Types of Military Ship
Throughout history, one of the primary uses for seafaring vessels has been military, to defend a country's waters or assert its supremacy at sea. Here are some of the most significant types of warship, both historical and modern.
Galleon
Like many types of ship prior to the modern age, these could be used for either commercial or military purposes, according to Wikipedia. However, they were distinguishable by their multiple decks and by the demi-culverin cannons they used for defense. They were key to Spain's dominance of the seas, as well as its exploration of the New World. A galleon designed for battle, rather than exploration or commerce, was referred to as a Man-o-War. The galleon is the ship most commonly associated with pirates.
A diagram of the different parts that compose a galleon is available here.
Ironclad
The ironclad was the bridge between wooden warships and modern steel ones. It was protected with steel plates, but was made of timber. Its heyday was the 1860s through the beginning of the 20th century. History's enduring image of the ironclad is the Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862, where two ironclad ships, the U.S.S. Monitor and the Confederate Merrimac/Virginia, fired cannons at each other's iron hulls during the Civil War.
Dreadnought
The next development in warships would come with the HMS Dreadnought, developed by the British Navy in 1905. The technology used for this ship was so influential that for much of the rest of the 20th century, battleships would come to be known as "Dreadnoughts." The original Dreadnought had torpedo tubes underwater, big guns above water and a steel hull that could repel any armaments of the era. To make matters worse, it was the fastest thing on the seas. The Germans labored to catch up, and by the outbreak of World War I, the massive dreadnought had become almost commonplace.
Submarine
Though it isn't technically a ship, no modern world-class navy would be without a submarine. Submarines, which travel underwater and are used in the modern era for both military and scientific research purposes, have been in existence in one form or another since the 16th century, and by some sources since the age of Alexander the Great. However, it was not until World War I that submarines began to be mass produced, with U-boats being a German specialty.
In World War II, America distinguished itself in the field of submarine warfare. According to the site "Fast Attacks and Boomers," submarines comprised only 2 percent of America's navy, but sank 30 percent of Japan's navy.
