 During the siege of Antwerp in 1585, the Dutch defenders partially protected their man-of-war "Finis Bellis" with iron plates.In 1782, Chevalier d'Arçon attacked Gibraltar with floating batteries featuring a 1.8 meter thick armour out of wooden planks, iron bars and leather, but met little success.Early ship armour probably had its origins in applying thin sheets of metal to ship undersides for preservative reasons.