The shell was cast as a single piece to perfectly fit the timbers it protects. The bronze that makes up the shell is a high-quality alloy containing 9.78% tin with traces of lead and other elements. It is 226 centimetres (89 in) long with a maximum width of 76 centimetres (30 in) and a maximum height of 96 centimetres (38 in). The Athlit ram consists of a single bronze casting weighing 465 kilograms (1,025 lb). It was also less likely to become stuck in the hull of its target. The blunt edge of the ram and the patterned protrusion were intended to break open the seams of the target ship while at the same time dispersing the force of impact on the attacking ship to prevent the ram from twisting off and damaging the attacking ship. The evidence for this lies in the remnants of timbers found inside the Athlit ram when it was discovered. Heavy timbers were shaped and attached to the hull, and then the bronze ram was created to fit around the timbers for added strength. 700 BC, and the Athlit ram's construction implies advanced technology that was developed over a long period of time. Rams were thought to be one of the main weapons of war galleys after c. Carbon 14 dating of timber remnants date it to between 530 BC and 270 BC. The Athlit ram, found in 1980 off the coast of Israel near Atlit, is an example of an ancient ram. The Athlit ram, Israeli National Maritime Museum Many other historical vessels were used as rams, such as the Korean Turtle ship. The ram most likely evolved from cutwaters, structures designed to support the keel-stem joint and allow for greater speed and dynamism in the water. They appear first on stylized images found on Greek pottery and jewelry and on Assyrian reliefs and paintings. There is evidence available to suggest that it existed much earlier, probably even before the 8th century BC. Rams were first recorded in use at the battle of Alalia in 535 BC. The Athenians were especially known for their diekplous and periplous tactics that disabled enemy ships with speed and ramming techniques. Naval warfare in the Mediterranean rarely used sails, and the use of rams specifically required oarsmen rather than sails in order to maneuver with accuracy and speed, and particularly to reverse the movement of a ramming ship to disentangle it from its sinking victim, lest it be pulled down when its victim sank. The ram was a naval weapon in the Greek/ Roman antiquity and was used in such naval battles as Salamis and Actium. It carries a 35-character Punic inscription, offered as a supplication to the god Baal The ram has damage attributed to collision(s) with Roman ships (ram against ram). On December 21, 1864, Lincoln promoted Farragut to vice admiral.This Carthaginian naval ram from the Battle of the Aegates (First Punic War, 241 B.C.) was discovered in 2010 at a depth of 80 meters. The bulk of Farragut's fleet (consisting of four monitors and fourteen wooden steamships) successfully entered the bay and, despite shelling from the guns at Fort Morgan, defeated Admiral Franklin Buchanan's squadron of three gunboats and the large ironclad CSS Tennessee-blowing a hole in latter, causing Buchanan to run up the white flag in surrender. To which he apparently replied, 'Damn the torpedoes. Mobile was heavily protected, both by on shore batteries and by tethered naval mines, known as torpedoes.įarragut ordered his fleet to charge the bay but when one of the lead boats struck a mine and sank, the others pulled back.įrom his perch high up on the main mast of his flagship, the USS Hartford, Farragut shouted down (using a trumpet), 'What's the trouble?' In response, he was told of the torpedoes.

In August 1864, Farragut was tasked with closing the port, thus completing the blockade of Southern ports. One of the few ports to defy the blockade was Mobile in Alabama. In 1864, at the Battle of Mobile Bay, he refused to consider retreat, shouting the now famous phrase-albeit a rather longer version of it.ĭuring the Civil War, Union ships imposed a blockade on Confederate ports. naval officer, who received great acclaim for his service to the Union during the American Civil War. This saying is attributed to David Glasgow Farragut (1801-1870) - a U.S. We're not going to look at the risks, we're just going to do it! Background:

Prepare for ramming speed