FLAG U.S.S. NEW JERSEY( BB62 ) Audie Bransford 11-1-81

“Firing ships” (also known as fire ships) were fearsome weapons of naval warfare, especially during the 16th to 18th centuries. These vessels, packed with combustibles and set ablaze, were sent drifting toward enemy fleets—intended to ignite chaos, panic, and destruction. Used notably in battles like the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, firing ships combined tactical cunning with sheer psychological terror. Their sacrifice lit the seas—and history—with flames that still capture the imagination today.