Another peacetime ramming disaster: Hoche and Maréchal Canrobert 1892 Ramming proved a successful manoeuvre in battle on only one naval battle – at Lissa in 1866 (click here to access an earlier blog-article about it) – but ram bows were seen as essential features for warships of almost all sizes in the half-century prior [...]

Georgian Naval Chaplains - and a rascally journalist One seldom comes across any mention of chaplains in Nautical Fiction, despite the fact that by the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars period both all line-of-battle ships and frigates were allowed them. The decision to have such men – usually referred to as “parsons” – may well [...]

HMS Magicienne’s survival, 1831 Fire at sea has always been terrifying when it occurs, but never more so than in the days of wooden ships. Appalling losses were suffered from this cause and in the absence of modern damage-control systems fire brought for warships the extra threat of magazine explosion. It is therefore all [...]

Port Royal’s Vanished Treasure Antoine Vanner: One of the unexpected pleasures of becoming a historical novelist has been getting to know a wide range of other writers with whom I would not otherwise ever have come in contact. They're always remarkable for their enthusiasm and for the passionate in-depth knowledge they [...]

Slave Revolt at Sea, 1769 In the late 18th Century the “Age of Fighting Sail” was reaching the peak of its efficiency in a time when Britain and France were almost continuously at war. It is easy therefore for one’s perception of life at sea in this era to be dominated by images [...]

Gunboat Diplomacy: Franco-Siamese War of 1893 French gunboat Lutin - unarmoured, weakly armed, but very effective when needed! Jules Ferry and his ludicrous facial hair  France’s crushing defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, and the added humiliation of the loss of the provinces of [...]