The wars of 1793-1815 are widely regarded as the
apogee of the sailing man-of-war. Many seapowers became involved in the
conflict, and at some point virtually all aligned themselves against Great
Britain. Thanks to its superiority, the Royal Navy took many of its enemy ships
in battle and developed the habit of drawing plans of the ones they captured.
This book reproduces a representative selection of these plans for the main
protagonists--French, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Russian and American--and for the
British themselves.
All of the principal types of warships employed during the conflict are
included, from huge three-deckers down to gunboats and even the support craft on
which every dockyard depended. The narrative describes the function of each of
the bewildering variety of rates, concentrating on their technical development
and how they were used in action. An appendix lists other relevant plans
available. For ship modelers and age-of-sail enthusiasts, the book offers
essential reference material that showcases the incomparable collection of
original ships' plans at the National Maritime Museum.