Gunboat

The Gunboat was a class of warship operated by, among others, the British, Spanish and Portuguese navies.

During the Golden Age of Piracy the gunboat was used as a quick response attack vessel by not only the navies, but civilian operators as well. This lightly armed vessel provided ample speed and a quick rate of fire, and could be crewed by as few as five people. The trade-off being that it bore next-to-no armour whatsoever. Each ship bore a single mast, and was capable of fielding just two guns per side over a single deck.