British Frigate vs French Frigate 1793-1814 View in Store Code: DUE 52 Author: Mark Lardas In the Age of Fighting Sail (1650-1820), ambitious officers of the navies of many nations sought command of a frigate. Speedy, nimble and formidably armed, frigates often operated independently, unlike the larger ships of the line. Legendary sailors such…
Napoleonic Naval Armaments 1792–1815 View in Store Code: NVG 90 Author: Chris Henry There were many elements to British Napoleonic naval success but one of the key factors was gunnery. Other countries developed different naval weapons to fit their maritime strategies. The French and Spanish systems developed on similar lines, while those of the…
American Heavy Frigates 1794-1826 View in Store Code: NVG 79 Author: Mark Lardas By 1805 the 44-gun frigate was probably viewed as a failed experiment whilst the 38-gun frigate was viewed as the vessel of the future. Ten years later every navy was building 44-gun frigates and today it is viewed as the symbol…
Nelson’s Sailors View in Store Code: WAR 100 Author: Gregory Fremont-Barnes Drawing on many contemporary sources and eyewitness accounts, this book examines the lives of the ordinary sailors of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815), detailing their attitudes, duties, comforts, hardships, vices and virtues. The popular image of the…
British Napoleonic Ship-of-the-Line View in Store Code: NVG 42 Author: Angus Konstam The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars encompassed a period when rival European fleets vied for naval supremacy, and naval tactics were evolving. The British Royal Navy emerged triumphant as the leading world sea power, and the epitome of Britannic naval strength was…
From the French Revolution to Trafalgar View in Store Code: WAR 97 Author: Terry Crowd This book gives a detailed and authentic account of the life and experiences of French warship crews from the Revolution up to Trafalgar. It describes the recruitment and composition of crews, the different duties performed and the living conditions…
Nelson’s Navy View in Store Code: ELI 48 Author: Phillip Haythornthwaite Despite the many celebrated victories of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars, the role of the Royal Navy should never be overlooked. The ‘wooden walls’ formed the country’s first and most important line of defence, and ranged throughout the world to protect…
Horatio Nelson View in Store Code: CMD 16 Author: Angus Konstam The most famous admiral in history, Horatio Nelson’s string of naval victories helped secure Britain’s place as the world’s dominant maritime power, a position she held for more than a century after Nelson’s death. A young officer during the American Revolution, Nelson rose…
Ships of the line at Trafalgar 1805 View in Store Code: DUE 9 Author: Gregory Fremont-Barnes Late in the morning on 21 October 1805, warships from the British and combined French and Spanish fleets clashed off Cape Trafalgar on the Spanish coast. After a six month game of cat and mouse across the Atlantic,…
A number of the most famous ships in history were 1st rate ships-of-the-line hailing from the Age of Sail. We take a look at 1st Rates in Black Seas. The Rating System Britain’s Royal Navy introduced a system of rating the ships of its fleet based on the number of guns they carried. This rating…
Dan Hewitson