Flat-iron gunboat

Gayundah beached off Woody Point, 2006

Protector at Heron Island, 2008

The Australian colonies of the British Empire purchased a number of gunboats for coastal defence during the 1880s, and while they were described as "flat-irons", they were masted, and Protector was almost the size of a light cruiser.[3] The remains of both Protector and Gayundah remain visible today.

Argentina purchased four flat-iron gunboats from Laird Brothers, Birkenhead and J & G Rennie & Co, Greenwich,[8] in 1875; they were grouped in two classes: Pilcomayo and Constitución.[9] Described as bombarderas (bombarders) in Argentina, they were later variously employed as tankers, transports and pontoons, in some cases into the 1950s.[5]

The Chilean government entered into talks to purchase two vessels similar to the Argentine units, but did not see the purchase through.[5]

Between 1875 and 1880 China purchased 13 flat-iron gunboats from Britain and built another (Tiong Sing) at Shanghai.[10] After the two Jiansheng class, the British-built boats were given names from the Greek alphabet, from Alpha through to Lambda, thus becoming known as the "alphabetical" gunboats. Although quickly given Chinese names, the class names seem to have stuck. A further pseudo-Rendel gunboat (Hoi Tung Hung) was built locally to the lines of the "alphabetical" flat-irons, but constructed from wood sheathed in iron. Fusheng and Jiansheng were lost in the Battle of Fuzhou in 1884 at the beginning of the Sino-French War.[11] Four Chinese Rendel gunboats also took part in the Battle of the Yalu River against the Japanese in 1894.[12] Eight Chinese flat-iron gunboats were sunk or captured by Japan at the battle of Weihaiwei in 1895.[5]

• 
  Chinese Jiansheng-class gunboat Jiansheng (建勝)
• 
  Chinese Alpha-class gunboat Longxiang (龍驤)

Five boats in three classes were built in Danish shipyards in 1874 to 1876. Three were decommissioned at the turn of the 20th century, and the other two were decommissioned after World War I having served as repair ships.[5]

Wespe-class gunboat SMS Natter

The German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) built eleven large Rendel gunboats (Panzerkanonenboot) of the Wespe class at AG Weser, Bremen between 1875 and 1881. One, SMS Salamander, was lost in 1910.[5] Two smaller gunboats of Brummer class were built later in 1884.[13]

Greek gunboat Aktion

In 1881 Greece had 2 Rendel gunboats built at the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company for the shallow waters of the Ambracian Gulf. They saw action in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and Balkan Wars, served the Piraeus and Keratsini net barrage during World War I and were scrapped after World War I.[14]

Italy built two Rendel gunboats at Spezia Dockyard in 1874.[15] In the late 1880s 2 large Rendel gunboats were designed and built by Armstrong Mitchell & Co.'s Elswick Works to a contract by the Italian War Ministry. They were constructed in Elswick's Tyneside yard in the United Kingdom, disassembled and shipped to Italy for reassembly in the Armstrong facility at Pozzuoli.[16][Note 3]

Japan captured six Rendel gunboats from China on 12 February 1895 at the Battle of Weihaiwei. They were listed for disposal in 1906 and broken up by 1907.[19]

Two gunboats were commissioned from Armstrongs in 1875, but appear to have been heavily sparred, single-screw iron gunboats with an extensive sail area. Their short, broad dimensions and single large gun cause them to be taken for flat-irons, but illustrations show that they are not of the same type.[17] They were scrapped in 1920.

Thirty-one flat-iron gunboats were built in the Dutch shipyards Christie, Nolet & De Kuyper and Feijenoord Mij in the years 1870 to 1880. Vahalis and the Hydra class were nearly all decommissioned before World War II (Sperwer was retained until 1960 as a training ship, and Brak sank in 1902).[5] Ten of the Wodan class lasted long enough to be sunk or captured by the advancing German army in 1940.[5]

Eight flat-iron gunboats were built to a British design in Norwegian shipyards. They were all refitted as minelayers before World War I. Æger was decommissioned in 1932, but the others were all captured by Germany in 1940, and with the exception of Uller[Note 4] they survived WWII. They were gradually decommissioned by the Royal Norwegian Navy after World War II, but the Gor-class gunboat Tyr was still operating as the civilian ferry Bjørn West 100 years after she was built.[5]

Russia built ten Rendel gunboats in three classes between 1874 and 1881.[5][21]

The Russian gunboat Sivutch

Two Sivutch-class gunboats were also constructed which had a brig rig (later replaced by a ship rig, and later still de-rigged). They were armed with a single 9-inch gun and a single 6-inch gun aft. Visually they were very similar to the British Medina class.[21]

Sweden built 10 Rendel gunboats in Stockholm and Norrköping between 1868 and 1876.[15]

A model of an Ant-class gunboat

The Royal Navy had two classes of flat-iron gunboats built in the 1870s and 1880s, and several one-off prototypes.[4] As built they were equipped with a single 9- or 10-inch muzzle-loading rifled gun (MLR).[4] They were of sound construction, and many stayed in service in support roles, with a number ending up as gunnery tenders,[22] lighters, tank vessels and dredgers.[3] One notable gunnery tender was Bustard, which was rearmed prior to World War One.[4] During World War I Bustard, Drudge and Handy (renamed Excellent from 1891), and possibly Mastiff (renamed Snapper in 1914) and Ant, took part in a bombardment of the Belgian coast.[23] The majority of the flat-iron gunboats had been scrapped before the mid-20th century[4] but Handy survived until she was broken up in 2008 amid safety concerns.[24]

For many years it was assumed that the Royal Navy flat-irons were a failure at their perceived role of coastal defence.[4] Professor Andrew Lambert later argued powerfully that they were designed for coastal assault as successors to the gunboats of the Crimean War "Great Armament", and that they succeeded in their deterrent role. He describes them as a "part of a sophisticated, layered approach to the tactical problem of defeating large-scale coastal defence systems."[2] The Royal Navy listed them as "Gunboats for the Attack and Defence of Coasts" in its confidential Pink List.[2] Due to their lack of speed and limited armament they were of little value in defence of a coast or harbour, but they were ideally suited for bombardment of shore fortifications where the Royal Navy enjoyed complete command of the sea.[25]

Staunch and Plucky were essentially prototypes built in 1867 and 1870.[4] Handy and Drudge were built in the 1880s for testing the mounting of 13.5-inch guns intended for the Royal Sovereign-class battleships.[3][4]

The Medina class were a development of the flat-iron concept which resulted in an iron coastal gunboat fitted with three masts and carrying three 6.3-inch 64-pounder rifled muzzle-loading guns. Naval historian Antony Preston described them as "the most grotesque craft ever seen".[26] The hull of Medway remains visible on satellite imagery at 32°22′32.7″N 64°41′13″W.[27]