Flat-iron gunboats (more formally known as Rendel gunboats) were a number of classes of coastal gunboats generally characterised by small size, low freeboard, the absence of masts,Some Rendel-type gunboats were fitted with masts (the British Medina class, the Russian Sivutch class and at least some of the Chinese alphabeticals); they are included in the article for completeness and the mounting of a single non-traversing large gun, aimed by pointing the vessel. They acquired their nickname from the physical similarity with the flat iron used for ironing clothes during the 19th century.
The first flat-iron gunboat was launched in 1867, and the last in 1894, with the vast majority being built in the years 1870–1880. They were designed as a cheap coastal defence weapon, a role they failed to achieve successfully; they found their greatest utility in offensive coastal bombardment. Strongly built, they lasted in some cases into the late 20th century, and saw action in both World Wars. The hull of the British flat-iron Medway lies in shallow water off Bermuda. The Norwegian flat-iron Tyr remains in service under the name Bjorn West, at last report entering Eidsvik shipyard in May 2014 for restoration.
Origin In 1867 Sir W G Armstrong & Company signed an agreement with a local shipbuilder, Dr. Charles Mitchell, whereby Mitchell's shipyard would build warships and Armstrong's company would provide the armaments. George Rendel was put in charge of the new venture, and the vessels designed under his leadership were based on a small craft used by the Armstrong factory to test heavy guns. With the assistance of the leading gunnery expert Admiral Sir Astley Cooper-Key, he turned these craft into a gunboat designed for defensive coastal operations.Preston, pp.10–11
Description
A typical flat-iron gunboat displaced about 250 tons, had a length of less than and drew only . It was armed with a single large gun (normally 10 to 12 inches, but in the case of the Italian Castore class, a massive 16-inch weapon). The gun, which was mounted at the bow, was designed to be raised and lowered on a hydraulic mechanism so that stability would not be compromised when making sea passages. The gun was aimed by pointing the whole vessel, since the mounting allowed for elevation but not traversing (in the manner of an enormous punt gun). No rigging of any sort was provided, and twin screws were fitted, allowing for a much reduced draught while at the same time making them highly manoeuvrable. Top speed would have been less than , but they were designed to be towed at considerably higher speeds than they were capable of making under their own power. The crew would have numbered about 30 men. Larger variations were built, with the German Wespe-class gunboats displacing as much as 1,157 tons. Masted versions were produced, particularly for navies with inadequate coaling facilities and long coastlines, and commensurate with an increase in displacement, armament and rigging, crews increased to match, with the Wespe class needing 76 men.
The original design was intended for defensive coastal operations, but was employed by the Royal Navy largely for offensive coastal bombardment, and in this sense was a natural successor to the Crimean gunboats of the "Great Armament" and the bomb vessels of the Napoleonic Wars. Operations of this nature require command of the sea, a situation which the Royal Navy could impose by virtue of its battlefleet throughout the period.
Few other navies of the time could hope to exercise much more than local sea control for limited periods, and these vessels were of limited use for shore bombardment in the hands of smaller or less effective operators. Nevertheless, these small vessels with their powerful punch were clearly attractive to the small and medium-size navies of the late 19th century, since they offered the status of big guns without the cost of large warships. This may account for some of the later vessels carrying monstrous 15- and 16-inch guns; flat-irons armed in this fashion were not used for long, probably because their weapons were all but useless except against a stationary target in a flat calm. The defining failure of flat-iron gunboats as coastal defence weapons was in China, where British-built gunboats were used against the French, at the Battle of Fuzhou, and the Japanese, at the Battle of Weihaiwei. In general the flat-iron gunboats found themselves outmanoeuvred and smothered by shellfire from the more stable enemy cruisers; many failed to get off more than one or two shots.
In contrast to their failure as coastal defence gunboats, the occasions when they were used for coastal bombardment were more successful; Argentine gunboats were used in 1890 to bombard rebels during the Revolution of the Park, Greek gunboats bombarded Turkish forces during the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and both Bustard and Excellent (formerly HMS Handy) were part of the force that bombarded the Belgian coast during World War I. According to Professor Andrew Lambert the Royal Navy flat-irons succeeded in their task of deterrence, and were a key asset to the capability of coastal offensive operations.Preston p.11
Operators Australia
The Australian colonies of the British Empire purchased a number of gunboats for coastal defence during the 1880s, and while they were described as "flat-irons", they were masted, and Protector was almost the size of a light cruiser. The remains of both Protector and Gayundah remain visible today.
ClassVesselsTonnageGunsRemarksHMVS Albert8-inch (12.5-ton) BLArmstrong type B1HMVS Victoria10-inch (25-ton) BL & 2 × 13-pdr BLsArmstrong type DHMCS Protector8-inch (12.5-ton) BL, 5 × 6-in (4-ton) BLs, 4 × 3-pdrsArmstrong type F1Gayundah class8-inch (12.5-ton) BL & 6-inch (4-ton) BLArmstrong type B1
Argentina Argentina purchased four flat-iron gunboats from Laird Brothers, Birkenhead and J & G Rennie & Co, Greenwich,Sondhaus p.153 in 1875; they were grouped in two classes: Pilcomayo and Constitución. Described as bombarderas (bombarders) in Argentina, they were later variously employed as tankers, transports and pontoons, in some cases into the 1950s.
ClassVesselsTonnageGunsRemarksPilcomayo class MLR & 2 × gunsScrapped in 1930sConstitución class MLR & 2 × gunsScrapped in 1950s
Chile The Chilean government entered into talks to purchase two vessels similar to the Argentine units, but did not see the purchase through.Historia y Arqueología Marítima - Los Cañoneros Rendell (Spanish)
China Between 1875 and 1880 China purchased 13 flat-iron gunboats from Britain and built another (Tiong Sing) at Shanghai.Sondhaus p.133 After the two Jiansheng class, the British-built boats were given names from the Greek alphabet, from Alpha through to Lambda, thus becoming known as the "alphabetical" gunboats. Although quickly given Chinese names, the class names seem to have stuck. A further pseudo-Rendel gunboat (Hoi Tung Hung) was built locally to the lines of the "alphabetical" flat-irons, but constructed from wood sheathed in iron. Fusheng and Jiansheng were lost in the Battle of Fuzhou in 1884 at the beginning of the Sino-French War.Sondhaus p.152 Four Chinese Rendel gunboats also took part in the Battle of the Yalu River against the Japanese in 1894.H W Wilson, Ironclads in action; a sketch of naval warfare from 1855 to 1895, with some account of the development of the battleship in England, Sampson Low, Marston & Co, London. 1896. Eight Chinese flat-iron gunboats were sunk or captured by Japan at the battle of Weihaiwei in 1895.
ClassVesselsTonnageGunsRemarksJiansheng classDestroyed at the Battle of Fuzhou in 1884Tiong SingBuilt at Shanghai. Destroyed at Weihaiwei by the Japanese NavyAlpha classScrapped in 1895Gamma classDecommissioned in 1905Hoi Tung HungNot strictly a flat-iron. Built of wood sheathed with iron in imitation of the "alphabetical" flat-irons.Destroyed at Weihaiwei by the Japanese NavyEpsilon class, 2 × 12-pdrCaptured at Weihaiwei by the Japanese NavyIota class, 2 × 12-pdrTwo captured at Weihaiwei by the Japanese Navy
Denmark Five boats in three classes were built in Danish shipyards in 1874 to 1876. Three were decommissioned at the turn of the 20th century, and the other two were decommissioned after World War I having served as repair ships.
ClassVesselsTonnageGunsRemarksOresund class & 4 × 1-pdrsScrapped between 1912 and 1919Moen class, 2 × 2-pdrs, 1 × 1-pdrScrapped in 1901Falster class, 2 × 2-pdrs, 1 × 1-pdrScrapped in 1918
Germany
The German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) built eleven large Rendel gunboats (Panzerkanonenboot) of the Wespe class at AG Weser, Bremen between 1875 and 1881. One, SMS Salamander, was lost in 1910. Two smaller gunboats of Brummer class were built later in 1884.
ClassVesselsTonnageGunsRemarksWespe-class gunboatsDecommissioned 1909 - 1911Brummer classDecommissioned 1903 - 1907
Greece
In 1881, Greece had two Rendel gunboats built at the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company for the shallow waters of the Ambracian Gulf. They saw action in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and Balkan Wars, served the Piraeus and Keratsini net barrage during World War I and were scrapped after World War I.
ClassVesselsTonnageGunsRemarksSpetses, 1 × 6-inchRenamed Akteon in 1889. Scrapped in 1919Amvrakia, 1 × 6-inchScrapped in 1931
Italy Italy built two Rendel gunboats at Spezia Dockyard in 1874.Anderson, p.68 In the late 1880s 2 large Rendel gunboats were designed and built by Armstrong Mitchell & Co.'s Elswick Works to a contract by the Italian War Ministry. They were constructed in Elswick's Tyneside yard in the United Kingdom, disassembled and shipped to Italy for reassembly in the Armstrong facility at Pozzuoli.By coincidence, the manager of the Armstrong's Pozzuoli works was George Rendel, who had taken on the position in the hope that the warm Italian weather would improve his health.
ClassVesselsTonnageGunsRemarksGuardiano classAnderson, p.58Sold circa 1900Anderson, p.78Castore class,Brook, Peter. "Armstrongs and the Italian Navy" from Preston, Antony (ed.). Warship 2002-2003. London: Conway Maritime Press, 2003. pp. 108-110. . 1 × 1.5-inchConverted to barges and scrapped in 1911 & 1925
Japan Japan captured six Rendel gunboats from China on 12 February 1895 at the Battle of Weihaiwei. They were listed for disposal in 1906 and broken up by 1907.
ClassVesselsTonnageGunsRemarksEpsilon class, 2 × 3-inchCaptured from China. Rearmed as shownIota class, 2 × 3-inchCaptured from China. Rearmed as shown
Mexico Two gunboats were commissioned from Armstrongs in 1875, but appear to have been heavily sparred, single-screw iron gunboats with an extensive sail area. Their short, broad dimensions and single large gun cause them to be taken for flat-irons, but illustrations show that they are not of the same type. They were scrapped in 1920.
Netherlands Thirty-one flat-iron gunboats were built in the Dutch shipyards Christie, Nolet & De Kuyper and Feijenoord Mij in the years 1870 to 1880. Vahalis and the Hydra class were nearly all decommissioned before World War II (Sperwer was retained until 1960 as a training ship, and Brak sank in 1902). Ten of the Wodan class lasted long enough to be sunk or captured by the advancing German army in 1940.
ClassVesselsTonnageGunsRemarksVahalis3 × 4.7-inchAnderson, p.60Sold in July 1906Ever-class gunboats, 1 × 2-inch & 3 × 1-pdrsScrapped in 1911Wodan-class gunboats & 3 × 1-pdrs
Norway