Ancient and Modern Ships Part 7

The first so-called frigate was designed by Peter Pett, and built at Chatham in 1646. She was named the _Constant Warwick_. Her dimensions were: length of keel, 85 ft.; breadth, 26 ft. 5 in.; depth, 13 ft. 2 in.; tonnage, 315; guns, 32; crew, 140. She worked havoc amongst the privateers of the time.

The bomb-ketch was originally introduced by a famous French naval architect named Bernard Renan, about 1679. This cla.s.s of warship was first employed by Louis XIV. in the bombardment of Algiers, where it produced an enormous effect. Bomb-ketches were of about 200 tons burthen, very broad in proportion to their length, and built with great regard to strength, on account of the decks having to bear the downward recoil of the mortars. The latter were placed in the fore-part of the vessel, which was purposely left unenc.u.mbered with rigging. The hold between the mortars and keel was closely packed with old cables, cut into lengths. The yielding elastic qualities of the packing a.s.sisted in taking up the force of the recoil. The bombs weighed about 200 pounds, and the consternation and terror produced by them may readily be realized when it is remembered that, up to that time, the most dangerous projectile which a warship could discharge at a land fortification was a thirty-two pound shot. These vessels were fitted with two masts, one in the middle and the other in the stern.

While referring to this invention of Bernard Renan, it should be mentioned that France rose to the rank of a great naval power in the reign of Louis XIV., under the famous minister Colbert, in the latter half of the seventeenth century. When Louis succeeded to the throne the French Navy was practically non-existent, as it consisted only of four, or five, frigates. In 1672 he had raised the strength of the fleet to fifty line-of-battle ships and a corresponding number of frigates and smaller vessels. Nine years afterwards, the French marine numbered 179 vessels of all cla.s.ses, exclusive of galleys. In 1690 the French fleet in the Channel alone numbered sixty-eight ships, while the combined British and Dutch squadrons consisted only of fifty-six, and suffered a defeat at Beachy Head, in which the English lost one vessel and their allies six. This defeat was, however, amply revenged two years afterwards, when the allies succeeded in opposing the enormous number of ninety-nine ships of the line, besides thirty-eight frigates and fireships, to Tourville's fleet of forty-four ships of the line and thirteen smaller vessels, and defeated it off Cape La Hogue, inflicting on it a loss of fifteen line-of-battle ships, including the famous _Soleil Royal_, of 108 guns, ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 50. From the time of Louis XIV. down to the present date French naval architects have always exercised a most important influence on the design of warships, a circ.u.mstance which was largely due to the manner in which Colbert encouraged the application of science to this branch of construction.

It may be truly said that, during the whole of the eighteenth century, the majority of the improvements introduced in the forms and proportions of vessels of the Royal Navy were copied from French prizes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 52. British second-rate. 1665.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 53.--Midship section of a fourth-rate.]

In order to complete the ill.u.s.trations of British warships of the latter half of the seventeenth century views of a second-rate are given in Fig.

52, and a cross-section of a fourth-rate in Fig. 53.

It would be impossible in the present work to notice in detail all the alterations in size and structure of ships which took place during the eighteenth century. A few of the leading changes may, however, be mentioned. In the year 1706 an attempt was made to systematize the dimensions of the various rates, and the figures as given in the following table were fixed:--

--------------+-------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------+------------- Number of guns. 90 80 70 60 50 40 -------------- -------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------+------------- Length of gun-deck 162 ft. 156 ft. 150 ft. 144 ft. 130 ft. 118 ft.

Extreme breadth 47 ft. 43 ft. 6 in. 41 ft. 38 ft. 35 ft. 32 ft.

Depth of hold 18 ft. 6 in. 17 ft. 8 in. 17 ft. 4 in. 15 ft. 8 in. 14 ft. 13 ft. 6 in.

Tonnage 1552 1283 1069 914 705 532 --------------+-------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------+-------------

When the figures were compared with those of contemporary French ships of the same rates, it was found that the British vessels of every cla.s.s were of inferior dimensions. Whenever British men-of-war were captured by the French, the number of their guns was reduced. It was universally admitted that the French ships were superior in sailing qualities; so much so was this the case that, whenever a French squadron was chased, the English-built ships in it were the first to be overtaken. The subject of the superiority in size of the French ships was constantly coming to the front, and in 1719 a new establishment was made for the dimension of ships in our Royal Navy, according to the following scale:--

--------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+----------- Number of guns. 90 80 70 60 50 40 --------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+----------- Increase of length 2 ft. 2 ft. 1 ft. 0 4 ft. 6 ft.

Increase of breadth 2 in. 1 ft. 6 in. 1 ft. 1 ft. 1 ft. 2 in.

Increase of tonnage 15 67 59 37 51 63 --------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-----------

In addition to the increase in dimensions, much improvement was made in the same year in the interior arrangements, and in the preservation of the timber of which ships were constructed. Up till this period both thick stuff and planks were prepared by charring the inner surface while the outer surface was kept wet, and this process was continued till the plank was brought to a fit condition for bending to the shape it was required to take. In this year, however, the process of stoving was introduced. It consisted in placing the timber in wet sand and subjecting it to the action of heat for such time as was necessary in order to extract the residue of the sap and to bring it to a condition of suppleness. In the year 1726 the process was favourably reported on by two of the master shipwrights in their report on the state of the planking on the bottom of the _Falkland_. Some of the planking had been charred by the old process, some stoved by the new, and the remainder had been neither stoved nor charred. The stoved planks were found to be in a good state of preservation, while many of the others were rotten.

The process remained in use till 1736, when it was superseded by the practice of steaming the timber. The steaming and the kindred process of boiling remained in vogue during the whole of the remainder of the era of wooden shipbuilding. In 1771 the rapid decay of ships in the Royal Navy once more caused serious attention to be paid to the subject of the preservation of timber. It was, in consequence, arranged that larger stocks of timber should be kept in the dockyards, and that line-of-battle ships should stand in frame for at least a year, in order to season before the planking was put on. Similarly, frigates were to stand in frame for at least six months, and all thick stuff and planking was to be sawn out a year before it was used and stacked, with battens between the planks, so as to allow of the free circulation of the air.

Similar regulations were put in force for the beam pieces, knees, and other portions of the ships.

Much trouble was caused by the injurious effects of bilge-water and foul air in the holds of ships, and various remedies were devised from time to time. In 1715 structural improvements were devised to allow of the bilge-water flowing more freely to the pumps, and trunks were fitted to the lower decks to convey air to the holds. In 1719 it was proposed that the holds of ships should have several feet of water run into them in the early spring in order to cool them, and that it should not be pumped out till August; but this remedy was never extensively practised. In 1753 Dr. S. Hales proposed a system of ventilation by means of windmills and hand-pumps, which produced excellent results. It was noticed that the acc.u.mulation of carbonic acid gas and foul damp air in the holds, not only set up rapid decay in the ship, but also most injuriously affected the health of the crews. Dr. Hales' system was employed in the _Prince_ from 1753 to 1798, and it was considered that the durability of this vessel had been greatly increased. It was also reported by Lord Halifax that the mortality on the non-ventilated ships on the coast of Nova Scotia was twelve times as great as on those vessels which were fitted with Dr. Hales' appliances.

There are not many records in existence of the merchant-vessels of this period. Fig. 54 is a representation of an armed East Indiaman which was launched at Blackwall in 1752. Her length of keel was 108 ft. 9 in.; breadth, 34 ft.; and burthen, 668 tons. She was named the _Falmouth_, and was constructed by the famous shipbuilder, John Perry, of Blackwall Yard. She was commenced almost exactly two years before the date of her launch. Like all her cla.s.s, she was heavily armed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 54.--The _Falmouth_. East Indiaman. Launched 1752.]

At the close of the war against France and Spain, which lasted from 1744 to 1748, great complaints were made of the weakness of our warships at sea. It was also found that the establishment of 1719 had not been adhered to, and the dimensions of ships were not fixed in accordance with any particular standard. The first defect was remedied by the placing of as many standards of wood, or iron, on the different decks as could be conveniently arranged, so as not to interfere with the guns, and by the use of larger bolts than had hitherto been employed, as high up as possible in the throats of the hanging knees. Also the beams of the quarter-deck and round-house were supported with lodging knees, and in some instances with hanging knees of wood, or iron. Various other pieces, such as the stem, were also strengthened and the weights of the taffrails and quarter-pieces were reduced. The advice of the master shipwrights of the various dockyards was sought, in order to fix a new establishment of dimensions, but great difficulties were found in introducing the much-needed reforms, and for some time afterwards the ships of the British Navy were at a disadvantage with those of foreign countries by reason of their contracted dimensions and inferior forms.

The capture, with great difficulty, of a Spanish ship of seventy guns, named the _Princessa_, in 1740, by three British men-of-war of equal rating, but far inferior dimensions, was one of the events that first opened the eyes of the Admiralty to the defects of their vessels. The first attempt towards introducing a better type of ship was made in 1746, when the _Royal George_, famous for her size, her services, her beauty and misfortunes, was laid down. She was not launched till 1756.

The following were her princ.i.p.al dimensions:--

Length of keel for tonnage 143 ft. 5-1/2 in.

Length of gun-deck 178 ft.

Extreme breadth 51 ft. 9-1/2 in.

Depth of hold 21 ft. 6 in.

Tonnage 2047 Number of guns 100 Crew 750 men.

Fig. 55 is an ill.u.s.tration of this ship. She rendered great services to the country under the orders of Admiral Lord Hawke, especially in the memorable defeat of the French Navy off the island of Belle-isle in 1759. She was lost at Spithead in 1782, when being inclined in order to have some repairs to her bottom executed. She capsized, and went under, 900 men, women, and children being drowned in her.

The _Royal George_ was followed by several others of various rates and improved dimensions, notably by the _Blenheim_ (90) and the _Princess Amelia_ (80). The latter was one of the most famous ships of her day, and was constantly employed as long as she continued fit for service. In 1747 a French ship of seventy-four guns named the _Invincible_ was captured, and was found to be such an excellent vessel that her dimensions were adopted for the _Thunderer_, laid down about 1758. One of the most interesting models in the Museum is of the _Triumph_ (74), also built on the lines of the _Invincible_ in 1764. Her length of gun-decks was 171 ft. 3 in.; breadth, 49 ft. 9 in.; depth of hold, 21 ft. 3 in.

In the following year was built the _Victory_, 100 guns, famous as Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar, and still afloat in Portsmouth Harbour.

Her dimensions are: length of gun-deck, 186 ft.; breadth, 52 ft.; depth of hold, 21 ft. 6 in.; tonnage, 2,162.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 55.--The _Royal George_. 1746.]

The following table gives the dimensions of typical ships of war constructed about the middle of the eighteenth century:--

---------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------- Number of 100 90 80 74 64 50 guns. ---------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------- Length of 178 ft. 176 ft. 165 ft. 171 ft. 159 ft. 146 ft.

gun-deck 1 in. 3 in. 4 in. Length of keel 143 ft. 142 ft. 133 ft. 138 ft. 130 ft. 120 ft.

for tonnage 6 in. 7 in. 8 in. 9-1/2 in. 8-1/2 in.

Extreme 51 ft. 49 ft. 47 ft. 49 ft. 44 ft. 40 ft.

breadth 9-1/2 in. 1 in. 3 in. 9 in. 6-1/2 in. 4-1/2 in.

Depth of hold 21 ft. 21 ft. 20 ft. 21 ft. 18 ft. 17 ft.

6 in. 3 in. 9-3/4 in. 2 in.

Tonnage 2,047 1,827 1,580 1,825 1,380 1,046 ---------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+--------

The genuine frigate--that is to say, a large cruiser, of relatively high speed, carrying its main armament on one deck--was introduced into the Royal Navy in 1741, when the _Adventure_ was built. She carried thirty-two guns, of which twenty-two were 12-pounders. The first British 36-gun frigates were the _Brilliant_ and _Pallas_, built in 1757. Their main armament also consisted of 12-pounders. French frigates of the same date were of larger dimensions, as is proved by the following table which compares the princ.i.p.al measurements of the _Brilliant_ and of the French frigate _Aurore_:--

----------+-----------+-----------+---------------------------------- Name of Length of Breadth. Depth of Tonnage. Complement.

ship. gun-deck. hold. ----------+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+------------ ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. Brilliant 128 4 35 8 12 4 718 240 Aurore 144 0 38 8-1/2 15 2 946 250 ----------+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+------------

In the year 1761 a most important improvement was introduced, which greatly increased the usefulness of ships. This was the discovery of the value of copper plates as a material for sheathing their bottoms.

Previously to this period lead was the metal used for sheathing purposes, and even it was only employed occasionally. In other cases the bottoms of vessels were paid over with various compositions, the majority of which fouled rapidly. The first vessel in the navy that was copper-sheathed was the _Alarm_, a 32-gun frigate. At first the use of copper caused serious oxidation of the iron bolts employed in the bottom fastenings, and copper bolts were subst.i.tuted for them.

About the year 1788 the dimensions of the various rates were again increased in order to keep pace with the improved French and Spanish ships. In the year 1780 the 38-gun frigate founded on a French model was introduced into the navy, and continued to be much used throughout the great wars at the close of the eighteenth and the commencement of the nineteenth century. The first British frigate of this rating was the _Minerva_, which measured 141 ft. in length of gun-deck; 38 ft. 10 in.

width of beam; 13 ft. 9 in. depth of hold, and 940 tons--figures which were evidently based on those of the _Aurore_, captured in 1758 (see p.

128). In 1781 and 1782 two very large French frigates were captured.

Their names were the _Artois_ and _Aigle_, and they exceeded in size anything in this cla.s.s that had yet been built. The length of gun-deck measured 158 ft.; width, 40 ft. 4 in.; depth of hold, 13 ft. 6 in.; tonnage, 1,152; they each carried 42 guns and 280 men.

Again, in 1790, the force of new ships of the various rates was much increased. The largest line-of-battle ship then built was the _Hibernia_, of 110 guns. She was the first of her cla.s.s introduced into the navy. Her dimensions were as follows:--Length on gun-deck, 201 ft. 2 in.; extreme breadth, 53 ft. 1 in.; depth of hold, 22 ft. 4 in.; burthen in tons, 2,508. The armament consisted of thirty 32-pounders on the lower deck, thirty 24-pounders on the middle, and thirty-two 18-pounders on the upper decks, while eighteen 12-pounders were mounted on the forecastle and quarter-deck. It is worthy of remark that, for some time previously, the large line-of-battle ships carried 42-pounders on the lower deck, but it was found that the 32-pounders could be loaded much more quickly, and that a great advantage arose in consequence.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 56.--The _Commerce de Ma.r.s.eille_. Captured 1792.]

In the year 1792 the first 40-gun frigate, the _Acasta_, was built. This type of vessel was intended to replace the old 44-gun two-decker. The _Acasta_ measured 150 ft. on deck; 40 ft. 9-1/2 in. extreme breadth; 14 ft. 3 in. depth of hold; with a burthen of 1,142 tons. Her armament consisted of thirty 18-pounders on the main deck, and ten 9-pounder long guns on quarter-deck and forecastle.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 57.--British first-rate. 1794.]

During the whole of our naval history down to comparatively recent times, improvements in the dimensions and forms of our ships were only carried out after they had been originally adopted by the French, or Spaniards, or more recently by the people of the United States of America. Thus, we find that, shortly after war had been declared against the French Revolutionary Government in 1792, Admiral Hood took possession at Toulon, amongst other vessels, of a French first-rate called the _Commerce de Ma.r.s.eille_, which was larger and mounted more guns than any vessel in the service of Great Britain. Fig. 56 is an ill.u.s.tration of this fine man-of-war, which was 208 ft. 4 in. long on the lower deck, 54 ft. 9-1/2 in. broad, of 25 ft. depth of hold, and of 2,747 tons burthen. As an instance of the progress in size, as related to armament, made during the century, we may compare the dimensions of this French first-rate with those of the _Royal Anne_, an English 100-gun ship built in 1706. The length of gun-deck of the latter ship was 171 ft. 9 in., and tonnage 1,809, the more recent vessel showing an increase of nearly fifty per cent. in tonnage for an increased armament of twenty guns.

As further examples of the naval architecture of this period, in Figs.

57 and 58 are given views of an English first-rate of the year 1794, and in Figs. 59 and 60 corresponding views of a heavy French frigate of about the year 1780.

One of the greatest improvements made at the end of the eighteenth century was the raising of the lower battery further above the water, so as to enable the heavy guns to be fought in all weathers. It was frequently observed that the old British men-of-war of seventy-four guns when engaging a hostile vessel to leeward were, on account of the crankness of the ship and the lowness of the battery, obliged to keep their lower ports closed; whereas the French ships, which were comparatively stiff, and carried their lower guns well above the water, were enabled to fight with the whole of their battery in all weathers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 58.--British first-rate. 1794.]

After the capture of the _Commerce de Ma.r.s.eille_, an English first-rate, named the _Caledonia_, to carry 120 guns, was ordered to be laid down.

She was not, however, commenced till 1805. Her dimensions and proportions closely approximated to those of her French prototype, and need not, therefore, be more particularly referred to. She was the first 120-gun ship built in this country.