What is "bomb vessel"

Bomb \Bomb\, n. [F. bombe bombshell, fr. L. bombus a humming or buzzing noise, Gr. ?.]

1. A great noise; a hollow sound. [Obs.]

   A pillar of iron . . . which if you had struck, would make . . . a great bomb in the chamber beneath.
   --Bacon.

2. (Mil.) A shell; esp. a spherical shell, like those fired from mortars. See Shell.

3. A bomb ketch.

   Bomb chest (Mil.), a chest filled with bombs, or only with gunpowder, placed under ground, to cause destruction by its explosion.

   Bomb ketch, Bomb vessel (Naut.), a small ketch or vessel, very strongly built, on which mortars are mounted to be used in naval bombardments; -- called also mortar vessel.

   Bomb lance, a lance or harpoon with an explosive head, used in whale fishing.

   Volcanic bomb, a mass of lava of a spherical or pear shape. ``I noticed volcanic bombs.''
   --Darwin.

A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannon ( long guns or carronades)—although bomb vessels carried a few cannon for self-defence—but rather mortars mounted forward near the bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a ballistic arc. Explosive shells or carcasses were employed rather than solid shot. Bomb vessels were specialized ships designed for bombarding (hence the name) fixed positions on land. In more modern times, the same role was carried out by battleships, cruisers and destroyers, as well as the purpose-built World War I- and II-era monitors.