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Naval ram

A ram was a weapon fitted to varied types of ships, dating back to antiquity. The weapon comprised an underwater prolongation of the bow of the ship to form an armoured beak, usually between 2 and 4 meters (6–12 ft) in length. This would be driven into the hull of an enemy ship to puncture, sink or disable it.

A ram on the bow of Olympias, a modern reconstruction of an ancient Athenian trireme.

Ancient rams edit

 
Lateral view
 
Frontal view
This Carthaginian naval ram from the Battle of the Aegates (First Punic War, 241 BC) was discovered in 2010 at a depth of 80 meters. Damage attributed to collision(s) with Roman ships (ram against ram) can be seen in front view. It carries a 35-character Punic inscription, offered as a supplication to the god Baal.

It was possibly developed in late Bronze age Egypt, but it only became widely used in later Iron age Mediterranean galleys.[1] The ram was a naval weapon in the Greek/Roman antiquity and was used in such naval battles as Salamis[2] and Actium. Naval warfare in the Mediterranean rarely used sails, and the use of rams specifically required oarsmen rather than sails in order to maneuver with accuracy and speed, and particularly to reverse the movement of a ramming ship to disentangle it from its sinking victim, lest it be pulled down when its victim sank. The Athenians were especially known for their diekplous and periplous tactics that disabled enemy ships with speed and ramming techniques.[3]

Rams were first recorded in use at the battle of Alalia in 535 BC.[4] There is evidence available to suggest that it existed much earlier, probably even before the 8th century BC. They appear first on stylized images found on Greek pottery and jewelry and on Assyrian reliefs and paintings.[5] The ram most likely evolved from cutwaters, structures designed to support the keel-stem joint and allow for greater speed and dynamism in the water.[6]

No later than the 7th century AD, rams were no longer used in the Mediterranean and the knowledge of the design of the ancient triremes had been forgotten. Medieval galleys instead developed a projection, or "spur", in the bow that was designed to break oars and to act as a boarding platform for storming enemy ships. The only remaining examples of ramming tactics were passing references to attempts to collide with ships in order to destabilize or capsize them.[7]

The Athlit ram edit

 
Front view
 
Rear view

The Athlit ram, found in 1980 off the coast of Israel near Atlit, is an example of an ancient ram. Carbon 14 dating of timber remnants date it to between 530 BC and 270 BC.[8]

Rams are believed to be one of the main weapons of war galleys from around the 6th or 5th century BC, and the Athlit ram's construction implies advanced technology that was developed over a long period of time. Heavy timbers were shaped and attached to the hull, and then the bronze ram was created to fit around the timbers for added strength. The evidence for this lies in the remnants of timbers found inside the Athlit ram when it was discovered. The blunt edge of the ram and the patterned protrusion were intended to break open the seams of the target ship while at the same time dispersing the force of impact on the attacking ship to prevent the ram from twisting off and damaging the attacking ship. It was also less likely to become stuck in the hull of its target.[9]

The Athlit ram consists of a single bronze casting weighing 465 kilograms (1,025 lb).[8] It is 226 centimetres (89 in) long with a maximum width of 76 centimetres (30 in) and a maximum height of 96 centimetres (38 in). The bronze that makes up the shell is a high-quality alloy containing 9.78% tin with traces of lead and other elements. The shell was cast as a single piece to match the timbers it protected.[10] The casting of an object as large as the Athlit ram was a complicated operation at the time, and would have been a considerable expense in the construction of a war galley.

The most likely casting method would have been the lost wax technique, which was commonly used for statues and other large casting during this period.[11] Flaws toward the rear of the casting indicate that it was cast "head down" so the best quality of metal was at the very front of the ram. Voids, bubbles, and insufficient filling in the initial casting were repaired using both "plugs" that were hammered into holes, and "casting on" where a new clay mould was built around the flaws and additional molten metal poured in.

The ram can be divided into roughly three sections – the driving centre, the bottom plate, and the cowl. The driving centre is 30 centimetres (12 in) long and 76 centimetres (30 in) wide.[11] This is the area of the ram that makes contact with enemy vessels in battle. The front wall of the head of the ram has the thickest layer of casting at 6.8 centimetres (2.7 in) for extra protection during battle. The surface of the ram was decorated with several symbols.[12] On both sides, there is an eagle head, a thunderbolt, and a helmet surmounted by an eight-point star. The eagle symbols are similar in dimension, but contain many inconsistencies with each other, whereas the helmet and thunderbolt are highly identical, suggesting they were duplicates made from a primary mold before being made part of the final wax master.[11] The ram was attached with mortise and tenon joints and strengthened with 15-millimetre (0.6 in) oak pegs. The wales and the ramming timber are designed to interlock for extra strength. The bottom of the ram features a mortise cut into the ramming timber to fit the most forward end of the keel which was formed into a 4-centimetre (1.6 in) thick and 10-centimetre (3.9 in) long tenon.[12]

Steam rams edit

 
USS General Price, a Union ram and gunboat, near Baton Rouge, LA, January 18, 1864
 
The atypical Confederate steam ram CSS Manassas

With the development of steam propulsion, the speed, power and maneuverability it allowed again enabled the use of the ship's hull, which could be clad in iron, as an offensive weapon. As early as 1840, the French admiral Nicolas Hippolyte Labrousse proposed building a ram steamship, and by 1860, Dupuy de Lôme had designed an ironclad with a ram.[13] The quick success[14] of CSS Virginia's ramming attack on USS Cumberland at the Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862 attracted much attention and caused many navies to re-think the ram. The first coastal battleship, France's Taureau, was built in 1863, for the purpose of attacking warships at anchor or in narrow straits, and was armed with a ram.[15] Many ironclad ships were designed specifically to ram opponents; in ships of this type, the armour belt was extended forward to brace both sides of the ram to increase structural integrity. Several wooden steamships were purpose-built as rams, or converted from existing commercial vessels, such as General Price.[citation needed]

 
The launch of the French ironclad Hoche in 1886, showing the prominent ram bow.

The theory behind the revival of the weapon derived from the fact that, in the period c. 1860, armour held superiority over the ship-mounted cannon. It was believed that an armoured warship could not be seriously damaged by the naval artillery in existence at the time, even at close range. To achieve a decisive result in a naval engagement, therefore, alternative methods of action were believed to be necessary. As it followed, from the same belief, that a ship armed with a ram could not be seriously damaged by the gunfire of its intended victim, the ram became, for a brief period, the main armament of many battleships. It was observed that the guns placed on the Taureau were there "with the sole function of preparing the way for the ram."[16]

 
The United States Ram Fleet was created by Charles Ellet, Jr. from nine converted commercial steamships

During the American Civil War, both Union and Confederate forces employed ram ships. In 1862, Charles Ellet, Jr. was deployed directly by the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, to build the United States Ram Fleet, a fleet of ram ships to counter the Confederate River Defense Fleet controlling the Mississippi River. Ellet purchased nine steam powered paddle boats and retrofit them for service as ram ships. The ram ships played an important part in the Union victory during the First Battle of Memphis and helped the Union forces wrest control of the Mississippi River from the Confederate forces.[17]

 
An 1876 cartoon from the magazine Punch, ridiculing rams.

The frequent use of ramming as a tactic in the Battle of Lissa and, to a lesser extent, at the Battle of Iquique also led to many late 19th-century naval designers equipping their warships with ram bows. This only really aggravated a number of incidents of ships being sunk by their squadron-mates in accidental collisions as ramming never featured as a viable battle tactic again. The fixation on ramming may also have inhibited the development of gunnery.

Toward the end of the 19th century, the breech-loading cannon could effectively hit enemy ships at several thousand yards range, and the ineffectiveness in battle of the ram became clear; ships were no longer fitted with them. Battleships and cruisers instead had inverted bows which superficially resembled rams. These were not, however, reinforced, and were fitted in order to improve ship speed by increasing the waterline length. They also served to decrease the length of forecastle that was exposed to muzzle flash when the guns were fired directly ahead.

No other ironclad was ever sunk by wartime ramming by an enemy ship, although the ram was regarded by all major navies for some 30 years as primary battleship armament. A number of ships were, however, rammed in peacetime by ships of their own navy. The most serious of these same-navy collisions in terms of loss of life was the collision between HMS Victoria and HMS Camperdown, which took place in the Mediterranean in 1893. A total of 358 seamen lost their lives in the incident.[18] However, that death toll was dwarfed by the 562 deaths (plus two rescuers) ensuing from the sinking of the passenger liner SS Utopia, which accidentally collided with the ram bow of the anchored HMS Anson in 1891.[19]

Twentieth century edit

 
Damage to the destroyer HMS Hesperus after it rammed the U-boat U-357; three months of repair were required

During both world wars, there were several occasions when surfaced submarines were rammed and sunk by surface ships. If successful, such an attack could cut the submarine in two, such as the 1914 sinking of U-15 by HMS Birmingham. The only battleship-over-submarine victory in history occurred during World War I, when the battleship HMS Dreadnought rammed and sank U-boat U-29. Submarines were strongly built to resist water pressure at depth, so the ramming ship could be badly damaged by the attack. This happened to HMS Fairy, which foundered in 1918, after sinking the U-boat UC-75. In March 1943, the destroyer HMS Harvester was badly damaged after ramming the German submarine U-444. She was sunk by another U-boat the next day as she sat helpless, without working engines.[20]

Ramming attacks during the Second World War included the ramming of U405 by USS Borie. The U-boat was not critically damaged and there followed a small-arms battle between the vessels as they were locked together and the U-boat was too close for Borie to bring her main guns to bear. The submarine eventually sank but Borie was too badly damaged by the ramming to be salvaged, so she was abandoned and deliberately sunk by Allied forces.

Other submarines sunk by ramming included U-100, U-224, U-655,[21] the Italian submarines Tembien[22] and Cobalto,[23] the Japanese submarine I-1[24] and the Royal Navy submarines HMS Oswald and HMS Cachalot. The Finnish submarine Vetehinen herself rammed and sank Soviet submarine ShCh-305 on 5 November 1942.

As ramming was the only weapon available to unarmed merchant ships, there were occasions when they attempted to ram U-boats. The British Admiralty in the First World War expected that some merchant captains might try to ram U-boats as much as twice the size of their own vessel and capable of much greater speed, if the situation favoured such a tactic.[25] In 1915, SS Brussels attempted, but failed, to ram U-33. Her captain, Charles Fryatt, was captured by the Germans a year later. He was court-martialled and executed as they considered his act to be that of a franc-tireur. The French steamer Molière sank the U-boat UC-36 in 1917.[26] An old British paddle steamer, SS Mona's Queen, rammed and sank a U-boat in February 1917.[27] In May 1918 SM UC-78 was sunk by the steamer Queen Alexandra,[28] and RMS Olympic rammed and sank U-103.[29]

During World War II, U-46 was struck by the British tanker SS Ensis. The submarine survived the ramming but had to return to port for repair.[30] The Italian merchant ship Antonietta Costa rammed and sank submarine HMS Rainbow while on a convoy from Bari to Durazzo.[31] Accidental ramming can also occur during wartime, such as in October 1942 when, during escort duty, the light cruiser HMS Curacoa was accidentally sliced in half and sunk by the significantly heavier (15x) ocean liner RMS Queen Mary, with the loss of 337 men.

On August 2, 1943, IJN Destroyer Amagiri rammed and sank a smaller, faster, and more maneuverable,[32] USN PT boat commanded by LtJG John F. Kennedy.[33]

Explosive motor boats which usually detonated after ramming their target were employed by the Italian and the Japanese navies in WWII. Italian type MTM boats rammed and crippled the cruiser HMS York and a Norwegian tanker at Suda Bay in 1941, while Shinyo suicide boats sank a number of US amphibious craft in the Pacific Theatre of operations in 1945.

Late in the century, ramming by major warships became the tactic of choice during the Cod Wars conflict between the Icelandic Coast Guard and the Royal Navy.[34] At least 15 British frigates, five Icelandic patrol boats and one British supply ship were damaged by ramming between 1975 and 1976.[35]

Towing tests of warships found that a below-water ram reduced resistance through the water, which led to the development of a non-reinforced bulbous bow where rams were formerly fitted.[36]

Torpedo ram edit

 
HMS Polyphemus's ram

The torpedo ram is a hybrid torpedo boat combining a ram with torpedo tubes. Incorporating design elements from the cruiser and the monitor, it was intended to provide a small and inexpensive weapon systems for coastal defence and other littoral combat.

Like monitors, torpedo rams operated with very little freeboard, sometimes with only inches of hull rising above the water, exposing only their funnels and turrets to direct enemy fire. They were equipped with torpedoes and guns in turrets. Early designs incorporated a spar torpedo that could be extended from the bow and detonated by ramming a target. Later designs used tube-launched self-propelled torpedoes, but retained the concept of ramming, resulting in designs like HMS Polyphemus, which had five torpedo tubes, two each port and starboard and one mounted in the centre of her reinforced ram bow.

Civilian use edit

 
Originally the Seattle fireboat Duwamish was built with a 'ram' bow.

Rams have also been used on civilian vessels. The Seattle fireboat Duwamish, built in 1909, was designed to ram burning wooden vessels, as a last resort.[37]

In fiction edit

In H. G. Wells' novel The War of the Worlds, the 'ironclad ram' HMS Thunder Child destroys at least two Martian fighting machines before it is sunk.

Several entries in the Assassin's Creed series of games allow the player to equip rams onto their ships.

Experimental archaeology edit

From 2021 to 2023, a team of nautical archaeologists from Texas A&M University successfully cast an ancient trireme-sized naval ram based on ancient methods. The project consisted of three major steps to replicate the construction process: false bow construction, beeswax model creation, and lost-wax casting. The purpose of the experimental reconstruction was to better understand the time, manpower, and materials needed to create naval rams which helped to understand the economic, social, and political apparatuses of ancient navies. The reconstructed naval ram, called the "DeCasien ram" after its builder Stephen DeCasien, is currently housed at the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation (CMAC) at Texas A&M University.[38]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Britannica: Ram".
  2. ^ Lazenby, J.F. The Defence of Greece 490–479 BC. Aris & Phillips Ltd., 1993 (ISBN 0-85668-591-7); pp. 34-37.
  3. ^ Coates, J., J. Morrison, and N. Rankov. The Athenian Trireme: The History and Reconstruction of an Ancient Greek Warship. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000
  4. ^ Morrison, Coates & Rankov (2000), pp. 27-30
  5. ^ Casson, L. "The Ancient Mariners: Seafarers and Sea Fighters of the Mediterranean in Ancient Times." Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991; pp. 76-77.
  6. ^ Mark, Samuel. "The Earliest Naval Ram." International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 37:253-272, March 2008.
  7. ^ Hocker, Frederick M. "Late Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic Galleys and Fleets". Morrison, John S.; Gardiner, Robert, eds. (1995). The Age of the Galley: Mediterranean Oared Vessels Since Pre-Classical Times. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-554-3; pp. 98–99.
  8. ^ a b Avshalom Zemer. "The Athlit Ram". Haifa Museums. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  9. ^ Mark, Samuel. "The Earliest Naval Ram." International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 37:253-272, March 2008
  10. ^ Mark, S. 2008. "The Earliest Naval Ram" The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 35: 261-4
  11. ^ a b c Oron, A. 2001. "The Athlit Ram: Classical and Hellenistic Bronze Casting Technology." MA. Thesis, Texas A&M University
  12. ^ a b Casson, L., J. Steffy, E. Linder. 1991. The Athlit Ram. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
  13. ^ Ropp, Theodore, and Stephen S. Roberts. The Development of a Modern Navy: French Naval Policy, 1871-1904. Naval Institute Press, 1987; p. 12.
  14. ^ Cumberland sank so quickly that it almost brought Virginia down as well.
  15. ^ Ropp and Roberts, p. 13; Hore, Peter: The Ironclads, page 38. Anness Publishing Ltd, 2006. ISBN 978-1-84476-299-6.
  16. ^ Ropp, Theodore, and Stephen S. Roberts. The Development of a Modern Navy: French Naval Policy, 1871-1904. Naval Institute Press, 1987; p. 13.
  17. ^ Laidig, Scott. "The Fighting Ellets: Ingenuity, Courage, Nepotism and Corruption?". www.ehistory.osu.edu. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  18. ^ Hough, Richard (1959). Admirals in Collision. London: Hamish Hamilton. pp. 98, 105–06.
  19. ^ "The Dead of the Utopia". The New York Times, 20 March 1891.
  20. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Harvester (H 19)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
  21. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "U-655". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
  22. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Hermione (74)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
  23. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Pathfinder (G 10)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
  24. ^ Waters, Sydney David (1956) The Royal New Zealand Navy, Page 307-309, Historical Publications Branch, Wellington.
  25. ^ Corkill, Adrian (2013). Hostile Sea. Adrian Corkill. p. 16. ISBN 9780954011529.
  26. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC 36". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
  27. ^ Ships of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (Fred Henry) p.66
  28. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC 78". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  29. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 103". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
  30. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "U-46". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
  31. ^ Fontenoy, Paul E. (2007). Submarines: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. ABC-CLIO. p. 282. ISBN 9781851095636.
  32. ^ Tarantola, Andrew. "PT Boats: The Only Fast Attack Craft Fit for a President". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  33. ^ "John F. Kennedy and PT 109 | JFK Library". www.jfklibrary.org. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  34. ^ Evans, Andrew (2008). Iceland: The Bradt Travel Guide. Bradt Travel Guides. pp. 25. ISBN 9781841622156.
  35. ^ Jones, Robert (2009) Safeguarding the Nation: The Story of the Modern Royal Navy. Seaforth Publishing, p. 119. ISBN 1848320434
  36. ^ Bertram, Volker; Schneekluth, H. (1998-10-15). Ship Design for Efficiency and Economy. Elsevier. ISBN 9780080517100.
  37. ^ James Delgado (1988). "Duwamish Fireboat: National Historic Landmark Study". National Park Service. from the original on 2009-05-05.
  38. ^ "How a Grad Student Built His Own Badass Ancient Naval Weapon". Popular Mechanics. 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2023-02-03.

Further reading edit

  • Adams, Jonathan R.; Antoniadou, Annita; Hunt, Chistopher O. (2012). "The Belgammel Ram, a Hellenistic-Roman Bronze Proembolion Found off the Coast of Libya: test analysis of function, date and metallurgy, with a digital reference archive" (PDF). International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. 42 (1): 60–75. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.738.4024. doi:10.1111/1095-9270.12001. S2CID 39339094. (PDF) from the original on 2016-08-28.

naval, weapon, fitted, varied, types, ships, dating, back, antiquity, weapon, comprised, underwater, prolongation, ship, form, armoured, beak, usually, between, meters, length, this, would, driven, into, hull, enemy, ship, puncture, sink, disable, olympias, mo. A ram was a weapon fitted to varied types of ships dating back to antiquity The weapon comprised an underwater prolongation of the bow of the ship to form an armoured beak usually between 2 and 4 meters 6 12 ft in length This would be driven into the hull of an enemy ship to puncture sink or disable it A ram on the bow of Olympias a modern reconstruction of an ancient Athenian trireme Contents 1 Ancient rams 1 1 The Athlit ram 2 Steam rams 2 1 Twentieth century 3 Torpedo ram 4 Civilian use 5 In fiction 6 Experimental archaeology 7 See also 8 References 9 Further readingAncient rams edit nbsp Lateral view nbsp Frontal viewThis Carthaginian naval ram from the Battle of the Aegates First Punic War 241 BC was discovered in 2010 at a depth of 80 meters Damage attributed to collision s with Roman ships ram against ram can be seen in front view It carries a 35 character Punic inscription offered as a supplication to the god Baal It was possibly developed in late Bronze age Egypt but it only became widely used in later Iron age Mediterranean galleys 1 The ram was a naval weapon in the Greek Roman antiquity and was used in such naval battles as Salamis 2 and Actium Naval warfare in the Mediterranean rarely used sails and the use of rams specifically required oarsmen rather than sails in order to maneuver with accuracy and speed and particularly to reverse the movement of a ramming ship to disentangle it from its sinking victim lest it be pulled down when its victim sank The Athenians were especially known for their diekplous and periplous tactics that disabled enemy ships with speed and ramming techniques 3 Rams were first recorded in use at the battle of Alalia in 535 BC 4 There is evidence available to suggest that it existed much earlier probably even before the 8th century BC They appear first on stylized images found on Greek pottery and jewelry and on Assyrian reliefs and paintings 5 The ram most likely evolved from cutwaters structures designed to support the keel stem joint and allow for greater speed and dynamism in the water 6 No later than the 7th century AD rams were no longer used in the Mediterranean and the knowledge of the design of the ancient triremes had been forgotten Medieval galleys instead developed a projection or spur in the bow that was designed to break oars and to act as a boarding platform for storming enemy ships The only remaining examples of ramming tactics were passing references to attempts to collide with ships in order to destabilize or capsize them 7 The Athlit ram edit nbsp Front view nbsp Rear viewThe Athlit ram Israeli National Maritime Museum The Athlit ram found in 1980 off the coast of Israel near Atlit is an example of an ancient ram Carbon 14 dating of timber remnants date it to between 530 BC and 270 BC 8 Rams are believed to be one of the main weapons of war galleys from around the 6th or 5th century BC and the Athlit ram s construction implies advanced technology that was developed over a long period of time Heavy timbers were shaped and attached to the hull and then the bronze ram was created to fit around the timbers for added strength The evidence for this lies in the remnants of timbers found inside the Athlit ram when it was discovered The blunt edge of the ram and the patterned protrusion were intended to break open the seams of the target ship while at the same time dispersing the force of impact on the attacking ship to prevent the ram from twisting off and damaging the attacking ship It was also less likely to become stuck in the hull of its target 9 The Athlit ram consists of a single bronze casting weighing 465 kilograms 1 025 lb 8 It is 226 centimetres 89 in long with a maximum width of 76 centimetres 30 in and a maximum height of 96 centimetres 38 in The bronze that makes up the shell is a high quality alloy containing 9 78 tin with traces of lead and other elements The shell was cast as a single piece to match the timbers it protected 10 The casting of an object as large as the Athlit ram was a complicated operation at the time and would have been a considerable expense in the construction of a war galley The most likely casting method would have been the lost wax technique which was commonly used for statues and other large casting during this period 11 Flaws toward the rear of the casting indicate that it was cast head down so the best quality of metal was at the very front of the ram Voids bubbles and insufficient filling in the initial casting were repaired using both plugs that were hammered into holes and casting on where a new clay mould was built around the flaws and additional molten metal poured in The ram can be divided into roughly three sections the driving centre the bottom plate and the cowl The driving centre is 30 centimetres 12 in long and 76 centimetres 30 in wide 11 This is the area of the ram that makes contact with enemy vessels in battle The front wall of the head of the ram has the thickest layer of casting at 6 8 centimetres 2 7 in for extra protection during battle The surface of the ram was decorated with several symbols 12 On both sides there is an eagle head a thunderbolt and a helmet surmounted by an eight point star The eagle symbols are similar in dimension but contain many inconsistencies with each other whereas the helmet and thunderbolt are highly identical suggesting they were duplicates made from a primary mold before being made part of the final wax master 11 The ram was attached with mortise and tenon joints and strengthened with 15 millimetre 0 6 in oak pegs The wales and the ramming timber are designed to interlock for extra strength The bottom of the ram features a mortise cut into the ramming timber to fit the most forward end of the keel which was formed into a 4 centimetre 1 6 in thick and 10 centimetre 3 9 in long tenon 12 Steam rams edit nbsp USS General Price a Union ram and gunboat near Baton Rouge LA January 18 1864 nbsp The atypical Confederate steam ram CSS ManassasWith the development of steam propulsion the speed power and maneuverability it allowed again enabled the use of the ship s hull which could be clad in iron as an offensive weapon As early as 1840 the French admiral Nicolas Hippolyte Labrousse proposed building a ram steamship and by 1860 Dupuy de Lome had designed an ironclad with a ram 13 The quick success 14 of CSS Virginia s ramming attack on USS Cumberland at the Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862 attracted much attention and caused many navies to re think the ram The first coastal battleship France s Taureau was built in 1863 for the purpose of attacking warships at anchor or in narrow straits and was armed with a ram 15 Many ironclad ships were designed specifically to ram opponents in ships of this type the armour belt was extended forward to brace both sides of the ram to increase structural integrity Several wooden steamships were purpose built as rams or converted from existing commercial vessels such as General Price citation needed nbsp The launch of the French ironclad Hoche in 1886 showing the prominent ram bow The theory behind the revival of the weapon derived from the fact that in the period c 1860 armour held superiority over the ship mounted cannon It was believed that an armoured warship could not be seriously damaged by the naval artillery in existence at the time even at close range To achieve a decisive result in a naval engagement therefore alternative methods of action were believed to be necessary As it followed from the same belief that a ship armed with a ram could not be seriously damaged by the gunfire of its intended victim the ram became for a brief period the main armament of many battleships It was observed that the guns placed on the Taureau were there with the sole function of preparing the way for the ram 16 nbsp The United States Ram Fleet was created by Charles Ellet Jr from nine converted commercial steamshipsDuring the American Civil War both Union and Confederate forces employed ram ships In 1862 Charles Ellet Jr was deployed directly by the Secretary of War Edwin M Stanton to build the United States Ram Fleet a fleet of ram ships to counter the Confederate River Defense Fleet controlling the Mississippi River Ellet purchased nine steam powered paddle boats and retrofit them for service as ram ships The ram ships played an important part in the Union victory during the First Battle of Memphis and helped the Union forces wrest control of the Mississippi River from the Confederate forces 17 nbsp An 1876 cartoon from the magazine Punch ridiculing rams The frequent use of ramming as a tactic in the Battle of Lissa and to a lesser extent at the Battle of Iquique also led to many late 19th century naval designers equipping their warships with ram bows This only really aggravated a number of incidents of ships being sunk by their squadron mates in accidental collisions as ramming never featured as a viable battle tactic again The fixation on ramming may also have inhibited the development of gunnery Toward the end of the 19th century the breech loading cannon could effectively hit enemy ships at several thousand yards range and the ineffectiveness in battle of the ram became clear ships were no longer fitted with them Battleships and cruisers instead had inverted bows which superficially resembled rams These were not however reinforced and were fitted in order to improve ship speed by increasing the waterline length They also served to decrease the length of forecastle that was exposed to muzzle flash when the guns were fired directly ahead No other ironclad was ever sunk by wartime ramming by an enemy ship although the ram was regarded by all major navies for some 30 years as primary battleship armament A number of ships were however rammed in peacetime by ships of their own navy The most serious of these same navy collisions in terms of loss of life was the collision between HMS Victoria and HMS Camperdown which took place in the Mediterranean in 1893 A total of 358 seamen lost their lives in the incident 18 However that death toll was dwarfed by the 562 deaths plus two rescuers ensuing from the sinking of the passenger liner SS Utopia which accidentally collided with the ram bow of the anchored HMS Anson in 1891 19 Twentieth century edit nbsp Damage to the destroyer HMS Hesperus after it rammed the U boat U 357 three months of repair were requiredDuring both world wars there were several occasions when surfaced submarines were rammed and sunk by surface ships If successful such an attack could cut the submarine in two such as the 1914 sinking of U 15 by HMS Birmingham The only battleship over submarine victory in history occurred during World War I when the battleship HMS Dreadnought rammed and sank U boat U 29 Submarines were strongly built to resist water pressure at depth so the ramming ship could be badly damaged by the attack This happened to HMS Fairy which foundered in 1918 after sinking the U boat UC 75 In March 1943 the destroyer HMS Harvester was badly damaged after ramming the German submarine U 444 She was sunk by another U boat the next day as she sat helpless without working engines 20 Ramming attacks during the Second World War included the ramming of U405 by USS Borie The U boat was not critically damaged and there followed a small arms battle between the vessels as they were locked together and the U boat was too close for Borie to bring her main guns to bear The submarine eventually sank but Borie was too badly damaged by the ramming to be salvaged so she was abandoned and deliberately sunk by Allied forces Other submarines sunk by ramming included U 100 U 224 U 655 21 the Italian submarines Tembien 22 and Cobalto 23 the Japanese submarine I 1 24 and the Royal Navy submarines HMS Oswald and HMS Cachalot The Finnish submarine Vetehinen herself rammed and sank Soviet submarine ShCh 305 on 5 November 1942 As ramming was the only weapon available to unarmed merchant ships there were occasions when they attempted to ram U boats The British Admiralty in the First World War expected that some merchant captains might try to ram U boats as much as twice the size of their own vessel and capable of much greater speed if the situation favoured such a tactic 25 In 1915 SS Brussels attempted but failed to ram U 33 Her captain Charles Fryatt was captured by the Germans a year later He was court martialled and executed as they considered his act to be that of a franc tireur The French steamer Moliere sank the U boat UC 36 in 1917 26 An old British paddle steamer SS Mona s Queen rammed and sank a U boat in February 1917 27 In May 1918 SM UC 78 was sunk by the steamer Queen Alexandra 28 and RMS Olympic rammed and sank U 103 29 During World War II U 46 was struck by the British tanker SS Ensis The submarine survived the ramming but had to return to port for repair 30 The Italian merchant ship Antonietta Costa rammed and sank submarine HMS Rainbow while on a convoy from Bari to Durazzo 31 Accidental ramming can also occur during wartime such as in October 1942 when during escort duty the light cruiser HMS Curacoa was accidentally sliced in half and sunk by the significantly heavier 15x ocean liner RMS Queen Mary with the loss of 337 men On August 2 1943 IJN Destroyer Amagiri rammed and sank a smaller faster and more maneuverable 32 USN PT boat commanded by LtJG John F Kennedy 33 Explosive motor boats which usually detonated after ramming their target were employed by the Italian and the Japanese navies in WWII Italian type MTM boats rammed and crippled the cruiser HMS York and a Norwegian tanker at Suda Bay in 1941 while Shinyo suicide boats sank a number of US amphibious craft in the Pacific Theatre of operations in 1945 Late in the century ramming by major warships became the tactic of choice during the Cod Wars conflict between the Icelandic Coast Guard and the Royal Navy 34 At least 15 British frigates five Icelandic patrol boats and one British supply ship were damaged by ramming between 1975 and 1976 35 Towing tests of warships found that a below water ram reduced resistance through the water which led to the development of a non reinforced bulbous bow where rams were formerly fitted 36 Torpedo ram editMain article Torpedo ram nbsp HMS Polyphemus s ramThe torpedo ram is a hybrid torpedo boat combining a ram with torpedo tubes Incorporating design elements from the cruiser and the monitor it was intended to provide a small and inexpensive weapon systems for coastal defence and other littoral combat Like monitors torpedo rams operated with very little freeboard sometimes with only inches of hull rising above the water exposing only their funnels and turrets to direct enemy fire They were equipped with torpedoes and guns in turrets Early designs incorporated a spar torpedo that could be extended from the bow and detonated by ramming a target Later designs used tube launched self propelled torpedoes but retained the concept of ramming resulting in designs like HMS Polyphemus which had five torpedo tubes two each port and starboard and one mounted in the centre of her reinforced ram bow Civilian use edit nbsp Originally the Seattle fireboat Duwamish was built with a ram bow Rams have also been used on civilian vessels The Seattle fireboat Duwamish built in 1909 was designed to ram burning wooden vessels as a last resort 37 In fiction editIn H G Wells novel The War of the Worlds the ironclad ram HMS Thunder Child destroys at least two Martian fighting machines before it is sunk Several entries in the Assassin s Creed series of games allow the player to equip rams onto their ships Experimental archaeology editFrom 2021 to 2023 a team of nautical archaeologists from Texas A amp M University successfully cast an ancient trireme sized naval ram based on ancient methods The project consisted of three major steps to replicate the construction process false bow construction beeswax model creation and lost wax casting The purpose of the experimental reconstruction was to better understand the time manpower and materials needed to create naval rams which helped to understand the economic social and political apparatuses of ancient navies The reconstructed naval ram called the DeCasien ram after its builder Stephen DeCasien is currently housed at the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation CMAC at Texas A amp M University 38 See also editDolphin weapon Inverted bow Marine archaeology Ramming at sea warfare Rostra speaker s platforms adorned with rams Rostral column commemorative columns adorned with rams nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Naval rams References edit Britannica Ram Lazenby J F The Defence of Greece 490 479 BC Aris amp Phillips Ltd 1993 ISBN 0 85668 591 7 pp 34 37 Coates J J Morrison and N Rankov The Athenian Trireme The History and Reconstruction of an Ancient Greek Warship Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2000 Morrison Coates amp Rankov 2000 pp 27 30 Casson L The Ancient Mariners Seafarers and Sea Fighters of the Mediterranean in Ancient Times Princeton Princeton University Press 1991 pp 76 77 Mark Samuel The Earliest Naval Ram International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 37 253 272 March 2008 Hocker Frederick M Late Roman Byzantine and Islamic Galleys and Fleets Morrison John S Gardiner Robert eds 1995 The Age of the Galley Mediterranean Oared Vessels Since Pre Classical Times London Conway Maritime Press ISBN 0 85177 554 3 pp 98 99 a b Avshalom Zemer The Athlit Ram Haifa Museums Archived from the original on 18 December 2012 Retrieved 18 October 2011 Mark Samuel The Earliest Naval Ram International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 37 253 272 March 2008 Mark S 2008 The Earliest Naval Ram The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 35 261 4 a b c Oron A 2001 The Athlit Ram Classical and Hellenistic Bronze Casting Technology MA Thesis Texas A amp M University a b Casson L J Steffy E Linder 1991 The Athlit Ram College Station Texas A amp M University Press Ropp Theodore and Stephen S Roberts The Development of a Modern Navy French Naval Policy 1871 1904 Naval Institute Press 1987 p 12 Cumberland sank so quickly that it almost brought Virginia down as well Ropp and Roberts p 13 Hore Peter The Ironclads page 38 Anness Publishing Ltd 2006 ISBN 978 1 84476 299 6 Ropp Theodore and Stephen S Roberts The Development of a Modern Navy French Naval Policy 1871 1904 Naval Institute Press 1987 p 13 Laidig Scott The Fighting Ellets Ingenuity Courage Nepotism and Corruption www ehistory osu edu Retrieved 16 August 2020 Hough Richard 1959 Admirals in Collision London Hamish Hamilton pp 98 105 06 The Dead of the Utopia The New York Times 20 March 1891 Helgason Gudmundur HMS Harvester H 19 German U boats of WWII uboat net Helgason Gudmundur U 655 German U boats of WWII uboat net Helgason Gudmundur HMS Hermione 74 German U boats of WWII uboat net Helgason Gudmundur HMS Pathfinder G 10 German U boats of WWII uboat net Waters Sydney David 1956 The Royal New Zealand Navy Page 307 309 Historical Publications Branch Wellington Corkill Adrian 2013 Hostile Sea Adrian Corkill p 16 ISBN 9780954011529 Helgason Gudmundur WWI U boats UC 36 German and Austrian U boats of World War I Kaiserliche Marine Uboat net Ships of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Fred Henry p 66 Helgason Gudmundur WWI U boats UC 78 German and Austrian U boats of World War I Kaiserliche Marine Uboat net Retrieved 23 February 2009 Helgason Gudmundur WWI U boats U 103 German and Austrian U boats of World War I Kaiserliche Marine Uboat net Helgason Gudmundur U 46 German U boats of WWII uboat net Fontenoy Paul E 2007 Submarines An Illustrated History of Their Impact ABC CLIO p 282 ISBN 9781851095636 Tarantola Andrew PT Boats The Only Fast Attack Craft Fit for a President Gizmodo Retrieved 2018 11 19 John F Kennedy and PT 109 JFK Library www jfklibrary org Retrieved 2018 11 19 Evans Andrew 2008 Iceland The Bradt Travel Guide Bradt Travel Guides pp 25 ISBN 9781841622156 Jones Robert 2009 Safeguarding the Nation The Story of the Modern Royal Navy Seaforth Publishing p 119 ISBN 1848320434 Bertram Volker Schneekluth H 1998 10 15 Ship Design for Efficiency and Economy Elsevier ISBN 9780080517100 James Delgado 1988 Duwamish Fireboat National Historic Landmark Study National Park Service Archived from the original on 2009 05 05 How a Grad Student Built His Own Badass Ancient Naval Weapon Popular Mechanics 2023 01 31 Retrieved 2023 02 03 Further reading editAdams Jonathan R Antoniadou Annita Hunt Chistopher O 2012 The Belgammel Ram a Hellenistic Roman Bronze Proembolion Found off the Coast of Libya test analysis of function date and metallurgy with a digital reference archive PDF International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 42 1 60 75 CiteSeerX 10 1 1 738 4024 doi 10 1111 1095 9270 12001 S2CID 39339094 Archived PDF from the original on 2016 08 28 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Naval ram amp oldid 1178730017, 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