British ships did not participate in any major wars in the ironclad period . The Royal Navy 's ironclads only saw action as part of colonial battles or one @-@ sided engagements like the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882 . Defending British interests against Ahmed ' Urabi 's Egyptian revolt , a British fleet opened fire on the fortifications around the port of Alexandria . A mixture of centre @-@ battery and turret ships bombarded Egyptian positions for most of a day , forcing the Egyptians to retreat ; return fire from Egyptian guns was heavy at first , but inflicted little damage , killing only five British sailors . Few Egyptian guns were actually dismounted , on the other hand , and the fortifications themselves were typically left intact . Had the Egyptians actually utilised the heavy mortars that were at their disposal , they might have quickly turned the tide , for the attacking British ironclads found it easy ( for accuracy 's sake ) to simply anchor whilst firing — perfect targets for high @-@ angle fire upon their thinly armoured topdecks .