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HMS Dolphin (1781)
HMS ''Dolphin'' was a 44-gun fifth rate ship of the Royal Navy launched in 1781. Designed by Sir Thomas Slade, she carried her armament on two decks and had a main battery of 18-pound long guns. She made an appearance at the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1781. The rest of her 36-year career was uneventful, much of it being spent as a transport or hospital ship, armed only with twenty or twenty-four, 9-pounders. She was broken up at Portsmouth in 1817. Construction and armament ''Dolphin'' was one of the nineteen ''Roebuck-class'' fifth-rates built for the Royal Navy between 1776 and 1783. A requirement for a two-deck ship capable of operating in the shallower waters of North America, led to the resurrection of a design by renowned naval architect, Sir Thomas SladeWinfield p. 176 Ordered by The Admiralty on 8 January 1777, ''Dolphin'' was the only one of her class not built under contract, and her keel of , was laid down on 1 May at Chatham Dockyard. As built, she was long at th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fifth-rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal Navy as originally devised had just four rates, but early in the reign of Charles I, the original fourth rate (derived from the "Small Ships" category under his father, James I) was divided into new classifications of fourth, fifth, and sixth rates. While a fourth-rate ship was defined as a ship of the line, fifth and the smaller sixth-rate ships were never included among ships-of-the-line. Nevertheless, during the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century, fifth rates often found themselves involved among the battle fleet in major actions. Structurally, these were two-deckers, with a complete battery on the lower deck, and fewer guns on the upper deck (below the forecastle and quarter decks, usually with no guns in the waist on this deck). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dogger Bank
Dogger Bank ( Dutch: ''Doggersbank'', German: ''Doggerbank'', Danish: ''Doggerbanke'') is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about off the east coast of England. During the last ice age, the bank was part of a large landmass connecting mainland Europe and the British Isles, now known as Doggerland. It has long been known by fishermen to be a productive fishing bank; it was named after the '' doggers'', medieval Dutch fishing boats especially used for catching cod. At the beginning of the 21st century, the area was identified as a potential site for a UK round 3 wind farm, being developed as Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Name The name Dogger Bank was first recorded in the mid-17th century. It is probably derived from the word "'' dogger''" used for a two-masted boat of the type that trawled for fish in the area in medieval times. The area has similar names in Dutch, German, Swedish, and Danish. Geography The bank extends over about , and is about in exte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
En Flûte
''En flûte'' (French: "as a fluyt") is a French naval expression of the Age of Sail to designate the use of a warship as a transport with reduced armament.Willaumez, p. 294 Some warships, ships of the line or frigates, were occasionally used with limited artillery, by reducing the number and calibre of their guns. Since ships have a limited amount of cargo space, they may be armed ''en flûte'' to make room for other cargo, such as troops and ammunition, reducing the ship's ability to defend herself if attacked. The term emerged from the French name for a type of ship – the cargo-carrying ''flûte'' used extensively as a mercantile ship or as a naval auxiliary vessel. In turn this derived from the Dutch name ''fluyt'', probably the most common type of cargo-carrier during the seventeenth century – when in English usage it was commonly rendered as a flyboat. This tactic was most relevant in the Age of Sail, when gun decks took up most of the space on a warship above the wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deptford Dockyard
Deptford Dockyard was an important Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and many significant events and ships have been associated with it. Founded by Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII in 1513, the dockyard was the most significant royal dockyard of the Tudor period and remained one of the principal naval yards for three hundred years. Important new technological and organisational developments were trialled here, and Deptford came to be associated with the great mariners of the time, including Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh. The yard expanded rapidly throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, encompassing a large area and serving for a time as the headquarters of naval administration, and the HM Victualling Yard, Deptford, associated Victualling Yard became the Victualling Board's main depot. Tsar Peter t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainland Europe's westernmost capital city (second overall after Reykjavík, Reykjavik), and the only one along the Atlantic coast, the others (Reykjavik and Dublin) being on islands. The city lies in the western portion of the Iberian Peninsula, on the northern shore of the River Tagus. The western portion of its metro area, the Portuguese Riviera, hosts the westernmost point of Continental Europe, culminating at Cabo da Roca. Lisbon is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world and the second-oldest European capital city (after Athens), predating other modern European capitals by centuries. Settled by pre-Celtic tribes and later founded and civilized by the Phoenicians, Julius Caesar made it a municipium ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capture Of Minorca (1798)
In November 1798 a British expedition captured the island of Menorca (historically called "Minorca" by the British) from Spain. A large force under General Charles Stuart landed on the island and forced its Spanish garrison to surrender in eight days with only some bloodshed. The British occupied the island for four years, using it as a major naval base, before handing it back to Spain following the Treaty of Amiens. Background The island had traditionally belonged to Spain, but was captured in 1708 by the British and was subsequently ceded to Britain by Spain under Article XI of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). The British retained their possession until 1783 when it was returned to Spain at the Treaty of Paris. During their occupation the British had used it as a naval base, but it was extremely vulnerable to capture by Spanish or French forces as shown by two separate sieges in 1756 and 1781. While Britain and Spain had initially entered the French Revolutionary War as allies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean (Strait of Gibraltar). It has an area of and is Gibraltar–Spain border, bordered to the north by Spain (Campo de Gibraltar). The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area. Gibraltar is home to some 34,003 people, primarily Gibraltarians. Gibraltar was founded as a permanent watchtower by the Almohad Caliphate, Almohads in 1160. It switched control between the Nasrids, Crown of Castile, Castilians and Marinids in the Late Middle Ages, acquiring larger strategic clout upon the destruction of nearby Algeciras . It became again part of the Crown of Castile in 1462. In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces Capture of Gibraltar, captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portoferraio
Portoferraio () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Livorno, on the edge of the eponymous harbour of the island of Elba. It is the island's largest town. Because of its terrain, many of its buildings are situated on the slopes of a tiny hill bordered on three sides by the sea. History It was founded by Cosimo I de' Medici, List of rulers of Tuscany, Grand Duke of Tuscany, in 1548, with the name of ''Cosmopoli'' ("Cosimo's City"), to balance the presence of the Spanish citadel in Porto Azzurro. It had three forts (Forte Stella, Forte Falcone, and Forte Inglese) and a massive line of walls, all still visible today. The name evolved from Ferraia in Etruscan civilization, Etruscan times, Fabricia with Romans and Ferraio with Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The city remained attached to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until the late 18th century, when, due to its strategic position, it came into contention with France, United Kingdom, Great Britain, and Habsburg monarchy, Austria. A Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Revolutionary War
The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted France against Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and several other countries. The wars are divided into two periods: the War of the First Coalition (1792–1797) and the War of the Second Coalition (1798–1802). Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension. After a decade of constant warfare and aggressive diplomacy, France had conquered territories in the Italian peninsula, the Low Countries, and the Rhineland with its very large and powerful military which had been totally mobilized for war against most of Europe with mass conscription of the vast French population. French success in these conflicts ensured military occupation and the spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe. As early as 1791, the other monarchies of Europe looked with outrage at the revolution ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the west almost by the Morocco–Spain border. The Mediterranean Sea covers an area of about , representing 0.7% of the global ocean surface, but its connection to the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar—the narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates the Iberian Peninsula in Europe from Morocco in Africa—is only wide. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago. The sea was an important rout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nootka Crisis
The Nootka Crisis, also known as the Spanish Armament, was an international incident and political dispute between Spain and Great Britain triggered by a series of events revolving around sovereignty claims and rights of navigation and trade. It took place during the summer of 1789 at the Spanish outpost of Santa Cruz de Nuca on Vancouver Island. The commander of the outpost, Esteban José Martínez Fernández y Martínez de la Sierra, seized several British merchantmen intending on engaging in the maritime fur trade and building a permanent outpost at Nootka Sound. A public outcry in Britain led to the mobilization of the Royal Navy, and the possibility of war. Both sides called upon allies. The Dutch joined the side of the British; the Spanish Navy was mobilized in response along with French Navy, the navy of Spain's ally France, though the French soon announced they would not go to war. Without French help, Spain had little hope against the British and Dutch, resulting in the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In Ordinary
''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household and public officials more generally, it indicates that a position is a permanent one (in contrast to positions that are extraordinary). In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair or maintenance, a meaning coming over time to cover a reserve fleet or "mothballed" ships. History of use The term arose from the development of three separate financial estimates for Royal Navy expenditure; the "Ordinary" estimate which covered routine expenses such as the maintenance of dockyards and naval establishments, the "Sea Service" estimate which supported ships and crew at or capable of going to sea, and the estimate for "Extraordinary Repair" which met the cost of major rebuilding or refit. A ship that was no longer required for active service, or was too decrepit to remain at sea, would be transferred from the Sea Service to the Ordinary est ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
