Empire Navy(The Significance of changing ship types) Flashcards
What are the reasons for the development of the navy?(3)
-Geopolitics/outguning rivals & colonise to extend British influence.
-Commerical interests/trade
-Humanitarianism/exploration
What naval tactics were preferred by the British?
How did Lord Nelson’s fleet achieve victory at the battle of Trafalgar?
What year was this?
-Sailing ships carried rows of cannons on the side of fire broadsides.
-In battles fleets approached the enemy in a long line as this allowed sustained bombardment and easy signalling using flags, avoided friendly fire and reduced the exposure of vulnerable bows and sterns to enemy fire.
-At the battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Lord Nelson’s fleet sailed perpendicular to the enemy line, meaning it took minimal fire(friendly and oppositional) from broadsides.
During the Age of sail how was power shown through ship types?
What were first and second rate ships?
What were fourth rate ships seen as?
Which rate ship was the backbone of the fleet during the Age of Sail?
Were ships of the line always effective? What was used instead?
What were frigates typically used for? Describe how they were used and what they were.
What was appealing about the use of frigates to young captains? Captain Cochrane?
-During the Age of Sail power was shown by having many ships of the line.
-First and second rate ships were large with many cannons but were not very manoeuvrable.
-Fourth rate ships were seen as too weak. Only carried 64 cannons and were phased out from the late 18th century.
-Third rate ships were the backbone of the fleet.
-Ships of the line were less effective outside of fleet to fleet battles as they were slow and couldn’t sail near the shore.
-For this, fifth and sixth rate ships called frigates were used.
-Frigates had a single gun deck so were faster and more manoeuvrable.
-They operated independently or in small squadrons. They were typically used for intercepting shipping rather than for blockades like ships of the line were.
-Appealing to young captains as there were fortunes to be made in prize money on a successful frigate.
-Over a year Captain Cochrane destroyed 53 French ships.
When did the Royal Navy dramatically shrink the size of its fleet?
Despite this what was retained?
During the 19th century was there an appetite for innovation? Instead?
-Royal Navy quickly shrunk its fleet after the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815.
-It retained the capacity to grow quickly again and remained hegemonic as no country challenged it.
-No. Innovations during the 19th century were created by rival powers and then adopted by Britain.
Was the invention of steamships seen as revolutionary to begin with? Why?
When did they become effective? What did it open up to naval forces?
When was the propeller screw developed? Subsequently what became practical?
How was the use of wind or steam alternated from the 1830s?
When were the first steam propelled frigates launched?
-NO. Steam initially had little effect on the dominance of ships of the line and frigates as it was slow, unreliable and required vast amounts of coal. Paddles were unsuitable for the sea.
-Steamships first became effective where the wind could not provide propulsion-river systems. Hybrid ships were developed to use both wind and stream.
-The Age of Steam opened up inland areas to naval forces.
-The propeller screw was developed during the late 1830s and ocean-going steam power became practical.
-Wind was still preferred but steam was used in battle for travel in any direction without wind.
-The first steam propelled frigates were launched during the 1840s.
When were shell firing guns with flat trajectories invented?
Who was the first to use Paixhans guns? What year?
Thanks to the increasing availability of iron and better metallurgy what type of ships were developed?
In what war was this first used?
What did these new developments of steam engines, armour platings and guns make ships more reliant on?
What ship led to the abandoment of sails altogether?
What did this mean for the former network of British stopping points?
With the end of the Age of Sail what had the Royal Navy lost the advantage of? Which nations made advances due to this?
-Shell-firing guns with flat trajectories were not invented until the 1820s.
-France began to fit Paixhans guns from 1841 and other navies followed.
-The availability of iron led to the making of the first, La Gloire,’iron clads’. Iron plates attached as armour to wooden ships.
-La Gloire, was launched in 1859. ‘Ironclads’ were proven during the American Civil War.
-These new developments made ships bigger, heavier and more reliant on steam power.
-Sails were abandoned by the invention of HMS Devastation in 1873.
-Britain’s network of stopping points had to become a global network of coaling stations as ships were reliant on steam. Coal carrying ships began to distribute coal around the world.
-The Royal Navy lost its advantage of having skilled sailors since the level of technological advancement became more important than the skills of crews. Allowed countries like Germany and Japan to make advances.
