British Napoleonic Ship-of-the-Line

Osprey New Vanguard #42

by Angus Konstam, Tony Bryan (Illustrator)

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 the Ship-of-the-Line. These 'wooden walls' were more than merely floating gun batteries: they contained a crew of up to 800 men, and often had to remain at sea for extended periods. This book offers detailed coverage of the complex vessels that were the largest man-made structures produced in the pre-Industrial era.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Naval History, Military History

48 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 2001

About the author

Angus Konstam is a Scottish writer of popular history. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland and raised on the Orkney Islands, he has written more than a hundred books on maritime history, naval history, historical atlases, with a special focus on the history of piracy.

Reviews

[Mick Scrimshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know much about the navy, so reading this was an interesting first step for me. To be honest though, it was a little too technical in places and focused on facts without them being given much context. I would have liked more detail about how the subtle differences between different types of ships may have helped them carry out their various roles and what those roles were, perhaps with more examples of how the ships performed in battle. I suspect to someone with already a little bit of knowledge this book would have provided some interesting extra details, where as I probably need to have a better understanding of navel warfare of the time to gain the benefit of detail of the types of ships and who designed them etc. Having said all of that, I was still an enjoyable read and as a short book gave an easy introduction to the subject and has whetted my appetite to learn more.

[John Somers · Rating 4 out of 5]

16/20.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In its day, the "Ship-of-the-line" was the equivalent to battleships in the 20th century. The "line" refers to the fact that a standard strategy of naval warfare was to have large ships on the two sides in battle in a line, firing broadsides at one another. Hence, ship-of-the-line.

These ships were the largest fighting ships of their time, divided into four classes. The least of them was still normally more powerful than a frigate, the next ship down in power. One of the best known of these vessels was H.M.S. Victory, which Admiral Horatio Nelson commanded so famously (see a cutaway view of the ship on pages 28-29).

The brief book begins by noting the importance of this class of vessel (Page 3): "Seapower was the key to victory, and the British ship-of-the-line was the ultimate arbiter of maritime supremacy." The book begins by noting the rating system (depending largely on firepower; top level ships-of-the-line had 100+ cannon and three levels of cannon). There is discussion of design of these behemoths, how to build an effective battle fleet, fleet strength, and ship types. Next is an exploration of operation, how ships were organized, how to sail such a ship, battle tactics, and ships in action.

An especially interesting section is a listing of ships-of-the-line on pages 37-41, from the "First rate" ships such as Victory, Britannia, Hibernia and Howe to the "Fourth rate" ships, featuring 50-60 guns. There is also a list of ships captured from French and Spanish navies, among others. The book closes with a bibliography and glossary (Did you know that an "orlop" is the deck below the lowest gun deck?).

If you want a quick introduction to this workhorse of the fleet, this is a good reference.

[Gonzalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread it as background for “Master and Commander”, even when the “Sophie” does not qualify of a Ship-of-the-line. Still, useful enough.

[Michael Eklund · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really nice little book about the ships and their crew in the British Navy.