Naval warfare Facts for Kids

Traditional naval warfare; fleet versus fleet

Naval warfare is combat in and on the seas, oceans, or any other major bodies of water. It is usually a part of a nation's overall war effort. Men have fought battles on the sea for over 3,000 years. Traditionally naval warfare has been fleet against another fleet. Modern naval warfare has changed to include Amphibious landings, transportation of men and equipment over water and naval support of land operations. Submarines, aircraft carriers, and specialized warfare have all changed naval warfare.

Images for kids

Battle between the British frigate Shannon and the American frigate Chesapeake, painted in 1836 by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg and depicting the capture of USS Chesapeake.
Scene from an Egyptian temple wall shows Ramesses' combined land and sea victory in the Battle of the Delta.
An ancient Greek trireme vessel
The epic Battle of Salamis between Greek and Persian naval forces.
A Roman naval bireme depicted in a relief from the Temple of Fortuna Primigenia in Praeneste (Palastrina), which was built c. 120 BC; exhibited in the Pius-Clementine Museum (Museo Pio-Clementino) in the Vatican Museums.
The naval battle of Sluys, 1340, from Jean Froissart's Chronicles
A Song dynasty naval river ship with a Xuanfeng traction-trebuchet catapult on its top deck, from an illustration of the Wujing Zongyao (1044)
A Chinese paddle-wheel driven ship, from a Qing dynasty encyclopedia published in 1726
A 17th-century model of Vietnamese "Mông đồng" ship. The vessel appears to be propelled by a score of oars and armed with one bombard and a smaller culverin. The roof is recorded to be protected against projectiles with hide or bronze plates.
Full size replica of Borobudur ship of the 8th century AD. This one had gone to expedition to Ghana in 2003–2004, reenacting the Srivijayan and Medang navigation and exploration.
Japanese samurai attacking a Mongol ship, 13th century
A replica of Korean turtle ship
An Eastern Han (25–220 AD) Chinese pottery boat fit for riverine and maritime sea travel, with an anchor at the bow, a steering rudder at the stern, roofed compartments with windows and doors, and miniature sailors.
A Song dynasty louchuan with a trebuchet, depicted in the Wujing Zongyao
The early-17th-century galleon Vasa on display at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. Vasa, with its high stern castle and double battery decks, was a transitional design between the preferences for boarding tactics and the line of battle.
The Battle of the Saintes fought on 12 April 1782 near Guadeloupe
The Dutch fleet relieves Copenhagen after defeating the Swedes in the Battle of the Sound
The 1805 Battle of Trafalgar
The first battle between ironclads: CSS Virginia/Merrimac (left) vs. USS Monitor, in 1862 at the Battle of Hampton Roads
The Battle of Bomarsund during the Åland War (1854–1856), the part of the Crimean War. A sketch of the quarter deck of HMS Bulldog in Bomarsund, Edwin T. Dolby, 1854
HMS Dreadnought, the first dreadnought battleship
HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse during the air attack
Aircraft carrier USS Lexington under heavy air attack during the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first carrier-versus-carrier battle in history.
Aircraft carrier USS Yorktown hit by an aerial torpedo during the Battle of Midway
Battle of Savo Island was the first in a series of night-time engagements between surface warships during the Solomon Islands campaign.
USS Theodore Roosevelt launches an F-14 Tomcat while F/A-18 Hornets wait their turn during the Kosovo War
HMAS Sydney in the Persian Gulf (1991)
A United States Naval Landing Craft Air Cushion in the Pacific Ocean (2012)

Naval warfare facts for kids

Images for kids

See also