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HMS Sheldrake
HMS ''Sheldrake'' may refer to one of several Royal Navy ships named after the Sheldrake duck: * was a launched in 1806 and sold in 1817. * was a launched in 1825 that became a Post Office Packet Service packet, sailing out of Falmouth, Cornwall. She was sold in 1855. * was a gunboat of the Albacore class built by W & H Pitcher in Northfleet and launched in 1855 and sold in 1865 in Montevideo. In 1861 she was deployed in the South Atlantic during the Christie crisis with Brazil. * was a launched in 1875. Renamed HMS ''Drake'' in 1888 and ''WV 29'' in 1893, the vessel reverted to HMS ''Drake'' in 1906 before being sold later that year. * was a launched in 1889 and sold for breaking in 1907. * was an launched in 1911 and sold for breaking up in 1921. * was a sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as ... [...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] |
Sheldrake Duck
The shelducks, most species of which are found in the genus ''Tadorna'' (except for the Radjah shelduck, which is now found in its own monotypic genus ''Radjah''), are a group of large birds in the Tadorninae subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans. Biology Shelducks are a group of large, often semi-terrestrial waterfowl, which can be seen as intermediate between geese (''Anserinae'') and ducks. They are mid-sized (some 50–60 cm) Old World waterfowl. The sexes are colored slightly differently in most species, and all have a characteristic upperwing coloration in flight: the tertiary remiges form a green speculum, the secondaries and primaries are black, and the coverts (forewing) are white. Their diet consists of small shore animals ( winkles, crabs etc.) as well as grasses and other plants. They were originally known as "sheldrakes", which remained the most common name until the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Post Office Packet Service
The Post Office Packet Service dates to Tudor times and ran until 1823, when the Admiralty assumed control of the service. Originally, the Post Office used packet ships to carry mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. The vessels generally also carried bullion, private goods and passengers. The ships were usually lightly armed and relied on speed for their security. However, Britain was at war almost continuously during the 18th and early 19th centuries with the result that packet ships did get involved in naval engagements with enemy warships and privateers, and were occasionally captured. Routes Atlantic and Mediterranean *North, Central and South America and the Caribbean Islands, *Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Italy, Greece (Corfu was a British Protectorate from 1815 to 1864), Egypt. Northern Europe Routes ran at various times from Dover in Kent and Harwich in Essex to Calais, the Hook of Holland and Heligoland. Ireland The usual packet route was f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Packet Trade
Generally, packet trade is any regularly scheduled cargo, passenger and mail trade conducted by ship. The ships are called "packet boats" as their original function was to carry mail. A "packet ship" was originally a vessel employed to carry post office mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. In sea transport, a packet service is a regular, scheduled service, carrying freight and passengers. The ships used for this service are called packet ships or packet boats. The seamen are called packetmen, and the business is called packet trade. "Packet" can mean a small parcel but, originally meant a parcel of important correspondence or valuable items, for urgent delivery.Oxford English Dictionary - ''Packet'': "A small pack, package, or parcel. In later use freq.: the container or wrapping in which goods are sold; packaging; a bag or envelope for packing something in. Also: the contents of a packet. In early use chiefly used of a parcel of letters or dispatche ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth ( ; kw, Aberfala) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,797 (2011 census). Etymology The name Falmouth is of English origin, a reference to the town's situation on the mouth of the River Fal. The Cornish language name, ' or ', is of identical meaning. It was at one time known as ''Pennycomequick'', an Anglicisation of the Celtic ''Pen-y-cwm-cuic'' "head of the creek"; this is the same as Pennycomequick, a district in Plymouth. History Early history In 1540, Henry VIII built Pendennis Castle in Falmouth to defend Carrick Roads. The main town of the district was then at Penryn. Sir John Killigrew created the town of Falmouth shortly after 1613. In the late 16th century, under threat from the Spanish Armada, the defences at Pendennis were strengthened by the building of angled ramparts. During the Civil War, Pendennis Castle was the second to las ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sloop Of War
In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' encompassed all the unrated combat vessels, including the very small gun-brigs and cutters. In technical terms, even the more specialised bomb vessels and fireships were classed as sloops-of-war, and in practice these were employed in the sloop role when not carrying out their specialised functions. In World War I and World War II, the Royal Navy reused the term "sloop" for specialised convoy-defence vessels, including the of World War I and the highly successful of World War II, with anti-aircraft and anti-submarine capability. They performed similar duties to the American destroyer escort class ships, and also performed similar duties to the smaller corvettes of the Royal Navy. Rigging A sloop-of-war was quite different from a civilian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
