A battleship is a large, heavily armored warship with a main battery consisting of large-caliber guns, designed to serve as capital ships with the most intense firepower. Before the rise of supercarriers, battleships were among the largest and most formidable weapon systems ever built.
The firepower of a battleship's main armament demonstrated by USS Iowa unleashing a broadside volley, during which the muzzle blasts from its 16-inch main guns distort the surrounding ocean surface.
Napoléon (1850), the world's first steam-powered battleship
The French Gloire (1859), the first ocean-going ironclad warship
HMS Warrior (1860), the Royal Navy's first ocean-going iron-hulled warship
Naval armor refers to the various protections schemes employed by warships. The first ironclad warship was created in 1859, and the pace of armour advancement accelerated quickly thereafter. The emergence of battleships around the turn of the 20th century saw ships become increasingly large and well armoured. Vast quantities of heavily armoured ships were used during the World Wars, and were crucial in the outcome. The emergence of guided missiles in the last part of the 20th century has greatly reduced the utility of armor, and most modern warships are now only lightly armored.
Illustration of turtle ship based on a ship that existed in 1795 and that was believed to be similar to the variants constructed in the 1590s.
HMS Warrior during her third commission between 1867 and 1871
Sloped armour on the front of Soviet T-54 tank, here cut open to demonstrate the increase in effective thickness.
HMS Glatton in drydock, circa 1914–1918, showing its anti-torpedo bulge
