The Battle of Lepanto (1571), a Battle of Ironclads by European Industrial Empires
 

Did you know that even during the 1500s, the European navies already used ironclad battleships? The first sail-powered ironclad battleship in Europe was the Iron Ram invented by a Viking named Eric Hakonsson, the Earl of Lade, Governor of Norway and Earl of Northumbria in 1000 which used bands of iron to strengthen the ship's hull. It was used successfully in the naval Battle of Svolder in 1000 and was instrumental in the conquest of England by Viking Emperor Canute the Great. The naval battles of Lepanto were one of the first naval battles to be fought with sail-powered, but iron-plated, armored battleships. Just like the Korea-Japan War, the European battleships of Spain and the 1st German Reich that participated in the Battle of Lepanto carried the same weapons as the Korean and Japanese battleships, but with the addition of Bomb Vessels, which are ships that use heavy mortar cannons to bomb enemy ships and coastal buildings with wick-ignited mortar shells, and these Bomb Vessels were invented in England in 1347. The Europeans also possessed the same heavy industries as the Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese which allowed them to mass produce guns, cannons, ammunition, explosives, and ironclad battleships. The enemy of the Spanish and German Empires was the Islamic Ottoman Caliphate and because their ships were made of wood rather than iron, they were easily destroyed by European artillery shells and the Islamic Caliphate had to halt its planned invasion of Europe.

Below is a woodblock print of the Santa Anna Ironclad battleship used during the Battle of Lepanto:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...de_caraque.jpg

Below is a photo of a replica of the Santa Anna Ironclad battleship used during the Battle of Lepanto:

https://nationalinterest.org/sites/d...?itok=fdFJCnYS

Below is a photo of a replica of the Galleon of Venice Ironclad battleship used during the Battle of Lepanto:

https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/me...he-galleon.jpg

Below is a painting of an English Bomb Vessel:

https://i0.wp.com/www.revolutionaryw...?fit=625%2C534

Below is a painting of the Fin de la Guerre Ironclad battleship used in the 1585 Revolt of the Netherlands:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._la_Guerre.jpg