 The Italian "Re d'Italia" had been rammed and sunk by the Austrian flagship, "Ferdinand Max", at the Battle of Lissa in 1866.This had started a vogue for ramming (which persisted until the 1890s), and many naval experts even believed this was the most effective weapon a ship could have.For example Gerard Noel won the 1874 Royal United Services Institute essay contest with an article that asserted that "[i]n a general action I do not hold that the guns will be the principal weapon".