A turtle ship, also known as Geobukseon (거북선, Korean pronunciation: [kʌbuksən]), was a type of large Korean warship that was used intermittently by the Royal Korean Navy during the Joseon dynasty from the early 15th century up until the 19th century. It was used alongside the panokseon warships in the fight against invading Japanese naval ships. The ship 's name derives from its protective shell- like covering. This design is often recognized as the first armored ship in the world.
The first references to older, first generation turtle ships, known as gwiseon (귀선; 龜船, Korean pronunciation: [kɥisʌn]), come from 1413 and 1415 records in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, which mention a mock battlebetween a gwiseon and a Japanese warship. However, these early turtle ships soon fell out of use as Korea ’s naval preparedness decreased during a long period of relative peace.
Turtle ships participated in the war against Japanese naval forces supporting Toyotomi Hideyoshi's attempts to conquer Korea from 1592 to 1598. Korean Admiral Yi Sun -Shin is credited with designing the ship. His turtle ships were equipped with at least five different types of cannons. Their most distinguishable feature was a dragon -shaped head at the bow (front) that could launch cannon fire or flames from the mouth.
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