Editing Bulkhead (partition) (section)

== Purpose ==
Bulkheads in a ship serve several purposes: 
* increase the structural rigidity of the vessel, 
* divide functional areas into rooms and 
* create [[Compartment (ship)|watertight compartment]]s that can [[ship floodability|contain water]] in the case of a hull breach or other leak. 
* some bulkheads and [[deck (ship)|deck]]s are [[fire-resistance rating|fire-resistance rated]] to achieve [[Compartmentalization (fire protection)|compartmentalisation]], a [[passive fire protection]] measure; see [[firewall (construction)]].
Not all bulkheads are intended to be watertight, in modern ships the bottom floor is supported against the hull by transverse walls (bulkheads) and longitudinal walls, being common to use bulkheads with lightening holes.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Eyres |first1=David J. |title=Ship construction |last2=Bruce |first2=George J. |date=2012 |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |isbn=978-0-08-097239-8 |edition=7th |location=Amsterdam, [Netherlands] |pages=180}}</ref>

On an aircraft, bulkheads divide the cabin into multiple areas. On passenger aircraft a common application is for physically dividing cabins used for different classes of service (e.g. [[economy class|economy]] and [[business class|business]].) On combination cargo/passenger, or "combi" aircraft, bulkhead walls are inserted to divide areas intended for passenger seating and cargo storage.