Naval warfare: Difference between revisions

==== 19th century ====

[[File:The Monitor and Merrimac.jpg|thumb|The first battle between ironclads: [[CSS Virginia|CSS ''Virginia''/''Merrimac'']] (left) vs. {{USS|Monitor}}, in 1862 at the [[Battle of Hampton Roads]]]]

Trafalgar ushered in the ''[[Pax Britannica]]'' of the 19th century, marked by general peace in the world's oceans, under the ensigns of the Royal Navy. But the period was one of intensive experimentation with new technology; [[steam power]] for ships appeared in the 1810s, improved [[metallurgy]] and machining technique produced larger and deadlier guns, and the development of explosive [[shell (projectile)|shells]], capable of demolishing a wooden ship at a single blow, in turn required the addition of iron armour.