engagement which saw a British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker fight and strategically defeat a Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored just off Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson led the main attack. He famously disobeyed Parker's...
  
   in 1801.

• Thunder, Vesuvius, Aetna
  HMS Aetna (1803)
  HMS Aetna was one of the Royal Navy bomb vessels involved in the attack on Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore and the bombardment of Fort Washington, Maryland in 1814, during the War of 1812. In these actions she was commanded by Richard Kenah. Prior to this, Aetna participated in the second...
  
  , and Zebra
  HMS Zebra (1780)
  HMS Zebra was an 16-gun Zebra-class sloop of the Royal Navy, launched on 31 August 1780 at Gravesend. She was the second ship to bear the name. After twenty years of service, including involvement in the West Indies campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars she was converted into a bomb...
  
   participated in the 2nd Battle of Copenhagen
  Battle of Copenhagen (1807)
  The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in turn originate the term to Copenhagenize.-Background:Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in...
  
   in 1807.

• Thunder and Aetna
  HMS Aetna (1803)
  HMS Aetna was one of the Royal Navy bomb vessels involved in the attack on Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore and the bombardment of Fort Washington, Maryland in 1814, during the War of 1812. In these actions she was commanded by Richard Kenah. Prior to this, Aetna participated in the second...
  
   additionally participated in the Battle of the Basque Roads
  Battle of the Basque Roads
  The Battle of the Basque Roads, also Battle of Aix Roads was a naval battle during the Napoleonic Wars off the Island of Aix...
  
   in 1808 (this action was also notable for including three rocket vessel
  Rocket vessel
  A rocket vessel was a ship equipped with rockets as a weapon. The most famous ship of this type was HMS Erebus, which at the Battle of Baltimore in 1814 provided the "rockets' red glare" that was memorialized by Francis Scott Key in The Star-Spangled Banner.Rocket vessels were also used by the...
  
  s in support of the bombs).

• The "bombs bursting in air" recorded by Francis Scott Key
  Francis Scott Key
  Francis Scott Key was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet, from Georgetown, who wrote the lyrics to the United States' national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner".-Life:...
  
   at the Battle of Baltimore
  Battle of Baltimore
  The Battle of Baltimore was a combined sea/land battle fought between British and American forces in the War of 1812. It was one of the turning points of the war as American forces repulsed sea and land invasions of the busy port city of Baltimore, Maryland, and killed the commander of the invading...
  
   in 1814 were provided by the Volcano
  HMS Volcano
  HMS Heron was originally the merchant vessel Jason, which the Admiralty purchased in 1804 for the Royal Navy for use as 16-gun ship-sloop under the name HMS Heron. During the Napoleonic Wars she served as a convoy escort on the Leeward Islands station. Then in 1810 the Admiralty had her converted...
  
  , Meteor, Devastation
  HMS Devastation (1804)
  HMS Devastation was an 8-gun Royal Navy bomb vessel purchased in 1804 and sold in 1816. This was one of the ships involved in the attack on Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. She also participated in the bombardments of Fort Washington, Maryland and St. Marys,...
  
  , Aetna
  HMS Aetna (1803)
  HMS Aetna was one of the Royal Navy bomb vessels involved in the attack on Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore and the bombardment of Fort Washington, Maryland in 1814, during the War of 1812. In these actions she was commanded by Richard Kenah. Prior to this, Aetna participated in the second...
  
  , and a new Terror
  HMS Terror (1813)
  HMS Terror was a bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in the Davy shipyard in Topsham, Devon. The ship, variously listed as being of either 326 or 340 tons, carried two mortars, one and one .-War service:...
  
  .

• Bomb vessels were part of the British forces that attacked Fort St. Philip
  Fort St. Philip
  Fort St. Philip is a decommissioned masonry fort located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, about up river from its mouth in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana...
  
   in January 1815, during the War of 1812. This engagement is known as the Siege of Fort St. Philip
  Siege of Fort St. Philip (1815)
  The Siege of Fort St. Philip was a battle during the War of 1812, between a British naval force and the American garrison of Fort St. Philip. The siege lasted from January 9 to January 18, 1815 just after the British defeat at New Orleans.-Background:...
  
  .

• Another Hecla
  HMS Hecla (1815)
  HMS Hecla was a Royal Navy Hecla-class bomb vessel of 372 tons. Launched on 15 July 1815, she saw wartime service in an attack on Barbary pirates at Algiers in August, 1816...
  
   and her sister ship Fury
  HMS Fury (1814)
  HMS Fury was a Hecla-class bomb vessel. Built in the 1810s, she saw wartime service in an attack on Barbary pirates at Algiers in August, 1816, captained by Constantine Richard Moorsom. The ship after it left his command was converted to an Arctic exploration ship.The Fury made two journeys to the...
  
   were used by William Edward Parry
  William Edward Parry
  Sir William Edward Parry was an English rear-admiral and Arctic explorer, who in 1827 attempted one of the earliest expeditions to the North Pole...
  
   on a series of voyages to the Arctic
  Arctic
  The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
  
   between 1819 and 1827.

• Erebus
  HMS Erebus (1826)
  HMS Erebus was a Hecla-class bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in Pembroke dockyard, Wales in 1826. The vessel was named after the dark region in Hades of Greek mythology called Erebus...
  
   and another Terror
  HMS Terror (1813)
  HMS Terror was a bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in the Davy shipyard in Topsham, Devon. The ship, variously listed as being of either 326 or 340 tons, carried two mortars, one and one .-War service:...
  
   served as exploration vessels in the expeditions of James Clark Ross
  James Clark Ross
  Sir James Clark Ross , was a British naval officer and explorer. He explored the Arctic with his uncle Sir John Ross and Sir William Parry, and later led his own expedition to Antarctica.-Arctic explorer:...
  
   to the Antarctic
  Antarctic
  The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
  
   in 1840–1843, and of John Franklin
  John Franklin
  Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...
  
   to the Arctic
  Arctic
  The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
  
   in 1845–1848. Terror
  HMS Terror (1813)
  HMS Terror was a bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in the Davy shipyard in Topsham, Devon. The ship, variously listed as being of either 326 or 340 tons, carried two mortars, one and one .-War service:...
  
   had also previously been used by George Back
  George Back
  Admiral Sir George Back FRS was a British naval officer, explorer of the Canadian Arctic , naturalist and artist.-Career:...
  
   in his 1836–1837 Arctic
  Arctic
  The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
  
   expedition.

In fiction

The Commodore

The Commodore

The Commodore is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester. It was published in the United States under the title Commodore Hornblower.-Plot summary:...

 (published 1945), a Horatio Hornblower

Horatio Hornblower

Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and television programs.The original Hornblower tales began with the 1937 novel The Happy Return Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy...

 novel written by C. S. Forester

C. S. Forester

Cecil Scott "C.S." Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith , an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen...

, features several actions by British Bomb Vessels. The text includes a highly detailed account of the procedures used to load the mortars and aim, which involved anchoring fore-and-aft, receiving feedback from shot monitors, and precisely adjusting the aim using a spring-line attached to a windlass to adjust the direction of the shot, and by using sometimes tiny adjustments in the amount of charge to adjust the range. It is worth noting that Hornblower's vessels are named "Harvey" and "Moth", suggesting that Forester might have been unaware of the historical naming conventions. A later book Hornblower in the West Indies

Hornblower in the West Indies

Hornblower in the West Indies, or alternately Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies is one of the novels in the series CS Forester wrote about fictional Royal Navy officer Horatio Hornblower....

, features a small portable "ship's mortar" mounted in a boat, and used to bombard a target during a riverine operation.

Recommended reading

• Lavery, Brian: Nelson's Navy. ISBN 1-59114-611-9.
• Ware, Chris: The Bomb Vessel. ISBN 1-55750-071-1.
• Naval History of Great Britain