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Ram BowA ram bow is form of bow on naval ships, dating back to at least the seventh century BC, according to inscriptions found on the tomb of Phoenician King Sargon. http://www.cedarland.org/ships.html The ram bow is also known as a rostrum, from the Latin word for 'beak' or 'prow'. Ramming was the dominant form of naval combat until at least the third century BC, http://monolith.dnsalias.org/~marsares/warfare/history/naval.html by which time the increased size, bulk and crew compliment of naval vessels made boarding operations via gangplank more practical. Nonetheless, ramming remained an important tactic; even if the opposing vessel was not pierced or sunk, its oars and oarsmen were often sheared off, eliminating its mobility and leaving it a sitting duck. The concurrent development of the catapult allowed for a degree of long-range fire. Naval warfare remained at this technology level until the 15th and 16th centuries, by which time the cannon had become standard, in broadside emplacement. As with the infantry bayonet, ramming attacks and rostrums diminished in prominence but remained a last-ditch effort; nonetheless, the history of naval warfare up until the 19th century contains many examples of ramming actions, such as at the Battle of Lissa in 1866, http://home.att.net/~ShipModelFAQ/ResearchNotes/smf-RN-LissaRams.html whilst the increased manoeuvrability of the steamship over the sailing boat led to a brief resurgence in the use of rams during the American civil war. http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/usnshtp/earlysh/rams.htm Nonetheless, the rise of the ironclad towards the end of the 19th century led to a final decline in the use of ramming attacks, and the advent of the all-big-gun battleship, the dreadnought, at the turn of the 20th Century led to the end of the ram bow (instead, ships were increasingly fitted with a bulbous bow, albeit for reasons of streamlining and fuel efficiency rather than as an offensive weapon). Ironically, the 1906 HMS Dreadnought would effect one of the final significant ramming attacks of naval warfare, when it rammed and sank the German submarine U-29 in 1915, becoming the only battleship to ever sink a submarine. A ram bow is distinct from a clipper bow, which descends diagonally into the water from a prominent leading prow. http://www.glue-it.com/boats/general-information/glossary/b/bow.htm
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