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

Nevertheless many ships drifted from their course; fourteen of them were found by a fire ship and conducted to Halifax.

From The Voyage of The First Hessian Army from Portsmouth to New York, 1776 by Pfister, Albert

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)

On the 16th of October, 1746, he was made lieutenant of a frigate, and at the time of his offer was still only captain of a fire ship.

From Celebrated Travels and Travellers Part 2. The Great Navigators of the Eighteenth Century by Benett, Léon

At length the Tyrians determined on attempting to destroy all these wooden works by means of what is called in modern times a fire ship.

From Alexander the Great Makers of History by Abbott, Jacob