Broadside

Broadside
For other uses, see Broadside (disambiguation).
Broadside of a French 74-gun ship of the line

A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous (or near simultaneous) fire in naval warfare.

Contents

Age of Sail

In the Age of Sail (and in the early years of steam) ships had long rows of guns set in each side of the hull which could only fire to the one side: firing all guns on one side of the ship was known as a "broadside"; firing all guns on both sides was a double broadside. The cannons of 18th century men of war were accurate only at short range, and their penetrating power mediocre, entailing that thick hulls of wooden ships could only be pierced at short ranges. These wooden ships sailed closer and closer towards each other until cannon fire would be effective. Each tried to be the first to fire a broadside, often giving one party a decisive headstart in the battle when it crippled the other ship.[1]

As a measurement

USS Iowa firing her guns broadside (1984). Note the water displaced beneath the bores.

Additionally, the term broadside is a measurement of a vessel's maximum simultaneous fire power which can be delivered upon a single target, because this concentration is usually obtained by firing a broadside. This is calculated by multiplying the shell weight of the ship's main armament shells times the number of barrels that can be brought to bear. If some turrets are incapable of firing to either side of the vessel, only the maximum number of barrels which can fire to one side or the other are counted. For example, the American Iowa-class battleships carry a main armament of nine 16-inch (410 mm) main guns in turrets which can all be trained to a single broadside. Each 16-inch shell weighs 2,700 pounds (1,200 kg), which when multiplied by nine (the total number of barrels in all three turrets) equals a total of 24,300 pounds (11,022 kg). Thus, an Iowa-class battleship has a broadside of 12 short tons (11.0 tonnes), the weight of shells that she can theoretically land on a target in a single firing.

See list of broadsides of major World War II ships for a comparison.

References

  1. ^ Stephen Biesty (ill.) and Richard Platt (author). (1993). Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections Man-of-War. New York: Dorling Kindersley.

Further reading


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Synonyms:
(from all the guns on the side of a ship) / , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • broadside — or broadsheet [brôd′sīd΄] n. 1. the entire side of a ship above the waterline 2. the simultaneous firing of all the guns on one side of a warship 3. a vigorous or abusive attack in words, esp. in a newspaper 4. the broad surface of any large… …   English World dictionary

  • broadside — ► NOUN 1) historical a firing of all the guns from one side of a warship. 2) the side of a ship above the water between the bow and quarter. 3) a strongly worded critical attack. ● broadside on Cf. ↑broadside on …   English terms dictionary

  • broadside on — ► broadside on sideways on. Main Entry: ↑broadside …   English terms dictionary

  • Broadside — Broad side , n. 1. (Naut.) The side of a ship above the water line, from the bow to the quarter. [1913 Webster] 2. A discharge of or from all the guns on one side of a ship, at the same time. [1913 Webster] 3. A volley of abuse or denunciation.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • broadside — index barrage Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • broadside — (n.) 1590s, side of a ship (technically, the side of a ship above the water, between the bow and the quarter ), from BROAD (Cf. broad) (adj.) + SIDE (Cf. side) (n.); thus the artillery on one side of a ship all fired off at once (1590s, with… …   Etymology dictionary

  • broadside — I UK [ˈbrɔːdˌsaɪd] / US [ˈbrɔdˌsaɪd] noun [countable] Word forms broadside : singular broadside plural broadsides a strong written or spoken attack The paper launched an angry broadside against the government s proposals. II = broadside on… …   English dictionary

  • broadside — I. noun Date: 1575 1. a. (1) a sizable sheet of paper printed on one side (2) a sheet printed on one or both sides and folded b. something (as a ballad) printed on a broadside 2. archaic the side of a ship above the waterline 3. a. all the gu …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • broadside — /brawd suyd /, n., adv., v., broadsided, broadsiding. n. 1. the whole side of a ship above the water line, from the bow to the quarter. 2. Navy. a. all the guns that can be fired from one side of a warship. b. a simultaneous discharge of all the… …   Universalium

  • broadside — broad|side1 [ˈbro:dsaıd US ˈbro:d ] n 1.) a strong criticism of someone or something ▪ Can the government survive this latest broadside from its own supporters? 2.) an attack in which all the guns on one side of a ship are fired at the same time… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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