Ship ratings

[corsair91]

Ship ratings

These are for the Royal Navy, the French used different categories
(The Royal Navy would use their own ratings with regard to
French ships)


wikipedia links

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rating_system_of_the_Royal_Navy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-rate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-rate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-rate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth-rate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth-rate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth-rate


Ships of the line (of Battle)

first-rate ships

first-rate ships carrying at least 100 guns
very few ships, usually in Home Fleet or typically Admiral command ships,
for example HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Victory
Typically usually held in reserve until needed for active service.
(Sailing super-dreadnoughts)


Second-rate

second-rate ships carrying 84 to 98 guns
essentially smaller and cheaper versions of the three-decker first rates
had a reputation for poor handling and slow sailing
often served in major overseas stations as a flagship
(Sailing dreadnoughts)


Third-rate

larger third-rate ships carrying 70 to 80 guns
Smaller third-rate ships carrying about 60 to 64 guns

Years of experience proved that the third rate ships embodied the best compromise between sailing ability (speed, handling), firepower, and cost.
This designation became especially common because it included the seventy-four gun ship, which eventually came to be the most popular size of large ship for navies of several different nations.
It was an easier ship to handle than a first- or second-rate ship, but still possessed enough firepower to potentially destroy any single opponent other than a three-decker. It was also cheaper to operate.


fourth-rate

fourth-rate ships of around 50 guns

They were phased out of ship of the line service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as their usefulness was declining; though they were still in service, especially on distant stations such as the East Indies.

Fourth-rates took many forms, initially as small two decked warships, later as large frigates razeed from the initial two deck warships, and occasionally even heavily armed merchant ships such as HMS Calcutta.

American 44-gun frigates Constitution, United States and President were never in operational use armed with fewer than 50 guns including carronades, and were generally seen as equivalent to fourth-rates.
Powerful enough to engage any frigates of the French or British navies yet fast enough to evade any ship of the line.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_six_frigates_of_the_United_States_Navy


The larger British 24-pounder frigates such as the later 1813 Leander and Newcastle, were of similar firepower to those big American 44s.
The latter were launched (or razeed - i.e. converted by cutting down by one deck from existing smaller third-rate 74-gun two-deckers) during the last years of the Napoleonic War and the War of 1812 and were classed as fourth-rates in Royal Naval service under the revised rating system.

This convention continued into the 19th century. Any of these later large fourth-rate frigates threw a close-range broadside (including from their heavy carronades) far superior to the earlier two-decker 50s or even to third-rate 64s, and could perhaps be considered comparable in function to the battlecruisers of more recent times.

See Razee Below



Fifth-rate Frigates

Fifth-rate and sixth-rate ships were frigates usually maneuvering independently of the line of battle.

The fifth rates at the start of the 18th century were small two-deckers, generally either 40-gun ships with a full battery on two decks, or "demi-batterie" ships, carrying a few heavy guns on their lower deck (which often used the rest of the lower deck for row ports) and a full battery of lesser guns on the upper deck.

However, the latter were gradually phased out, as the low freeboard (the height of the lower deck gunport sills above the waterline) meant that it was often impossible to open the lower deck gunports in rough weather.

The 40-gun (or later 44-gun) fifth rates continued to be built until the later half of the 18th century (a large group were built during the American War of Independence).

From mid-century, a new fifth-rate type was introduced: the classic frigate, with no gun ports on the lower deck, and the main battery of from 26 to 30 guns disposed solely on the upper deck, although smaller guns were mounted on the quarterdeck and forecastle.


sixth-rate Frigates or smaller ships
(Post ship, Gunboat, Sloop-of-war, Brig, Cutter, Schooner)

sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and sometimes without. It thus encompassed ships with up to 30 guns in all. In the first half of the 18th century the main battery guns were 6-pounders, but by mid-century these were supplanted by 9-pounders. 28-gun sixth rates were classed as frigates, those smaller as 'post ships', indicating that they were still commanded by a full ('post') captain, as opposed to sloops of 18 guns and less under commanders.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Frigates_of_the_Royal_Navy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fifth-rate_frigates_of_the_Royal_Navy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Sixth-rate_frigates_of_the_Royal_Navy


Razee

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razee

A razee is a sailing ship that has been cut down (razeed) to reduce the number of decks. The word is derived from the French vaisseau rasé, meaning a razed (in the sense of shaved down) ship.

In the Royal Navy, the razee operation was typically performed on a smaller two-deck ship of the line, resulting in a large frigate. The rationale for this apparent reduction in strength was that the smaller ships-of-the-line could no longer be used safely in fleet actions as the overall size and armament of opposing ships increased. The resulting razeed ship was classed as a frigate; it was stronger than the usual run of purpose-built frigates.

There was a general awareness that the reduction in topweight afforded by the removal of upperworks made ships better sailers.
The forecastle and aftcastle no longer created windage, top weight was reduced, and the ship was made lighter overall.

The Royal Navy considered their Razee Large Frigates the equal of the
American 44-gun frigates.

[corsair91]

An example of a American Razee ship

USS Independence (1814)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Independence_(1814)

EDIT: Paste Link into your Browser

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/i/independence-ii.html

USS Independence was a wooden-hulled, three-masted ship, originally a ship of the line and the first to be commissioned by the United States Navy. Originally a 90-gun ship, in 1836 she was cut down by one deck and re-rated as a 54-gun frigate.

Independence remained in ordinary at Boston until 1836 when she was razeed (cut down to one covered fighting deck with poop and forecastle). She was rated down to 54 guns as her configuration gave way to that of a very large frigate. She proved to be one of the fastest and most powerful "frigates" of the Navy.



An example of a Royal Navy Razee ship

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1794_razees


HMS Indefatigable (1784)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Indefatigable_(1784)

EDIT: Paste Link into your Browser

HMS Indefatigable was one of the Ardent class 64-gun third-rate ships-of-the-line later converted to a 44-gun razee frigate


The Author C. S. Forester chose Indefatigable as the ship on which his fictional hero Horatio Hornblower spent most of his time as a midshipman in the novel Mr. Midshipman Hornblower


HMS Indefatigable - Guide 116 (Extended)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtXRPmTS4s0

The HMS Indefatigable, a razee frigate of the British Royal Navy
(built as a 3rd rate 64-gun ship of the line and then cut down)

One famous captain of Indefatigable was

Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Pellew,_1st_Viscount_Exmouth

Royal Navy Captains of Razee ships were typically hand-picked for
the post, noted for their sailing ability and aggression.

[corsair91]

The first Steam ship of the line


French ship Napoléon (1850)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Napol%C3%A9on_(1850)

Napoléon was a 90-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, and the first purpose-built steam battleship in the world.
She is also considered the first true steam battleship, and the first screw battleship ever.

Britain's reluctance to commit to the steam battleship apparently stemmed from her commitment to long-distance, worldwide operation, for which, at that time, sail was still the most reliable mode of propulsion.

France and Great Britain were the only two countries to develop fleets of wooden steam battleships, although several other navies are known to have had at least one unit, built or converted with British technical support (Russia, Turkey, Sweden, Naples, Denmark and Austria). Altogether, France built 10 new wooden steam battleships and converted 28 from older battleship units, while Britain built 18 and converted 41.



List of ships of the line of France
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_of_the_line_of_France

List of French battlefleet warships of the period 1621–1870 (plus some from the period before 1621).

[corsair91]

HMS Duke of Wellington (1852)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Duke_of_Wellington_(1852)

HMS Duke of Wellington was a 131-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Launched in 1852, she was symptomatic of an era of rapid technological change in the navy, being powered both by sail and steam. An early steam-powered ship, she was still fitted with towering masts and trim square-set yards.

The ship was originally intended as a sailing vessel only.
Steam power had been in use in smaller ships for three decades, it had not been adopted for ships of the line, partly because the enormous paddle-boxes required would have meant a severe reduction in the number of guns carried.
This problem was solved by the adoption of the screw propeller in the 1840s.

The ship was cut apart in two places on the stocks in January 1852, lengthened by 30 feet (9.1 m) overall and given screw propulsion.

When completed on 4 February 1853, HMS Duke of Wellington was, on paper at least, the most powerful warship in the world (and would remain so until the completion of the French Bretagne in 1855) and the largest yet built for the Royal Navy, twice the size of Nelson's Victory and with a far bigger broadside. She was 240 feet (73.1 m) long, displaced 5,892 tons, and carried 131 cannon, weighing a total of 382 tons and mainly firing 32 lb balls.
Under trials on 11 April 1853 she had made 10.15 knots under steam, and she proved a magnificent sailing ship.

[corsair91]

French ship Bretagne (1855)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Bretagne_(1855)

The Bretagne was a fast 130-gun three-decker of the French Navy.

The ship carried 590 tonnes of coal, giving her an autonomy of 14 days at 10 knots, and 6 days at her top speed of 14 knots. With three month worth of food for the 1200-man complement, and one month worth fresh water completed by a distillation device to desalinate seawater, she could stay at sea for 40 days.

The main battery of Bretagne used 36-pounder long guns, the heaviest available calibre, instead of the more modern 30-pounder long gun on which other ships standardised their armament.

Completed two years after her British homologue HMS Duke of Wellington, Bretagne became the most powerful warship in the world.

[corsair91]

Paixhans gun

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paixhans_gun

The Paixhans gun was the first naval gun designed to fire explosive shells.

It was developed by the French general Henri-Joseph Paixhans in 1822-1823. The design furthered the evolution of naval artillery into the modern age. Its use presaged the end of wood as the preferred material in naval warships, and the rise of the ironclad.

The first Paixhans guns for the French Navy were made in 1841.

The United States Navy adopted the design, and equipped several ships with 8-inch guns of 63 and 55 cwt. in 1845, and later a 10-inch shell gun of 86 cwt. Paixhans guns were used on USS Constitution (four Paixhans guns) in 1842, under the command of Foxhall A. Parker, Sr., USS Constellation in 1854, and were also installed on the USS Mississippi (10 Paixhans guns), and USS Susquehanna (six Paixhans guns) during Commodore Perry's mission to open Japan in 1853.

The Russian Navy was the first to use the guns extensively in combat.

Battle of Sinop
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sinop

At the Battle of Sinop in 1853, Russian ships attacked and annihilated a Turkish fleet with their Paixhans explosive shell guns.
The shell penetrated deep inside the wooden planking of Turkish ships, exploding and igniting the hulls.
The defeat was instrumental in convincing the naval powers of the shell's efficacy, and hastened the development of the ironclad to counter it.


The later Dahlgren gun was developed by John A. Dahlgren in 1849, with advantages over Paixhans guns:

Paixhans guns were strictly shell guns, and were not designed for shot, nor for great penetration or accuracy at long ranges. They were, therefore, auxiliary to, or associates of, the shot-guns.

The Dahlgren gun was a shell gun with the capacity to fire solid shot when needed. The entire battery could be comprised of Dahlgren Guns.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahlgren_gun

[corsair91]

Interesting Website in English on the

The Spanish Succession
http://www.spanishsuccession.nl/

The War of Spanish Succession 1700-1715
France and Spain against the Dutch, English and Austrians

[corsair91]

The French Ship Rate system is a much more complicated rating System than the British and frequently changed over time.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_of_the_line_of_France


French Ship Rates

Battlefleet units in the French Navy (Marine Royale before the French revolution established a republic)
were categorised as vaisseaux (literally "vessels") as distinguished from lesser warships such as frigates (frégates).

The vaisseaux were classified according to size and/or firepower into a series of Rangs (ranks), roughly equivalent to the system of Rates used by the British Navy, although these did not correspond exactly.

By 1671 there was a system of five Rangs, which officially pertained for over a century;

the first three of these Rangs comprised the battlefleet vaisseaux,
while the Fourth and Fifth Rangs comprised the larger frigates ("frégates-vaisseaux" or simply "frégates")

In practice by the early decades of the 18th century the formal ranking system among the vaisseaux had in practice been overtaken by a division based on the number of carriage guns borne by individual ships.

Any ships captured by the French Navy and taken into French service were rated according to the French rating System.


First Rank Ships ("vaisseaux de Premier Rang")

From 1670, the First Rank could be categorised as ships of the line carrying more than 70 carriage guns (although other factors also played a part in determining what Rank a ship was given); in 1690 this was limit was effectively risen to ships carrying 80 or more guns.


Vaisseaux de Premier Rang Extraordinaire

The largest and most heavily armed First Rank ships, effectively those carrying 100 carriage guns or more, were placed in a sub-category of Vaisseaux de Premier Rang Extraordinaire.
They were all full three-deckers, i.e. with three full-length gun decks, with the uppermost of these surmounted by an armed forecastle, quarterdeck and poop and typically Fleet Flapships and few in number.


Vaisseaux de Premier Rang Ordinaire

While the smaller First Rank ships also had three full-length gun decks, the uppermost of these before 1690 generally carried carriage guns only on the forward section and on the after section of that deck, with a section between them in the waist of the ship where no guns were mounted (and no gunports fitted). These ships had no forecastle or poop, so that the two sections of the upper gun deck served the function of forecastle and quarterdeck, while the nominal quarterdeck was short and served in effect the function of a poop.

All First Rank ships built from 1689 (until 1740) had three full-length gun decks, usually plus a number of smaller carriage guns mounted on the gaillards (i.e. the quarterdeck, forecastle and possibly a poop deck). Some of the earlier ships built before 1689 received extra guns and gunports fitted in the waist section of their upper deck around 1689, to bring them up to 80 guns or more.



Second Rank Ships ("vaisseaux de Deuxième Rang")

Before 1670, the Second Rank consisted of ships of the line carrying from 50 up to 64 carriage guns (although there were exceptions); from 1671 this comprised ships of between 62 and 68 guns; in 1683 this was comprised ships carrying from 64 to 76 guns (again with exceptions), and by 1710 even 64-gun ships had been reduced to the Third Rate. Most Second Rank ships were two-decked vessels, i.e. carrying two complete gundecks, usually plus a few smaller carriage guns mounted on the gaillards; however, the Second Rank initially also included numerous ships nominally described as three-deckers (although all had a break in the 3rd tier of guns or "upper deck") launched up until 1682, after which all three-deckers were First Rates.


Third Rank Ships ("vaisseaux de Troisième Rang")

From 1670, the Third Rank was defined as ships of the line carrying from 40 up to 50 carriage guns; in 1671 this was redefined as ships carrying from 48 to 60 guns. Initially during the first part of Louis XIV's reign these were designed and constructed as three-decked ships without forecastles and with minimal quarterdecks, although their upper decks were divided at the waist by an unarmed section of deck; but from about 1670 it was ruled that ships with fewer than 70 guns should not be built with three decks, so all subsequent Third Rank ships were two-decked vessels, i.e. carrying two complete gundecks, usually plus a few smaller carriage guns mounted on the gaillards (the quarterdeck and forecastle). During the first decade of the 18th century, the remaining Second Rank ships with 64 or fewer guns were down-graded (without change of armament) to Third Rank.


Fourth Rank Ships ("vaisseaux de Quatrième Rang")

From 1670, the French Quatrième Rang consisted of vessels with two complete batteries ("two-deckers") armed with from 30 to 40 guns. From 1671, this was redefined as vessels armed with from 36 to 46 guns, and those vessels with fewer than 36 guns were re-classed as Fifth Rank ships; in 1683 this was revised again to include only two-decked ships with from 40 to 46 guns. These ships were also described as frigates (frégates) of the 1st Order.



74-gun ships ("vaisseaux de 74") of the Louis XV era (1715 to 1774)

These formed overwhelmingly the core of the French battlefleet throughout the 18th century. Initially these carried just 26 guns - all 36-pounders - in their first (lower deck) battery and 28 guns in their second (upper deck) battery, with 16 guns on the gaillards (quarterdeck and forecastle) - the total of 74 guns being achieved by having 4 small guns (4-pounders) on the 'dunette' (poop).


No wonder the British used the British ranking system when referring to French Ships.

[corsair91]

French Classification of frigates

Early French naval frigates, until the 1740s, comprises two distinct groups.

The larger types were the frégates-vaisseau, with batteries of guns spread over two decks; these were subdivided into two groups;
the larger were the frégates du premier ordre - or vaisseau du quatrième rang (French Fourth Rates) - usually with a lower deck battery of 12-pounder guns, and an upper deck battery of either 8-pounder or 6-pounder guns;

and the smaller were the frégates du deuxième ordre - or vaisseau du cinquième rang (French Fifth Rates) - with a lower deck batter of 8-pounder guns, and an upper deck battery of either 6-pounder or 4-pounder guns.

The smaller types were the frégates légères, with a single battery of (usually) 6-pounder or 4-pounder guns, plus a few small guns on its superstructure or gaillards. The 'modern' sail frigate, with its main battery on the upper deck, and no ports along the lower deck, emerged at the start of the 1740s.


The first 'true' frigates in the 1740s carried either 6-pounder or 8-pounder guns, but development soon standardised around the 12-pounder frigate, carrying thirteen pairs (occasionally fourteen pairs) of 12-pounder guns on the upper deck, and usually three pairs of 6-pounder guns on the quarterdeck and forecastle (collectively referred to as the "gaillards" in French).

During the American Revolutionary War, larger types carrying an 18-pounder or even 24-pounder main battery (and more secondary guns on the gaillards) were introduced, and following the French Revolution these became predominant. Finally in the 1820s, a new type of 30-pounder armed frigate was brought into service.


In general, French frigates were more lightly built than their British equivalents. This reflected not a poorer quality of design (French designs were often highly prized by the Royal Navy, which copied the designs of a number of the French frigates that they captured, and built a quantity of vessels to the same designs, but with heavier scantlings), but resulted from a different strategic need. French frigates were perceived as being away from port for limited periods; they had less room for storage of provisions for protracted overseas deployments, and they sacrificed durability for speed and ease of handling.

British frigates, in comparison, were more solidly built to endure lengthy times at sea (in particular, to remain for several months on blockade service off enemy harbours) and thus were more able to withstand extreme weather conditions, but were slow in comparison.



Frigates of the 1st Order (or 4th Rank Vessels)

two-decked ships, usually carrying 12-pounder guns in their lower deck battery, and generally an upper deck battery of 6-pounders (although there were exceptions to these calibres). They were classed as fourth rank vessels (vaisseaux du quatrième rang). While not rated as ships of the line, inevitably several of these frigates not infrequently found themselves taking a place in the line of battle, although their main function was for cruising and for trade protection/attack.


Frigates of the 2nd Order (or 5th Rank vessels)

These generally carried 8-pounder guns in their lower deck battery, and were classed as fifth rank vessels (vaisseaux du cinquième rang)


Light Frigates (Frégates légères)

These were single-decked unranked ships (i.e. classified as below the cinqième rang), carrying a battery of 6-pounder or 8-pounder guns on their sole gundeck.



After 1815, French frigates continued to be graded according to the calibre of their main battery as frégates portant du 18, 24 or (after 1820) 30.

However, in 1827 they were classified as either 1st, 2nd or 3rd class.
The 1st class carried a main battery of 30-pounder guns, and the 2nd class a main battery of 24-pounder guns. The 3rd class initially comprised the remaining pre-1815 vessels with 18-pounder guns, but after 1830 a new group of 3rd class frigates was built with 30-pounder guns (although fewer in quantity than the 1st Rate frigates carried).
In 1837 this classification was amended to base the division on the number of guns carried.



List of French sail frigates
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_French_sail_frigates


List of French steam frigates
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_French_steam_frigates

[corsair91]

Cruiser

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruiser

The term has been in use for several hundred years, and has had different meanings throughout this period.

During the Age of Sail, the term cruising referred to certain kinds of missions - independent scouting, commerce protection, or raiding fulfilled by a frigate or sloop-of-war, which were the cruising warships of a fleet.

The term "cruiser" or "cruizer" was first commonly used in the 17th century to refer to an independent warship.

During the 18th century the frigate became the preeminent type of cruiser. A frigate was a small, fast, long range, lightly armed (single gun-deck) ship used for scouting, carrying dispatches, and disrupting enemy trade. The other principal type of cruiser was the sloop, but many other miscellaneous types of ship were used as well.

In the middle of the 19th century, cruiser came to be a classification for the ships intended for cruising distant waters, commerce raiding, and scouting for the battle fleet. Cruisers came in a wide variety of sizes, from the medium-sized protected cruiser to large armored cruisers that were nearly as big (although not as powerful or as well-armored) as a pre-dreadnought battleship.
With the advent of the dreadnought battleship before World War I, the armored cruiser evolved into a vessel of similar scale known as the battlecruiser. The very large battlecruisers of the World War I era that succeeded armored cruisers were now classified, along with dreadnought battleships, as capital ships.

By the early 20th century after World War I, the direct successors to protected cruisers could be placed on a consistent scale of warship size, smaller than a battleship but larger than a destroyer. In 1922, the Washington Naval Treaty placed a formal limit on these cruisers, which were defined as warships of up to 10,000 tons displacement carrying guns no larger than 8 inches in calibre; heavy cruisers had 8-inch guns, while those with guns of 6.1 inches or less were light cruisers, which shaped cruiser design until the end of World War II.

In the later 20th century, the obsolescence of the battleship left the cruiser as the largest and most powerful surface combatant after the aircraft carrier.

Currently only two nations operate cruisers: the United States and Russia



Various cruiser Types

Armed merchantman (also known as an auxiliary cruiser), a specific type of naval cruiser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_merchantman

Armored cruiser, a specific type of naval cruiser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armored_cruiser

Battlecruiser, a specific type of naval cruiser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlecruiser

Heavy cruiser, a specific type of naval cruiser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_cruiser

Light cruiser, a specific type of naval cruiser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_cruiser

Protected cruiser, a specific type of naval cruiser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_cruiser

Unprotected cruiser, a specific type of naval cruiser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unprotected_cruiser


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:World_War_I_cruisers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cruisers_of_World_War_II

[corsair91]

Destroyer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destroyer

Fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers.

Originally developed in the late 19th century as a defense against torpedo boats and called "torpedo boat destroyers" later shortened to destroyer.

At the start of the 21st century, destroyers are the global standard for surface combatant ships.


Destroyers - Concept and Development (1860-1914)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiVmLk6JzNg

[corsair91]

Sloop

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloop

A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast.

The name originates from the Dutch sloep, which is related to the Old English slūpan, to glide.
In naval terminology, "sloop-of-war" refers to the purpose of the craft, rather than to the specific size or sail-plan, and thus a sloop should not be confused with a sloop-of-war.



Sloop-of-war

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloop-of-war

In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term sloop-of-war encompassed all the unrated combat vessels, including the very small gun-brigs and cutters. In technical terms, even the more specialised bomb vessels and fireships were classed as sloops-of-war, and in practice these were employed in the sloop role when not carrying out their specialized functions.

In the first half of the 18th century, most naval sloops were two-masted vessels.

The first three-masted (i.e. "ship rigged") sloops appeared during the 1740s, and from the mid-1750s most new sloops were built with a three-masted (ship) rig. The third sail afforded the sloop greater mobility and the ability to back sail.

In the 1770s, the two-masted sloop re-appeared in a new guise as the brig sloop, the successor to the former snow sloops. Brig sloops had two masts, while ship sloops continued to have three (since a brig is a two-masted, square-rigged vessel, and a ship is a square-rigger with three or more masts, though never more than three in that period).


Originally a sloop-of-war was smaller than a sailing frigate and was (by virtue of having too few guns) outside the rating system. In general, a sloop-of-war would be under the command of a master and commander rather than a post captain, although in day-to-day use at sea the commanding officer of any naval vessels would be addressed as "captain".

A ship sloop was generally the equivalent of the smaller corvette of the French Navy (although the French term also covered ships up to 24 guns, which were classed as post ships within the sixth rate of the British Navy). The name corvette was subsequently also applied to British vessels, but not until the 1830s.


In World War I and World War II, the Royal Navy reused the term "sloop" for specialized convoy-defence vessels.

[corsair91]

Brig

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brig

A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and maneuverable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Brigs fell out of use with the arrival of the steam ship because they required a relatively large crew for their small size and were difficult to sail into the wind.

Brigs were used as small warships carrying about 10 to 18 guns.
Due to their speed and maneuverability they were popular among pirates (though they were rare among American and Caribbean pirates).

[corsair91]

East Indiaman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Indiaman

East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India Companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries.

The term is used to refer to vessels belonging to the Austrian, Danish, Dutch (Oostindiëvaarder), English, French, Portuguese, or Swedish (ostindiefarare) East India companies.


In Britain, the Honourable East India Company held a monopoly granted to it by Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1600 for all English trade between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, which was progressively restricted during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, until the monopoly was lost in 1834.

English (later British) East Indiamen usually ran between England, the Cape of Good Hope and India, where their primary destinations were the ports of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. The Indiamen often continued on to China before returning to England via the Cape of Good Hope and Saint Helena.

When the company lost its monopoly, the ships of this design were sold off. A smaller, faster ship known as a Blackwall Frigate was built for the trade as the need to carry heavy armaments declined.



Blackwall frigate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwall_frigate

Blackwall frigate was the colloquial name for a type of three-masted full-rigged ship built between the late 1830s and the mid-1870s.

They were originally intended as replacements for the British East Indiaman in the trade between England, the Cape of Good Hope, India and China, but from the 1850s were also employed in the trade between England, Australia and New Zealand.

Named partly because it was superficially similar in appearance to a frigate of the Royal Navy.

Blackwall frigates were fast sailing ships, although not as fast as the clipper ships that appeared in the late 1840s.

They were generally considered to be safe and comfortable ships and were employed in premium trades.

[corsair91]

Dreadnought

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreadnought

The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of its kind, the Royal Navy's HMS Dreadnought, made such a strong impression on people's minds when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built subsequently were referred to generically as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as "pre-dreadnoughts

Dreadnought was optimized for long-range battles. It had two revolutionary features: an "all-big-gun" armament scheme, with more heavy-calibre guns than previous ships; and steam turbine propulsion


HMS Dreadnought (1906)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dreadnought_(1906)


HMS Dreadnought - Guide 001 (Human Voice)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zesiF-TAS30
Drachinifel



Pre-dreadnought battleships
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-dreadnought_battleship

These battleships were abruptly made obsolete by the arrival of HMS Dreadnought in 1906.



Majestic-class Pre-dreadnought battleship
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majestic-class_battleship

among the most successful designs of their day, and they were widely copied in foreign navies