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Conway's History of the Ship #4
The Line of Battle: The Sailing Warship 1650-1840
The Line of The Sailing Warship 1650-1840 Although purpose-built fighting ships had existed earlier, the principal characteristics of the classic sailing warship were only defined in the mid-seventeenth century, when the emergence of strong central governments, as in Cromwell's Commonwealth or the France of Louis XIV, combined with the novel line-ahead tactics to produce, for the first time, national fleets of reasonably similar line-of-battle ships.
As the battleship became more distinct, the need for a specialized cruising ship became apparent - particularly as warfare became more global - and from this the frigate was born. Gradually during this period, myriad types of crafts were adapted for naval use. The central emphasis of this volume is the increasing specialization of the fleet and the evolution of each ship type, down to the period when the installation of the steam engine sparked another revolution in tactics and technology.
While some naval historians have imparted little relative importance to this era, it will be clear from the chapters that follow that between 1650-1840 the wooden warship became not only larger, better constructed and more powerfully armed, but the very nature of its capabilities was changed dramatically. From being little better than a coastal, summer-only force, the battlefleet and its consorts developed into a powerful and flexible weapon that could be employed in virtually any seas, in all but the heaviest weather, all year round. The worldwide campaigns of the late eighteenth century, or the ceaseless drudgery of blockade duty, were only made possible by enhanced seaworthiness and more rugged contstruction, so with this instrument, sea power became a far more powerful and influential factor in world history.
Lavishly illustrated, this informative reference guide includes over 175 drawings, 35 black-and-white photos and over 25 tables. It is a must for anyone interested in a detailed account of a technology that has shaped human history.
As the battleship became more distinct, the need for a specialized cruising ship became apparent - particularly as warfare became more global - and from this the frigate was born. Gradually during this period, myriad types of crafts were adapted for naval use. The central emphasis of this volume is the increasing specialization of the fleet and the evolution of each ship type, down to the period when the installation of the steam engine sparked another revolution in tactics and technology.
While some naval historians have imparted little relative importance to this era, it will be clear from the chapters that follow that between 1650-1840 the wooden warship became not only larger, better constructed and more powerfully armed, but the very nature of its capabilities was changed dramatically. From being little better than a coastal, summer-only force, the battlefleet and its consorts developed into a powerful and flexible weapon that could be employed in virtually any seas, in all but the heaviest weather, all year round. The worldwide campaigns of the late eighteenth century, or the ceaseless drudgery of blockade duty, were only made possible by enhanced seaworthiness and more rugged contstruction, so with this instrument, sea power became a far more powerful and influential factor in world history.
Lavishly illustrated, this informative reference guide includes over 175 drawings, 35 black-and-white photos and over 25 tables. It is a must for anyone interested in a detailed account of a technology that has shaped human history.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 10, 2014
This was a slow read. Little surprise there, considering the amount of information to take in. It is kind of hard to say who is going to profit the most from reading this book. I saw a reviewer on the site mention they read it to help with building a model and I'm honestly curious as to how that turned out, because I think there's better sources specifically for model builders. This book does feature chapters buy one of the leading experts in the field, but compared to his monographies the chapters in the book only scratch the surface of the details of rigging during the Age of Sail. I'd say this book is a better resource for writers both of fiction and non-fiction instead.
This is a book that is nice to have on the shelf, simply in order to be able to look up information when needed. But in order to know what kind of info this book contains you have to at least give it a cursory read of course, which will take time. 200 pages don't look like to much, but if you've read any other book in the series you know how much text they cram onto every page, and how high the information density in every paragraph can be.
Just as the foreward suggests its probably best if you don't try to read this book as a complete freshman to the Age of Sail warship. There is an extensive glossary but the authors do not bother to break down every term to be understood by landsman. Having read one or two introductions to the subject, anything really, will come in handy.
This is a book that is nice to have on the shelf, simply in order to be able to look up information when needed. But in order to know what kind of info this book contains you have to at least give it a cursory read of course, which will take time. 200 pages don't look like to much, but if you've read any other book in the series you know how much text they cram onto every page, and how high the information density in every paragraph can be.
Just as the foreward suggests its probably best if you don't try to read this book as a complete freshman to the Age of Sail warship. There is an extensive glossary but the authors do not bother to break down every term to be understood by landsman. Having read one or two introductions to the subject, anything really, will come in handy.
December 12, 2012
Doing research for a model build in the very near future. I've wanted to build Horatio Hornblower's HMS Lydia for a long time now. I've just seen an amazing model of a similar ship online and now I just have to do it!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews