A rocket vessel was a ship equipped with

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

s as a weapon. The most famous ship of this type was HMS ''Erebus'', which at the

Battle of Baltimore The Battle of Baltimore took place between British and American forces on September 12–15, 1814 during the War of 1812. Defending American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off the busy port city of Baltimore, Maryland, by British fo ...

in 1814 provided the "rockets' red glare" that was memorialized by

Francis Scott Key Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and poet from Frederick, Maryland, best known as the author of the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry" which was set to a popular British tune and eventually became t ...

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...

. Rocket vessels were also used by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in the attack on the French fleet at

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

in 1806 and at the second Battle of Copenhagen in 1807. At the Battle of the Basque Roads in 1809, there were no less than three vessels participating that had been fitted to throw rockets: two hired armed cutters ''King George'' and ''Nimrod'', and the schooner ''Whiting''. The

Congreve rocket The Congreve rocket was a type of rocket artillery designed by British inventor Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet, Sir William Congreve in 1808. The design was based upon Mysorean rockets, the rockets deployed by the Kingdom of Mysore against ...

s of this period were highly inaccurate and unreliable, and were primarily used as a psychological weapon of terror in conjunction with other, more effective, weapons, such as mortar shells thrown by

bomb vessel A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons (Naval long gun, long guns or carronades) – although bomb vessels carried a few cannons for self-defence – but ...

s. The ''Erebus'' was equipped with a 32-pound rocket battery installed below the main deck, which fired through portholes or scuttles pierced in the ship's side. Some of the other rocket vessels used by the

were small boats, rather than ships. These carried a rocket launcher frame supported by a mast and raised and lowered by means of

halyard In sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line (rope) that is used to hoist a ladder, sail, flag or yard. The term "halyard" derives from the Middle English ''halier'' ("rope to haul with"), with the last syllable altered by association with the E ...

s. Modern warships carry a variety of rocket-powered

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

weapons. Dedicated rocket ships were also occasionally used in the 20th century, such as the Landing Craft Tank (Rocket) used to support amphibious assaults in WWII.

External links

British Rockets at Fort McHenry
Ship types {{ship-type-stub