List of ironclads

The list of ironclads includes all steam-propelled warship (supplemented with sails in various cases) and protected by iron or steel armor plates that were built in the early part of the second half of the 19th century, between 1859 and the early 1890s. The list is arranged alphabetically by country. The initial dates of the boats correspond to the launch time, followed by a separation that indicates their retirement or final date.

The list includes ironclads of two different categories or roles, oceanic and coastal (the latter may be floating batteries, monitors and coastal defence ships). The various ironclads design such as the ram, broadside, central battery (or casemate), turret and barbette will be mentioned. Some of these ocean ironclads can be classified as armored frigates, armored corvettes, or others based on their displacement. Wooden hull ships that have been subsequently armored will also be considered in this list.

Although the introduction of the ironclad is clear-cut, the boundary between 'ironclad' and the later 'pre-dreadnought battleship' is less obvious, as the characteristics of the pre-dreadnought evolved from 1875 to 1895. For the sake of this article, a line is drawn around 1890, differing from country to country.

Argentina

 * Monitors
 * El Plata-class monitor
 * ARA El Plata (1874) - retired in 1927
 * ARA Los Andes (1875) - retired in 1928
 * Central battery ironclad
 * ARA Almirante Brown (1880) - retired in 1932
 * Coastal defence ships
 * Independencia-class coastal defense ironclad
 * ARA Independencia (1891) - retired in 1946
 * ARA Libertad (1892) - retired in 1946

Brazil

 * Central battery ironclads (or casemate)
 * BRAZILIAN IRONCLAD Brasil (1864) - retired in 1879
 * BRAZILIAN IRONCLAD Tamandaré (1865) - retired in 1879
 * BRAZILIAN IRONCLAD Barroso (1865) - retired in 1882
 * BRAZILIAN IRONCLAD Rio de Janeiro (1866) - sunk by floating mines ('torpedoes') in the River Paraguay in 1866, during Paraguayan War
 * Mariz e Barros-class ironclad
 * BRAZILIAN IRONCLAD Mariz e Barros (1865) - stricken in 1897
 * BRAZILIAN IRONCLAD Herval (1865) - stricken in 1885
 * Cabral-class ironclad
 * BRAZILIAN IRONCLAD Cabral (1866) - stricken in 1885
 * BRAZILIAN IRONCLAD Colombo (1866) - stricken in 1885
 * BRAZILIAN IRONCLAD Sete de Setembro (1874) - sunk after fire, during Fleet Revolt of 1893–94
 * Monitors
 * BRAZILIAN MONITOR Bahia (1865) - struck in 1894
 * Pará-class monitor
 * BRAZILIAN MONITOR Pará (1867) - discarded in 1884
 * BRAZILIAN MONITOR Rio Grande (1867) - scrapped in 1907
 * BRAZILIAN MONITOR Alagoas (1867) - scrapped in 1900
 * BRAZILIAN MONITOR Piauí (1868) - scrapped in 1893
 * BRAZILIAN MONITOR Ceará (1868) - scrapped in 1884
 * BRAZILIAN MONITOR Santa Catharina (1868) - sank in 1882 at her moorings due to the poor condition of her hull
 * Javary-class monitor
 * BRAZILIAN MONITOR Javary (1874) - sunk in Battle on 22 November 1893, during Fleet Revolt of 1893–94
 * BRAZILIAN MONITOR Solimões (1875) - it was wrecked in 1892 near the Cabo Polonio lighthouse in Uruguay
 * Ironclads turret ship
 * BRAZILIAN IRONCLAD Lima Barros (1865) - struck in 1894
 * BRAZILIAN IRONCLAD Silvado (1865) - struck in 1880
 * BRAZILIAN BATTLESHIP Riachuelo (1883) - retired in 1910
 * BRAZILIAN BATTLESHIP Aquidabã (1885) - sank after an explosion during a routine cruise in 1906

Chile

 * Central battery armored frigates
 * Almirante Cochrane-class ironclad
 * CHILEAN IRONCLAD Almirante Cochrane (1874) - alienated in 1933
 * CHILEAN IRONCLAD Blanco Encalada (1875) - sunk in 1891 in the Battle of Caldera Bay, during Chilean Civil War of 1891
 * Ironclad turret ship
 * Huáscar* (1865, ex Peruvian ship) - captured in the Battle of Angamos in 1879 during War of the Pacific, retired in 1896 and turned into a historical relic in 1934

Haiti

 * Casemate ironclad
 * Triumph (1861, ex British merchant Fingal and then USS Atlanta (1861)) - lost at sea in 1869 shortly after the purchase

Peru

 * Monitors
 * PERUVIAN IRONCLAD Victoria (1864) - unknown ending
 * Canonicus-class monitor
 * Atahualpa (1864, ex USS Catawba (1864)) - acquired in 1868 and sunk in the Blockade of Callao in 1881, during War of the Pacific
 * Manco Cápac (1864, ex USS Oneota (1864)) - acquired in 1868 and sunk in the Battle of Arica in 1880, during War of the Pacific
 * Broadside armored frigate
 * PERUVIAN IRONCLAD Independencia (1865) - ran aground in the Battle of Punta Gruesa in 1879, during War of the Pacific
 * Ironclad turret ship
 * Huáscar* (1865) - captured by the Chileans at the Battle of Angamos in 1879, during War of the Pacific
 * Casemate ironclad
 * PERUVIAN STEAMSHIP Loa (1854/1865) - sunk in the Blockade of Callao in 1881, during War of the Pacific

China

 * Coastal defence ships
 * CHINESE IRONCLAD Tien-sing (after 1875) - unknown
 * Pingyuan (1890) - captured by the Japanese in 1895 after Battle of Weihaiwei, during First Sino-Japanese War
 * Ironclads turret ship
 * Dingyuan-class ironclad
 * CHINESE IRONCLAD Dingyuan (1881) - sunk in 1895 in the Battle of Weihaiwei, during First Sino-Japanese War
 * CHINESE IRONCLAD Zhenyuan (1882) - captured by the Japanese in 1895 after the Battle of Weihaiwei, during First Sino-Japanese War

Japan

 * Ironclad ram
 * Kōtetsu* (1864, as CSS Stonewall) - acquired from the United States in 1869 and retired in 1888
 * Armoured corvettes
 * JAPANESE BATTLESHIP Ryūjō (1869) - retired in 1906
 * Kongō-class ironclad
 * JAPANESE CORVETTE Kongō (1877) - retired in 1909
 * JAPANESE CORVETTE Hiei (1877) - retired in 1911
 * Central battery ironclad
 * JAPANESE IRONCLAD Fusō (1877) - sold for scrap in 1909
 * Ironclad turret ship
 * JAPANESE BATTLESHIP Chin'en (1882, ex Chinese ship Zhenyuan) - captured in 1895 during First Sino-Japanese War and retired in 1911
 * Coastal defence ship
 * JAPANESE GUNBOAT Heien (1890, ex Chinese ship Pingyuan) - captured in 1895 during First Sino-Japanese War and sunk by adverse weather causes during Russo-Japanese War

Siam

 * Floating battery
 * Siam Mongkut (1870) - probably discarded 1912

Denmark

 * Broadside armored frigates
 * HDMS Danmark (1864) - scrapped 1907
 * HDMS Dannebrog (1850/1864) - retired in 1897
 * HDMS Peder Skram (1864) (1864) - scrapped 1897
 * Ironclad turret ship
 * HDMS Rolf Krake (1863) (1863) - scrapped 1907
 * Ironclad ram
 * Stærkodder (1864, as CSS Stonewall) - the Danish purchase in 1864 of this ship failed and ended up being sold to Japan in 1867 and renamed JAPANESE IRONCLAD Kōtetsu*
 * Monitors
 * HDMS Lindormen (1868) - retired in 1907
 * HDMS Gorm (1870) - retired in 1912
 * Casemate ironclad
 * HDMS Odin (1872) - retired in 1912
 * Barbette ironclads
 * HDMS Helgoland (1878) - retired in 1907
 * HDMS Tordenskjold (1880) (1880) - retired in 1908
 * HDMS Iver Hvitfeldt (1886) (1886) - retired in 1919

Greece

 * Central battery armored corvette
 * GREEK IRONCLAD Vasilefs Georgios (1867) - scrapped in 1915
 * Broadside armored corvette
 * GREEK IRONCLAD Vasilissa Olga (1869) - scrapped in 1925
 * Barbette ironclads
 * Hydra-class ironclad
 * GREEK IRONCLAD Hydra (1889) - retired in 1919
 * GREEK IRONCLAD Spetsai (1889) - retired in 1929
 * GREEK IRONCLAD Psara (1890) - sold for scrap in 1932

Netherlands

 * Casemate ironclad
 * HNLMS De Ruyter (1853) (1853/1863) - unknown
 * Ironclads turret ship
 * HNLMS Prins Hendrik der Nederlanden (1866) - scrapped after 1905
 * HNLMS Koning der Nederlanden (1874) - scuttled in 1942, during World War II
 * Monitors
 * Buffel-class monitor
 * HNLMS Buffel (1868) - retired in 1973 and converted into a museum ship in 1974
 * HNLMS Guinea (1870) - sold for scrap in 1897
 * Schorpioen-class monitor
 * HNLMS Schorpioen (1868) - converted into a museum ship in 1982
 * HNLMS Stier (1868) - struck in 1908
 * Heiligerlee-class monitor
 * HNLMS Heiligerlee (1868) - sold for scrapping in 1910
 * HNLMS Krokodil (1868) - unknown
 * HNLMS Tijger (1868) - unknown
 * Bloedhond-class monitor
 * HNLMS Bloedhond (1869) - unknown
 * HNLMS Cerberus (1869) (1869) - unknown
 * Adder-class monitor
 * HNLMS Hyena (1870) - unknown
 * HNLMS Panter (1870) - unknown
 * HNLMS Adder (1871) - unknown
 * HNLMS Haai (1871) - unknown
 * HNLMS Wesp (1871) - unknown
 * HNLMS Luipaard (1876) - unknown
 * HNLMS Draak (1877) - unknown
 * HNLMS Matador (1878) - unknown
 * HNLMS Reinier Claeszen (1891) - unknown

Norway

 * Monitors
 * Skorpionen-class monitor
 * HNOMS Skorpionen (1866) - scrapped in 1908
 * HNOMS Thrudvang (1869) - scrapped in 1918
 * John Ericsson-class monitor
 * HNOMS Mjølner (1868) - scrapped in 1909
 * HNOMS Thor (1872) - wrecked in 1919

Portugal

 * Central battery ironclad
 * PORTUGUESE IRONCLAD Vasco da Gama (1876) - broken up in 1935

Spain

 * Broadside armored frigates
 * SPANISH IRONCLAD Tetuán (1863) - sunk by accident or sabotage in the siege of Cartagena in 1873, during Cantonal rebellion
 * SPANISH IRONCLAD Numancia (1863) - retired in 1912
 * SPANISH IRONCLAD Arapiles (1864) - scrapped in 1883
 * SPANISH IRONCLAD Vitoria (1865) - retired in 1911
 * Central battery armored frigates
 * SPANISH IRONCLAD Zaragoza (1867) - stricken in 1896
 * SPANISH IRONCLAD Sagunto (1869) - retired in 1896
 * SPANISH IRONCLAD Méndez Núñez (1861/1870) - scrapped in 1896
 * Floating battery
 * SPANISH SHIP Duque de Tetuán (1874) - retired in 1900
 * Monitor
 * SPANISH MONITOR Puigcerdá (1874) - retired in 1900
 * Barbette ironclad
 * SPANISH BATTLESHIP Pelayo (1887) - scrapped in 1925

Sweden

 * Monitors
 * John Ericsson-class monitor
 * HSWMS John Ericsson (1865) - sold in 1919
 * HSWMS Thordön (1865) (1865) - sold in 1922
 * HSWMS Tirfing (1866) (1866) - sold for scrap in 1922
 * HSWMS Loke (1869) (1869) - scrapped in 1908
 * HSWMS Garmer (1867) - sold for scrap in 1893
 * HSWMS Sköld (1868) - sunk as a target in 1907
 * HSWMS Fenris (1872) - retired in 1903
 * Hildur-class monitor
 * HSWMS Hildur (1872) - sold in 1919
 * HSWMS Gerda (1872) - retired in 1919
 * HSWMS Ulf (1873) - sold in 1919
 * HSWMS Berserk (1874) - sold in 1919
 * HSWMS Björn (1874) - sold in 1919
 * HSWMS Sölve (1875) - sold in 1919
 * HSWMS Folke (1875) - decommissioned in 1919
 * Coastal defence ships
 * Svea-class coastal defence ship
 * HSWMS Svea (1885) - retired in 1941
 * HSWMS Göta (1889) - retired in 1923
 * HSWMS Thule (1893) - retired in 1923