History Ship of the line

1 history

1.1 predecessors
1.2 line-of-battle adoption
1.3 evolution of design
1.4 steam power
1.5 decline

history
predecessors

the carrack henri grace à dieu, anthony roll



sovereign of seas, contemporaneous engraving j. payne

the heavily armed carrack, first developed in portugal either trade or war in atlantic ocean, precursor of ship of line. other maritime european states adopted in late 15th , 16th centuries. these vessels developed fusing aspects of cog of north sea , galley of mediterranean sea. cogs, traded in north sea, in baltic sea , along atlantic coasts, had advantage on galleys in battle because had raised platforms called castles @ bow , stern archers occupy fire down on enemy ships or drop heavy weights from. on time these castles became higher , larger, , built structure of ship, increasing overall strength. aspect of cog remained in newer-style carrack designs , proved worth in battles @ diu in 1509.

the mary rose 16th-century english carrack or great ship . heavily armed 78 guns , 91 after upgrade in 1530s. built in portsmouth in 1510–1512, 1 of earliest purpose-built men-of-war in english navy. on 500 tons burthen, had keel of on 32 m (106 ft) , crew of on 200 sailors, 185 soldiers , 30 gunners. although pride of english fleet, accidentally sank during battle of solent, 19 july 1545.

henri grâce à dieu (english: henry grace of god ), nicknamed great harry , english carrack. contemporary mary rose, henri grâce à dieu 165 feet (50 m) long, weighing 1,000–1,500 tons , having complement of 700–1,000. said ordered henry viii in response scottish ship michael, launched in 1511. built @ woolwich dockyard 1512 1514 , 1 of first vessels feature gunports , had twenty of new heavy bronze cannon, allowing broadside. in all, mounted 43 heavy guns , 141 light guns. first english two-decker, , when launched largest , powerful warship in europe, saw little action. present @ battle of solent against francis of france in 1545 (in mary rose sank) appears have been more of diplomatic vessel, sailing on occasion sails of gold cloth. indeed, great ships known ornamental design (some ships, vasa, gilded on stern scrollwork) power possessed.

carracks fitted war carried large-calibre guns aboard. because of higher freeboard , greater load-bearing ability, type of vessel better suited galley gunpowder weapons. because of development conditions in atlantic, these ships more weatherly galleys , better suited open waters. lack of oars meant large crews unnecessary, making long journeys more feasible. disadvantage entirely reliant on wind mobility. galleys still overwhelm great ships, when there little wind , had numerical advantage, great ships increased in size, galleys became less , less useful.

another detriment high forecastle, interfered sailing qualities of ship; bow forced low water while sailing before wind. guns introduced , gunfire replaced boarding primary means of naval combat during 16th century, medieval forecastle no longer needed, , later ships such galleon had low, one-deck-high forecastle. time of 1637 launching of england s sovereign of seas, forecastle had disappeared altogether.

during 16th century galleon evolved carrack. longer , more manoeuvrable type of ship advantages of carrack. main ships of english , spanish fleets in battle of gravelines of 1588 galleons; of english , of spanish galleons survived battle , following storm though spanish galleons suffered heaviest attacks english while regrouping scattered fleet. 17th century every major european naval power building ships these.

with growing importance of colonies , exploration , need maintain trade routes across stormy oceans, galleys , galleasses (a larger, higher type of galley side-mounted guns, lower galleon) used less , less, , in ever more restricted purposes , areas, 1750, few notable exceptions, of little use in naval battles.

line-of-battle adoption

the cannon shot, 1707, willem van de velde younger depicts 18th-century dutch man-of-war.

king erik xiv of sweden initiated construction of ship mars in 1563; might have been first attempt of battle tactic, 50 years ahead of widespread adoption of line of battle strategy. mars largest ship in world @ time of build, equipped 107 guns @ full length of 96 meters. ironically became first ship sunk gunfire other ships in naval battle.

in mid-17th century, several navies, particularly of netherlands , england, began use new fighting techniques. battles had been fought great fleets of ships closing each other , fighting in whatever arrangement found in, boarding enemy vessels opportunities presented themselves. use of broadsides (coordinated fire battery of cannon on 1 side of warship) became increasingly dominant in battle, tactics changed. evolving line-of-battle tactic, first used in ad-hoc way, required ships form single-file lines , close enemy fleet on same tack, battering enemy fleet until 1 side had had enough , retreated. manoeuvres carried out ships remaining in line mutual protection.

in order order of battle, long thin line of guns, may not injured or broken @ point weaker rest, there @ same time felt necessity of putting in ships which, if not of equal force, have @ least equally strong sides. logically follows, @ same moment in line ahead became definitively order battle, there established distinction between ships of line , alone destined place therein, , lighter ships meant other uses.

the lighter ships used various functions, including acting scouts, , relaying signals between flagship , rest of fleet. necessary because flagship, small part of line in clear sight.

the adoption of line-of-battle tactics had consequences ship design. height advantage given castles fore , aft reduced, hand-to-hand combat less essential. need manoeuvre in battle made top weight of castles more of disadvantage. shrank, making ship of line lighter , more manoeuvrable forebears same combat power. added consequence, hull grew larger, allowing size , number of guns increase well.

evolution of design

in 17th century fleets consist of hundred ships of various sizes, middle of 18th century, ship-of-the-line design had settled on few standard types: older two-deckers (i.e., 2 complete decks of guns firing through side ports) of 50 guns (which weak battle line used escort convoys), two-deckers of between 64 , 90 guns formed main part of fleet, , larger three- or four-deckers 98 140 guns served admirals command ships. fleets consisting of perhaps 10 25 of these ships, attendant supply ships , scouting , messenger frigates, kept control of sea lanes major european naval powers whilst restricting sea-borne trade of enemies.

the common size of sail ship of line 74 (named 74 guns), developed france in 1730s, , later adopted battleship navies. until time british had 6 sizes of ship of line, , found smaller 50- , 60-gun ships becoming small battle line, while 80s , on three-deckers , therefore unwieldy , unstable in heavy seas. best 70-gun three-deckers of 46 metres (150 ft) long on gundeck, while new french 74s around 52 metres (170 ft). in 1747 british captured few of these french ships during war of austrian succession. in next decade thomas slade (surveyor of navy 1755, along co-surveyor william bately) broke away past , designed several new classes of 51- 52-metre 74s compete these french designs, starting dublin , bellona classes. successors gradually improved handling , size through 1780s. other navies ended building 74s had right balance between offensive power, cost, , manoeuvrability. around half of britain s ships of line 74s. larger vessels still built, command ships, more useful if close enemy, rather in battle involving chasing or manoeuvring. 74 remained favoured ship until 1811, when seppings s method of construction enabled bigger ships built more stability.

in few ships design altered long after ship launched , in service. in royal navy, smaller two-deck 74- or 64-gun ships of line not used safely in fleet actions had upper decks removed (or razeed), resulting in stout, single-gun-deck warship called razee. resulting razeed ship classed frigate , still stronger. successful razeed ship in royal navy hms indefatigable, commanded sir edward pellew.

mahmudiye (1829), ordered ottoman sultan mahmud ii , built imperial naval arsenal on golden horn in istanbul, many years largest warship in world. 76.15 m × 21.22 m (249.8 ft × 69.6 ft) ship of line armed 128 cannons on 3 decks , manned 1,280 sailors. participated in siege of sevastopol (1854–1855) during crimean war (1854–1856). decommissioned in 1874.

the largest sailing three-decker ship of line ever built in west french valmy, launched in 1847. had right sides, increased space available upper batteries, reduced stability of ship; wooden stabilisers added under waterline address issue. valmy thought largest sort of sailing ship possible, larger dimensions made manoeuvre of riggings impractical mere manpower. participated in crimean war, , after return france later housed french naval academy under name borda 1864 1890.

steam power

the first major change ship-of-the-line concept introduction of steam power auxiliary propulsion system. first military uses of steamships came in 1810s, , in 1820s number of navies experimented paddle steamer warships. use spread in 1830s, paddle-steamer warships participating in conflicts first opium war alongside ships of line , frigates.

paddle steamers, however, had major disadvantages. paddle wheel above waterline exposed enemy fire, while preventing ship firing broadsides effectively. during 1840s, screw propeller emerged method of steam propulsion, both britain , usa launching screw-propelled warships in 1843. through 1840s, british , french navies launched ever larger , more powerful screw ships, alongside sail-powered ships of line. in 1845, viscount palmerston gave indication of role of new steamships in tense anglo-french relations, describing english channel steam bridge , rather barrier french invasion. partly because of fear of war france royal navy converted several old 74-gun ships of line 60-gun steam-powered blockships (following model of fulton s demologos), starting in 1845. blockships conceived steam batteries solely harbour defence, in september 1845 given reduced [sailing] rig rather none @ all, make them sea-going ships.… blockships cost-effective experiment of great value. subsequently gave service in crimean war.

le napoléon (1850), first steam battleship

the french navy, however, developed first purpose-built steam battleship 90-gun le napoléon in 1850. considered first true steam battleship, , first screw battleship ever. napoleon armed conventional ship of line, steam engines give speed of 12 knots (22 km/h), regardless of wind conditions—a potentially decisive advantage in naval engagement.

eight sister ships le napoléon built in france on period of ten years, united kingdom took lead in production, in number of both purpose-built , converted units. altogether, france built 10 new wooden steam battleships , converted 28 older battleship units, while united kingdom built 18 , converted 41.

in end, france , britain 2 countries develop fleets of wooden steam screw battleships, although several other navies made use of mixture of screw battleships , paddle-steamer frigates. these included russia, turkey, sweden, naples, prussia, denmark, , austria.

decline

turner s depiction of hms temeraire hero of battle of trafalgar ignominiously towed little steamship.

in crimean war, 6 line-of-battle ships , 2 frigates of russian black sea fleet destroyed 7 turkish frigates , 3 corvettes explosive shells @ battle of sinop in 1853.

in 1860s unarmoured steam line-of-battle ships replaced ironclad warships. on march 8, 1862, during first day of battle of hampton roads, 2 unarmoured wooden frigates sunk , destroyed confederate ironclad css virginia.

however, power implied ship of line find way ironclad, develop during next few decades concept of battleship.

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