 Scale model of the Achille, a typical French seventy-four of the Téméraire class at the beginning of the 19th century. Achille in art She figures on The Battle of Trafalgar by Turner Ships in class Téméraire (18 ships ''Téméraire'' Builder Brest shipyard Ordered |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | 74-gun |
| Builders: | Numerous |
| Operators: |  French NavyNumerous others |
| In commission: | Mid-1700s |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | ship of the line |
| Displacement: | 1 630 tonnes |
| Length: | 52 m |
| Beam: | 14 m |
| Draught: | 7 m |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Complement: | 700 men |
| Armament: |
28 x 36 or 32 pdr (16 or 14 kg) |
| Armour: | Timber |
The "Seventy-four" was a type of two-decked sailing ship of the line nominally carrying 74 guns. The carronade was a short Smoothbore, Cast iron Cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an Ironworks A ship-of-the-line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th century through the mid-19th century to take part in the the naval tactic known as the Line of battle Originally developed by the French Navy in the mid-18th century, the design proved to be a good balance between firepower and sailing qualities, and was adopted by the British Royal Navy (where the ships were classed as third-rates), as well as other navies. The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale ( National Navy) and often called La Royale ( The Royal Navy) is the maritime arm The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) In the British Royal Navy, a third-rate was a Ship of the line mounting 64 to 80 guns typically built with two Gun decks (thus the related term Seventy-fours were a mainstay of the world's fleets into the early decades of the 19th century, when they were supplanted by improved construction techniques allowing larger vessels and by the introduction of steam power. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar
The classic 74-gun ship was invented by the French as they rebuilt their navy during the early years of the reign of Louis XV. Louis XV (15 February 1710 &ndash 10 May 1774 ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774 The new ship type was a very large two-decker big enough to carry the largest common type of gun (36-pounders) on the lower gun deck, something only three-deckers had done earlier. A two-decker is a sail Warship, which carried her guns on two fully-armed decks A three-decker is a sail warship which carried her guns on three fully-armed decks This great firepower was combined with very good sailing qualities compared to both the taller three-deckers and the shorter old-style 70-gun two-deckers, making the 74 the perfect combination of the two. A downside to the 74 was that it was a relatively expensive ship to build and man compared to the older type of two-decker.
The 74-gun ship normally carried twenty-eight 32- or 36-pound guns on the lower gun deck, thirty 18-pounders on the upper gun deck, and sixteen 9-pounders on the upper works. A broadside is the side of a Ship; the battery of Cannon on one side of a Warship; or their simultaneous (or near simultaneous fire in A limited number of seventy-fours were built for 24-pounders instead of 18-pounders, but this was not common due to the increased cost and also tended to overload the hull. Crew size was around 500 to 750 men depending on circumstances and nationality, British ships tending to have smaller crews than comparable Continental ones. The waterline length of a seventy-four could be up to 180 feet.
Given the construction techniques of the day, the seventy-four approached the limits of what was possible. Such long hulls made from wood had a tendency to flex and sag over time, this could to a certain extent be countered by increased maintenance but this was of course costly. This limited the success of the even bigger two-deck 80-gun ships that were built in small numbers after the seventy-four had been introduced. Three-deckers did not have the same problem due to their additional deck giving more rigidity.
The Royal Navy captured a number of the early French 74-gun ships during the War of the Austrian Succession (for example, Invincible, captured at the first battle of Cape Finisterre in 1747) and the Seven Years' War and were greatly impressed by them compared to their own smallish 70-gun ships. The War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748 involved nearly all the powers of Europe The First Battle of Cape Finisterre ( 14 May 1747) saw 14 British Ships of the line under Admiral George Anson attack a French Year 1747 ( MDCCXLVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Seven Years' War (1756&ndash1763 involved all of the major European powers of the period causing 900000 to 1400000 deaths As a result they started building them in great numbers from about 1760, as did most other European navies. Navies that were restricted by shallow waters, such as the Dutch and Scandinavian navies, at least early on tended to avoid the 74-gun ship to a certain degree due to its size and draught, preferring smaller two-deckers instead. Even so, the seventy-four was a standard feature in all European navies around 1800. Only a handful of 74-gun ships were commissioned into the United States Navy; the US Navy's early sea power concentrated on their powerfully built frigates.
The type fell into disuse after the Napoleonic Wars, when improved building techniques made it possible to build even bigger two-deckers of 84 or even 90 guns without sacrificing hull rigidity. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions
The last seventy-four, the French Trafalgar veteran Duguay-Trouin, was scuttled in 1949. Her stern ornamentation is on display at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. The National Maritime Museum (NMM in Greenwich, England is the leading Maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum In addition, dozens of ship models exist, produced as part of constructing the real ships, and thus believed accurate both externally and internally. This article is concerned primarily with static models For operating models see Model yachting or Radio-controlled boat, Ship models or
Contents |
External links
- A Seventy-Four Gun Ship Scaled Model - A highly detailed scaled model of a Seventy-Four Gun Ship.
Classes
British
- Dublin class ship of the line (British, 7 ships)
- Hercules class ship of the line (British, 2 ships)
- Bellona class ship of the line (British, 5 ships)
- Arrogant class ship of the line (British, 12 ships)
- Canada class ship of the line
- Ramillies class ship of the line
- Albion class ship of the line
- Elizabeth class ship of the line (British, 8 ships)
- Royal Oak class ship of the line (British, 6 ships)
- Culloden class ship of the line (British, 8 ships)
- Alfred class ship of the line (British, 4 ships)
- Ganges class ship of the line
- Courageux class ship of the line (British, 6 ships)
- Fame class ship of the line (British, 4 ships)
- Repulse class ship of the line (British, 8 ships)
- Swiftsure class ship of the line (British, 2 ships)
- Vengeur class ship of the line (British, 40 ships)
- Black Prince class ship of the line (British, 4 ships)
- Pompée class ship of the line (British, 2 ships)
- America class ship of the line (British, 2 ships)
French
- Annibal class ship of the line (2 ships)
- Téméraire class ship of the line (French, 107 ships)
See also
References
- Jean Boudriot, transl. Design The Dublin class ships were the first 74-gun ships designed by Slade and marked the beginning of a more dynamic era of naval design than that seen in the ultra-conservative Design The Hercules class ships were a development on Slade's previous two designs the, and the subsequent one-off. Design Slade's Bellona class was the first class of British 74s to have a gun deck length of 168 ft and marked the beginning of a stabilisation of the design of this size Design The Arrogant class ships were designed as a development of Slade's previous ''Bellona'' class, sharing the same basic dimensions Design During this period in British naval architecture the 74-gun third rates were divided into two distinct groupings the 'large' and 'common' classes Design The draught for the Ramillies -class was very similar to that of the and subsequent, with the only real differences to be found in the shape of the underwater hull Design Slade based the design of the Albion -class on the lines of the 90-gun ship. Ships Builder Portsmouth Dockyard Ordered 6 November Ships Builder Plymouth Dockyard Ordered 16 November Ships Builder Deptford Dockyard Ordered 30 November Ships Ships Builder Randall Rotherhithe Ordered 14 July Ships Standard group Ships First batch Builder Perry Blackwall Ordered Ships Builder Dudman Deptford Ordered 4 February Ships Builder Adams Bucklers Hard Ordered 1800 Launched 23 July 1804 Fate Sold Ships Builder Perry Blackwall Ordered 1 July 1807 Ships Builder Bombay Dockyard Ordered 3 September 1812 Launched 24 February 1815 Ships Builder Pitcher Northfleet Ordered 10 June 1795 Launched 19 March 1798 Ships Builder Barnard Deptford Ordered 10 June 1795 Launched 2 February 1798 Ships in class Téméraire (18 ships ''Téméraire'' Builder Brest shipyard Ordered Early history She fought at the battle of The Glorious First of June, the Battle of the Nile and the Battle of Trafalgar, becoming one of the most David Roberts, The Seventy-Four Gun Ship (Naval Institute Press, 1986) originally Le Vaisseau de 74 Canons, 1973. David Roberts is the name of David Roberts (painter (1796-1864 Scottish painter David Roberts (engineer (1859-1928 invented the caterpillar Four remarkable volumes document every aspect of the French 74, from shipyard construction techniques to handling under sail. Many large diagrams and drawings.
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