What are the types of ships? The main types of warships.

On the eve of the Navy Day, Defend Russia is trying to figure out how a corvette differs from a frigate, a large anti-submarine ship from a large landing ship, and a ship from a ship.

"We were on a boat!" - a little girl can scream, getting off, for example, from the Meteor air-wing ship, sailing on it from the Admiralteyskaya embankment of St. Petersburg to Peterhof. If by chance a real sea wolf in a vest, with a pipe, a wooden prosthesis instead of a leg and a parrot on his shoulder, screaming about piastres, passes nearby, then he will think that the girl with her parents has just got off, say, from the board of the Guards, which is the flagship of the Russian Black Sea fleet.

Because the ship can only belong to military sailors. And civilians have courts.

From the point of view of philology, the sailor will not be entirely right, because the ship is a generic concept that also denotes a species. Vessels are military and civilian. The military are called ships, the civilians are called ships. But, of course, no one will correct the sea wolf. On the contrary, he will roar on the topic: “They don’t swim, but they walk! Ships on the sea go!

No one remembers why ships sail on the sea, but if you still ask a sailor (whether civilian or military) this question, then with almost one hundred percent probability you will find out WHAT actually floats. “The fleece floats in the hole” (the word “fleece” is less poetic, but brutal Moremans replace it with a consonant one).

Ships sail for the same reason artists paint rather than paint pictures, accountants measure the year in quarters rather than quarters, gas workers build only gas pipelines instead of gas pipelines, and oil workers produce oil.

professional discourse. In general, we must remember that they walk both on the deck of the ship and on the sea on it. What will happen if a philologist asks a sailor “why then do you have sea captains, and not long-range captains?” Nobody knows. Such a risky experiment has not been carried out.

The ships have their own classification (taking into account the history of the development of the imperial / Soviet / Russian fleet and different traditions in our country and in the West, we can confidently say that there are several of them). The Russian Navy includes not only warships, but also support vessels.

Ships are classified primarily by ranks, which depend on displacement.

Within the ranks there is a classification, depending on the purpose. As, for example, with cars: cars can be policemen, or delivering pizza, or collecting mail, and trucks can carry bulk cargo, or liquid, or frozen.

A ship with a displacement of more than 5000 tons belongs to the ships of the first rank. Aircraft carriers have this displacement.

The Russian fleet currently has only one - - 61,000 tons.

Although, to be precise, "Kuznetsov" belongs to the class of heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers. Cruisers and some destroyers (destroyers), anti-submarine (BOD), training and landing (BDK) ships also have a displacement of more than 5000 tons. Within these classifications there are others. Cruisers can be: heavy nuclear (), missile ("Varyag"), heavy strategic nuclear submarines (submarines), strategic missile submarines (submarines). A ship of the first rank is commanded by a captain of the first rank (an analogue in the ground forces is a colonel). According to the charter, a ship of the first rank is equated to a regiment.

With an aircraft carrier, everything is more or less clear. Its task is to deliver air units to the theater of operations, simultaneously being able to defend itself.

The cruiser is its own fleet.

As a multi-purpose ship, armed primarily with cruise missiles, it can operate outside the main forces of the fleet, or maybe with them, performing tasks to guard a detachment of ships. A cruiser is a ship that bristled with weapons: rocket, mine-torpedo, artillery. In addition, the cruiser can carry helicopters. - the philological heritage of the empire. Torpedoes - self-propelled mines, according to Russian shipbuilders of the 19th century - were placed on ships operating as part of a squadron. This is how destroyers appeared. From the point of view of the Western maritime classification, a destroyer is a ship with a displacement of more than 6,000 tons, that is, a ship of the first rank in our classification, which is close to the BOD in its functionality, but less armed than a cruiser.

Destroyers are universal ships that operate both to support the landing and guarding, and against enemy forces.

They carry not only anti-aircraft artillery, missile, anti-submarine and mine-torpedo weapons, but can also be a platform for the Ka-27 helicopter (). Large anti-submarine ships (for example,) are close to cruisers because they are well armed. They are superior in displacement to large landing ships, the task of which is, first of all, to deliver troops to a point (for example, which is a ship of the second rank).

Ships of the second rank are pushed out of the water from 1500 to 5000 tons.

They are commanded by a captain of the second rank (land lieutenant colonel). These include patrol, missile, landing ships of the 2nd rank and some submarines (projects or). Patrol ships are also called corvettes (for example, the lead corvette "Guarding" the latest Russian). There is a clear confusion with frigates, since their displacement of up to 5000 tons makes them classify as ships of the second rank, in terms of functionality they can be considered patrol ships, but the “frigate” class did not exist in the Soviet fleet.

Ships of the third rank - this will not be a surprise - are commanded by a captain of the third rank (on land - a major). Their displacement is from 500 to 1500 tons.

Missile, artillery, landing and anti-submarine ships of the 3rd rank, plus minesweepers of the 3rd rank.

Minesweepers are special ships whose task is not to attack the enemy (attack ships) or guard the ship group and land facilities (guards), but to search for and destroy mines and obstacles. Unlike ships of the first / second rank (large landing and large anti-submarine) ships of the third rank are small: artillery (MAK "Astrakhan", also called a corvette), missile (MRK "Shtil"), anti-submarine ships (MPK "Muromets") and small landing on an air cushion (MDKVP "Mordovia").

The ship of the fourth rank is under the command of a lieutenant commander, senior lieutenant, lieutenant.

Here, for the first time, the word “ship” disappears, which is replaced by a “boat”: landing, artillery, missile, anti-sabotage, as well as minesweepers of the 4th rank.

Displacement - from 100 to 500 tons.

Alexey Tokarev

Barque- (goal bark), a sea sailing transport vessel (3-5 masts) with straight sails on all masts, except for the mizzen mast carrying slanting sails. Initially, the barque was a small merchant ship intended for coastal navigation. But then the size of this type gradually increased. Barges were mass-produced until the 1930s. XX century., Their displacement reached 10 thousand tons. The two largest modern sailboats "Kruzenshtern" and "Sedov" are a 5-masted barque.

Barge- (Italian, Spanish barca, French barquc), originally it was a sailing rowing deckless fishing, sometimes a coaster, which appeared for the first time in Italy in the 7th century. Subsequently, the barque turned into a light high-speed vessel, common in Western Europe in the late Middle Ages, built like a galley. Even later, the oars disappeared on the barges and they became completely sailing ships, with two masts, which carried the fore, fore-marseille (fore-mast) and the main, marseille (main-mast). An interesting feature was that the mizzen was mounted directly on the main mast. Barges were predominantly coastal merchant ships.

Warship- (English warship - warship). Judging by the image and characteristics in the game, this is the same frigate. In general, warships from the middle of the 16th century were called ships of medium and large displacement, built specifically for military purposes.

Galleon- (Spanish galeon), a sailing warship of the 16th - 17th centuries. It had an average length of about 40m, a width of 10-14m, a transom shape, vertical sides, 3-4 masts. On the foremast and mainmast, straight sails were set, on the mizzen mast - slanting, on the bowsprit - a blind. The high aft superstructure had up to 7 decks, where living quarters were located. Artillery. armament consisted of 50-80 guns, usually located on 2 decks. Galleons had low seaworthiness due to high sides and bulky superstructures.

Caravel- (Italian caravella), marine single-deck sailing ship with high sides and superstructures in the bow and stern. Distributed in the XIII - XVII centuries. in the countries of the Mediterranean. Caravels went down in history as the first ships that crossed the Atlantic, sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and on which the New World was discovered. Characteristic features of caravels are high sides, deep sheer deck in the middle part of the vessel and mixed sailing equipment. The ship had 3-4 masts, which either all carried oblique sails or set straight sails on the fore and main masts. Latin sails on the slanting yards of the main and mizzen masts allowed ships to sail steeply into the wind.

Karakka- (fr. caraque), a large sailing ship, common in the XIII - XVI centuries. and used for military and commercial purposes. It had a length of up to 36m. and a width of 9.4m. and up to 4 decks. Developed superstructures at the bow and stern, and 3-5 masts. The sides were rounded and slightly bent inward, such sides made boarding difficult. In addition, boarding nets were used on ships, which prevented enemy soldiers from getting on the ship. Fore and main masts carried direct weapons (mainsail and fore), mizzen masts - oblique. Topsails were often additionally placed on the foremast and mainmast. Artillery. armament consisted of 30-40 guns. By the first half of the XV century. time karakka became the largest, most advanced and armed vessel.

Corvette- (French corvette), a high-speed sailing warship of the 18th - 19th centuries. The ship had the same rigging as the frigate, with the only exception: a jib and a boom jib were immediately added to the blind. Intended for reconnaissance, patrol and messenger service. Artillery armament up to 40 guns located on one deck.

Battleship- in the sailing fleet of the XVII - XIX centuries. the largest warship, had 3 masts with full sailing weapons. Possessed strong artillery armament from 60 to 130 guns. Depending on the number of guns, ships were divided into ranks: 60-80 guns - the third rank, 80-90 guns - the second rank, 100 and above - the first rank. They were huge, heavy, low-maneuverable ships with great firepower.

Pinasse- (fr. pinasse, eng. pinnace), a small flute-type sailing vessel, but differing from it in less concave frames and a flat stern. The front of the ship ended in an almost rectangular transverse bulkhead, extending in height from the deck to the forecastle. This form of the front of the ship existed until the beginning of the 18th century. Pinasse was up to 44 m long, had three masts and a powerful bowsprit. On the main and fore masts, straight sails were hoisted, on the mizzen mast - a mizzen and a cruisel above it, and on the bowsprit - blind and bom blind. The displacement of pinasses is 150 - 800 tons. They were intended mainly for trading purposes. distributed in the countries of the North. Europe in the 16th-17th centuries. It had a flat stern, 2-3 masts, served mainly for trading purposes.

Pink- (goal pink), fishing and merchant ship of the 16th - 18th centuries. On the North Sea it had 2, and on the Mediterranean 3 masts with oblique sails (sprint sailing equipment) and a narrow stern. He had on board up to 20 guns of small caliber. As a pirate ship, it was mainly used in the North Sea.

flutes- (goal fluit), sailing sailing transport ship of the Netherlands of the 16th - 18th centuries. It had sides with a collapse above the waterline, which were littered inward at the top, a rounded stern with a superstructure, and a small draft. The deck had a sheer and was quite narrow, which was explained by the fact that the width of the deck was a decisive factor in determining the amount of duty by the Sound Customs. On the fore and main masts there were direct sails (fore, main and topsails), and on the mizzen mast - mizzen and topsail. A blind was placed on the bowsprit, sometimes a bom-blind. By the 18th century bramsels appeared above the topsails, and a cruysel appeared above the topsail. The first flute was built in 1595 in Horn, the center of shipbuilding in Holland. The length of these vessels was 4-6 or more times their width, which allowed them to sail quite steeply to the wind. For the first time in the spars, the topmasts invented in 1570 were introduced. The height of the masts now exceeded the length of the vessel, and the yards, on the contrary, began to be made shorter. Thus, small, narrow and easy-to-maintain sails were created, which reduced the overall number of the top crew. On the mizzen mast, a straight sail of the cruysel was raised above the usual oblique sail. On flutes, a rudder appeared for the first time, which made it easier to shift the rudder. Flutes of the beginning of the 17th century had a length of about 40 m, a width of about 6.5 m, a draft of 3 - 3.5 m, a carrying capacity of 350 - 400 tons. For self-defense, 10 - 20 guns were installed on them. The crew consisted of 60 - 65 people. These ships were distinguished by good seaworthiness, high speed and large capacity, and therefore were used mainly as military transport ships. During the 16th-18th centuries, flutes occupied a dominant position among merchant ships on all seas.

Frigate- (head. fregat), three-masted sailing ship of the XVIII - XX centuries. with full ship's sailing equipment. Initially, there was a blind on the brushsprit, later a jib and a boom jib were added, even later the blind was removed, and a midsection jib was installed instead. The crew of the frigate was 250 - 300 people. The multi-purpose ship was used to escort trade caravans or single ships, intercept enemy merchant ships, long-range reconnaissance and cruising service. Artillery armament of frigates up to 62 guns located on 2 decks. Frigates differed from sailing battleships in their smaller size and artillery. weapons. Sometimes frigates were included in the battle line and were called linear.

Sloop- (go. sloep), there were several types of ships. Sailing 3-masted warship of the 17th - 19th centuries. with direct sailing. In size, it occupied an intermediate position between a corvette and a brig. Intended for reconnaissance, patrol and messenger service. There were also single-masted sloops. Used for trade and fishing. Common in Europe and America in the XVIII - XX centuries. The rigging consists of a hafel or Bermuda mainsail, a gaff topsail and a jib. Sometimes they were additionally supplied with another jib and staysail.

Shnyava- (goal snauw), a small sailing merchant or military vessel, common in the 17th - 18th centuries. Shnyavs had 2 masts with straight sails and a bowsprit. The main feature of the shnyava was the shnyav-or trisel-mast. It was a thin mast, set on deck in a block of wood just behind the mainmast. Its top was fastened with an iron yoke or a transverse wooden beam on (or under) the back side of the main-mars. Shnyavs who were in military service were usually called corvettes or sloops of war. Often they did not carry a schnaw-mast, and in its place from the rear side of the top of the main mast a cable was laid, which was stuffed on the deck with lashings on the lufers. The mizzen was attached to this stay, and the hafel was very heavy. The length of the shnyava was 20 - 30 m, the width was 5 - 7.5 m, the displacement was about 150 tons, the crew was up to 80 people. Military shnyavs were armed with 12 - 18 small-caliber guns and were used for reconnaissance and messenger service.

Schooner- (English schooner), a sailing ship with slanting sails. The first appeared in North America in the XVIII century. and had 2-3 masts initially only with oblique sails (gaff schooners). They had such advantages as a large carrying capacity, the ability to walk very steeply to the wind, they had a smaller crew on board than ships with direct sailing weapons required, and therefore they were widely used in a variety of modifications. Schooners were not used as military sailboats, but they were popular with pirates.

Bombardier ship

Sailing 2-, 3-masted ship of the late 17th - early 19th centuries. with increased hull strength, armed with smoothbore guns. They first appeared in France in 1681, in Russia - during the construction of the Azov Fleet. Bombardier ships were armed with 2-18 large-caliber guns (mortars or unicorns) to fight against coastal fortifications and 8-12 small-caliber guns. They were part of the military fleets of all countries. In the Russian fleet existed until 1828

Brig

Military 2-masted ship with direct sailing, designed for cruising, reconnaissance and messenger services. Displacement 200-400 tons, armament 10-24 guns, crew up to 120 people. Possessed good seaworthiness and maneuverability. In the XVIII - XIX centuries. brigs were part of all the fleets of the world

Brigantine

2-masted sailing ship of the 17th - 19th centuries with a straight sail on the front mast (fore) and oblique on the back (mainsail). Used in the navies of Europe for reconnaissance and messenger services. On the upper deck, 6- 8 small caliber guns

Galion

A sailing ship of the 15th - 17th centuries, the forerunner of a sailing ship of the line. It had fore and main masts with straight sails and mizzen with slanting ones. Displacement about 1550 tons. Military galleons had up to 100 guns and up to 500 soldiers on board

Caravel

A high-sided single-deck 3-, 4-masted ship with high superstructures at the bow and stern, with a displacement of 200-400 tons. It had good seaworthiness and was widely used by Italian, Spanish and Portuguese navigators in the 13th - 17th centuries. Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama made their famous voyages on caravels

Karakka

Sailing 3-masted ship XIV - XVII centuries. displacement up to 2 thousand tons. Armament 30-40 guns. Could accommodate up to 1200 people. Cannon ports were used for the first time on karakka and guns were placed in closed batteries

Clipper

A 3-masted sailing (or sailing-steam with a propeller) ship of the 19th century, used for reconnaissance, patrol and messenger services. Displacement up to 1500 tons, speed up to 15 knots (28 km/h), armament up to 24 guns, crew up to 200 people

Corvette

A ship of the sailing fleet of the 18th - mid-19th centuries, intended for reconnaissance, messenger service, and sometimes for cruising. In the first half of the XVIII century. 2-masted, and then 3-masted ship with direct sailing, 400-600 tons displacement, open (20-32 guns) or closed (14-24 guns) batteries

Battleship

A large, usually 3-deck (3 artillery decks), 3-masted ship with direct sailing weapons, designed for artillery combat with the same ships in the wake formation (battle line). Displacement up to 5 thousand tons. Armament: 80-130 smoothbore guns along the sides. Battleships were widely used in wars in the second half of the 17th - first half of the 19th century. The introduction of steam engines and propellers, rifled artillery and armor led in the 60s. 19th century to the complete replacement of sailing battleships with battleships

flutes

Sailing 3-masted ship of the Netherlands of the 16th - 18th centuries, used in the navy as a transport. Armed with 4-6 guns. It had sides that were littered inward above the waterline. The rudder was used for the first time on the flute. In Russia, flutes were part of the Baltic Fleet from the 17th century.

Frigate sailing

A 3-masted ship, second in terms of armament (up to 60 guns) and displacement after a battleship, but surpassing it in speed. It was intended mainly for operations on sea lanes.

Sloop

Three-masted ship of the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries. with straight sails on the forward masts and a slanting sail on the stern mast. Displacement 300-900 tons, artillery armament 16-32 guns. It was used for reconnaissance, patrol and messenger services, as well as a transport and expeditionary vessel. In Russia, the sloop was often used for circumnavigation (O.E. Kotzebue, F.F. Bellingshausen, M.P. Lazarev, etc.)

Shnyava

A small sailing ship, common in the XVII - XVIII centuries. in the Scandinavian countries and in Russia. Shnyavs had 2 masts with straight sails and a bowsprit. They were armed with 12-18 small-caliber guns and were used for reconnaissance and messenger service as part of the skerry fleet of Peter I. The length of the shnyava is 25-30 m, the width is 6-8 m, the displacement is about 150 tons, the crew is up to 80 people.

Schooner

A sea sailing vessel with a displacement of 100-800 tons, having 2 or more masts, is armed mainly with slanting sails. Schooners were used in sailing fleets as messenger ships. The schooners of the Russian fleet were armed with up to 16 guns.

The sailing fleet is one of the founders of the modern navy. Around 3000 BC, rowboats already had primitive sails, with which people harnessed the power of the wind. The first sailing armament was a rectangular piece of cloth or animal skin tied to the yardarm of a short mast. Such a "sail" was used only with fair winds and performed the tasks of an auxiliary propulsion vessel. However, with the development of society, the fleet also improved.

During the period of the feudal system, rowboats of large sizes appeared with two masts and several sails, and the sails had already taken on more advanced forms. However, ships with sails did not receive much use at that time, since the development of the fleet in a slave-owning society was conditioned by the use of slave labor and the ships of that time still remained rowing. With the fall of feudalism, free labor also gradually disappeared. The operation of large ships with a large number of rowers became unacceptable. In addition, with the development of international maritime trade, the navigation areas of ships have also changed - sea voyages have become longer. There was a need for ships of a new design capable of long-distance sea voyages. Such ships were sailing ships - naves, which had a length of up to 40 m and a carrying capacity of up to 500 tons of cargo. Later, three-masted sailing ships appeared in Portugal - carracks, with straight sails on the first two masts and triangular latin sails on the third mast. Subsequently, both types of ships merged into one type of a more advanced sailing vessel, which served as a prototype for ships and frigates.

At the end of the 16th century, sailing ships - galleons - began to be built in Spain. These had a long bowsprit and four masts. The bow mast of the galleon carried two or three straight sails, the stern - slanting latin sails.

At the end of the 18th century, in connection with new geographical discoveries and the subsequent growth of trade, the sailing fleet began to improve. began to build depending on their purpose. New types of cargo sailing ships have appeared that are acceptable for long-range. The most common among them were barges, brigs, and later two-masted schooners. With the continuous development of shipping at the end of the 18th century, the design and armament of sailing ships improved significantly. During this period, a unified classification of sailing ships and ships was established. Warships, depending on the number of guns and the type of weapons, were divided into linear, frigates, corvettes and sloops. Merchant ships, depending on the sailing armament, were divided into ships, barges, brigs, schooners, brigantines and barkentines.

It is currently customary to classify them according to their sailing armament. Depending on the type of sails, all sailboats are divided into ships with direct sailing equipment, ships with oblique sailing rig and ships with mixed sailing weapons.

ships with direct sailing

The first group of classification of sailing ships includes ships in which the main ones are straight sails. In turn, this group, according to the number of masts armed with direct sails, is divided into the following types:

a) a five-masted ship (five masts, with straight sails);

b) a four-masted ship (four masts with straight sails)

ship (three masts with straight sails)

a) a five-mast barque (four masts with straight sails, one at the stern with oblique sails);

b) four-masted barque (three masts with straight sails, one with oblique)

a) barque (two masts with straight sails, one with oblique);

b) brig (two masts with straight sails)

stern-rigged ships

To the second group sailing ship classifications include ships whose main sails are oblique. The predominant type of ships in this group are schooners, subdivided into gaff, topsail and Bermuda-rigged schooners. In gaff schooners, trysels serve as the main sails. Marseille schooners, unlike gaff schooners, have on the fore mast, and sometimes on the main mast - topsail and bramsail.

b) two-masted topsail schooner (masts with oblique sails and several upper straight sails on the foremast) ;

in) three-masted topsail schooner - jackass (all masts with slanting sails and several upper direct sails on the foremast);

In a Bermuda-rigged schooner, the main sails are triangular in shape, the luff of which is attached along the mast, and the lower one is attached to the boom.

Bermuda schooner

In addition to schooners, this group includes small single-masted sea vessels - a tender and a sloop, as well as two-masted ones - ketch and iol. It is customary to call a tender a single-masted vessel with a horizontal retractable bowsprit.

Unlike a tender, a sloop has a short, permanently set bowsprit. On the masts of both types of sailing ships, slanting sails (trisail and topsail) are placed.

a) tender (one mast with slanting sails);

b) sloop (one mast with slanting sails)

In ships of the type ketch and iol, the forward mast is armed in the same way as in a tender or sloop. The second mast, located closer to the stern, has a small size compared to the first, which is what distinguishes these ships from two-masted schooners.

a) ketch (two masts with slanting sails, and the mizzen - the mast is in front of the helm);

b) iol (two masts with oblique sails, the smaller one - mizzen - is behind the helm)

vessels with mixed sailing equipment

In the third group of sailing ships, straight and oblique sails are used as the main ones. The vessels in this group include:

a) brigantine (schooner brig; one mast with straight sails and one with slanting);

b) barquentine (schooner-bark; three- or more-masted ships with straight sails on the front mast, and slanting on the rest)

a) bombard (one mast almost in the middle of the vessel with direct sails and one shifted to the stern - with oblique ones);

b) caravel (three masts; foremast with straight sails, the rest with latin sails);

c) trabacollo (Italian trabacollo; two masts with lugger, i.e. rake sails)

a ) xebec (three masts; fore and main masts with latin sails, and mizzen mast with slanting);

b) felucca (two masts inclined towards the bow, with latin sails);

c) tartan (one mast with a large latin sail)

a) bovo (Italian bovo; two masts: the front one with a latin sail, the rear one with a gaff or latin sail);

b) navisello (Italian navicello; two masts: the first is in the bow, strongly tilted forward, carries a trapezoidal sail,

attached to the mainmast; mainmast - with a latin or other oblique sail);

c) balansella (Italian biancella; one mast with a latin sail)

kat (one mast with a gaff sail is strongly displaced forward)

lugger (three masts with raked sails, used in France in coastal navigation)

In addition to the listed sailboats, there were also large seven-, five- and four-masted schooners, mostly of American origin, carrying only slanting sails.

In the middle of the 19th century, the sailing fleet reached its perfection. Improving designs and sailing equipment, shipbuilders created the most advanced type of ocean sailing ship -. of this class were distinguished by speed and good seaworthiness.

clipper

Afrikaans Albanian Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Basque Belarusian Bulgarian Catalan Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czech Danish Detect language Dutch English Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician Georgian German Greek Haitian Creole Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Irish Japanese Korean Latin Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Malay Maltese Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swahili Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese Welsh Yiddish ⇄ Afrikaans Albanian Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Basque Belarusian Bulgarian Catalan Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician Georgian German Greek Haitian Creole Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Irish Italian Japanese Korean Latin Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Malay Maltese Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swahili Sw edish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese Welsh Yiddish

English (auto-detected) » Russian

In the meantime, let's quickly and briefly "run" to the 15th century, and there we will already reveal the issue in more detail. So let's start:

The first sailing ships appeared in Egypt around 3000 BC. e. This is evidenced by the paintings decorating ancient Egyptian vases. However, the home of the boats depicted on the vases is apparently not the Nile Valley, but the nearby Persian Gulf. Confirmation of this is a model of a similar boat found in the Obeid tomb, in the city of Eridu, which stood on the shores of the Persian Gulf.

In 1969, the Norwegian scientist Thor Heyerdahl made an interesting attempt to test the assumption that a ship equipped with a sail, made of papyrus reed, could sail not only on the Nile, but also on the high seas. This vessel, essentially a raft, 15 m long, 5 m wide and 1.5 m high, with a 10 m mast and a single straight sail, was steered by a steering oar.

Before the use of the wind, floating craft either moved by oars or were pulled by people or animals walking along the banks of rivers and canals. Vessels made it possible to transport heavy and bulky goods, which was much more productive than transporting animals by teams on land. Bulk goods were also transported mainly by water.

papyrus ship

A large naval expedition of the ruler of Egypt Hatshepsut, undertaken in the first half of the 15th century, is historically attested. BC e. This expedition, which historians believe is also a trade, proceeded through the Red Sea to the ancient country of Punt on the east coast of Africa (this is roughly modern Somalia). The ships returned heavily laden with various goods and slaves.

In close navigation, the Phoenicians used mainly light merchant ships that had oars and a straight rake sail. Vessels intended for long-distance navigation and warships looked much more impressive. Phoenicia, unlike Egypt, had very favorable natural conditions for building a fleet: near the coast, on the slopes of the Lebanese mountains, forests grew, dominated by the famous Lebanese cedar and oak, as well as other valuable tree species.

In addition to improving sea vessels, the Phoenicians left another remarkable legacy - the word "galley", which probably entered all European languages. Phoenician ships set sail from the large port cities of Sidon, Ugarit, Arvada, Gebala, etc., where there were also large shipyards.

Historical materials also speak of the voyage of the Phoenicians in a southerly direction through the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. The Phoenicians are credited with the honor of the first voyage around Africa at the end of the 7th century. BC e., that is, almost 2000 years before Vasco da Gama.

The Greeks already in the IX century. BC e. they learned from the Phoenicians to build ships that were remarkable for that time and early began the colonization of the surrounding territories. In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. the area of ​​​​their penetration covered the western shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the entire Pontus Euxinus (Black Sea) and the Aegean coast of Asia Minor.

Not a single wooden antique ship or part of it has survived, and this does not allow us to clarify the idea of ​​​​the main types of galleys, which has developed on the basis of written and other historical materials. Divers and scuba divers continue to explore the seabed at the sites of ancient naval battles in which hundreds of ships were lost. Their shape and internal structure can be judged by indirect signs - for example, by accurate sketches of the location of clay vessels and metal objects that have been preserved where the ship lay. And yet, in the absence of wooden parts of the hull, painstaking analysis and imagination cannot be dispensed with.

The vessel was kept on course by means of a steering oar, which had at least two advantages over the later rudder: it made it possible to turn a stationary vessel and to easily replace a damaged or broken steering oar. Merchant ships were wide and had ample hold space to accommodate cargo.

The ship was a Greek war galley circa 5th century BC. BC e., the so-called bireme. With rows of oars arranged in two tiers along the sides, she naturally had greater speed than a ship of the same size with half the number of oars. In the same century, triremes became widespread - warships with three "floors" of rowers. A similar arrangement of galleys is the contribution of ancient Greek masters to the design of sea vessels. Military kinkerems were not "long ships", they had a deck, internal quarters for soldiers and a particularly powerful ram, bound with copper sheets, located in front at the water level, which broke through the sides of enemy ships during naval battles. The Greeks adopted a similar combat device from the Phoenicians, who used it in the 8th century. BC e.

Although the Greeks were able, well-trained sailors, sea travel was a dangerous business at that time. Not every ship reached its destination as a result of either a shipwreck or a pirate attack.
The galleys of ancient Greece plowed almost the entire Mediterranean and Black Seas, there is evidence of their penetration through Gibraltar to the north. Here they reached Britain, and possibly Scandinavia. Their voyages are shown on the map.

At the first big clash with Carthage (in the First Punic War), the Romans realized that they could not hope for victory without having a strong navy. With the help of Greek specialists, they built 120 large galleys in a short time and transferred to the sea their method of warfare, which they used on land - an individual battle of a warrior against a warrior with personal weapons. The Romans used the so-called "crows" - boarding bridges. On these bridges, which pierced the deck of the enemy ship with a sharp hook, depriving him of the possibility of maneuvering, the Roman legionnaires broke into the enemy deck and started the battle in their usual manner.

The Roman fleet, like the contemporary Greek fleet, consisted of two main types of ships: "round" merchant and slender battle galleys.

Certain improvements can be noted in the sailing armament. On the main mast (mainmast) a large square straight sail is retained, which is sometimes supplemented by two small triangular upper sails. A smaller quadrangular sail appears on the forward inclined mast - the bowsprit. Increasing the total area of ​​the sails increased the force used to propel the ship. However, the sails continue to be an additional mover, the oars, not shown in the figure, remain the main one.
The value of the sail, however, undoubtedly increased, especially on long voyages, which were made as far as India. At the same time, the discovery of the Greek navigator Gippal helped: the August southwest and January northeast monsoons contributed to the maximum use of sails and at the same time reliably indicated the direction, like a compass much later. The road from Italy to India and the return journey, with an intermediate crossing by caravans and ships along the Nile from Alexandria to the Red Sea, lasted about a year. Previously, the path by oars along the shores of the Arabian Sea was much longer.

During trading voyages, the Romans used numerous Mediterranean ports. Some of them have already been mentioned, but one of the first places should be given to Alexandria, located in the Nile Delta, whose importance as a transit point increased as Rome’s trade with India and the Far East grew.

For more than half a millennium, the knights of the high seas, the Vikings, kept Europe in fear. They owe their mobility and omnipresence to dracars - true masterpieces of shipbuilding art.

On these ships, the Vikings made distant sea voyages. They discovered Iceland, the southern coast of Greenland, long before Columbus they visited North America. The snake heads of the stems of their ships were seen by the inhabitants of the Baltic, the Mediterranean and Byzantium. Together with the squads of the Slavs, they settled in the great trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks.

The main mover of the drakar was a raked sail, with an area of ​​70 m2 or more, sewn from separate vertical panels, richly decorated with gold braid, drawings of the coats of arms of the leaders or various signs and symbols. Ray rose with the sail. The high mast was supported by the stays going from it to the sides and to the ends of the vessel. The sides were protected by richly painted shields of warriors. The silhouette of the Scandinavian ship is one of a kind. It has many aesthetic merits. The basis for the reconstruction of this ship was the drawing of the famous carpet from Bae, which tells about the landing in 1066 of William the Conqueror in England.

At the beginning of the 15th century, they began to build two-masted coggs. The further development of world shipbuilding was marked by the transition in the middle of the 15th century to three-masted ships. For the first time this type of vessel appeared in the north of Europe in 1475. Its fore and mizzen masts are borrowed from Mediterranean Venetian ships.

The first three-masted ship to enter the Baltic Sea was the French ship La Rochelle. The skin of this ship, which had a length of 43 m and a width of 12 m, was not laid flat, like tiles on the roof of a house, as was done before, but smooth: one board close to the other. And although this method of sheathing was known before, nevertheless, the merit of his invention is attributed to a shipbuilder from Brittany named Julian, who called this method "carvel" or "craveel". The name of the plating later passed into the name of the type of ships - "caravel". Caravels were more elegant than coggs and had better sailing weapons, so it was no coincidence that medieval discoverers chose these durable, fast and roomy ships for overseas campaigns. Characteristic features of caravels are high sides, deep sheer deck in the middle part of the vessel and mixed sailing equipment. Only the foremast carried a square straight sail. Latin sails on the slanting yards of the main and mizzen masts allowed ships to sail steeply into the wind.

In the first half of the 15th century, the largest cargo ship (perhaps up to 2000 tons) was a three-masted, two-deck karakka, probably of Portuguese origin. In the 15th-16th centuries, composite masts appeared on sailing ships, which carried several sails at once. The area of ​​the topsails and kruysels (top sails) was increased, which made it easier to control and maneuver the ship. The ratio of body length to width ranged from 2:1 to 2.5:1. As a result, the seaworthiness of these so-called "round" ships improved, which made it possible to make safer long-distance voyages to America and India and even around the world. A clear distinction between sailing merchant and military ships did not exist at that time; for a number of centuries, only a rowing galley was a typical warship. The galleys were built with one and two masts and carried Latin sails.

"Vasa" Swedish warship

At the beginning of the XVII century. Sweden has significantly strengthened its position in Europe. The founder of the new royal dynasty, Gustav I Vasa, did a lot to bring the country out of medieval backwardness. He delivered Sweden from Danish rule, carried out a reformation, subordinating the previously all-powerful church to the state.
The Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648 was underway. Sweden, which claimed to be one of the dominant countries in Europe, sought to finally consolidate its dominant position in the Baltic.

The main rival of Sweden in the western part of the Baltic Sea was Denmark, which owned both banks of the Sound and the most important islands of the Baltic Sea. But it was a very strong opponent. Then the Swedes focused all their attention on the eastern shores of the sea and, after long wars, captured the cities of Yam, Koporye, Karela, Oreshek and Ivan-Gorod, which had long belonged to Russia, thus depriving the Russian state of access to the Baltic Sea.
However, Gustav II Adolf, the new king of the Vasa dynasty (1611-1632), wanted to achieve complete domination of Sweden in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea and began to create a strong navy.

In 1625, the Stockholm Royal Shipyard received a large order for the simultaneous construction of four large ships. The king showed the greatest interest in the construction of a new flagship. This ship was named "Vasa" - in honor of the Swedish royal Vasa dynasty, to which Gustav II Adolf belonged.

The best ship craftsmen, artists, sculptors, and wood carvers were involved in the construction of Vasa. Hendrik Hibertson, a well-known shipbuilder in Europe, was invited as the chief builder. Two years later, the ship was safely launched and towed to the outfitting pier, located just under the windows of the royal palace.

Galion "Golden Hind" ("Golden Doe")

The ship was built in the 60s of the 16th century in England and was originally called "Pelican". On it, the English navigator Francis Drake in 1577-1580, as part of a squadron of five ships, undertook a pirate expedition to the West Indies and made the second circumnavigation of the world after Magellan. In honor of the excellent seaworthiness of his ship, Drake renamed it the "Golden Doe" and installed a figurine of a doe made of pure gold in the bow of the ship. The length of the galleon is 18.3 m, the width is 5.8 m, the draft is 2.45 m. This is one of the smallest galleons.

Significantly larger ships than galleys were galleasses: they had three masts with Latin sails, two large steering oars in the stern, two decks (lower for rowers, upper for soldiers and cannons), and a surface ram in the bow. These warships proved to be durable: as late as the 18th century, almost all maritime powers continued to replenish their fleets with galleys and galleasses. During the 16th century, the appearance of a sailing ship was formed as a whole, which was preserved until the middle of the 19th century. Ships increased significantly in size, if for the 15th century ships of more than 200 tons were rare, then by the end of the 16th century there were single giants reaching 2000 tons, and ships with a displacement of 700-800 tons were no longer rare. From the beginning of the 16th century, European shipbuilding increasingly began to use oblique sails, at first in its pure form, as was done in Asia, but by the end of the century mixed sailing rigs spread. Artillery improved - bombards of the 15th and culverins of the early 16th centuries were still not very suitable for arming ships, but by the end of the 16th century the problems associated with casting were largely resolved and a familiar-looking naval gun 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 ship's stability. The sides of the ship began to fill up inward - so the guns of 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, spread only towards its end. Again, shipbuilders also needed to gain experience, because at first the ships of a new type had an annoying habit of capsizing immediately when leaving the stocks.

During the 16th century, the appearance of a sailing ship was formed as a whole, which was preserved until the middle of the 19th century. Ships increased significantly in size, if for the 15th century ships of more than 200 tons were rare, then by the end of the 16th century there were single giants reaching 2000 tons, and ships with a displacement of 700-800 tons were no longer rare. From the beginning of the 16th century, European shipbuilding increasingly began to use oblique sails, at first in its pure form, as was done in Asia, but by the end of the century mixed sailing rigs spread. Artillery improved - bombards of the 15th and culverins of the early 16th centuries were still not very suitable for arming ships, but by the end of the 16th century the problems associated with casting were largely resolved and a familiar-looking naval gun 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 ship's stability. The sides of the ship began to fill up inward - so the guns of 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, spread only towards its end. Again, shipbuilders also needed to gain experience, because at first the ships of a new type had an annoying habit of capsizing immediately when leaving the stocks.

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 for those times with the strongest weapons. The rowing ships that existed up to this point could only dominate 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 the infantry. A new type of ships began to be called linear - that is, the main ones (like "linear infantry", "linear tanks" the name "linear ship" has nothing to do with lining up - if they were built, then just 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 they 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 layout), 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 chief engineer of the shipyard. But this was in the 18th, and in the 16th, the correlation between the width of the vessel 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 a quantity could no longer be considered as auxiliary weapons, and a purely sail design indicated the desire to get 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 the displacement, since the more the engine weighed - the masts. Not only did the masts themselves with a mass of ropes and sails weigh a fair amount, they also shifted the center of gravity upwards, therefore they had to be balanced by laying more cast-iron ballast in the hold.

The battleships of the 16th century still had inadequate sailing equipment for sailing in the Mediterranean Sea (especially in its eastern part) and the Baltic. The storm jokingly blew the Spanish squadron out of the English Channel.

Already in the 16th century, Spain, England and France together had about 60 ships of the line, with Spain more than half of this number. Sweden, Denmark, Turkey and Portugal joined this trio in the 17th century.

Ships of the 17th and 18th centuries

In the north of Europe at the beginning of the 17th century, a new type of vessel appeared, similar to flutes - a three-masted pinasse (pinasse). The same type of ships also includes the galleon that appeared in the middle of the 16th century - a military ship of Portuguese origin, which later became the basis of the fleets of the Spaniards and the British. For the first time, guns were installed on the galleon both above and below the main deck, which led to the construction of battery decks; 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 the length of the hull to the 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 the speed, the number and area of ​​​​sails were increased, additional sails appeared - foxes and underliesels. At that time, jewelry was considered a symbol of wealth and power - all state and royal courts were luxuriously decorated. The distinction between warships and merchant ships became more distinct. In the middle of the 17th century, frigates began to be built in England, which had up to 60 guns on two decks, and smaller warships, such as a corvette, sloop, bombard, and others.

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 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 opposition at sea. England, almost throughout its entire length, could not deal with internal turmoil. The Dutch 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 by wars on land - the French were of little interest to 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 - to Turkey. Neither side sought to upset the balance. However, the Maghreb ended up in the European sphere of influence - English, French and Dutch squadrons did away with piracy during the 17th century. The greatest maritime powers of the 17th century had 20-30 battleships each, the rest had only a few.

Turkey also began to build battleships from the end of the 16th century. But they still differed significantly from European models. Especially the shape of the hull and sailing weapons. Turkish battleships were significantly faster than European ones (this was especially true in the Mediterranean), carried 36-60 guns of 12-24 caliber pounds and were weaker armored - only from 12-pounder cores. Armament was a pound per ton. The displacement was 750 -1100 tons. In the 18th century, Turkey 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 ships of the line continued uninterrupted. By the end of this century, battleships had reached a displacement of 5,000 tons (the limit for wooden ships), armor had increased 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 pounds for the upper deck, 48 pounds for the two middle decks, and 96 pounds for the bottom deck. The number of guns reached 130. True, there were also smaller battleships with 60-80 guns, with a displacement of about 2000 tons. They were more often limited to 48-pound caliber, and they were also protected from it.

Incredibly increased the number of battleships. England, France, Russia, Turkey, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Portugal had battle fleets. By the middle of the 18th century, England had almost undivided dominance at sea. By the end of the century, she 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 stamped 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 and 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 number alone forced Sweden (and the whole of Europe) to recognize the Baltic Sea as Russian inland. 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 had 10-20 ships each, Spain - 30, Turkey - also about that, but these were already ships of a non-European level.

Even then, the property of battleships was manifested that they were created most of all for numbers - so that they were, and not for war. It was expensive to build and maintain them, and even more so to equip them with a crew, all kinds of supplies and send them on campaigns. They saved on this - they did not send it. So even England used only a small part of her battle fleet at a time. Equipment for a campaign of 20-30 battleships was also a national task for England. Russia kept only a few battleships on alert. Most battleships spent their entire lives in the port with only a minimal crew on board (capable, in case of urgent need, to overtake the ship to another port) and unloaded guns.

The ship next in rank to the battleship was the frigate, designed to capture the water space. With the incidental destruction of everything (except battleships) that was available in this space. Formally, the frigate was an auxiliary ship in the battle fleet, but given that the latter was used extremely sluggishly, frigates turned out to be the most in demand of the ships of that period. Frigates, like later cruisers, could be divided into light and heavy ones, although such a gradation was not formally carried out. The heavy frigate appeared in the 17th century, it was a ship with 32-40 cannons, counting the falconets, and displacing 600-900 tons of water. The guns were 12-24 pounds, with the latter predominating. 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 1500 tons, there were up to 60 cannons, but usually there were no 48-pound ones.

Light frigates have been common since the 16th century, and in the 17th they made up the vast majority of all warships. Their production required a significantly lower quality wood than for the construction of heavy frigates. Larch and oak were considered strategic resources, and pines suitable for making masts in Europe and the European part of Russia were counted and taken into account. Light frigates did not carry armor, in the sense that their hulls withstood wave impacts and mechanical loads, but they did not pretend to be more, the skin thickness was 5-7 centimeters. The number of guns did not exceed 30, and only on the largest frigates of this class were 4 24 pounds 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 a whole cloud and quickly. Including by re-equipment of 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 cannons on corvettes, from 10 to 20 (there were actually 12-14 cannons on 10-gun ships, 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 than ships of the line, but still got a lot. Countries with small battleship fleets had several times more frigates than battleships. The exception was Russia, which had one frigate for three battleships. The point was that the frigate was intended to capture space, and with it (space) in the Black and Baltic Seas it was a bit tight. At the very bottom of the hierarchy were sloops - ships designed to carry out sentinel service, reconnaissance, combat piracy, and so on. That is, not to fight other warships. The smallest of them were ordinary schooners of 50-100 tons in weight 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. Sloops and other auxiliary ships could be any number. For example, Holland in the middle of the 16th century had 6,000 merchant ships, most of which were armed.

By installing additional guns, 300-400 of them could be turned 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 be on these ships? A is different. In principle, a sailboat could have one crew member for every ton of displacement. But this worsened habitability and reduced autonomy. On the other hand, the more numerous the crew, the more combat-ready the ship turned out to be. In principle, 20 people could manage the sails of a large frigate. But only in good weather. They could do the same in a storm, simultaneously working on the pumps and battening down the port covers knocked out by the waves, they could do it for a short time. Most likely, their strength would have ended earlier than the wind. To conduct a battle on a 40-gun ship, a minimum of 80 people were required, - 70 load the guns of one side, and another 10 run around the deck and lead. But if the ship performs such a complex maneuver as a turn, all gunners will have to rush from the lower decks to the masts - when turning, the ship will certainly have to move against the wind for some time, but for this, it will be necessary to tightly reef all direct sails, and then, of course, open them again. If the gunners need to either climb the masts, then run into the hold for the cannonballs - they won’t shoot much.

Typically, sailboats designed for long passages or long cruising had one person on board for 4 tons. This was enough to control the ship and for combat. In the event that the ship was used for landing operations or boarding, the crew could reach one person per ton. How did they fight? If two roughly equal ships met in the sea under the flags of the warring powers, then both of them began to maneuver in order to take a more advantageous position from the side of the wind. One sought to go into the tail of the other - so it was possible at the most interesting moment to take away the wind from the enemy. Considering that the guns were guided 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, having too much wind in the sails, it was possible to slip forward and let the enemy pass to the rear. All these dances were original in the sense that it was practically possible to maneuver only by direction.

Of course, the whole story did not fit into the LiveJournal framework, so read the continuation on InfoGlaze -