May 2024
Pellew and the Dutton – rescue despite the odds
Pellew and the Dutton - rescue despite the odds Edward Pellew We’ve met Edward Pellew (1757 – 1833) on this blog [...]
Merchant Service Hell in the mid-19th Century
Hell at Sea Merchant Service in the mid-19th Century It is impossible to see images of the great clippers and other large vessels under sail in [...]
HMS Thunderer 1879: death knell muzzle-loaders
HMS Thunderer 1879: the end of muzzle-loaders in the Royal Navy Three ships of the Royal Navy in the 1870s, HMS Devastation, her close sister HMS Thunderer and her slightly larger sister HMS Dreadnought, can [...]
April 2024
Fireship attack: HMS Dart & Désirée, 1800
Fireship attack: HMS Dart & Désirée, 1800 For many centuries fireships were to be some of the most dramatic and devastating of all naval weapons, albeit difficult to deploy and [...]
March 2024
HMS Flora 1780: the Carronade arrives
HMS Flora 1780: the Carronade’s arrival In sea battles from the 1780s to the end of the Napoleonic Wars a decisive factor was often the use of the [...]
Merchantman vs. a French Privateer, 1811
Three Sisters Merchantman vs. a French Privateer, 1811 Throughout the Age of Fighting Sail merchant shipping – from small coastal craft to large vessels engaged in interoceanic trade – [...]