- The ‘Corvus’ was a device used by the Roman galleys between 260-241 BCE during the First Punic War against the Carthaginian galleys.
- It was a heavy gangplank with a spike, positioned in the Prow in a raised position, which was dropped onto the enemy deck to hold the galley in place, whilst the Roman Marines boarded the vessel.
Boarding
- In 260 BCE it was first used by the Romans during the First Punic War. The Republic built a Fleet of 100 Quinqueremes and twenty Triremes, armed with the ‘Corvus’.
- This Tactic enabled the Romans to capture 50 vessels at the Battle of Mylae, resulting in a victory.
- However, it was too heavy to be safe, as it destabilised the vessel, and was eventually abandoned.
- In 241 BCE, at the Battle of the Aegates Islands, the Romans had a new fleet of 200 Quinqueremes with Rams, but without the ‘Corvus’, which had now been abandoned, and they won the Battle.
Milazzo (Mylae)