 Ironclads were designed for several roles , including as high seas battleships , coastal defense ships , and long @-@ range cruisers . The rapid evolution of warship design in the late 19th century transformed the ironclad from a wooden @-@ hulled vessel that carried sails to supplement its steam engines into the steel @-@ built , turreted battleships and cruisers familiar in the 20th century . This change was pushed forward by the development of heavier naval guns ( the ironclads of the 1880s carried some of the heaviest guns ever mounted at sea ) , more sophisticated steam engines , and advances in metallurgy which made steel shipbuilding possible . 
 Ironclads <a href='uninflect' title='1'><mark>were</mark></a> designed for several roles , including as high seas battleships , coastal defense ships , and long @-@ range cruisers . The rapid evolution of warship design in the late 19th century transformed the ironclad from a wooden @-@ hulled vessel <a href='null_relcl' title='2'><mark>that</mark></a>carried sails to supplement its steam engines into the steel @-@ built , turreted battleships and cruisers familiar in the 20th century . This change was pushed forward by the development of heavier naval guns ( the ironclads of the 1880s carried some of the heaviest guns ever mounted at sea ) , more sophisticated steam engines , and advances in metallurgy which made steel shipbuilding possible . 
Ironclads was designed for several roles , including as high seas battleships , coastal defense ships , and long @-@ range cruisers . The rapid evolution of warship design in the late 19th century transformed the ironclad from a wooden @-@ hulled vessel carried sails to supplement its steam engines into da steel @-@ built , turreted battleships and cruisers familiar in tda20th century . This change was pushed forward by thdaevelopment of heavier naval guns ( the ironclads of the 1880s carried sum of thedaaviest guns ever mounted at sea ) , more sophisticated steam engines , and advances in metallurgy which made steel shipbuilding possible .