Synopsis
By the end of the sailing era the 50-gun ship had become regarded as a hybrid, too small to stand in the line of battle, and lacking the speed and hardiness of the frigate, so it has often been dismissed as a naval architectural dinosaur left over from an earlier age. This book aims to reveal the crucial role of the 50-gun ship in the development of both the battleship and the frigate, and explains the enduring role which ensured the survival of the type into the 19th century. Charting its origins in the pre-Commonwealth frigates, the author follows the development of the type in the 18th century and its gradual transition from battlefleet to heavy cruiser role, highlighting its revival for the special conditions of colonial warfare during the American Revolution. Thereafter they were employed as peacetime flagships for distant stations, achieving final glory leading small craft in anti-invasion operations during the Napoleonic War. The Leopard is the subject of the cutaway drawings.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Synopsis
Too small to stand in the line of battle and lacking the speed of the frigate, the 50-gun ship was often dismissed as a dinosaur. This book reveals the crucial role the 50-gun ship played in the development of both the battleship and the frigate and this is the first study of the type, from its development in the eighteenth century and its gradual transition from battlefleet to heavy cruiser role. They were revived for the special conditions of colonial warfare during the American Revolution and thereafter, were employed as peacetime flagships for distant stations, achieving final glory leading small craft in anti-invasion operations during the Napoleonic War. The "horrible old Leopard," so described in the fiction of Patrick O'Brian, is the subject of the detailed drawings and plans
About the Author
Rif Winfield has been researching naval matters for 25 years and has been a frequent contributor to Jane's Fighting Ships. This is his first book.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
