![]() Britain, the dominant sea power, created a specialized power-projection battle fleet, deterring rival powers from challenging British interests. These included major fortress programs submarine mines new warship concepts, including the Monitor coast defense battleships torpedo boats and submarines. The critical role of sea power in the Crimean and the American Civil Wars prompted a proliferation of defensive systems to deny steam warships access to coasts, harbors, and rivers. While most studies examine the steam warship in a narrow naval context, their primary impact was strategic steam warships transformed the tactical capabilities of navies against shore-based defenses and the logistics of maritime power projection, enhancing the strategic role of sea power in war, deterrence, and diplomacy. Although technical histories have been produced since the early 20th century, they remain largely disconnected from academic study. Academic studies date back to the 1930s and, although still limited in extent, have increased markedly in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The subject has been dominated by design and technical histories, generally undervaluing political, economic, and strategic issues, while works in the latter fields tend to ignore technical development and overestimate capabilities. Compound and then triple expansion engines improved boilers and twin-screw propulsion, ending the need for sails outside the central Pacific. ![]() ![]() Iron hulls and armor plate reinforced the shift to steam propulsion: after 1870 steam warships slowly abandoned auxiliary sails. ![]() Initially conceived as auxiliaries for “conventional” sailing ship navies, a process that culminated in the paddle wheel warship of the 1830s and 1840s, steam capital ships emerged in the late 1840s, using screw propellers and compact engines in modified wooden sailing warships. Steam propulsion gave warships additional mobility, speed, and maneuverability, but its main impact was to enhance the strategic power of maritime forces. ![]() The steam warship was a transitional stage between warships powered by human muscle power or the wind, and the modern warship propelled entirely by mechanical means that emerged in the late 1880s. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |