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List Of Fireships Of The Royal Navy
Fireships served in the Royal Navy over a period of several centuries. The earliest fireships – ships filled with combustible and flammable materials and explosives and sent into lines of enemy ships to attempt to set them on fire – were small merchant vessels deployed in large fleet actions, such as by Sir Francis Drake against the Spanish Armada at the Battle of Gravelines in 1588. Fire was a major hazard on the wooden warships of the time, which carried large quantities of flammable and explosive materials into battle. Both sides used fireships in a number of engagements during the Anglo–Spanish War, with varying levels of effectiveness. Fireships reappeared in unconventional forms during the English Civil War, and were used in earnest during the Anglo-Dutch Wars, particularly to great effect in 1666 during Holmes's Bonfire. Successes such as the burning of the at the Battle of Solebay in 1672 caused considerable interest in the application of such vessels, eventually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any vessel or a particular vessel type, akin to anti-infantry vs. anti-vehicle mines. Naval mines can be used offensively, to hamper enemy shipping movements or lock vessels into a harbour; or defensively, to protect friendly vessels and create "safe" zones. Mines allow the minelaying force commander to concentrate warships or defensive assets in mine-free areas giving the adversary three choices: undertake an expensive and time-consuming minesweeping effort, accept the casualties of challenging the minefield, or use the unmined waters where the greatest concentration of enemy firepower will be encountered. Although international law requires signatory nations to declare mined areas, precise locations remain secret; and non-complying individ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Viper (1746)
Sixteen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Viper'', or HMS ''Vipere'', after the members of the Viperidae family: * was a 14-gun sloop launched in 1746. She was converted into a fireship in 1755 and renamed HMS ''Lightning''. She was sold in 1762. * was a 10-gun sloop launched in 1756. She was wrecked in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in bad weather while escorting a convoy in 1779. * was the Massachusetts privateer schooner ''Viper'' that captured on 26 September 1776. She was purchased in 1777 and broken up in New York in 1779. * was a 6-gun galley, the former South Carolina navy's ''Rutledge'', captured on 4 November 1779 at Tybee and listed until 1785. * HMS ''Viper'' was a 14-gun cutter purchased in 1780 as ''Greyhound''; in 1781 she was renamed ''Viper''. She was sold in 1809. * was a 4-gun xebec, formerly a French privateer. She was captured in 1793, but foundered in Hyères Bay later that year during the evacuation of Toulon. * was a 16-gun brig-sloop, formerly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Scarborough (1696)
HMS ''Scarborough'' was a 32-gun fifth rate built under contract by James Parker of Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ... in 1695/96. She served in the trade protection and counter-piracy operations during her service. She was captured by the French, then recaptured by the British and renamed ''Garland'', She was converted to a fireship for the Baltic then the Mediterranean. She was at the Battle of Passero in 1718. She was reduced to a 20-gun sixth rate in 1717. Rebuilt to the 1719 Establishment in 1721, she was finally sold in 1744. She was the third vessel to bear the name ''Scarborough'' since it was used for a 10-gun ketch, built by Frame of Scarborough 2 May 1691 and captured by the French on 12 January 1693. As ''HMS Garland'', she was the fifth v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
