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HMS Scorpion
Eleven ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Scorpion'' after the carnivorous arthropod, or the scorpion, a ballistic weapon in use in the Roman army: * was a 14-gun sloop launched in 1746. She sank in the Irish Sea in 1762. * HMS ''Scorpion'' was the mercantile ''Borryan'', purchased in January 1771, and commissioned as the 8-gun fireship . She was converted to a sloop in August 1771 and renamed ''Scorpion''. She took part in Tryon's Raid on the Connecticut coast in 1779. She became one of the infamous Hudson River prison ships sometime after. The American poet Philip Morin Freneau was captured by the British in 1780 and imprisoned on HMS ''Scorpion''; he wrote a harrowing first-person a poem in four cantos about his six- week ordeal titled "The British Prison Ships". It is considered "his best-known revolutionary poem". ''Scorpion'' was sold in 1780. * was a 16-gun ''Echo''-class sloop launched in 1785 and sold in 1802. She apparently became the whaler and letter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service. From the middle decades of the 17th century, and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century, it was the world's most powerful navy until the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing and defending the British Empire, and four Imperial fortress colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superiority globally. Owing to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, to ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banka Strait
Bangka Strait is the strait that separates the island of Sumatra from Bangka Island ( id, Pulau Bangka) in the Java Sea, Indonesia. The strait is about long, with a width varying from about to . See also * Japanese cruiser Ashigara * List of straits This list of straits is an appendix to the article ''strait''. For "Strait of.." or for "The.. " see the first letter of the word which follows the article. A * Agate Pass – between Port Madison and mainland Kitsap County in Puget Sound * ... References Straits of Indonesia Landforms of Sumatra Java Sea {{BangkaBelitung-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Gunboat
A river gunboat is a type of gunboat adapted for river operations. River gunboats required shallow draft for river navigation. They would be armed with relatively small caliber cannons, or a mix of cannons and machine guns. If they carried more than one cannon, one might be a howitzer, for shore bombardment. They were usually not armoured. The fictional USS ''San Pablo'' described in Richard McKenna's ''The Sand Pebbles'' is an example of this class of vessel, serving on the US Navy's Yangtze Patrol. Stronger river warships with larger guns were river monitors. Chinese river gunboats Various European powers, the USA, and Japan, maintained flotillas of these shallow draft gunboats patrolling Chinese rivers. These gunboats were enforcing those nations' treaty rights under the treaties that China had started to sign following her defeat during the first Opium War with Britain. The advantages of steam power and shallow drafts meant that the new European vessels initially vastly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Confederate States Of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confederacy comprised U.S. states that declared secession and warred against the United States during the American Civil War: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Kentucky and Missouri also declared secession and had full representation in the Confederate Congress, though their territory was largely controlled by Union forces. The Confederacy was formed on February 8, 1861, by seven slave states: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. All seven were in the Deep South region of the United States, whose economy was heavily dependent upon agriculture—particularly cotton—and a plantation system that relied upon enslaved ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turret Ship
Turret ships were a 19th-century type of warship, the earliest to have their guns mounted in a revolving gun turret, instead of a broadside arrangement. Background Before the development of large-calibre, long-range guns in the mid-19th century, the classic ship of the line design used rows of port-mounted guns on each side of the ship, often mounted in casemates. Firepower was provided by a large number of guns which could only be aimed in a limited arc from one side of the ship. Due to instability, fewer larger and heavier guns can be carried on a ship. Also, the casemates often sat near the waterline, which made them vulnerable to flooding and restricted their use to calm seas. Turrets were weapon mounts designed to protect the crew and mechanism of the artillery piece and with the capability of being aimed and fired in many directions as a rotating weapon platform. This platform can be mounted on a fortified building or structure such as an anti-naval land battery, or on a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marine Police Force
The Thames River Police was formed in 1800 to tackle theft and looting from ships anchored in the Pool of London and in the lower reaches and docks of the Thames. It replaced the Marine Police, a police force established in 1798 by magistrate Patrick Colquhoun and justice of the peace John Harriott that had been part funded by the West India Committee to protect trade between the West Indies and London. It is claimed that the Marine Police was England's first ever police force. The Thames River Police merged with the Metropolitan Police Service in 1839 with that nascent force instigated by Robert Peel. Its base was (and remains) in Wapping High Street. It has gradually evolved into the Marine Policing Unit. Marine Police Where a 'police force' extends beyond organised constables of a single borough or city corporation this constitutes the oldest force in England. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Survey Vessel
A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the purpose, modified for the purpose or temporarily put into the service as a vessel of opportunity, and may be crewed, remotely operated, or autonomous. The size and equipment vary to suit the task and availability. Role The task of survey vessels is to map the bottom, and measure the characteristics of the benthic zone, full water column, and surface for the purpose of: * hydrography, the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans and other natural bodies of water, and the prediction of their change over time, for the primary purpose of safety of navigation and in support of other activities associated with those bodies of water, * general oceanography, the scientific study of the oceans, * mapping of marine habitats as part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunvessel
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam era In the age of sail, a gunboat was usually a small undecked vessel carrying a single smoothbore cannon in the bow, or just two or three such cannons. A gunboat could carry one or two masts or be oar-powered only, but the single-masted version of about length was most typical. Some types of gunboats carried two cannons, or else mounted a number of swivel guns on the railings. The small gunboat had advantages: if it only carried a single cannon, the boat could manoeuvre in shallow or restricted areas – such as rivers or lakes – where larger ships could sail only with difficulty. The gun that such boats carried could be quite heavy; a 32-pounder for instance. As such boats were cheap and quick to build, naval forces favoured swarm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whaler
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japan, still dedicates a single factory ship for the industry. The vessels used by aboriginal whaling communities are much smaller and are used for various purposes over the course of the year. The ''whale catcher'' was developed during the age of steam, and then driven by diesel engines throughout much of the twentieth century. It was designed with a harpoon gun mounted at its bow and was fast enough to chase and catch rorquals such as the fin whale. At first, whale catchers either brought the whales they killed to a whaling station, a settlement ashore where the carcasses could be processed, or to its factory ship anchored in a sheltered bay or inlet. With the later development of the slipway at the ship's stern, whale catchers were able ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always ending with a stinger. The evolutionary history of scorpions goes back 435 million years. They mainly live in deserts but have adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions, and can be found on all continents except Antarctica. There are over 2,500 described species, with 22 extant (living) families recognized to date. Their taxonomy is being revised to account for 21st-century genomic studies. Scorpions primarily prey on insects and other invertebrates, but some species hunt vertebrates. They use their pincers to restrain and kill prey, or to prevent their own predation. The venomous sting is used for offense and defense. During courtship, the male and female grasp each other's pincers and dance while he tries to move her onto his s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Morin Freneau
Philip Morin Freneau (January 2, 1752 – December 18, 1832) was an American poet, nationalist, polemicist, sea captain and early American newspaper editor, sometimes called the "Poet of the American Revolution". Through his newspaper, the '' National Gazette'', he was a strong critic of George Washington and a proponent of Jeffersonian policies. Biography Early life and education Freneau was born in New York City, the oldest of the five children of Huguenot wine merchant Pierre Freneau and his Scottish wife. Freneau was raised Calvinist by parents who were part of a Presbyterian congregation led by a New Light evangelical, Rev. William Tennent, Jr. Freneau later attended a grammar school directed by Tennent. Philip was raised in Matawan, New Jersey. He attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), where he studied under William Tennent, Jr. Freneau's close friend at Princeton was James Madison, a relationship that would later contribute to his establ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
