Fire Ship

An expendable vessel deliberately set ablaze and steered or drifted into an anchored enemy fleet, used to cause panic, destroy shipping, and force ships to cut their anchor cables and scatter. Francis Drake employed fire ships during his 1587 raid on Cadiz and again against the Spanish Armada in 1588. More a naval tactic than a personal weapon, fire ships were nonetheless a devastating tool in the arsenal of privateers and naval commanders alike.