Although built in response to "Gloire", the "Warrior"s had a very different operational concept from the French ship, which was meant to replace wooden ships of the line. The "Warriors "were designed by Watts as 40-gun armoured frigates and were not intended to stand in the line of battle, as the Admiralty was uncertain about their ability to withstand concentrated fire from wooden two- and three-deck ships of the line. Unlike "Gloire", they were planned to be fast enough to force battle on a fleeing enemy and to control the range at which a battle was fought to their own advantage. In contrast to "Gloire"s square profile, "Warrior" has a clipper bow, but she is twice as long as a typical clipper ship.