|
12-pounder Long Gun
The 12-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. They were used as main guns on the most typical frigates of the early 18th century, on the second deck of fourth-rate ships of the line, and on the upper decks or castles of 80-gun and 120-gun ships of the line. Naval 12-pounders were similar to 12-pound Army guns in the Gribeauval system: the canon lourd de 12 Gribeauval, used as a siege weapon, and the canon de 12 Gribeauval, which was considered a heavy field artillery piece. Usage As the 12-pounder calibre was consistent with both the French and the British calibre systems, it was a widespread gun amongst nations between the 17th and the 19th century. From the late 18th century, the French Navy used the 12-pounder in three capacities: as main gun on early frigates under Louis XIV, on standard frigates under Louis XV and on light frigates under Louis XVI; as secondary artillery on 64-gun ships; to arm the castles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Frigate Hermione (2012)
''Hermione'' is a 32-gun ''Concorde''-class frigate fitted for 12-pounder guns, completed in Rochefort by the Asselin organisation in 2014. It is a reproduction of the 1779 ''Hermione'', which achieved fame by ferrying General La Fayette to the United States in 1780 to allow him to rejoin the American side in the American Revolutionary War. Construction This project was conceived by members of the Centre International de la Mer in 1992, and construction began in 1997, envisaging a launch in April 2015 (as compared to the original, which took less than a year to build). The shipyard was in one of the two dry docks beside the Corderie Royale at Rochefort. As far as possible, traditional construction methods were used although modern power tools were substituted for the period tools on some jobs. The site is open to the public, and admission fees help fund the project. Plans of a sister ship, , were used. The cost was estimated to be $22 million. The original plans had been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Navy
The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces in the world recognised as being a blue-water navy. The French Navy is capable of operating globally and conducting expeditionary missions, maintaining a significant Standing French Navy Deployments, overseas presence. The French Navy is one of eight naval forces currently operating Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft carriers,Along with the United States Navy, U.S., Royal Navy, U.K., People's Liberation Army Navy, China, Russian Navy, Russia, Italian Navy, Italy, Indian Navy, India, and Spanish Navy, Spain with its flagship being the only Nuclear marine propulsion, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier outside the United States Navy, and one of two non-American vessels to use Aircraft catapult, catapults to launch aircraft. Founded in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second-rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns and were originally two-deckers or had only partially armed third gun decks. A "second rate" was the second largest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six "ratings" based on size and firepower. They were essentially smaller and hence cheaper versions of the 100-gun first-rates. Like the first rates, they fought in the line of battle, but unlike the first rates, which were considered too valuable to risk in distant stations, the second rates often served also in major overseas stations as flagships. They had a reputation for poor handling and slow sailing. They were popular as flagships of admirals commanding the Windward and/or Leeward Islands station, which was usually a Rear-admiral of the red. Rating Typically measuring a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Razee
A razee or razée is a sailing ship that has been cut down (''razeed'') to reduce the number of decks. The word is derived from the French ''vaisseau rasé'', meaning a razed (in the sense of shaved down) ship. Seventeenth century During the transition from galleons to more frigate-like warships (1600 – 1650) there was a general awareness that the reduction in topweight afforded by the removal of upperworks made ships better sailers; Rear Admiral Sir William Symonds noted after the launch of ''Sovereign of the Seas'' that she was "cut down" and made a safe and fast ship. In 1651 ''Sovereign of the Seas'' was again made more manoeuvrable by reducing the number of cannon. Ships were razeed not only by navies but also by pirates – Captain Charles Johnson's ''A General History of the Pyrates''''A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates'', Charles Johnson, 1724. (Modern paperback by The Lyons Press, 2002, ) describes George Lowt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early Middle Ages, medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Kingdom of France, France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the English Navy of the early 16th century; the oldest of the British Armed Forces, UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service. From the early 18th century until the World War II, Second World War, it was the world's most powerful navy. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing and defending the British Empire, and four Imperial fortress colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superior ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Ship Vengeur (1803)
''Vengeur'' ("Avenger") was a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the ''Océan'' type, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané. She was the first ship in French service to sport 18-pounder long guns on her third deck, instead of the lighter 12-pounder long guns used before for this role. Career Laid down as ''Peuple'' in covered basin no.3 at Brest Dockyard in October 1793, she was renamed as ''Vengeur'' after the Bataille du 13 prairial an 2 in honour of the ''Vengeur du Peuple'' by a decree passed by the National Convention. She was launched on 1 October 1803 and completed in February 1804. She was again renamed in March 1805, becoming ''Impérial''. During the War of the Third Coalition, ''Impérial'' was the flagship of a squadron under the overall command of Vice-Admiral Corentin-Urbain Leissègues which was part of a larger French force that sailed from Brest, France, on 13 December 1805 for what was planned as a 14-month cruise to attack British ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poop Deck
In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or " aft", part of the superstructure of a ship. The name originates from the French word for stern, , from Latin . Thus the poop deck is technically a stern deck, which in sailing ships was usually elevated as the roof of the stern or "after" cabin, also known as the "poop cabin" (or simply the poop). On sailing ships, the helmsman would steer the craft from the quarterdeck, immediately in front of the poop deck. At the stern, the poop deck provides an elevated position ideal for observation. While the main purpose of the poop is adding buoyancy to the aft, on a sailing ship the cabin was also used as an accommodation for the shipmaster and officers. On modern, motorized warships, the ship functions which were once carried out on the poop deck have been moved to the bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forecastle
The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck (ship), deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase "Wiktionary:before the mast, before the mast" which denotes anything related to ordinary sailors, as opposed to a ship's officers. History and design In medieval shipbuilding, a ship of war was usually equipped with a tall, multi-deck castle-like structure in the bow (ship), bow of the ship. It served as a platform for archers to shoot down on enemy ships, or as a defensive stronghold if the ship were boarded. A similar but usually much larger structure, called the aftcastle, was at the aft end of the ship, often stretching all the way from the main Mast (sailing), mast to the stern. Having such tall upper works on the ship was detrimental to sailing performance. As cannons were introduced and gunfire replaced boarding as th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
18-pounder Long Gun
The 18-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of naval artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. They were used as main guns on the most typical frigates of the early 19th century, on the second deck of third-rate ships of the line, and even on the third deck of late first-rate ships of the line. Usage As the 18-pounder calibre was consistent with both the French and the British calibre systems, it was used in many European navies between the 17th and the 19th century. It was a heavy calibre for early ships of the line, arming, for instance, the main batteries of in 1636. From the late 18th century, the French Navy used the 18-pounder in three capacities: as the main gun on frigates, as the battery on the upper gundeck of two-deckers, and lastly on the top deck of three-deckers. French frigates began carrying the 18-pounder under Louis XV, when the two frigates, originally designed to carry 24-pounders, were equipped with it; at the time, a typical frig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
24-pounder Long Gun
The 24-pounder long gun was a heavy calibre piece of artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. 24-pounders were in service in the navies of France, Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States. They were comparable to the Canon de 24 Gribeauval used by the French Army as its largest piece of siege artillery. 24-pounders were used as main guns on the heaviest frigates of the early 19th century and on fourth-rate ships of the line, on the second deck of first-rate ships of the line, and on the second deck of a few large third-rates. Usage The 24-pounder calibre was consistent with both the French and the British calibre systems, and was a widespread gun amongst nations between the 17th and the 19th century. From the late 18th century, the French Navy used the 24-pounder in two capacities: as main gun on frigates and 64-guns, or as secondary artillery on three-deckers and even enlarged versions two-deckers. Under Louis XV, a typical heavy fri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lead Ship
The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may take five to ten years to build. Improvements based on experience with building and operating the lead ship are likely to be incorporated into the design or construction of later ships in the class, so it is rare to have vessels that are identical. The second and later ships are often started before the first one is completed, launched and tested. Nevertheless, building copies is still more efficient and cost effective than building prototypes, and the lead ship will usually be followed by copies with some improvements rather than radically different versions. The improvements will sometimes be retrofitted to the lead ship. Occasionally, the lead ship will be launched and commissioned for shakedown testing before following ship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First-rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at least 400 men, the size and establishment of first-rates evolved over the following 250 years to eventually denote ships of the line carrying at least 80 guns across three gundecks. By the end of the eighteenth century, a first-rate carried no fewer than 100 guns and more than 850 crew, and had a measurement ( burthen) tonnage of some 2,000 tons. Origins The concept of a rating system for British naval vessels dates to the accession of James I of England, following which the fleet was formally divided into "great", "middling" and "lesser" craft. A 1618 commission of enquiry added a further designation of "Ships Royal" for the largest and most prestigious vessels in the fleet, each capable of carrying at least 400 men. The first Ships Royal – ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
