Coastal defence ships (sometimes calledcoastal battleships orcoast defence ships) werewarships built for the purpose ofcoastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, oftencruiser-sized warships that sacrificed speed and range forarmour andarmament. They were usually attractive to nations that either could not afford full-sizedbattleships or could be satisfied by specially designed shallow-draft vessels capable oflittoral operations close to their own shores. TheNordic countries andThailand found them particularly appropriate for their island-dotted coastal waters. Some vessels had limitedblue-water capabilities; others operated inrivers.
The coastal defence ships differed from earliermonitors by having a higherfreeboard and usually possessing both higher speed and a secondary armament; some examples also mountedcasemated guns (monitors' guns were almost always in turrets). They varied in size from around 1,500 tons to 8,000 tons.
Their construction and appearance was often that of miniaturizedpre-dreadnought battleships. As such, they carried heavier armour than cruisers or gunboats of equivalent size, were typically equipped with a main armament of two or four heavy and several lighter guns in turrets or casemates, and could steam at a higher speed than most monitors. In service they were mainly used as movablecoastal artillery rather than instruments of sea control or fleet engagements like the battleships operated by blue-water navies. Few of these ships saw combat in theFirst World War, though some did in theSecond World War. The last were scrapped in the 1970s.[note 1]
Navies with coastal defence ships serving as their maincapital ships included those ofDenmark,Ecuador,Finland, theNetherlands,Norway,Portugal,Sweden, Thailand, and the British colonies ofIndia andVictoria. Some nations which at one time or another built, bought, or otherwise acquired their own front-line capital ships, such asArgentina,Austria-Hungary,Brazil,China,Germany,Russia, andSpain, also deployed this type of warship, with Russia usingthree at theBattle of Tsushima in 1905.
Apart from specially built coastal defence ships, some navies used various obsolescent ships in this role. TheRoyal Navy deployed fourMajestic-class battleships asguardships inthe Humber at the start of the First World War. Similarly, theU.S. Navy redesignated theIndiana andIowa classes as "Coast Defense Battleships" in 1919. Such ships tended to be near the end of their service lives and while generally considered no longer fit for front-line service, they were still powerful enough for defensive duties inreserve situations.
This type of vessel has always been categorized differently by different countries, due to treaties, differences in judgments related to design or intended roles, and also national pride. In theUnited Kingdom the Scandinavian ships were known as "coast defence ships". The Germans called these shipsKüstenpanzerschiff ("coastal armoured ship").[1] The Danes referred to their ships asKystforsvarsskib ("coast defence ship") andPanserskib ("armoured ship"). In Norway they were referred to aspanserskip ("armoured ship"). The Dutch called their shipsKruiser ("cruiser"),Pantserschip ("armoured ship") orSlagschip ("battleship"). The Swedish term for these ships was initially1:a klass Pansarbåt ("1st class armoured boat") and laterPansarskepp ("armoured ship"). Note however, that the GermanPanzerschiffe of theDeutschland class were not designed as coastal defense ships but as high seas raiders.
As an example of the profusion of terms and classifications which often contradicted each other, the 1938 edition ofJane's Fighting Ships lists the SwedishPansarskepp of theSverige class as battleships.
The SwedishPansarskepp were an outgrowth of the earlier Swedish adoption of themonitor and were used for similar duties.
ThePansarskepp orPansarbåt, with the notable exception of theSverige class, were relatively small vessels with limited speed, shallow draft, and very heavy guns relative to the displacement. They were designed for close in-shore work in the littoral zone of Scandinavia, and other countries with shallow coastal waters. The aim was to outgun any ocean-going warship of the same draft by a significant margin, making it a very dangerous opponent for a cruiser, and deadly to anything smaller. The limitations in speed and seaworthiness were a trade-off for the heavy armament carried. Vessels similar to the SwedishPansarskepp were also built and operated by Denmark, Norway, and Finland, all of which had similar naval requirements.
TheSverige-class ships differed in several ways from the classical coastal defence ship, having heavier armament as well as better speed and armor (while still being small enough to operate and hide in thearchipelagos and shallow waters off Sweden). The main difference was to be noted in their tactical doctrine and operations. Unlike other coastal defence ships theSverige class formed the core of a traditional open-sea battle group (Coastal Fleet), operating with cruisers,destroyers,torpedo boats, and air reconnaissance in conformance with traditional battleship tactics of the time.
This “mini-battle group” had no intention of challenging the great power navies in blue-water battles, but rather were to operate as a defensive shield to aggression challenging Swedish interests and territory. Based on the doctrine that one needs a battle group to challenge other battle groups, this force intended to form a problematic obstacle in the confined and shallowBaltic andKattegat theatre, where traditional large warships would be limited to very predictable moving patterns exposing them to submarines, fast torpedo craft, and minefields. It has been suggested that theSverige-class ships were one reason why Germany did not invade Sweden during World War II. Such speculation appeared inWarship Magazine Annual 1992 in the article "The Sverige Class Coastal Defence Ships," by Daniel G. Harris. This could be said to have been partly confirmed in the post war publication of German tactical orders, and of scenarios regarding attacking Sweden. The problems of maintaining an army in Sweden without sea superiority were emphasized, and the lack of available suitable units to face the Swedish navy was pointed out (“Stations for battle”, Insulander/Olsson, 2001). Summarizing the question of effectiveness for theSverige class, it is likely that despite a good armament they would have been too small, slow, and cramped (from both a habitability and essential ship's stores standpoint), along with having insufficient range, to perform adequately against any traditional battlecruiser or battleship in a blue-water scenario; however, if correctly used in their home waters and in a defensive situation, they would probably have presented a major challenge for any aggressor.
The Dutch used their armoured ships mainly to defend their interests overseas, in particular their colonial possessions in theWest Indies (the islands of theNetherlands Antilles) and theEast Indies (primarily, modernIndonesia). For this reason the ships had to be capable of long-range cruising, providing artillery support duringamphibious operations, and carrying the troops and equipment needed in these operations. At the same time, these ships had to be armed and armoured well enough to face contemporaryarmoured cruisers of theImperial Japanese Navy (the Netherlands' most likely enemy in thePacific), and as such they were expected to act as mini-battleships rather than strictly as coastal defence vessels.
The last Dutchpantserschip,HNLMSDe Zeven Provinciën, was built in 1909 as a stop-gap measure while the Dutch Admiralty and government contemplated an ambitious fleet plan comprisinga number of dreadnought battleships. This ambition was never realized due to the outbreak of theFirst World War. TheSecond World War put an end to a similar project to obtain fast capital ships in the late 1930s with German assistance.
Prior to the Second World War, the Dutch had relegated all the survivingpantserschepen to secondary duties. TheAxis powers, who seized some of the ships following theconquest of the Netherlands, converted several of those ships to serve as floating anti-aircraft batteries and subsequently utilized some asblock ships.
The navies of the following countries have operated coastal defence ships at some point in time.
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