"British Warships in the Age of Sail 1817-1863: Design,..." Topic

… Construction, Careers & Fates.

"The publication of this book sees the completion of a monumental work listing the technical details and career histories of every significant British warship between 1603 and 1863. Following three earlier volumes, this one carries forward the story from the post Napoleonic War reorganization of the Royal Navy's rating system to the end of sail as the principal mode of propulsion.

Although apparently well documented, this is a period of great complexity in the procurement and naval architecture of ships. The introduction of steam radically altered the design of vessels under construction and was later retrofitted to others, while many ‘names' lived a ghostly existence on the Navy List: ships ordered but not started, and in some cases having their intended drafts altered more than once before being canceled entirely.

This book meticulously sorts out and clarifies these confusions – a major contribution in itself – but for the first time it also provides outline service histories for an era that is largely neglected. Like its companion volumes, the book is organized by Rate, classification and class, with significant technical and building data, followed by a concise summary of the careers of each ship in every class.

With its unique depth of information, this is a work of the utmost importance to every naval historian and general reader interested in the navy of the sailing era and the formative years of the steam navy that supplanted it."
See here
link

Anyone have read this book?.
If the answer is yes, comments please?

Thanks in advance for your guidance.

Amicalement
Armand

Tango – I do not possess the specific book in question, but I do own the first two volumes in this series, covering the periods 1714-1792 and 1793-1817. Rif Winfield is a prodigiously gifted and painstaking researcher of the Royal Navy. The 1793-1817 volume alone runs to 500 pages. What you will get is exactly what it says on the tin: a detailed review of each individual ship in RN service during period covered, from battleship to buoy tender, whether built, bought, hired or captured.

Here is an example of a typical randomly selected entry from the 1793-1817 volume:

quote -

SPENCER Class. "Middling Class" 74. Jean-Louis Barrallier design, approved 21.9.1795.
Dimensions & tons: 181ft 0in; 148ft 10-1/4in x 49ft x 21ft 10in. 1,901-5/94 bm.
Men: 640. Guns: LD 30 x 32pdrs; UD 30 x 18pdrs; QD 4 x 18pdrs + 10 x 32pdr carronades; FC 2 x 9pdrs + 2 x 32pdr carronades; RH 6 x 18pdr carronades.

Spencer – Balthazar & Edward Adams, Bucklers Hard.
As built: 180ft 10in, 148ft 6-3/4in x 49ft 3in x 21ft 10in. 1916-69/94bm. Draught 13ft 9in / 19ft 5in.
Ord: 19.9.1795, K: 9.1795. L: 10.5.1800. C: 12.8.1800 at Portsmouth.
First cost: UKP38,021.1.1d to build, plus UKP 24,588 for fitting.
Commissioned: 6.1800 under Captain Henry d'Esterre Darby(-1802); I Battle of Algeciras 6.7.1801, and in Gut of Gibraltar 12.7.1801. Joined Calder's squadron 10.1801; sailed in chase to West Indies 12.1801. Recommissioned 5.1803 under Captain Robert Stopford (-1807), in the Channel, joined Nelson off Toulon 8.1804; in chase to the West Indies 1805. In Duckworth's squadron 1806; at Battle of San Domingo 6.2.1806. In Copenhagen expedition 1807. In 4.1804 under Captain John Quillam in the Channel, as flagship of the now Rear-Adm. Stopford. Large Repair at Plymouth 10.1811 – 3.1814. Recommissioned 1.1814 under Capt. Richard Raggett (-1815), for North America. Under Capt. William Broughton in 8.1815, as guardship at Plymouth, from 1818 under Capt. Thomas Hardy; from 9.1818 under Capt. Samuel Rowley, as flagship of Rear-Adm. Sir Josias Rowley, at Cork. Under Capt. Sir Thomas Lavie in 12.1821. BU at Plymouth 4.1822.

- unquote

You will not find any long technical discussions regarding vessel design and development. That is not what the author focuses upon. If that is what you seek, I would suggest "Before the Ironclad" by D K Brown.

Hope this helps.

B

Many thanks my friend!. (smile)

It help a lot!.

Amicalement
Armand