European Ironclads 1860-75: The Gloire sparks the great ironclad arms race

From Spain to Russia, and from Ottoman Turkey
to Bismarck’s Prussia, this book explores 15 years that transformed European
naval warfare.

When the
Gloire slid down the Toulon slipway in 1859, it changed sea power
forever. With this ship, the world’s first oceangoing ironclad, France had a
warship that could sink any other, and which was proof against the guns of
any wooden ship afloat. Instantly, an arms race began between the great
navies of Europe - first to build their own ironclads, and then to surpass
each other’s technology and designs.

As both armour and gun technology rapidly
improved, naval architects found new ways to mount and protect guns. The ram
briefly came back into fashion, and Italian and Austro-Hungarian fleets
fought the ironclad era’s great battle at Lissa. By the end of this
revolutionary period, the modern battleship was becoming recognizable, and
new naval powers were emerging to dominate Europe’s waters.