A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannon (long guns or carronades)—although bomb vessels carried a few cannon for self-defence—but rather mortars mounted forward near the bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a ballistic arc. Explosive shells or carcasses were employed rather than solid shot. Bomb vessels were specialized ships designed for bombarding (hence the name) fixed positions on land. In more modern times, the same role was carried out by battleships, cruisers and destroyers, as well as the purpose-built World War I- and II-era monitors.
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Famous quotes containing the words bomb and/or vessel:
“Lincoln said, “With malice toward none and with charity to all.” Nowadays they say, “Think the way I do or I’ll bomb the daylights out of you.””
—Robert Riskin (1897–1955)
“The frost was on the village roofs as white as ocean foam;
The good red fires were burning bright in every ‘longshore home;
The windows sparkled clear, and the chimneys volleyed out;
And I vow we sniffed the victuals as the vessel went about.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894)