In the sailing fleet (late 17th - mid 19th centuries), the largest warship was the battleship? a three-masted ship with strong artillery armament (from 60 to 130 guns).
Depending on displacement, dimensions and, first of all, on the number of guns, in accordance with the “Table of Ranks of Ships” (XVII century), ships were divided into six ranks. By the middle of the 19th century, the displacement of battleships reached 5000 tons, weapons? 130 guns, crew? 800 people.
The trends in the development of warships from galleon to linear are illustrated by the English warship built in 1637, “Sovereign of the Seas” (“Lord of the Seas”)? Figure 9.1. Its displacement is 1530 tons, maximum length 71 m, width 14.2 m, hold depth 5.9 m, maximum draft 6.75 m. Further crushing (compared to galleys) up to the fourth tier received a general windage. For the first time in the history of shipbuilding, artillery guns were placed on three decks.
This ship is considered the first sailing battleship in the history of shipbuilding. On three continuous battery decks and the battery occupying the fourth tier, a battery was installed on the quarterdeck
126 guns, of which 20 were heavy 60-pounders, eight? 38-lb. Crew? 800 people. The ship was decorated with numerous sculptures and wood carvings in the Baroque style. The cost of the ship was enormous: for it it was possible to build ten ordinary 40-gun ships. The English king Charles I, on whose orders this ship was built, was accused of unjustified wastefulness in financing the construction of the navy. The political passions of those years led to the king being executed (in 1649) on the orders of Oliver Cromwell. Did the ship live a long life? rebuilt three times and was afloat
60 years. He repeatedly took part in naval battles, but did not die in a naval battle, but was burned in a parking lot in Chatham (near London) from the fire of an overturned candle.
The first third of the 17th century saw the entry of France into the great maritime powers. This is connected with the name of the Duke of Richelieu, on whose initiative the reconstruction of the sea ports of France began; several sailing ships were purchased from Holland, which became the first large warships of the navy. In 1636, the first battleship of its own construction, Le
Korona” (Crown) (displacement? 2100 t, length along the waterline? 50.7 m, side height? 10.5 m, mast-mast from keel to keel? 57.6 m, armament? 72 guns on three decks, crew ? 604 people). The ship was built by Charles Maurier.
An example of a 1st rank battleship perfect for that time is the French three-deck, 120-gun Soleil Royal (“Sun King”), built in 1690 (Fig. 9.2). Its dimensions were close to the table of ranks and were: length? 55 m, width? 15.5 m, deepening of the hold? 6.7 m; crew? 875 people. For a long period, “Soleil Royal” was considered the best among the battleships of the leading naval powers of the world in terms of its performance, firepower, and decor. Another famous battleship of the 1st rank was the Spanish Santisima Trinidad (Fig. 9.3), built in 1769 at the Spanish naval shipyard in Havana (Cuba). The hull and deck are Cuban mahogany, mast and yard? from Mexican pine. Side thickness? 0.6 m. For the first time, a ship of this class had four gun decks, on which 144 guns were installed, 30 of them of 32 pound caliber were located on the lower deck. What is the firing range of these guns? 1.5 miles. Two 18-pounder and twenty-six 8-pounder guns and mortars were installed on the second deck. The remaining guns occupied the third and fourth decks. Despite numerous hits on this battleship from English ships at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, it
was not sunk. During the battle, there were 1,200 sailors and Marines on the ship.
The English battleship Victory, which took part in the Battle of Trafalgar, has survived to this day (Fig. 9.4). She became a monument ship and has been in Portsmouth dry dock since 1922 in honor of the victory of the English fleet over the combined navies of Spain and France. The spot on deck where the mortally wounded Admiral Nelson fell is marked with a memorial plaque. The battleship was built by shipwrights D. Lock and E. Allan back in 1765 in Chatham near London. It had three decks and three masts. To build Victory, 2.5 thousand trees, mainly oak, were used. The keel is made of several elm trunks; the frames were hewn with an ax according to drawings that were made to full size. The sides, 0.6 m thick, consisted of outer and inner cladding, fastened with steel bolts and oak dowels. Displacement? about 3.5 thousand tons, length? 57 m, width? about 16 m, crew? 850 people. Was armed with 104 cannons, more than half of which were heavy? 32- and 24-pounders.
From the end of the 17th century for long-range reconnaissance and cruising service (independent combat operations on sea and ocean communications with the aim of capturing and destroying enemy merchant ships) in navies different countries appears new type ship? frigate? with fairly powerful artillery weapons, but faster than battleships. It differed from the latter in its smaller size (displacement 700?-1000 tons and more) and fewer guns. Among the frigates there were also large ones, with up to 60 guns, which were included in the battle line and were called linear frigates. Here are some typical ships of this type. The French frigate Flora (Fig. 9.5), built in 1780, had the greatest length? 
47 m, along the keel? 38 m, maximum width? 11.6 m, draft? 5 m, weapons? 30 9-pounder guns, crew: about 300 people. The American frigate Constitution (Fig. 9.6), built in Boston in 1797, was intended to protect American shipping routes from pirates in the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas. Its length is 62.2 m, width 13.6 m, side height 6.85 m. Armament reached 55 guns, twenty-eight of which were 24-pounders, and ten were 12-pounders. Crew? 400 people. The frigate was afloat for 150 years, it was restored several times, and since 1947 it has been permanently moored in Boston as a monument ship.
The history of the development of frigates is interesting. Initially, in 
XIII?-XVI centuries, a frigate (a sailing-rowing vessel with galleys) had 4-5 pairs of oars and a slanting sail. On long voyages it was towed by the flagship galley. The largest sailing-rowing ship of the skerry fleet was also called a frigate; in addition to sails, it had 12...18 pairs of oars, and was armed with up to 38 guns. Having gone through a number of changes, frigates as a class of ships have been revived in modern navies of different countries (the name was given during the Second World War). Nowadays their combat mission is to search and destroy submarines enemy 
anti-submarine and anti-missile defense of ships and transports when operating as part of search groups and security forces.
Corvettes of the XVII-?XVIII centuries? ships with a displacement of 460 tons or more; they had the same direct sails as frigates and 18–30 guns on the upper deck and were mainly used
for reconnaissance and messenger services (Fig. 9.7, a). The corvette Astrolabe (France, 1811) had a length of 101.04 feet (30.08 m), a deck beam of 28.54 feet (8.7 m), a draft of 11.97 feet (3.65 m), displacement 380 tons.
Brigs were significantly smaller than frigates, their displacement? 200?400 t, length? up to 32 m, width? 8...9 m, straight rigged on two masts; on the second mainmast, in addition to straight sails, another scythe was installed. Crew? up to 120 people, artillery weapons? up to 24 guns. They appeared in the 18th century and were used not only as cruising ships, patrol ships, but also as messengers (Fig. 9.7, b).
The total area of the sails raised on a 120-gun battleship reached 3140 m2, on frigates? 2500 m2, on brigs? 760 m2, which per ton of displacement gave, respectively, 0.65;
1.0; 1.9 m2. The specific sailing armament also determined the speed qualities of the ships. Brigs and frigates, the speed of which reached 10 knots, and the mass of the sails? 4 tons, were faster than battleships. The desire to limit the diversity of the navy and introduce proven ship designs led to the establishment of the practice of compiling ship staffs (the table of ranks mentioned above) in all navies of the world. The states were most fully developed and repeatedly updated in England and France, and then in Russia. They determined the hierarchy of warships, as well as the main characteristics and specifications for construction. An idea of such states at the beginning of the 18th century is given in Table. 9.1, borrowed from the work of R.M. Melnikov). The information relates to the armament and equipment of English ships according to the Admiralty rules of 1709–1727. The military sailing fleet survived until the first half of the 19th century. The last war in which sailing ships took part as the main armed force of the warring parties was the Crimean War. It also showed that the long age of sailing warships was over.
Briefly about the article: Sailing ships were used for trade and piracy, with their help great geographical discoveries were made, and their squadrons took part in large-scale naval battles. What the sailing ships looked like, what they were armed with, what the size of the crew was and what rules should be followed during naval battles - in the material of our regular author Igor Krai.
Guns and sails
Sailing ships of the new era
And so, in the dead of midnight, starry but moonless, the majestic frigate, which was once the pride of the shipyards of Cadiz, silently raised the anchor and, catching a fair breeze with its sails, using the ebb, turned into the open sea.
Rafael Sabatini, The Chronicle of Captain Blood
Steep-sided caravels topped with white sails, cutting through the azure waves of the southern seas, will forever remain a symbol of the romance of distant travels and the era of great geographical discoveries. But what do we actually know about the emergence, development and tactics of combat use of sailing ships?
Round ships
Warships, which represented a development of the idea of " long ship " - longships - dominated the seas for 3000 years. But all this time, in parallel with them, another type of ship existed and developed. To transport goods, back in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC, the Phoenicians began to build special “ round » transport workers.
The wind of wanderings blows the sails. |
Merchant ships were called “round” because of their extremely wide hull. If the rooks and galleys The width to length ratio was 1:6 or even 1:9, while for merchant ships this ratio reached 1:3. The wide hull in combination with the high side provided the ship with capacity and, most importantly, survivability. In a storm, the clumsy ship with a single straight sail became completely uncontrollable, but there was no need to keep its bow facing the wave. Even turning its side to the wind, such a ship did not capsize and was not overwhelmed by waves.
Already in the 15th century BC, round ships with a deck, a displacement of 300 tons and a length of 30 meters sailed from Phenicia to Egypt. Each side had 15 oars, necessary for maneuvering and moving in the absence of a tailwind. And such a need arose often. Primitive sailing equipment allowed the round ship to move only at a very small angle to the wind.
Most of the round sailing ships of the Greco-Phoenician era, however, did not have a deck and were much smaller - only 10-16 meters in length and 10-50 tons of displacement. On the open sea, their sides were extended with a high leather bulwark. The same turned out to be the round ships of the peoples of northern Europe, which appeared 2000 years later, already in the 5th century AD. The Irish were the first to embark on long journeys. Already in the 8th century they discovered Iceland and, quite likely, long before the Vikings reached the shores of America.
Birth of a legend
Navigation has always played a much greater role for Europeans than for Asians. On the other hand, if Europeans had to sail mainly in small inland seas, then Indian and Chinese sailors had to go directly from the rivers to the stormy expanses of the oceans. Therefore, the first ships suitable for long voyages were built in Asia.
In the Mediterranean Sea, merchant ships capable of sailing in crosswinds appeared in Roman times. Grain and even sand for stadiums were transported from Alexandria to Rome by 4,000-ton multi-masted giants.
After the decline of Rome, sailing ships with a displacement of up to 300 tons plied the expanses of the Mediterranean Sea. The Byzantines and Venetians called their ships naves , and the Arabs - kurkurami . Arabic name, pronouncing it " karakka" , Europeans soon began to use it. The naves differed from Roman ships in that they had oblique sails borrowed from the Arabs. This innovation enabled merchants to more effectively use crosswinds.
In the mid-15th century, shipbuilders from the north and south of Europe combined their achievements. From the Hanseatic Coggs caravels Columbus inherited a steering blade, a keel and straight sails arranged in two or three tiers, which made it possible to catch tailwinds well. From the Mediterranean naves, ships of modern times received oblique sails, indispensable for maneuvers and crosswinds.
In total, these innovations made it possible to increase the speed of sailing ships to 15-18 km/h and gave them the ability to move even at an acute angle to the wind. Since that time, sailboats have gained real freedom of maneuver on the open sea. Galsami(zigzag) the ship could sail against the wind.
| The first combat sailboats | ||
Until the early 16th century, sailing ships were seen almost exclusively as transport ships. Even naves and coggs were too dependent on the direction and strength of the wind and did not have the maneuverability necessary for a warship. On the other hand, in bad weather, a sailing ship was much safer than a galley sitting almost level with the water. Sailboats had the opportunity to take on board large supplies of water and food and go to sea for a long time, having up to 200 archers on board. Finally, the 4-meter side gave the 300-ton transporter enormous defensive potential. It was very difficult to climb onto it from a boat or galley. A round combat ship differed from a civilian one in having turrets at the bow and stern ( forecastle And sterncastle) and huge " crow's nest"on the mast. On the outside of the side there was a closed balcony for the rowers - crinoline. |
Naval artillery
By the end of the 15th century, ships with a displacement of 500-800 tons ceased to be rare, and ocean voyages no longer frightened sailors. But the military still regarded sailing ships with distrust. In maneuverability, coggs were inferior to rowing ships, but were not superior to them in weapons. True, from the middle of the 15th century small breech-loading devices began to be built into the sides of ships. bombards, and from the loopholes of the towers the bells looked at the enemy gakovnits... But how much artillery could be placed on the upper deck without the risk of capsizing the ship?
Cutting into the sides of the ship ports to place guns on lower decks oh, they guessed it at the beginning of the 16th century. The ability to carry dozens of powerful guns without raising the ship's center of gravity too much gave sailing ships a huge advantage. The era of galleys is over.
A warship of the 16th-18th centuries almost always had the prefix “cannon” to its name: 20-gun, 40-gun, etc. The “standard” naval cannon was considered to be a 24-pounder (based on the weight of a cast iron cannonball, 1 pound is equal to 0.45 kg ) weapon. Accordingly, the 48-pound piece turned out to be “ double gun", and the 12-pounder - " half-gun" Guns with a caliber of less than 12 pounds were classified in the navy as falconets. If a galley had no more than 0.3 pounds of firepower per ton of displacement, then a sailing warship could carry 1 pound per ton or more.
The falconettes were installed on high rotary machines - cabinets, and were intended to fire grapeshot at the enemy deck. Large-caliber guns had wheeled carriages attached to the side with chains via a ring driven in below the barrel.
Naval cannon. |
Since the hot gases escaping from the barrel posed a great danger, before the shot the muzzle cut had to protrude somewhat beyond the side. To load the gun, it was necessary to pull it back, and to a sufficient depth so that between it and the side it was possible to turn around with banner And ramrod. Sometimes, however, the loader would lower himself by rope from the upper deck and work while standing on a narrow ledge located below the ports on the outer surface of the side.
After firing, the cannon flew off the length of the chains and, thanks to the recoil, returned to the loading position. It had to be rolled back into the firing position manually. It was hard work, because the gun weighed 120-180 times more than its projectile. The crew of the 12-pound gun consisted of only 3 people, and the 24-pound gun - 4 people. Only 96-pounders were served by 10-12 sailors.
One crew accounted for 2 guns. In fact, the ship could only fight with one side. The small number of service personnel also determined that the rate of fire of naval guns was half that of land cannons.
The firing accuracy of naval guns remained satisfactory only up to 300-400 meters. Buckshot and “garlands” of cannonballs intended to destroy rigging were dangerous at half the distance. The farthest - up to 1500 meters - fire could be fired at large coastal targets.
The energy of the nuclei was not always sufficient. The wooden armor of battleships, made of several layers of intersecting beams of bog oak, “held” even the shells of “double” guns fired at point-blank range.
| Number of crews |
The combat effectiveness of the sailing ship was ensured by its large crew. Just to load the guns of a 40-gun frigate, a minimum of 70 people were required. But someone else had to supply ammunition from the hold, seal holes and work on the pumps. With the sails of a large frigate in good weather Only 10-15 people could handle it, but in battle hundreds of sailors had to service the masts. After all, the speed of maneuvers depended on how quickly the crew was able to retract and deploy the sails. In total, taking into account several officers, 150-200 people were required to control the 40-gun frigate. The sailing ship could accommodate approximately one person per ton of displacement. Of course, in this case, the holds and superstructures became very crowded, and people on long voyages had to be provided with water and food. But this did not bother the captains. Setting out to discover new lands, Christopher Columbus hired crews of the maximum number. Both in the 10th and 18th centuries, “many strong sailors” were considered the key to the survivability and safety of a ship. |
Boarding
Large sailing ships with powerful artillery weapons, which appeared in the 16th century, became the first ships designed specifically for remote combat. If a battleship or frigate went “into hand-to-hand combat,” it was only after firing all the shells, or against an incapacitated enemy. But firefights between small military, and even more so merchant ships, usually turned out to be ineffective. After all, they had fewer guns, and they themselves represented a small and moving target.
Sea battle. |
A feature of boarding in the 16th-19th centuries was that sailing ships did not provide any amenities for this type of combat. If in the days of the rowing fleet, sailors boarded a galley that was flat, like a flounder, along a wide boarding ladder, now they had to storm the high side, piled inside. The decks of even ships standing end to end did not touch, and, moreover, access to them was difficult anti-boarding nets. Under such difficult conditions, boarding made sense only in the case of an overwhelming numerical superiority.
The fire of the musketeers, of course, could play a role, first of all, in battles between small ships, but on occasion, battleships also exchanged volleys. In particular, the famous admiral was killed by a bullet in a naval battle Horatio Nelson.
Pirate and merchant ships
Every self-respecting ship of the 16th-18th centuries carried some kind of weapons for protection against pirates. Spanish and Portuguese galleons (nao, naves), as a rule, were limited to only a few small cannons on the upper deck. But the English and Dutch ships that filled the oceans in the 17th century were much more thoroughly armed.
The guns on them were located in the same way as on warships - in ports on the lower deck. Although civilian ships carried them 3-5 times less. An ocean-going transport weighing 800 tons could have a dozen 12-pound “half-guns” on the sides and falconets on the bow, stern and superstructures.
Sir Francis Drake. |
But the pirates didn't need many guns. After all, they did not intend to drown or burn the “merchant”. When attacking a merchant ship, if shooting was carried out, it was at the sails in order to prevent it from escaping. In turn, the “merchant” tried to hit the sails of the “pirate”.
If the pirate ship managed to overtake its victim, it used its main weapon - the thugs on the deck. The success of the boarding tactics was ensured by a crew several times larger than was customary on merchant ships.
| Naval combat tactics |
The tactics of squadron combat in the era of the rowing fleet were in many ways reminiscent of land battles. Covering each other's sides, the galleys lined up broad front 2-4 rows deep and sought to break through the enemy battle formation or cover it from the flanks. The 18th century sailing ship also fought in formation, because, like the medieval galley, it was least likely to find itself alone against two opponents attacking from different sides. But now it was not the sides armed with cannons that needed cover, but the vulnerable bow and stern of the ship. At the stern there was a captain's bridge and steering mechanisms, and at the bow there was an inclined mast necessary for maneuvering, bowsprit. The battle formation of the era of the sailing fleet became a wake column, in which each ship protected the one in front from being outflanked from behind. But if the phalanx of infantry could be surrounded from the flanks, the squadron was afraid of being outflanked from the head and tail of the column. The breakthrough of enemy ships through the ranks also threatened with grave consequences. When the “tail” was “chopped off”, the “head” of the squadron could no longer turn around to help him. Returning ships would be forced to tack against the wind, making them very vulnerable to enemy fire. |
At the beginning of the 15th century. One of the largest cargo ships was the karakka. It was distinguished by a high forecastle, the presence of several longitudinal fastenings, and two or more decks on the quarterdeck. Compared to contemporary ships, the carrying capacity of the karakka was truly impressive: the largest of them could accommodate up to 2,000 tons. Moreover, the ship was well armed: there were usually from 30 to 40 guns on board. The ship had three masts: in the middle there was a mainmast with a large yard on which a straight sail was attached, at the stern there was a mizzen mast equipped with a lateen sail, at the bow there was a foremast with a straight sail, and on the forecastle there was a bowsprit.
Advantages of a medieval galley
In this era, there was no clear differentiation between merchant and military ships: for centuries, only a rowing galley was considered an exclusively military vessel. For example, a Venetian galley had the following dimensions: width - 5 m, length - 40-50 m, distance from deck to keel - approximately 1.8 m. On each side of the galley there were 26-30 cans, which were installed at a certain angle to the side. The bank could accommodate 3 oarsmen, each of whom had his own oar. As a rule, two masts were made on a galley: a foremast at the bow of the ship and a mainmast, located at a distance of a third of the length of the ship, starting from the bow. Latin sails were attached to both masts.
Medieval galley
The ships are direct descendants of the galley
The successors of the galley were the high-speed fusta, each boat of which had 18-22 cans for rowers, the galliot (14-20 cans), the brigantine (8-12 cans), the light frigate saya - the direct predecessor of the three-masted merchant ship, distinguished by the presence of lateen sails on the mizzen - both the mainmast and straight sails on the foremast, and the well-known frigate (6-20 cans).
Galleass
Galleasses were even longer than galleys: they could reach 70 m. Their features include the presence of three masts and 32 cans on each side, located below the deck. The upper part of the deck was reserved for.
Construction of ships in the 16th century.
By the middle of the 16th century. a large sailing ship with 3 or 4 masts is now simply called a ship. In this class, one of the most famous was the ship of Henry VIII called "Henry Grace e" Dew. This ship had a carrying capacity of about 1,000 tons, and its hull was made overlapping. The ship could easily accommodate 900 crew members who served 195 Its guns were distinguished by four masts equipped with topmasts; there was only one topmast on the aft mast.
"Henry Grace e"Dew"
In Northern Europe in the 16th century. a pinnace appeared - a new type of ship, a little like a galleas. Its displacement ranged from 150 to 800 tons, the ship had three masts, but only the mainmast was equipped with a topsail. The galion, a Portuguese warship, can also be classified in this class. Later, it was from galleons that the English and Spanish fleets were equipped. The ship was distinguished by a rather sharp hull, and its length along the keel was three times its width. For the first time on a ship of this model, guns were installed not only above, but also below the main deck and fired through the ports. The long hull and low superstructures provided the galleon with greater speed and the ability to sail at a greater angle to the wind than “round” ships.
Life is good!
In the tapestry from Bayeux, William the Conqueror carried horses - the basis of the power of his cavalry on ordinary combat boats (we read - drakkar), although the Greeks and Romans, long before him, carried horses on merchant ships. It is possible that Queen Matilda’s weavers made an inaccuracy here, or maybe he simply did not have enough merchant ships. In principle, the Normans had a knorr (merchant ship), which could carry horses with greater convenience, but they are not on the tapestry. Another reason for transporting horses on longships may be Wilhelm’s reluctance to reduce the speed of the fleet’s movement - after all, the fat-bellied knorr could not keep up with the longship.
However, soon after Wilhelm, attempts were made to create ships larger than the longship. Let me remind you that the drakkar was not essentially a warship designed for naval battles; rather, it was a means of delivering soldiers to the battlefield. This opinion is also confirmed by the fact that the largest battle of the longship fleets (in Hjerunga Bay) ended... on land. Well, if the opportunity arises, one could go on board, and why not. And it is precisely the experience of transporting horses across the English Channel that forces shipbuilders to look for ways to increase the carrying capacity and spaciousness of ships.
Similar attempts had been made before, but the lack of cavalry made it possible to get by with small ships (the average longship did not exceed 20-25 meters in length). First, attempts are made to enlarge the ship “in all directions,” as Olaf Trygvasson did by building the 68 (!) oared “Great Serpent.” But it turns out that a wooden ship longer than 30-35 meters (at best - 40, although the largest longship found was 30 meters long), with the construction technologies that the northerners had, are unable to survive the storms of the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Excessive length and lack of a strong enough set do not provide sufficient strength. Here I would like to gladly note that pedivicia and some reenactors mention the fantastic length of longships of 60 meters. At one time, I already spoke about “super junks”, also mentioned in pedivikia, and now I readily declare that a 60-meter long drakkar is in the realm of 8-pound one-handed swords.
And the ships begin to grow upward and wider. Thus, drakkars had a ratio of width (midship) to height from the keel to the gunwale of approximately 1:3, a drakkar has a very shallow draft, and warships of the 12th-13th centuries had a width to height ratio of 2, and sometimes 1.5. Warships have platforms for archers at the bow and stern; gradually, from simple decking fenced with poles, they become part of the hull.
Trade ships are also changing - becoming wider and gradually turning into roundships (on the mainland similar ships are called coggs, which also means “round”, but they have fundamental differences from roundships).
English roundship.
It is on them that a very important innovation appears - a mounted steering wheel.
The first ship with a mounted rudder, 1180.
Before that, a steering oar (one, two, or even several, as was the case with the Egyptians) was used to steer the ship. The effectiveness of a mounted rudder with a tiller turned out to be so great that it very quickly gained popularity and firmly occupied a place on the sternposts of not only northern, but also Mediterranean ships.
The hinged rudder alone gives impetus to increasing the size of ships. Increasing the draft and, accordingly, resistance to lateral drift gives ships the opportunity to sail steeper to the wind, increasing the importance of the sails. The “potbelliness” of merchant ships is growing, one might say, by leaps and bounds, by the 12th century reaching a length-to-width ratio of 2.5 and even 2.2 to 1, which makes them not too fast, but extremely spacious.
On the mainland, traders are noticeably different from English roundships - the cogg (as already mentioned, also considered a round ship) has a straight keel, straight stems, both stem and sternpost. This simple improvement made the cogg more technologically advanced and cheaper to build compared to the roundship. In the 13th century, coggs were already sporting mounted rudders, borrowed from roundships, and were growing and acquiring additional masts.
Coggs were also used as warships.
Examples of French and English warships from the 13th and 14th centuries. 
The importance of sails is constantly increasing - ships are acquiring additional masts, not one, but two sails appear on the mast, which makes them easier to control.
In the case of the English ship, it is necessary to note the influence of Mediterranean shipbuilding - on the mizzen mast there is a slanting sail, characteristic of Mediterranean Sea.
Oars on warships are retained, but play only a supporting role.
Kogg is also evolving rapidly. A new impetus for its development was the appearance of bombards, which became its main weapon.
The Kogg grows to a very significant size - 500-600 tons of displacement and is armed with a significant amount of firearms - the largest Koggs carry two dozen guns.
Hanseatic cogg of the 15th-16th century.
In the Mediterranean at this time, galleys reigned as warships, which allowed merchant ships to specialize (unlike northern European ships, which had much in common with the military). And the Mediterranean gave birth to the nave and the caravel. The Nave was an extremely capacious merchant ship that quickly grew in size and reached a displacement of 500 tons by the end of the 15th century. 
Despite its apparent awkwardness, the nave was not clumsy and slow-moving - the area of the nave sails is almost ten times larger than the area of the longship's sails, and the use of oblique sails and a deep draft allowed the nave to go very steeply to the wind and made it very maneuverable. In a strong wind, even a galley would have to work hard to keep up with this fat man.
A further evolution of the nave was the carrack. 
The size of these ships was truly monstrous when compared with the roundships, of which they are distant relatives. The largest carracks reached a displacement of 1000 tons or more, but this was later and was the exception rather than the rule. One such exception was Mary Rose.
The most famous caracque is Columbus's Santa Maria, which is constantly called a caravel.
One of the reconstructions of Santa Maria. Please note that the foresail and main masts carry straight sailing rigs, characteristic of a karakka.
Large carvela, Portugal, 16th century. The difference with the karakka is noticeable to the naked eye - the sailing rig of the Santa Maria is karakka sails.
How did the caravel actually begin?
Initially, this is a small merchant ship with two masts carrying lateen sails. Over time, the lateen sail on the foremast was replaced by a straight one, but the lateen sail remained on the mainmast. Increasing the number of masts did not change anything - only the foremast carried straight sails, and the rest of the masts were lateen. This is true for both three-masted and four-masted caravels. Another distinctive feature of the caravels was the return to the butt skin, which reduced the resistance of the hull and ensured greater speed of the caravel, all other things being equal. Actually, after the appearance of caravels, shipbuilders throughout Europe gradually switched to smooth plating.
A small caravel, perhaps this is what “Pinta” or “Nina” looked like.
It's better to see once than to hear a hundred times)
so let's start with the video =)
The royal ship Vasa, launched on August 10, 1628, sailed only 1,300 meters and sank when leaving Stockholm in the sea bay. The cause of the disaster was design errors - the tilted ship scooped up water with its cannon ports and slowly sank to the bottom. About 50 people from the crew and those on board died...
On September 13, 1956, the Expressen newspaper published a short article: “An old ship was found near the island of Bäckholmen in the middle of Stockholm. This is probably the royal ship Vasa, which sank on her maiden voyage in 1628. A private citizen carried out research for five years to find the ship."
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Ships of the 15th-16th centuries
At the beginning of the 15th century, two-masted coggs began to be built. Further development world shipbuilding was marked by a transition in the middle of the 15th century to three-masted ships. This type of vessel first appeared in northern Europe in 1475. Its foremast and mizzen masts were borrowed from Mediterranean Venetian ships.
The first three-masted ship to enter the Baltic Sea was the French ship La Rochelle. The plating of this ship, which had a length of 43 m and a width of 12 m, was not laid face to face, like tiles on the roof of a house, as was done before, but smoothly: one board close to the other. And although this method of plating was known before, nevertheless, the merit of its invention is attributed to a shipbuilder from Brittany named Julian, who called this method “carvel” or “craveel”. The name of the casing later became the name of the type of ship - “caravel”. Caravels were more elegant than coggs and had better sailing equipment, so it was no coincidence that medieval discoverers chose these durable, fast-moving and capacious ships for overseas campaigns. Characteristics caravels - high sides, deep sheer deck in the middle part of the ship and mixed sailing equipment. Only the foremast carried a quadrangular straight sail. The lateen sails on the slanting yards of the main and mizzen masts allowed the ships to sail steeply to the wind.
In the first half of the 15th century, the largest cargo ship (possibly up to 2000 tons) was a three-masted, double-decker carrack, probably of Portuguese origin. In the XV-XVI centuries sailing ships composite masts appeared that carried several sails at once. The area of the topsails and cruises (upper sails) was increased, making it easier to control and maneuver the vessel. The ratio of body length to width ranged from 2:1 to 2.5:1. As a result seaworthiness These so-called "round" ships were improved, which made it possible to make safer long-distance voyages to America and India and even around the world.
There was no clear distinction between sailing merchant ships and military ships at that time; For a number of centuries, the typical military vessel was only a rowing galley. The galleys were built with one or two masts and carried lateen sails. Galleasses were much larger ships than galleys: they had three masts with lateen sails, two large steering oars in the stern, two decks (the lower one for oarsmen, the upper one for soldiers and cannons), and a surface ram in the bow. These warships turned out to be durable: even in the 18th century, almost all maritime powers continued to replenish their fleets with galleys and galleasses. During the 16th century, the appearance of the sailing ship as a whole was formed and preserved until the mid-19th century. Ships increased significantly in size; if in the 15th century ships over 200 tons were rare, then by the end of the 16th century single giants appeared reaching 2000 tons, and ships with a displacement of 700-800 tons ceased to be rare. From the beginning of the 16th century, oblique sails began to be used more and more often in European shipbuilding, at first in their pure form, as was done in Asia, but by the end of the century mixed sailing equipment had spread. Artillery was improved - the bombards of the 15th and the culverins of the early 16th centuries were still unsuitable for arming ships, but by the end of the 16th century the problems associated with casting were largely resolved and a naval cannon of the usual type appeared. Around 1500, cannon ports were invented; it became possible to place cannons in several tiers, and the upper deck was freed from them, which had a positive effect on the stability of the ship. The sides of the ship began to roll inward, so the guns on the upper tiers were closer to the axis of symmetry of the ship. Finally, in the 16th century, many European countries regular military fleets appeared. All these innovations gravitate towards the beginning of the 16th century, but, given the time required for implementation, they spread only towards the end. Again, the shipbuilders also needed to gain experience, because at first ships of the new type had the annoying habit of capsizing immediately upon leaving the slipway.
During the 16th century, the appearance of the sailing ship as a whole was formed and preserved until the mid-19th century. Ships increased significantly in size; if in the 15th century ships over 200 tons were rare, then by the end of the 16th century single giants appeared reaching 2000 tons, and ships with a displacement of 700-800 tons ceased to be rare. From the beginning of the 16th century, oblique sails began to be used more and more often in European shipbuilding, at first in their pure form, as was done in Asia, but by the end of the century mixed sailing equipment had spread. Artillery was improved - the bombards of the 15th and the culverins of the early 16th centuries were still unsuitable for arming ships, but by the end of the 16th century the problems associated with casting were largely resolved and a naval cannon of the usual type appeared. Around 1500, cannon ports were invented; it became possible to place cannons in several tiers, and the upper deck was freed from them, which had a positive effect on the stability of the ship. The sides of the ship began to roll inward, so the guns on the upper tiers were closer to the axis of symmetry of the ship. Finally, in the 16th century, regular navies appeared in many European countries. All these innovations gravitate towards the beginning of the 16th century, but, given the time required for implementation, they spread only towards the end. Again, the shipbuilders also needed to gain experience, because at first ships of the new type had the annoying habit of capsizing immediately upon leaving the slipway.
In the first half of the 16th century, a ship appeared with fundamentally new properties and a completely different purpose than the ships that existed before. This ship was intended to fight for supremacy at sea by destroying enemy warships on the high seas with artillery fire and combined significant autonomy at that time with powerful weapons. The rowing ships that existed up to this point could only dominate over a narrow strait, and even then if they were based in a port on the shore of this strait, in addition, their power was determined by the number of troops on board, and artillery ships could act independently of infantry. The new type of ships began to be called linear - that is, main (like "linear infantry", "linear tanks", the name "battleship" has nothing to do with lining up in a line - if they were built, it was in a column).
The first battleships that appeared on the northern seas, and later on the Mediterranean Sea, were small - 500-800 tons, which approximately corresponded to the displacement of large transports of that period. Not even the biggest ones. But the largest transports were built for themselves by wealthy merchant companies, and battleships were ordered by states that were not rich at that time. These ships were armed with 50 - 90 guns, but these were not very strong guns - mostly 12-pounders, with a small admixture of 24-pounders and a very large admixture of small-caliber guns and culverins. Seaworthiness did not stand up to any criticism - even in the 18th century, ships were still built without drawings (they were replaced by a mock-up), and the number of guns was calculated based on the width of the ship measured in steps - that is, it varied depending on the length of the legs of the shipyard's chief engineer. But this was in the 18th, and in the 16th the correlation between the width of the ship and the weight of the guns was not known (especially since it does not exist). Simply put, ships were built without a theoretical basis, only on the basis of experience, which was almost non-existent in the 16th and early 17th centuries. But the main trend was clearly visible - guns in such numbers could no longer be considered as auxiliary weapons, but purely sail structure indicated the desire to obtain an ocean-going ship. Even then, battleships were characterized by armament at the level of 1.5 pounds per ton of displacement.
The faster the ship was, the fewer guns it could have in relation to its displacement, since the more the engine and masts weighed. Not only did the masts themselves, with a mass of ropes and sails, weigh a fair amount, but they also shifted the center of gravity upward, therefore they had to be balanced by placing more cast-iron ballast in the hold.
Battleships of the 16th century still had insufficiently advanced sailing equipment for sailing in the Mediterranean Sea (especially in its eastern part) and the Baltic. The storm playfully blew the Spanish squadron out of the English Channel.
Already in the 16th century, Spain, England and France together had about 60 battleships, with Spain more than half of this number. In the 17th century, Sweden, Denmark, Türkiye and Portugal joined this trio.
Ships of the 17th and 18th centuries
In northern Europe, at the beginning of the 17th century, a new type of vessel appeared, similar to a flute - a three-masted pinnace (pinnace). The same type of ship includes the galion, which appeared in the mid-16th century - a warship of Portuguese origin, which later became the basis of the fleets of the Spaniards and the British. On a galleon, for the first time, guns were mounted both above and below the main deck, leading to the construction of battery decks; the guns stood on the sides and fired through the ports. The displacement of the largest Spanish galleons of 1580-1590 was 1000 tons, and the ratio of hull length to width was 4:1. The absence of high superstructures and a long hull allowed these ships to sail faster and steeper to the wind than “round” ships. To increase speed, the number and area of sails were increased, and additional sails appeared - foxes and underlisels. At that time, decorations were considered a symbol of wealth and power - all state and royal ships were luxuriously decorated. The distinction between warships and merchant ships became more distinct. In the middle of the 17th century, frigates with up to 60 guns on two decks, and smaller warships such as a corvette, sloop, bombard and others began to be built in England.
By the middle of the 17th century, battleships had grown significantly, some already up to 1500 tons. The number of guns remained the same - 50-80 pieces, but 12-pounder guns remained only on the bow, stern and upper deck; guns of 24 and 48 pounds were placed on the other decks. Accordingly, the hull became stronger - it could withstand 24-pound shells. In general, the 17th century is characterized by a low level of confrontation at sea. England throughout almost its entire period could not deal with internal troubles. Holland preferred small ships, relying more on their numbers and the experience of the crews. France, powerful at that time, tried to impose its hegemony on Europe through wars on land; the French were of little interest in the sea. Sweden reigned supreme in the Baltic Sea and did not lay claim to other bodies of water. Spain and Portugal were ruined and often found themselves dependent on France. Venice and Genoa quickly turned into third-rate states. The Mediterranean Sea was divided - the western part went to Europe, the eastern part to Turkey. Neither side sought to upset the balance. However, the Maghreb found itself within the European sphere of influence - English, French and Dutch squadrons put an end to piracy during the 17th century. The greatest naval powers of the 17th century had 20-30 battleships, the rest had only a few.
Türkiye also began building battleships from the end of the 16th century. But they were still significantly different from European models. Especially the shape of the hull and sailing equipment. Turkish battleships were significantly faster than European ones (this was especially true in Mediterranean conditions), carried 36 - 60 guns of 12-24 pound caliber and were weaker armored - only 12 pound cannonballs. Armament was pound per ton. The displacement was 750 -1100 tons. In the 18th century, Türkiye began to lag significantly behind in terms of technology. Turkish battleships of the 18th century resembled European ones of the 17th century.
During the 18th century, the growth in the size of battleships continued unabated. By the end of this century, battleships had reached a displacement of 5,000 tons (the limit for wooden ships), armor had been strengthened to an incredible degree - even 96-pound bombs did not harm them enough - and 12-pound half-guns were no longer used on them. Only 24 lbs for the upper deck, 48 lbs for the middle two and 96 lbs for the lower deck. The number of guns reached 130. There were, however, smaller battleships with 60-80 guns, with a displacement of about 2000 tons. They were often limited to the 48-pound caliber, and were protected from it. The number of battleships has also increased incredibly. England, France, Russia, Turkey, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Portugal had linear fleets. By the middle of the 18th century, England seized almost undivided dominance at sea. By the end of the century, it had almost a hundred battleships (including those that were not in active use). France scored 60-70, but they were weaker than the English. Russia under Peter churned out 60 battleships, but they were made in a hurry, somehow, carelessly. In a rich way, only the preparation of wood - so that it would turn into armor - should have taken 30 years (in fact, Russian ships later were built not from bog oak, but from larch, it was heavy, relatively soft, but did not rot and lasted 10 times longer than oak). But their sheer number forced Sweden (and all of Europe) to recognize the Baltic Sea as Russian internal. By the end of the century, the size of the Russian battle fleet even decreased, but the ships were brought up to European standards. Holland, Sweden, Denmark and Portugal each had 10-20 ships, Spain - 30, Turkey - also about that, but these were not ships of the European level. 
Even then, the property of battleships was evident that they were created most of all for numbers - to be there, and not for war. It was expensive to build and maintain them, and even more so to staff them with a crew, all kinds of supplies and send them on campaigns. This is where they saved money - they didn’t send it. So even England used only a small part of its battlefleet at a time. Equipping 20-30 battleships for a voyage was also a task on a national scale for England. Russia kept only a few battleships in combat readiness. Most battleships spent their entire lives in port with only a minimal crew on board (capable of moving the ship to another port if urgently needed) and unloaded guns.
The ship next in rank to the battleship was a frigate, designed to capture water space. With the accompanying destruction of everything (except for battleships) that existed in this space. Formally, the frigate was an auxiliary ship for the battle fleet, but given that the latter was used extremely sluggishly, frigates turned out to be the most popular of the ships of that period. Frigates, like cruisers later, could be divided into light and heavy, although such a gradation was not formally carried out. A heavy frigate appeared in the 17th century; it was a ship with 32-40 guns, including falconets, and displacing 600-900 tons of water. The guns were 12-24 pounds, with a predominance of the latter. The armor could withstand 12-pound cannonballs, the armament was 1.2-1.5 tons per pound, and the speed was greater than that of a battleship. The displacement of the latest modifications of the 18th century reached 1,500 tons, there were up to 60 guns, but usually there were no 48-pounders.
Light frigates were already common in the 16th century, and in the 17th they made up the vast majority of all warships. Their production required wood of significantly lower quality than for the construction of heavy frigates. Larch and oak were considered strategic resources, and pine trees suitable for making masts in Europe and the European part of Russia were counted and registered. Light frigates did not carry armor, in the sense that their hulls could withstand wave impacts and mechanical loads, but did not pretend to be more, the thickness of the plating was 5-7 centimeters. The number of guns did not exceed 30, and only on the largest frigates of this class there were 4 24-pounders on the lower deck - they did not even occupy the entire floor. The displacement was 350-500 tons.
In the 17th and early 18th centuries, light frigates were simply the cheapest warships, ships that could be made in a whole bunch and quickly. Including by re-equipping merchant ships. By the middle of the 18th century, similar ships began to be specially produced, but with an emphasis on maximum speed - corvettes. There were even fewer guns on the corvettes, from 10 to 20 (on 10-gun ships there were actually 12-14 guns, but those that looked at the bow and stern were classified as falconets). The displacement was 250-450 tons.
The number of frigates in the 18th century was significant. England had little more of them than ships of the line, but it still amounted to a lot. Countries with small battle fleets had several times more frigates than battleships. The exception was Russia; it had one frigate for every three battleships. The fact was that the frigate was intended to capture space, and with it (space) in the Black and Baltic Seas it was a little tight. At the very bottom of the hierarchy were sloops - ships intended for patrol service, reconnaissance, anti-piracy, and so on. That is, not for fighting other warships. The smallest of them were ordinary schooners weighing 50-100 tons with several guns less than 12 pounds in caliber. The largest had up to 20 12-pounder guns and a displacement of up to 350-400 tons. There could be any number of sloops and other auxiliary ships. For example, Holland in the mid-16th century had 6,000 merchant ships, most of which were armed. By installing additional guns, 300-400 of them could be converted into light frigates. The rest are in sloops. Another question is that the merchant ship brought profit to the Dutch treasury, and the frigate or sloop consumed this profit. England at that time had 600 merchant ships. How many people could there be on these ships? A - in different ways. In principle, a sailing ship could have one crew member for every ton of displacement. But this worsened living conditions and reduced autonomy. On the other hand, the larger the crew, the more combat-ready the ship was. In principle, 20 people could control the sails of a large frigate. But only in good weather. They could do the same thing in a storm, while simultaneously working on the pumps and battening down the port covers knocked out by the waves, for a short time. Most likely, their strength would have run out earlier than the wind. To conduct a battle on a 40-gun ship, a minimum of 80 people were required - 70 loaded the guns on one side, and another 10 ran around the deck and directed. But if the ship performs such a complex maneuver as a turn, all the gunners will have to rush from the lower decks to the masts - when turning, the ship will certainly have to tack against the wind for some time, but for this, all straight sails will need to be tightly reefed, and then, naturally, open them again. If the gunners have to either climb the masts or run into the hold for cannonballs, they won’t shoot much. Typically, sailing ships intended for long passages or long cruising had one person on board for 4 tons. This was enough to control the ship and for combat. If the ship was used for landing operations or boarding, the crew size could reach one person per ton. How did they fight? If two approximately equal ships under the flags of warring powers met at sea, then both of them began to maneuver in order to take a more advantageous position from the wind. One tried to get behind the other - this way it was possible to take away the wind from the enemy at the most interesting moment. Considering that the guns were aimed by the hull, and the maneuverability of the ship was proportional to its speed, no one wanted to move against the wind at the time of the collision. On the other hand, if there was too much wind in the sails, it was possible to rush forward and let the enemy into the rear. All these dances were original in the sense that it was practically possible to maneuver only by direction. The speed maneuver was carried out indirectly - by occupying a more or less advantageous position in relation to the wind. It took a long time to maneuver, lowering and raising the sails, but it was necessary. Each ship tried to aim its guns at the enemy, but in such a way as to avoid a retaliatory salvo. Or expose your ship to this salvo in the smallest projection. In the simplest case, the ships simply moved in parallel courses, occasionally firing salvos from a great distance. The winner was the one who maneuvered better, or who had more guns. But often such a confrontation turned out to be fruitless - after several hours of battle, either the cannonballs ran out, or one of the ships got tired of everything and sailed away. It was more interesting if the ships converged at 100-150 meters. The number of hits and their strength increased many times over. The loading speed of the guns began to play a role. From such a distance, buckshot and chains could be used to destroy the rigging. If one of the opponents lost the masts (especially the bowsprit) and sails (especially the slanting ones on the bowsprit), he found himself completely at the mercy of the other, who, for example, could walk along the stern almost end-to-end and unload the guns at point-blank range. The ship, which had no speed, could only hope that the enemy would get under its guns. At a distance of 100-150 meters, falconets were also used. Since from such a distance one salvo could decide the outcome of the battle, the one who managed to fire it first won. If you hit it, of course. The battle was especially brutal if the ships came together within a pistol shot, that is, just so as not to get caught by the rigging. In this case, each gun acted for itself. As soon as an enemy port appeared a few meters from her muzzle, she fired. Well, since there was also a cannon in that port, the gunner had every chance of getting a cannonball right in the eye. Although from such a distance no projectile was required - one shock wave from the shot was enough. It's all about who wins the point first. In addition, the fact that the hull of such and such a ship could withstand such and such cannonballs did not mean that it would withstand them at point blank range. From terrible blows, the masts became loose, the yards collapsed, the sides cracked and leaked, the ladders and decks collapsed, and the cannons were torn from their mountings. It happened that from a powerful point-blank salvo the ship literally fell apart. It also happened that it fell apart from its own volley. In short, when the ships came together at pistol shot, the stronger one with a more courageous crew won. Or the one who kept his guns loaded by the time he approached point-blank. Naturally, guns at such a distance from the enemy were not loaded. The ships could not keep up with each other for a long time - their speed could not be the same. In order not to overtake, the faster one had to turn away from the wind from time to time, that is, change the direction of movement. The ships came closer and then diverged. If squadrons fought against squadrons, then each ship protected the one in front from being outflanked from behind. But no one was covering the rear player. Therefore, if the infantry was afraid of envelopment from the flanks, then the ships avoided envelopment from the head and tail of the column, especially the tail, since this was easier to do. A column breakthrough was also dangerous, when some part of it was cut off by the enemy. The trick was that when the tail was cut off, the head of the squadron could not turn around to help it - the returning ships would be forced to tack against the wind, and in such a position they would be as vulnerable as nailed down. The cut off ships were forced to slow down - the wind was taken away from them from behind, they were blocked from the front - literally blocked, exposing the side. These galleys tried to hit the enemy with their bows, and the sailing ship was afraid of breaking the bowsprit with such a blow and turning into scrap. By the way, there was no danger of a further collision. The speeds were low, and the construction of the ships was strong, so the dishes in the galley would break, and that’s all. The ships that lost speed (and therefore the ability to maneuver their guns while maneuvering) were shot at point-blank range. Such naval combat techniques were first used in the 17th century by the Dutch against the British. To the great humiliation of the latter, De Rieter destroyed the strongest British squadrons with a crowd of light frigates and a few heavy ones. The Dutch even broke into the Thames. However, later, the British realized what the trick was, and besides, the Dutch could no longer take away the wind from them, block them, or shoot the lifting cannon for their ships with a cannonball. The shipyards of the Dutch themselves were located in the depths of their country and the maximum tonnage of ships was limited by the depth of the canals. Another way to achieve a great victory at sea was to catch the enemy fleet in the parking lot. Especially if most of the crews were on shore. It was possible to destroy stationary ships with impunity. So Nelson destroyed the French fleet at Aboukir. The French not only sent most of the crews ashore, but also blithely positioned themselves so that the British could freely pass between the shore and the French line. Two or four English ships outflanked the French one and anchored outside its firing range.
http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/9/sasha3311.7/0_515d_2eaff2c1_XL
When a ship fought at anchor, a pair of longboats were always on duty next to it, in order to change the orientation of its hull if necessary. For the same reason, it was relatively easy for Peter and Menshikov to capture a pair of Swedish light frigates at anchorage. The Swedes could not raise the anchor, since they would have been carried aground by the current, and apparently there was no wind. So the Swedes could only fight back with falconets. Another question is that climbing from the plow on board the frigate was problematic. In addition to artillery fire, boarding was a common method of attacking one ship against another. In battles between battleships and heavy frigates, however, it had almost no use. Firstly, these ships were created for artillery combat. Such ships were often captured, but this happened differently - having exhausted the possibilities of resistance, the ship simply surrendered - then a boarding team landed on it. Or they collided while maneuvering and got entangled with the rigging - the situation turned out to be stupid, but somehow the battle had to be continued. Secondly, large frigates and battleships were too large to make boarding physically feasible. Even if two battleships were end-to-end, their sides were piled inward, and there was a gap between the decks that was too large to be overcome by a jump. Jumping onto an enemy ship by swinging from the dangling end, or crawling from port to port, or throwing a grapple and climbing while walking along the outside of the side was feasible. But it was possible to attack in this way only if there was an overwhelming numerical superiority and a strong connection of ships. And there were also problems with the coupling - ships weighing 200 tons were easy to pull together with crampons, large ships with enormous inertia and windage were unrealistic. It would not have been easy to moor them firmly to one another even with the efforts of both teams, and if this had not been done, it could have turned out like Prince Hamlet. Who remembers: during the boarding, he jumped on board an enemy ship, and, since he was the only psycho with a certificate on the ship, he found himself there alone. But the pirates decided that one - with a certificate - was too much. And they left. I mean, anyone who got on board an enemy ship in this way had every chance of ending up naked on the shores of some crappy kingdom. This is the best case scenario. Boarding a peer ship had to be carried out in such a way as to keep the defenders' bonuses to a minimum. Otherwise, there is no point. A 16th-century galley had a wide raised platform at the bow that extended onto the low side of another galley. In such a situation, the attackers even had an advantage, since the enemy forces were cut in half. In the 18th century, scampaways no longer had such a platform, since they were not intended to fight other galleys as flat as a flounder. 16th-century naves and coggs also had a raised platform at the bow. It was located higher and could be pushed onto the high side of a ship in the northern seas. If you remember, the Romans, like civilized people, crossed onto the enemy ship via the bridge. But on the ships of the 17th and 18th centuries there were no devices for boarding - they became irrelevant. Small sailing ships of the 17th and 18th centuries, down to light frigates, operated differently. The firefight between them was not as effective as between large ships, since they had fewer guns and themselves represented a smaller and more mobile target. Although if they hit, the nuclei caused more damage. This was even more true for merchant and pirate ships. Here boarding was quite applicable and possible - the ships came close together and were pulled side by side by crampons. They jumped from deck to deck, if not stepped over. It was more difficult to board a taller ship from a lower one. Here it was impossible to think of anything other than throwing the crampons onto the high side and climbing with a cutlass in your teeth. Plus, a special anti-boarding net was often stretched along the side of the ship - it had to be cut through, which, with a dirk in your teeth, was quite difficult to do. Such boarding was resorted to only in case of a large numerical superiority of the crew. Or with equal forces, but in a state of hopeless heroism. So, by the way, the unreasonably high side of ships of that era, piled inside, did not arise by chance. In general, boarding was more of a pirate than a military technique. A battleship or a large frigate could be boarded only after a thorough artillery barrage, which destroyed most of its crew or deprived it of the will to resist. Or, if he was surrounded by a solid mass of bustling scamps. But let’s say a close fight began. As the ships approached, new weapons were used - muskets. The musketeers tried to hit the officers on the bridge and, in general, any people on the deck of the enemy ship with volleys. How many of these musketeers there could be is a separate question. The ship's crew in battle was too busy with guns and sails. The Marines fired, the number of which could vary greatly. It could be four times less than the sailors, or four times more. 16th century ships may have had archers and crossbowmen instead of musketeers. It was considered the coolest thing to put the musketeers on the yards - one would shoot, and another four or five would load the muskets and hand them over to the shooter. This way it was possible to fire at the enemy deck from above, which was especially useful if the enemy was going to board, and his ship was no less tall. In particular, Nelson was killed by a bullet when his ship was separated from the enemy. But small arms could play a noticeable role only in a battle between weakly armed ships. When events took a boarding turn, muskets lost their importance - they were not dragged onto the deck of an enemy ship. The Marine was armed in such a way that he might have to first climb along the side like a fly on glass, and then fight in the cramped interior of the ship. The gun and bayonet were too long and inconvenient for such use. The Marine's weapon was a sword, or a saber, or a dagger. Pistols were widely used in the 18th century. The fight was individual. In the 17th century, pistols were still rare. For example, according to Dumas, four musketeers did not have a single pistol (in the film they have pistols, and flintlock ones). A pair of wheeled pistols cost the same as 4 muskets - at least. Cuirasses were used only by marines and officers - it would be difficult to climb the yards in armor. But the Marine Corps did not put much emphasis on armor - boarding was associated with the risk of falling into the water. A special form of naval combat was support for ground operations. Supporting the infantry with fire was difficult, since the cores of naval guns only ricocheted when fired at 500-600 meters. During the battle on the Kinburn Spit, Turkish ships fired on the flank of Suvorov's infantry, but this was a rare case when the ships managed to get so close to the enemy infantry. During the pacification of the Maghreb, British and French ships entered the harbor of Algiers and fired at the city - up to 1500 meters cannonballs could destroy not very strong buildings. During the assault on the island of Corfu, Russian ships anchored near the French fortress and showered it with cannonballs. This way it was possible to suppress the fortress artillery, but if the fortress was solid, at least 10 naval guns were required against one fortress one (counting only one side of the ship and not counting the fortress falconets). In addition, the ship still had to approach the fortress at a minimum distance. In general, 24-pounder guns were quite dangerous for fortifications, but only up close. Sometimes, during landing operations, part of the artillery from the ship could be removed. These were mainly falconets, since there were no horses on the ship to tow heavy guns. A 3-6 pound falconet could well pass for a regimental cannon if it had a wheeled carriage, but most often it did not have one; collapsible carriages were then a rarity. Usually, sailors, if they wanted to use a cannon on land, made an improvised carriage for it, similar to the bombard carriages of the 15th century - a wooden block to which the falconet was attached with staples. It was quite possible to remove a 12-pound cannon from the ship and transport it to shore, but its “sea” carriage did not provide for the possibility of transportation by land. It was impossible to drag her far into the interior of the mainland. When firing from an anchorage, it became especially clear why black powder is also called smoky - the cast-iron cannons emitted smoke in incredible quantities - after two or three salvos the ship was completely hidden in it - only the masts stuck out. Visibility dropped to zero. Even when shooting on the move, and therefore in the presence of wind, this was a problem. Land artillery also suffered from smoke as a result of frequent firing, but on land the battery could have an observation post as far away as possible, and at sea the captain's bridge was several meters from the nearest barrel. In addition, at sea the target was mobile and small. For this reason, the bridge ended up at the stern of the ship (from where, by the way, not a damn thing was visible towards the bow - that’s why lookouts were required). The wind in battle usually blew towards the stern and the bridge was cleared of it first of all. What is the most incredible thing about modern ideas about naval battles of that era?
