Weapons Systems

Ironclad Warship

Also Known As Ironclad

Modern, France and the United States

Citation Formats

General Reference

War and Military Atlas. "Ironclad Warship." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://military.interactiveatlas.org/weapons-systems/ironclad-warship.

APA Style

War and Military Atlas. (n.d.). Ironclad Warship. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://military.interactiveatlas.org/weapons-systems/ironclad-warship

BibTeX

@misc{warandmilitaryatlas-ironclad-warship,
  author = {War and Military Atlas},
  title = {Ironclad Warship},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://military.interactiveatlas.org/weapons-systems/ironclad-warship},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Ironclads were steam-propelled warships protected by iron or steel armor, built from 1859 to the early 1890s. The French Gloire, launched in 1859, was the first ocean-going ironclad, and the type first saw major combat in the American Civil War, most famously the 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads between the Union's USS Monitor and the Confederacy's CSS Virginia.

Facts

Weapon Class

steam-propelled armored warship 1

Introduced Year

1859 1

Cross-Tradition Connections