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Gunboats were designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets. Usually they were small undecked vessels carrying a single smoothbore cannon in the bow. The small gunboat had advantages: if it only carried a single cannon, the boat could maneuver in shallow or restricted areas – such as rivers or lakes – where larger ships could sail only with difficulty. The gun that such boats carried could be quite heavy; a 32-pounder for instance. As such boats were cheap and quick to build, naval forces favored swarm tactics: while a single hit from a frigate's broadside would destroy a gunboat, a frigate facing a large squadron of gunboats could suffer serious damage before it could manage to sink them all.
Nederland 2025; 1,0.
Source: https://www.abebooks.com/art-prints/Dut ... 7524515/bd.