fire ship

American  

noun

1. a vessel loaded with combustibles and explosives, ignited, and set adrift to destroy an enemy's ships or constructions.

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fire ship British  

noun

1. a vessel loaded with explosives and used, esp formerly, as a bomb by igniting it and directing it to drift among an enemy's warships

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Etymology

Origin of fire ship

First recorded in 1580–90

Example Sentences

Somers died when the fire ship he commanded exploded in Tripoli Harbor.

From Washington Times • May 27, 2017

Giving his fire ship a mighty shove he sent it directly between the scows and then he made a great dive down and away.

From The Keepers of the Trail A Story of the Great Woods by Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)

The Newcastle, man-of-war; the Queenborough, frigate; and the Protector, fire ship were driven ashore and dashed to pieces; but the crews, with the exception of seven, were saved.

From With Clive in India Or, The Beginnings of an Empire by Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)

The fire ship in its place at the head of the line soon met the largest ship, and instantly grappled itself firmly to her side.

From Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 5 by Sylvester, Charles Herbert

Then out of the lake the pirates sailed to meet the Spaniards, the fire ship leading the way, and bearing down directly upon the admiral's vessel.

From Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates; fiction, fact & fancy concerning the buccaneers & marooners of the Spanish main by Pyle, Howard