"Frigate actions: how much manoeuvering?" Topic

Hi all,

I'm just getting into the period and was surprised to find a comment somewhere that it was very unusual for frigates, once engaged against each other, to attempt anything too lively by way of manoevering, and certainly not tacking. The impression I got from the comment was that, in most frigate duels, the ships remained on parallel courses, pounding away at each other, until one side attempted boarding (because either it or its opponent could not stomach much more firing).

I've looked at the Quebec/Surveillante 1779 action, and the Shannon/Chesapeake 1813 action, and neither invoved much manoeuvering. In the first, the Quebec's attempt to wear in the Surveillante's wake was frustrated when Surveillante also wore, keeping the ships parallel. And in the latter, the Chesapeake's attempt to prevent itself from overshooting the Shannon by 'luffing' seems to have been its downfall, as its stern was blown into the Shannon, and was then lashed in place.

Or were these two famous actions untypical?

Anyone have a view on this?

Many thanks in advance for any observations!

Hah!!!!! If it has to do with the Age of Sail, I am always ready to offer observations. It is one of my favorite periods of study …

Much depended upon the tactical situation, including weather and the intents of the opposing captains (for example, is one seeking to get into the open sea or perhaps trying to reach a port of refuge. If so, the opponent typically would prefer to interpose himself accordingly.

In the historical period during which RN gunnery superiority prevailed, it was sufficient for the British ship to get to a broadside-to-broadside position within musket shot distance; once achieved, it was largely a foregone conclusion that the British ship would ultimately emerge the victor. Clever maneuvers were unnecessary and potentially risky. For example, if the opposing ships were fighting on a close-hauled heading, any attempt at clever maneuvering by the ship to windward risked loss of the wind gauge and thereby control of the action.

In other cases, particularly with more closely matched opponents, a great deal more maneuvering might be involved. Roosevelt's book "The Naval War of 1812" features several track charts of USN versus RN ship-vs-ship engagements -

Pg 107 – Guerriere vs Constitution
Pg 116 – Frolic vs Wasp
Pg 121 – Macedonian vs United States
Pg 135 – Constitution vs Java
Pg 171 – Peacock vs Hornet
Pg 202 – Pelican vs Argus
Pg 207 – Boxer vs Enterprise
Pg 287 – Peacock vs Epervier
Pg 300 – Wasp vs Avon
Pg 376 – Cyane & Levant vs Constitution
Pg 385 – Penguin vs Hornet

Other comments -

> Chesapeake's attempt to luff up was not a mistake; the effort was disrupted when Shannon shot away the braces of her fore-topsail, which put her out of control and caused Chesapeake to go into irons and then drift stern first into Shannon.

> Tacking was not a safe maneuver to undertake in the face of an intact and mobile opponent. Depending upon wind and sea state, a frigate might require anywhere from six to ten minutes to get her head around onto the new tack and in order to get back under way. During that period of time, a tacking ship was essentially adrift and represented free target practice to any opponent able to bring her guns to bear from an advantageous firing position.

> Choose your rules carefully if you intend to dig down this deep. The mechanics of a lot of AoS rule sets do not provide the necessary level of mechanics to model such maneuvers in a realistic manner. Strictly my opinion, of course.

B

Blutarski, which rules do you recommend for this level of detail?

In all the games I've run as umpire or played in, there has always been a lot of maneuvering before and during the frigate v frigate battle. And since frigates are the high performance race cars of the AoS, players have fun doing maneuvers. It is rare (can't remember the last time it happened) for a ship without the weather gauge to just sit and wait for its opponent to arrive and the mayhem begins. Most often the non-weather gauge ship fires and waits until almost short range and turns down wind itself. Hopefully, since the non-weather gauge ship has not been damaged, it can increase the distance and when back a long, turn back and fire some more.

My rules of choice for frigate actions are 'Heart of Oak.'

Kevin

Seamanship was more pronounced during the chase. Once engaged sails were shortened and gunnery begun. Some maneuvering but not as much.

Also, few men were in the tops. Trained seaman were difficult to find. Men in the tops were vulnerable. What was adjusted was limited to what could be done on deck. Especially when men were needed on the guns.

'Post Captain' (by ODGW) is a very nice detailed Age of Sail set ideal for small ship actions, it takes account of what the crew are doing and the (long) time to tack. It would be pretty suicidal to tack during an action, for sure. Apart from the time taken, while the crew are busy tacking, they are not loading or firing the guns.

Unfortunately I have misplaced my copy of 'The Frigates' by James Henderson. As I recall, though, he noted that in the majority of actions in which frigates fought the action was decided in the first minutes when one ship delivered what was considered crippling damage to the other.

Gunnery duels between frigates being an exception rathr than the rule.

JonFreitag wrote – "… which rules do you recommend for this level of detail?

I have been playing my own unpublished rules ("Steer to Glory") pretty much exclusively for many years. That having been said, you might take a look a look at the following -

Rod Langton's "Signal Close Action" – the long version probably being preferable for frigate actions)

Davis Manley's "Form Line of Battle" – never personally played them myself, so cannot speak to their suitability for modeling frigate actions, but I list them on the basis of my high regard for David as a game designer.

Lonnie Gill's "Post Captain" – have only ever played a single pre-publication test game, but these rules have gathered a following as a one player/one ship rule set.

"Hearts of Oak" is an OLD set of rules, but it has a loyal following and IIRC is oriented toward frigates actions.

- – -

As far as my own rules go, here is a summary of a long ago test game that gives a sense of what I have aimed for -

Lissa-1811 – Battle Report.

I had two friends over this past Saturday to play the famous
1811 engagement between Hoste's British frigate squadron and
Dubourdieu's Franco/Venetian invasion flotilla off the Island of Lissa.

Rules – Steer to Glory (STG) – (unpublished, and NOT Sail to Glory).
Scale – 1:2400 scale, both models, movement and range.
Table – 4' x 6', using eight 1.5ft x 2ft re-configurable sea tiles.

The scenario was kept more or less historical, with the action set
along the north shore of Lissa. The port of San Giorgio, the
principal port and harbor of the island, was situated about two sea
miles (approx three sea tiles to the east of the play area at
commencement of the game). Time of day was morning. Wind was a
moderate breeze out of the N. The southern edge of the play area
(running E-W) was considered to be the shoal water of the island. The
tile intersection in the SW was specified as the center of a circular
patch of submerged rocks 200 yards (3-inches) in diameter. The
location of these rocks was known to the British player but not to the
Franco/Venetian player.

The British squadron consisted of:
32 AMPHION (Flag)--900t / 13x18 2x6 5x24c = 246 + 120c / 18lbr frigate
32 CERBERUS--------800t / 13x18 3x6 3x24c = 252 + 72c / 18lbr frigate
38 ACTIVE---------1100t / 14x18 2x9 7x32c = 270 + 224c / 18lbr frigate
22 VOLAGE----------500t / 1x6 11x32c 4x18c = 6 + 424c / Sloop

All British ships except CERBERUS were considered to have veteran
quality crews of high morale capable of hulling fire and a gunnery RoF
of 1rd/2min. CERBERUS, historically about 30 pct short in her crew at the
time of the action, was consequently given average crew quality and a
gunnery RoF of 1rd/3min; otherwise she had similar crew and morale
characteristics.

Note re "hulling fire" – a crew capable of conducting hulling fire, if firing at a
target within Musket Shot distance (</= 300 yards), could choose to direct
two-thirds of its fire at the hull of the target. In other cases, only one-third
of fire could be directed to the hull.

--

The Franco-Venetian squadron consisted of:

French
40 FAVORITE (Flag)1100t / 14x18 6x8 2x36c = 324 + 78c / 18lbr frigate
40 FLORE----------1100t / 14x18 6x8 2x36c = 324 + 78c / 18lbr frigate
40 DANAE----------1100t / 14x18 6x8 2x36c = 324 + 78c / 18lbr frigate

French were all given poor crews (not the worst rating) of average
morale, incapable of hulling fire, having a gunnery RoF of 1rd/4min.

--

Venetian
40 CORONA---------1100t / 14x18 6x8 2x36c = 324 + 78c / 18lbr frigate
32 BELLONA---------700t / 12x12 4x6 2x36c = 180 + 78c / 12lbr frigate
32 CAROLINA--------700t / 12x12 4x6 2x36c = 180 + 78c / 12lbr frigate

All Venetian crews were rated the same as the French, except for
CAROLINA, which was given high morale as a tribute to her sterling
resistance in the historical action.

The game began with the four British frigates in line-of-battle at
half cable intervals (AMPHION (flag), VOLAGE, CERBERUS, ACTIVE),
sailing W on the beam reach under battle sail. The northern shore of
Lissa was about 600 yds (9-inches) to leeward.

The Franco-Venetian force, bearing NW from AMPHION, came down
in two columns on a SE heading. The westernmost column consisted
of the three French frigates (FAVORITE (flag), FLORE, DANAE).
The eastern column of Venetian ships (CORONA, BELLONA, CAROLINA)
was about 600 yds to the E of the French ships on a parallel course.
All were at battle sail, making about 4 knots on the quarter reach.
There was a some straggling (poor initial station-keeping dice) in both columns
with average intervals of 250-300 yds between ships.

The Franco-Venetian battle plan, never really totally articulated or
coordinated between the two allied players, was apparently for
the French column to concentrate upon the head of the British line while
the Venetian frigates engaged the British from windward on a reciprocal
easterly heading.

In any case, both columns came down on their SE heading. The French
column, aiming to strike the lead British ship, altered course to a more
southerly intercept heading. The Venetians initially paralleled the French,
but slowly turned onto a more easterly heading to clear their gun arcs and
parallel the British line. Some desultory fire was exchanged during the
approach, but no damage of any consequence was inflicted upon either side.

As the French closed, the British line wore together, both to keep the French
within their broadside arcs and to avoid the submerged rocks which they knew
to be a few hundred yards ahead. There was not a lot of room to leeward,
but the British ships came about safely. The French column was still barreling
down at four knots when the French flagship FAVORITE struck the submerged
rocks, became stranded, and was put out of the game entirely. The second in
the French line, FLORE, cleared the rocks to the west while DANAE, third in line,
avoided to the east. Meanwhile the Venetian line, still to windward, continued
slowly to the east, exchanging medium range fire with the rear of the British line.

In an effort to redeem Allied fortunes, FLORE closed with AMPHION, engaged
her at Musket Shot range (< 300 yds), then closed further to Pistol Shot range
(< 100 yds), and finally ran AMPHION aboard from windward and grappled
her (both ships now heading E). Brave, but foolish, as the best chance for the
French was to remain outside carronade range, and take advantage of their
heavier weight of long gun fire to hopefully to inflict some crippling damage upon
the British aloft before themselves suffering too heavily. CERBERUS rushed to
the assistance of AMPHION and engaged FLORE from windward, putting her
between two fires. FLORE lost her mizzenmast, which fell to leeward upon AMPHION
and fouled the two ships. This was a dangerous situation for both ships, as they were
at this point only a a few hundred yards from Lissa's shallows. It can be said of FLORE
that, if she did not fight successfully, she certainly fought bravely, being pretty much
shot to pieces and enduring about 40 pct casualties before striking. FLORE also lost
her main topgallant mast and had her main topsail yard shot away. She was pretty
much crippled in movement as a result. AMPHION did not escape lightly. She lost
her mizzen topmast and was left with a dangerously tottering mainmast.
The French player had desperately tried to bring DANAE to the assistance of the
hard-pressed FLORE, but problems with initiative dice throws prevented her from
intervening in a timely manner.

Meanwhile, the Venetians had continued potting away at VOLAGE and ACTIVE from
their windward position, slowly closing the range until the 18lbr frigate CORONA was
exchanging fire with ACTIVE at Musket Shot range (<300 yds). Initially honors were
about equal, but prospects for CORONA were not encouraging, as she was now
within range of ACTIVE's carronades and unable to easily re-open the range.

BELLONA, a modest little Venetian 12lbr frigate ended up closely engaged with VOLAGE,
the British 32lbr carronade-armed ship/sloop. Although BELLONA was in considerable
potential jeopardy with VOLAGE's carronade broadside weight nearly double her own,
some lucky Venetian shooting toppled VOLAGE's mainmast, which crippled her
movement. Deft maneuver by BELLONA placed her across VOLAGE's bow, where she
was largely immune from VOLAGE's guns. With CAROLINA coming up in support of
BELLONA, VOLAGE was in definite peril unless she received support.

The scenario was not fought to a complete finality. The scenario was more a test-bed
to examine frigate and small ship behavior within the basic rule mechanics and post-game discussion and notation consumed a fair share of the available time. One of the interesting observations made was that 12lbr frigates, by virtue of their relatively weak long gun factors,
are not really effective at ranges beyond 600 yards (Point Blank). Some other interesting
events occurred which are worthy of note. The British unexpectedly suffered two gun bursts, which by themselves probably inflicted as much hull damage as the French gunfire. Also,
friendly fire from CERBERUS, whose line of fire into FLORE intersected AMPHION, was
partly responsible for bringing down AMPHION's mizzen topmast.

Goragrad wrote -
"Unfortunately I have misplaced my copy of 'The Frigates' by James Henderson. As I recall, though, he noted that in the majority of actions in which frigates fought the action was decided in the first minutes when one ship delivered what was considered crippling damage to the other.

Gunnery duels between frigates being an exception rather than the rule.

- – -

I'm not sure that I agree. Going through the entries in Clowes, "The Royal Navy – A History from the Earliest Times to 1900" (5 volumes – good resource and available free via archive.org) and also William James' "Naval History of Great Britain" (same same), frigate versus frigate actions were quite commonplace at times.

Clowes Volume 4, Chapter XXXVI – Minor Operations of the Royal Navy 1793-1802, pp 474+, is an excellent and well organized resource on frigate actions in the French Revolutionary War period. There were LOTS of them.

Here is a quick sampling -

April 1793 – HMS Iris (32) versus Citoyenne Francaise (32);
duration 1 hour 30m minutes; result – inconclusive.

May 1793 – HMS Venus (32) versus Semillante (32);
duration – 2 hours; result – inconclusive.

June 1793 – HMS Nymphe (36) versus Cleopatre (36);
duration – 55 minutes; result – British victory.

July 1793 – HMS Boston (38) versus Embuscade (34);
duration – 1 hour 40 minutes; result – British victory.

FWIW. Not trying to create a dispute; just trying to do right by the historical record.

B