History of Warships

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

If you read any history book, you are sure to find stories about fighting and war.

We will one day live in a world of peace, but war is a major part of history! People have fought on land, in the air, and now even over the Internet!

One of the clever ideas in the history of war was to use boats to fight battles.

• When did that idea come about?

Read a short description of naval history below — the history of using boats for war. As you read, write down the answers to these questions:

• How long ago did people start to use ships for war?
• How did people use ships to attack the enemy in the beginning?
• How did the materials used to build ships change over time?

Now, take a look at this short reading and write down your answers:

The history of fighting battles at sea started over 3,000 years ago. The Hittite people, the Ancient Egyptians, the Greeks, the Persians, and the Chinese all used ships to fight in wars.

Ships were used primarily for trade, to move goods from one place to another very quickly. Using warships, a country could cut off the supplies of other countries and gain power over them.

Since the earliest sea battles took place before guns and cannons were invented, fighters would often hook the ships together, then fight hand-to-hand as if they were on land.

Some ships came with a battering ram built in, and they would ram the enemy ships to try and sink them!

Steam power and the use of metal in construction changed the way naval ships were made and used in the 1800s. Guns were finally put to use on ships, and they would be mounted all along the deck of the ship.

Submarines were first used in warfare during the American Civil War in the 1860s, and they carried torpedoes, underwater missiles used to sink ships!

Eventually, newer warships were made, including aircraft carriers, that are like an airport at sea! Ships came equipped with all kinds of radar and other location devices.

Navies have come a long way, from the simple wooden ships used hundreds of years ago to the floating fortresses now used today!

After writing down the information you found, think about the following questions:

• Was the beginning of naval history earlier or later than you were expecting?
• What do you think caused countries to use better and stronger materials to build ships?
• What new technology and materials do you think will be used to build warships in the future?

Even in the past 300 years of American naval history, the design of ships has changed a lot!

In the Got It? section, explore some of the amazing photo galleries showing the warships of America's past!