# Talk:Re Umberto-class ironclad

What is the criteria for determining this class' 'ironclad' status? In which ways is the steel-hulled, steel armoured Re Umberto design so different to the following higher-freeboard types like the RN's Royal Sovereign, especially when compared with earlier types of central citadel battleship like the de Laurias and Edinburghs?
While I appreciate that the term 'ironclad' was in use for a long time by the general public, press and even with navies, so too was the term 'battleship' in quite early use by navies and publications. Wells is using "ironclad" in 1898, while 'battleship' is in use in the late 1880s.
I completely appreciate that these terms are not technical descriptors, but both Parkes and Conways consider these ships under the heading/classification of 'battleship. 2A00:23C7:3119:AD01:19A1:1638:5B80:27B5 (talk) 16:46, 27 April 2023 (UTC)