A fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered (or, where possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or purpose-built inexpensive vessels. An explosion ship or hellburner was a variation on the fire ship, intended to cause damage by blowing up in proximity to enemy ships. Fireships were famously used to great effect by the English against the Spanish Armada during the Battle of Gravelines.
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Famous quotes containing the words fire and/or ship:
“Can fire be carried in the bosom without burning one’s clothes? Or can one walk on hot coals without scorching the feet? So is he who sleeps with his neighbor’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Proverbs 6:27-29.
“A ship’s not a ship to me ‘til she gets her teeth into green water.”
—John Rhodes Sturdy, Canadian screenwriter. Richard Rossen. Evans (Walter Sande)