However, they are still arguably superior overall due to their better reloading, hull strength, and morale as well as their lower expense to train and maintain. Ironclads are unique in that they are the only ship type where Great Britain is inferior in an aspect: British ironclads have poorer accuracy than those of other factions. Some factions' ship statistics are different from others differences are listed below (traits that to not differ are not listed). While ironclads are superior defensively, they are offensively nearly identical to 80-gun Steam Ships and 80-gun ships-of-the-line, which are cheaper to build and have fewer requirements. Conversely, ironclads can easily outrun ships that bear more cannon, and even if they are trapped and outgunned, their hulls can take an apocalyptic beating before sinking. They beat almost any ship in a head to head fight, and even fast ships may have difficulty evading them. Certain factions, such as France and Spain, have ships that have more firepower or more cannon however, ironclads are unmatched in terms of hull strength except when compared to the Santissima Trinidad. Their only weaknesses lie in their high cost and the lateness in which they may be acquired. Ironclads represent the most powerful ships in most rosters, boasting nearly unmatched hull strength, excellent speed, and devastating firepower. Warrior was launched specifically to steal French thunder and make their ship obsolete, being commissioned and built while the French vessel was still on the slipway. The first ocean-going ironclad warships were HMS Warrior and the French Navy’s La Gloire, launched during yet another arms race between Britain and France. These vessels were not, however, the first ironclad warships they were heavy river gunboats or monitors, and almost incapable of going to sea. During the Battle of Hampton Road CSS Virginia made short work of the wooden ships in the river, but an encounter next day with USS Monitor ended inconclusively, as neither ship could knock out the other. Historically, ironclads first saw action during the American Civil War (1861-65). This power is not without risk, though, as a boiler explosion will rip out the heart of any steamship.

Combined with a steamship’s ability to ignore the wind and go where the captain wills, this makes an ironclad a formidable opponent.

A thick outer skin of iron is riveted to a conventional wooden hull, and the two layers can defeat most solid shot except at very close range. This steamship carries an extra covering of iron plates, armouring the already strong wooden hull.Īn ironclad is an incredibly tough ship, able to withstand pounding by almost any comparable vessel. The Ironclad is a type of steam ship of the line in Napoleon: Total War.

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