Boarding Bridge (Corvus)

Boarding Bridge (Corvus)

During the era of the Republic, the Roman army was extremely powerful on the mainland. However, during the First Punic War for Sicilian possession, they faced the Carthaginians who were skillful seafarers and had a large fleet. The Romans soon realised that in order to win the war, they must also defeat the Puns at sea, which is why they built up a large fleet and developed a major technological innovation. The warships
were equipped with a boarding bridge, called
a corvus, which was usually 9–11 metres long.
As they approached the enemy ship, the
corvus was lowered, allowing the Romans
to march onto the enemy vessel and
fight as if they were on dry land.

The impact of the corvus on the course of the war

The corvus was first used by the Romans during the Mylaean Battle of 260 BC, surprising their opponents, and leading them to victory. The Carthaginians could not find an adequate way to respond to this new kind of warfare, and their fleet suffered consecutive defeats.

Metal spike

The huge metal spike pierced the enemy ship’s deck and held the two ships together.

During ancient sea battles, the ships first tried to inflict damage on enemy ships and their crew from further away with bows, slings or catapults. As they approached each other, they used rams to puncture the opponent’s ship, or they advanced alongside them in order to destroy their oars and immobilise it.

In addition, the Romans were provided with another form of attack thanks to the corvus.

If they could get close enough, the boarding bridge was lowered onto the other ship, with the metal spike on its underside
ensuring a firm grip between the two ships.

The Roman soldiers then ran onto the enemy ship, capturing it in close combat.