What are the types of warships. Maritime terms (types of ships and vessels)

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, large-sized rowboats with two masts and several sails appeared, 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 - karakki, 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, is small in comparison with 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 main mast; 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

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English (auto-detected) » Russian

The main feature of the domestic classification of ships is its purpose. All civil vessels, depending on their purpose, are divided into transport, fishing, service and auxiliary and technical fleet vessels.

TRANSPORT VESSELS

Transport ships form the main core of the sea and river fleet. They are intended for the transportation of various cargoes and passengers and are divided into cargo, passenger, cargo-passenger and special transport ships.

types of cargo ships

Cargo ships are divided into two main classes - dry cargo and tankers, which, in turn, include ships of various types and purposes.

TYPES OF DRY CARGO VESSELS

The class of dry cargo ships includes dry cargo ships of general purpose and specialized ships - for the carriage of certain cargoes.

DRY CARGO VESSELS General purpose ships are designed for the carriage of general cargo and are the most common type of ships.

Dry cargo ships () have spacious cargo holds occupying the main part of the hull, and usually two decks (small ships are single-deck, large ones are two- and three-deck). The engine room, as a rule, with a diesel installation, is located in the stern or shifted forward by one or two cargo holds. Each hold has a cargo hatch (sometimes two), closed with metal closures with a mechanized drive. Cranes or booms with a lifting capacity of up to 10 tons are used as cargo vehicles; for heavy loads, cargo booms with a lifting capacity of 30 to 200 tons are used. Many modern dry cargo ships are equipped with one refrigerated hold for the transport of perishable goods and a deep tank for the transport of liquid edible oils. River dry cargo ships, regardless of their size, usually have only one cargo hold - for the convenience of loading and unloading.

To FOR SPECIALIZED DRY CARGO VESSELS include refrigerated, container, trailer ships, ships for the transport of bulk cargo, timber carriers, ships for the transport of vehicles, livestock, etc.

REFRIGERATED SHIPS are intended for transportation of perishable products (fish, meat, fruits). Their cargo holds have reliable thermal insulation and refrigeration units that provide cooling of the holds. Depending on the type of cargo being transported, the temperature in the holds is maintained from +5 to -25°C.

Some refrigerators have powerful refrigeration units that not only maintain the set temperature, but also quickly freeze the cargo. Such vessels are called production and transport refrigerators. Vessels intended for the transport of fruit (banana carriers) have enhanced hold ventilation.

The carrying capacity of refrigerated ships reaches 8000-12000 tons. The speed is slightly higher than that of general dry cargo ships, as perishable goods require fast delivery to their destination.

CONTAINER VESSELS() are intended for the transportation of goods pre-packed in special heavy containers, the weight of which with cargo is 10-20 tons. The carrying capacity of container ships is from 8,000 to 20,000 tons, the speed is 30 knots.

Due to the fact that not piece cargo of various sizes and weights is placed in the cargo holds, but standard containers, loading and unloading operations on container ships are carried out 10 times faster than on conventional dry cargo ships.

Container ships are distinguished by a large deck opening above the cargo holds, which eliminates such a laborious operation as the horizontal movement of cargo in the hold. Rolling gantry cranes with a lifting capacity of 20-25 tons are usually used as cargo vehicles on container ships (feeder container ships). On some container ships serving a permanent line, there is no cargo device at all. In these cases, cargo operations are performed by terminal means - portal cranes.

A variety of container ships are ships for the transport of floating container barges, called. Such barges with a carrying capacity of 250-300 tons are unloaded from the ship directly onto the water, after which they are towed to the consignee's berth. Due to the fact that container transportation, which is especially beneficial for mixed traffic (railway - car - ship), allows you to deliver cargo from the sender to the recipient at minimal cost when reloading from one mode of transport to another and at the same time ensure good safety of the cargo. Container ships have been widely developed in recent years and are the most promising type of dry cargo vessel.

TRAILER VESSELS are used to transport goods in the so-called trailer trailers (). Cargo placed in wheeled trailers can be loaded (or unloaded) by rolling in or out trailers on and off the ship in a very short time - in a few hours instead of several days on a conventional dry cargo ship. The carrying capacity of trailer ships is from 1000 to 10000 tons, the speed is 20-26 knots. Like container ships, trailer ships have recently become widespread. Some newer ships of this type are being adapted to carry trailers (in the holds) and containers (on the upper deck) at the same time. Such vessels are called piggyback.

BULK CARGO SHIPS intended for the transportation of ore, ore concentrates, coal, mineral fertilizers, building materials, grain, etc. These cargoes account for about 70% of all dry cargo transported by sea, so the number of vessels for the transport of bulk cargo is growing rapidly and is already more than 20% of tonnage of the entire world sea transport fleet.

Bulk cargo ships () are divided into ore carriers, ships carrying the heaviest cargo, ships for light cargo and universal. Some of these vessels may have a dual purpose, for example, they carry bulk cargo in one direction, and cars in the opposite direction, or ore there, and oil (oil carriers) in the opposite direction.

Vessels of this type are single-deck, with an engine room and a superstructure located in the stern. They differ from other dry cargo ships in their large carrying capacity up to 150,000 tons and relatively low speed of about 14-16 knots.

Cargo holds, as a rule, have sloping walls in the lower and upper parts, which ensure self-distribution of cargo (self-stitching) both in the longitudinal and transverse directions. The tanks located between these walls and the side are designed to receive ballast water, the amount of which is usually much larger than on general dry cargo ships. Some ships have longitudinal bulkheads in the cargo holds, which reduce the heel when the cargo is shifted on board, and the second bottom has a thickened flooring and reinforcements that allow cargo operations to be carried out with a grab.

The vast majority of bulk cargo ships do not have cargo facilities and are loaded and unloaded by port facilities; on the rest, either rotary or reeling gantry cranes are used. Some ships are equipped with belt conveyors that allow automatic unloading of cargo from the hold (self-unloading ships).

TIMBER CARRIERS are intended for transportation of timber cargo - roundwood and lumber. Timber carriers differ from general-purpose dry-cargo ships in lower speed (13-15 knots), in the presence - regardless of the size of the vessel, of only one deck and reinforced ice reinforcements, allowing them to enter the ports of the Polar Basin, from where, basically, they take out the timber.

The reinforced upper deck and hatch covers provide for the transportation of a significant amount of cargo (about a third) on the open deck. Timber carriers usually take water 6 allast (about 10 percent of carrying capacity) to ensure stability even when fully loaded, so they have large-capacity ballast compartments.

Ballastless timber carriers also exist, but when traveling without timber, they experience gusty pitching, which is undesirable. Recently, timber is being transported in packages. This method of transportation makes it possible to more than halve the parking space for cargo operations. Timber-packet carriers have large hatches and high-performance cargo devices (slewing or rolling gantry cranes, boom cranes).

TYPES OF TANKERS

The type of tankers is divided into: tankers for the transportation of crude oil and petroleum products (fuel oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, etc.), ships for the transportation of liquefied gases (gas carriers), chemicals (acid, molten sulfur, etc.) - chemical carriers, as well as other liquid cargo (aquarians, wine carriers, cement carriers).

TANKERS

Tankers are one of the most common types of transport vessels, accounting for about 40% of the world's tonnage of the transport fleet.

It is a single-deck vessel with an aft engine room and superstructure. The cargo part of the tanker is divided by transverse and one, two or three longitudinal bulkheads into cargo compartments, called cargo tanks. Part of the tanks is taken away for water ballast, which the tanker always takes on the return voyage.

The cargo part in the bow and in the stern is separated from the neighboring rooms by narrow dry compartments impervious to oil and gases called rubber dams.

A pump room with cargo pumps for unloading the vessel from oil is located forward of the engine room. For communication between the aft superstructure and the forecastle deck, on which the anchor-mooring device is located, a transitional bridge is equipped. Some large tankers are built without a walkway, which is replaced by a walkway along the upper deck, and the electrical mains, which are usually laid along the walkway, in this case are pulled in metal pipes.

Tankers, which are especially dangerous in terms of fire, are equipped with reliable fire-fighting systems.

The carrying capacity of tankers varies greatly from 1,000 tons for distribution tankers to 400,000 tons for giant supertankers, which are the largest ships in the world. The dimensions of tankers depend on their carrying capacity. River tankers have a carrying capacity of 150 to 5000 tons and a speed of 10-20 km/h. The carrying capacity of river tanker barges reaches 12,000 tons.

GAS CARRIERS

LNG carriers are designed for transportation of liquefied natural and petroleum products, i.e. gases released during oil production - methane, propane, butane, ammonia. These gases, which are an excellent fuel and valuable raw material for the chemical industry, are transported in a liquefied state, cooled (in insulated tanks) or under pressure.

Unlike tankers, whose cargo tanks form elements of the hull structure, gas carriers have independent cargo tanks - cylindrical (vertical or horizontal), spherical or rectangular. Gas carriers intended for the transportation of liquefied natural gas methane, which is transported in a chilled state (up to -161.5 ° C), have only rectangular tanks with reliable insulation.

To perform cargo operations, they are equipped with a cargo system consisting of pumps, compressors, pipelines and an intermediate tank. Since it is forbidden to take water ballast into cargo tanks, gas carriers are equipped with ballast tanks (in a double bottom or along the sides).

Transportation of liquefied gases is associated with increased explosiveness of the cargo. To avoid the formation of explosive gas-air mixtures, gas carriers are provided with reliable ventilation and compressor compartments located in the bow, and an alarm system about the formation of dangerous gas concentrations. The carbon dioxide system is usually used to extinguish fires.

At present, a class of combined ships is rapidly developing, that is, ships adapted for the carriage of several specific types of cargo, which is very beneficial for oncoming sea transportation, since it excludes empty ballast runs. This class of cargo ships includes oil ore carriers, cotton timber carriers, and the like.

types of passenger and cargo-passenger ships

The class of passenger ships includes ships intended for the carriage of passengers. Sometimes passenger cabins are also provided on ordinary cargo ships, but a passenger ship is considered if it takes on board more than 12 passengers. If on such a ship the accepted cargo is more than 40 percent of the total carrying capacity, then the ship is called a cargo-passenger ship.

According to their purpose, they are divided into ships for servicing regular lines, ships for tourist travel, ships for mass transportation of people and ships for local traffic.

types of vessels for servicing regular passenger lines

These are passenger ships that make flights between given ports according to a certain schedule. Of particular interest here are transoceanic passenger liners designed for 2,000-3,000 passengers with a displacement of up to 100,000 tons and a speed of 30 knots.

boats for tourist travel

Passenger ships for tourist trips (cruises), which have become especially widespread recently, have more moderate speeds (18-22 knots) and are large.

River passenger ships serving regular lines or used for accommodation of up to 600 passengers on board and have a speed of about 27 km / h.

On modern ocean passenger ships, all passengers are provided with one-, two-, three-, four-bed cabins or penthouses with all amenities. For recreation and entertainment of passengers, there are lounges, games rooms, gyms, swimming pools, restaurants, cafes, theme clubs and more.

A distinctive feature of large passenger ships is the presence of several decks and platforms in the hull, and a multi-tiered developed superstructure. Particular attention is paid to ensuring the safety of navigation - life-saving equipment, fire-fighting measures, ensuring unsinkability. Almost all passenger ships are equipped with stabilizers.

vessels for local communications

Ships for local communications include both small passenger ships and boats, and large ships designed for 500-600 passengers. At present, they are widely used with a speed of up to 40 knots, designed for 600 passengers, as well as passenger hovercraft.

types of special transport vessels

The class of special transport vessels includes various ferries, transport vessels and pusher tugs.

SEA FERRY There are railway, railway-automobile, automobile-passenger and passenger. They serve for the transportation of railway cars, cars, as well as passengers on ferry crossings that connect overland road arteries. In addition, car-passenger ferries are widely used - for sea travel.

RAIL FERRY have one cargo deck, and car ferries have one or two. But since the loading of cars onto the deck is usually carried out from the shore at the level of one of the decks, an elevator or ramps are used to transfer them to another deck.

On railway ferries, entry to the cargo deck is carried out from the stern, on automobile ferries - from the stern, from the bow or side. Entrance openings (lap ports) are closed with hinged covers. On some car ferries, a part of the hull structure is folded in the bow - the so-called hinged nose. Passenger premises, including seating and sleeping places, depending on the duration of the flight, as well as lounges, bars, restaurants on ferry ships, are located in the superstructure. Ferries usually have two control stations (in the bow and stern), stabilizers and thrusters to ensure good maneuverability when mooring.

The carrying capacity of modern ferries ranges from 200 to 60,000 tons. Average CAR AND PASSENGER FERRY accommodates about 200 cars and 1000 passengers, railway - up to 50 wagons.

TRANSPORT TOW AND PUSH TOW serve as a vehicle for self-propelled and non-self-propelled vessels, mainly on inland waterways, where goods are transported on barges, lighters, sectional trains, etc.

Unlike transport tugs pusher tugs carry out the movement of non-self-propelled vessels by pushing and towing.

ship types:

English (auto-detected) » Russian

Since ancient times, and to this day, the navy is the backbone of almost any country that has access to the sea. Someone has powerful ultra-modern ships, someone calls a few old boats a fleet. But the essence is the same for everyone, these ships guard the expanses of water.

The warship has come a long way from biremes and galleys to modern nuclear submarine missile carriers and aircraft carriers. But the sailors, like no one else, observe traditions, especially in the names and classification of ships.

Warships before the 20th century

In ancient times, the bulk of ships adapted for coastal navigation were divided according to the number of rows of oars. The presence of a large number of rowers, who required a large amount of food, did not contribute to the development of long-distance navigation.

With the advent of the sail, the development of the fleet and the enlargement of ships began. Along with the development of navigational instruments and technologies, the fleet developed, which by the 15th century made it possible to make the first major voyages across the oceans.

The wealth of the New World spurred European shipbuilders, and already in the 16th century, the design of warships began to develop and become more complicated. A little later, the fleet will begin to be divided into classes and ranks. At that time, either the number of guns or the ship's sailing armament was considered the main criterion.

Ships, depending on the number of guns, fell into the 1st rank (about 100 guns and more), 2nd rank (about 90 guns), 3rd rank (about 75) and so on, up to rank 6.

The second classification divided the ships depending on the presence or absence of certain sails. There were three-masted and two-masted sailboats, as well as single-masted varieties of very small ships, which were used, as a rule, to transport mail.

The names of the ships could be any related to personal names, religious or geographical component. There were cases when, for special merits, the name of the ship was left in the fleet, although the ship itself might not exist. In the Russian fleet, the most striking example was the brig "Mercury" and several ships "Memory of Mercury".

With the advent of mechanisms and the transition from sail to car, many names of ship types took root and remain to this day. The main difference of any ship was the size, displacement or tonnage. The history of steamships, although not as many centuries old as the sail, brightly inscribed pages in the naval chronicle.

The development of technology has brought to naught entire groups of once formidable ships, and transferred classes to other ranks. So, for example, the twentieth century showed the weakness of battleships in front of aircraft carrier groups. The Second World War generally made major changes to the picture of warships in the world. And if 300 years ago the frigate was a large ship, now it has descended to the stage of patrol ships.

According to international maritime law, each ship falls into its own specific class. These rules, in order to avoid confusion, were used by Soviet sailors, as well as their successors, the ships of the Russian Navy.

Ships are divided by tonnage, or displacement, as well as by the type of weapons on board, that is, one can say that the old system has entered the new realities of modern ships.

According to these documents, the largest ships are included in the strike group, and these are:

aircraft carriers, depending on the tonnage, can be large, medium and small, respectively, the strength of naval aviation on them also differs;
cruisers, also differing in displacement, having more versatile tasks, from guarding convoys and aircraft carriers to intercepting enemy ships and shelling the coastline;
submarines, often superior in size and armament to surface ships, are divided according to their size and the type of power plant used;
destroyers carrying out reconnaissance and security of a group of ships carrying the main armament in the form of mines and torpedoes;
torpedo boats, large of which are designed to attack large ships in squadrons, while small ones operate in the coastal zone;
patrol ships designed for combat protection of convoys and the water area of a port or other object.

There is also a finer division of these classes of ships, but in each country they have their own characteristics and characteristics.

The second large subclass includes auxiliary vessels. They can be conditionally divided into several groups:

floating bases necessary for replenishment with everything necessary, depending on the specialization of the base for each class of ships;
supply ships, unlike bases, are more mobile and fast, although the goals and tasks for them are the same as above;
repair facilities, floating workshops necessary for the repair of ships on the high seas;
rescue ships designed to assist both submarines and surface ships in case of emergency;
research ships testing new technical systems;
training ships that serve to obtain and master the skills of being at sea;
special ships that test weapons systems and complexes for spacecraft.

The crews of support ships solve many tasks to maintain the combat capability of the main fleet. In the Navy of the USSR, there was also a system of differences between ships by name. So, in the Northern Fleet for a long time there was a unit of Soviet guards, known as the “Bad Weather Division”.

The first in the series was the ship "Hurricane", and in honor of it, subsequent ships of the same class, displacement and armament received "rainy" names. For example, the waves of the Barents Sea plowed at different times "Storm", "Metel", "Purga" and other ships with similar names.

On the ships themselves, for many years there has been a division into warheads, or warheads, each of which designates a part of the ship and its purpose.

Warships of the fleets of different countries

The ship classification system adopted by the international community has proven to be inappropriate for some fleets. So, the Japanese ship division system can cause at least a lot of questions from an ignorant person. Japan, having a serious fleet, one of the best in Asia, meanwhile went a long way to modernize the ships under construction.

As a result, the same class of warships can differ significantly in their characteristics depending on the year of manufacture. Thus, the same destroyers in service can meet all modern requirements if they were built recently, or they can match frigates or corvettes of other fleets.

Helicopter carriers are considered the main force of the Japanese fleet.

Despite their name, they are essentially light aircraft carriers equipped with state-of-the-art electronics. This class includes two types of ships, "Hyuuga", represented by a pair of ships, and "Shirane", also a pair of ships. Interestingly, the last two ships were introduced into the fleet back in the 1980s.

The second category consists of URO destroyers (guided missile weapons). There are also ships of various types. The most modern, such as "Atago", represented by two ships. The Kongo class consists of four ships built in the 1990s. Hatakase type, created in the second half of the 1980s, with a couple of ships now used as training ships.

Another category, the third, again destroyers, but more similar to the brothers of the other fleets. This includes many types, broken down depending on the time of construction. The fourth category, submarines, is represented by 17 diesel submarines. The fifth includes landing and auxiliary ships, as well as icebreakers.

Its classification in the US Navy. Vessels are divided according to their purpose. To distinguish them, an alphabetic encryption system was introduced. So, for example, the letters "BB" mean BigBattleship, corresponding to the class of battleships in other fleets.

It is interesting that sometimes the ship changes its class, but the letters are left by the decision of the naval command.

This happened several times after a major reform of the fleet throughout the twentieth century. Common to all ships are the letters "USS", which means "ship of the United States" in translation.

Aircraft carriers are among the largest types of ships, usually denoted by variations with the letters "CV". They differ in size and type of aircraft, airplanes or helicopters, but are grouped into one class.

The rest of the surface ships have the original letter designation, such as "C" - cruisers, "D" - destroyers, "F" - frigate. In different years, both watchdogs and monitors were found under codes, but over time they were removed from their composition by the US Navy.

The submarine fleet wears the obligatory letter "S", which also has many additional meanings depending on the type of weapon or power plant. The letter "P" means boats, also differing in size and types of weapons located on them.

There are quite a lot of ciphers used during the Vietnam War, and then simply canceled.

You can also put American Coast Guard warships, formally a separate unit, here. The letter "L" means that the vessel belongs to the landing fleet. It differs in huge landing ships, transporting soldiers from one continent to another, and landing craft, landing infantry and equipment directly on land. The latter have the trait of amphibians.

Much attention was paid to the development of these boats during the Second World War, when the Marines landed and fought on the Pacific Islands and in the famous landing zone in Normandy. The letter "A" denoted all auxiliary vessels.

Despite the former glory of the mistress of the seas, the British fleet has lost all its former power. However, the authority of the English sailors is still on top. The classification of the ships of the British Navy is quite difficult to carry out.

Of course, among them are the same aircraft carriers, destroyers, corvettes and boats, but they differ in pennant number.

Each flotilla had its own special pennant, and the ship in this flotilla was assigned a number, and then a letter indicating the class of the ship. It is interesting that in numerology there is no number "13" at all, which is considered unlucky among sailors.

The system of classification by numbers and pennants continues to exist, with minor changes since the First World War.

The history of the navy goes back hundreds of years. Since sailors are extremely superstitious people, they keep traditions, including those associated with their “native home” - a ship, in the names of ships, and in their classification, you can find many old terms and designations that do not make the fleet less effective.

Video

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 across 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 birema. 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, in a short time they built 120 large galleys 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 another. 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" vessels 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 in 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 in England they began to build frigates with up to 60 guns on two decks, and smaller warships, such as a corvette, a sloop, a 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 on the lower deck were 4 24 pounds - 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 -

A sailing fleet is a group of ships that move with the help of a sail. As a rule, the use of the fleet was immediately accompanied by the appearance of the ships themselves, which are suitable for long expeditions or naval battles.

A Brief History of Sailboats

The first sailing ships appeared in the last years of antiquity. They consisted of primitive sail-ridged ships and could reach speeds higher than the wind. A group of such ships cannot be called a full-fledged fleet, because. each acted independently in battles, and the outcome of the battle was decided mainly by numbers. The main technique of confrontation was ramming, bulk and boarding. Large sail-ridged ships were equipped with additional weapons: a stone thrower (mainly for taking coastal fortresses), a harpoon and Greek fire.

In the 12th - 13th centuries, ships appeared carrying military guns on board. However, they have been developed in the direction of personal power. Vessels of the Karakka type could fight alone against a small group of ships, as well as conduct raider operations.

If we are talking about a full-fledged sailing ship, it was first built in the British Empire in the 16th century. He bore the name Great Harry ("Great Harry"). The first Russian military sailboat was launched in 1668. It did not belong to a specific type and bore the name "Eagle".

The ship "Great Harry"

A regular navy of sailboats appears at the beginning of the 17th century in the Western powers. In overwhelming advantage, these were the colonial empires - Britain, Portugal, Spain and France. After 100 years, a full-fledged fleet was formed in almost all of Europe, which later played a key role in expansionist companies. Also, warships were captured by many criminals - pirates.

17th century sailboat era

With the discovery of the steam engine, large battleships of the sailing fleet existed for some time, but the sail no longer served as the main force for the movement of the ship. It was used as an additional means of navigation in case of boiler breakdown or to save fuel in high winds. Sailing ships were completely replaced by dreadnoughts and battleships. A sailboat with an unprotected mast had no chance against an armored ship. It is worth noting that in the 60s of the 19th century there were no rifled artillery and dreadnoughts were practically unsinkable.

Sailing vessel classification

The demand for ships was based on the tasks they performed - for expeditions or military operations. In the second case, the ship was required to achieve specific tactical goals, which led to the development of different types of ships. The main characteristics of any combat naval unit were: displacement, the number of artillery pieces and masts. In the end, a classification of ships by rank was formed:

The first three included only ships of the line;
4 - 5 ranks were frigates;
6th - 7th rank other smaller vessels (brigs, tenders, corvettes).

Simultaneously with the development of the main combat units, additional ships were formed, which were supposed to solve auxiliary tasks in order to achieve strategic goals on the battlefield.

Basically they were:

firewalls. A ship with explosives on board to set fire to an enemy ship. They developed through simple preparation. Fireships were not built and, in fact, they are not an independent class of the vessel. The decision to use them was often used already in the course of the battles; for preparation, a disabled ship was used, which could not fight, but was still capable of sailing. There was a special effect if the enemy ship was in close formation with others or was in a bay.
Bomber ships. In terms of its capabilities, it did not differ from the main battle ships - a large 3-masted vessel with artillery pieces. It had low sides and was intended for shelling coastal infrastructure (bays, docks, fortifications). In a naval battle, he could also effectively prove himself, but because of his sides he became an easy target.
Transport ships. Among them were also different types of ships for specific tasks (clippers, sloops, packet boats, etc.)

It is worth noting that there were practically no cargo ships among the ships of the sailing fleet of the colonial powers. Cargo was stored on the main ships, and if the need for a transport ship did appear, they were hired from private individuals.

Main combat sailing ships

The navy in the Renaissance played an important role for any state, and its power determined the world politics of that time. The development of ships continued for two centuries before they received a clear classification. The main warships of the sailing fleet were:

Brigantine. 2-masted vessel with straight foremast and oblique mainmast. Appeared in the 17th century and was used for reconnaissance operations. There were 6 - 8 guns on board.
Brig. 2-masted ship of the 7th rank with a displacement of up to 400 tons. It was the main reconnaissance messenger ship in all the fleets of the world. Also on board had from 8 to 24 guns, which were used for shooting when escaping the chase. It appeared as a more practical and simpler version of the brigantine, but did not completely replace them.
Galion. The largest ship of the times of the 15th - 17th centuries. It could include from 2 to 4 masts, and the displacement was up to 1600 tons. Halions were the dominant ships in battles before the advent of battleships.
Caravel. 3 - 4 masted universal vessel with a displacement of up to 450 tons. It was more widely used in expeditions. Good seaworthiness is achieved thanks to versatile masts and superstructures at the bow and stern. Despite the high side, the caravels were only single-deck ships. In battles, they often served as a cargo ship, capable of shooting back from small ships and during boarding.
Karakka. Large 3-masted ship of early times. It had a displacement of up to 2000 tons and 30 - 40 guns on board. The ship could carry a large number of passengers, up to 1300 people. Karakka has proven itself in the 13th - 16th centuries as a powerful vessel capable of fighting back alone. However, with the formation of fleets and the appearance of large ships, they lost their significance.
Corvette. 2 - 3 masted vessel with a displacement of up to 600 tons for tactical tasks. Appeared in the 18th century and one of the two (along with the frigate) classes of ships that have survived to this day. It was used for cruising hunting or destroying single targets, less often for reconnaissance. Equipped with an open or closed artillery battery with dozens of guns.
Battleship. The largest 3-masted vessel with three artillery decks (mostly with enclosed batteries). According to the standard, ships with a displacement of up to 5000 tons were considered battleships, but many ships of this type and up to 8000 tons are known in history. The entire battery could include up to 130 pairs of guns located along the sides. They were used mainly to deal with the same large ships and shelling the coastline. Battleships are one of the few combat sailing ships that served in the naval forces until the beginning of the 20th century.
Flutes. 3-masted transport sailboat. The displacement was arbitrary, but often did not exceed 800 tons. They had up to 6 guns and were distinguished by high maneuverability. Often used by corsairs for robberies. In Russia, the first flutes appeared in the Baltic Fleet in the 17th century.
Frigate. A 3-masted ship with a displacement of up to 3500 tons. The next in power after the battleship and had up to 60 pairs of guns on board. It was used as a large support ship on the entire front line or performing communication tasks (protecting merchant ships). It was the main warship of the sailing fleet of the Russian Empire.
Sloop. 3-masted ship with low sides. It had a displacement of up to 900 tons and 16 - 32 artillery pieces. Served as a long-range reconnaissance or expeditionary vessel. Sloops were popular in the 17th and 19th centuries among Russian freight forwarders for round-the-world travel.
Shnyava. A small sailboat with 2 straight masts, popular in the Scandinavian region. In Russia, they were actively used by Peter I for reconnaissance operations before battles. Displacement up to 150 tons, and the number of guns ranged from 2 to 18.
Schooner. Vessel with arbitrary, mostly large displacement. It could include up to 16 guns and was distributed as part of the sailing fleet of the Russian Empire. Battle schooners were exclusively 2-masted, and messenger ships had an arbitrary number of masts.

In some countries there were unique types of warships that did not become widespread. For example, Portuguese ships, comparable in displacement to a frigate, but having several gun decks, were called cruisers, although this type was already assigned to more modern ships.

Large ships of the Russian sailing fleet

The first mention of Russian sailboats can be found in The Tale of Bygone Years, which tells about the campaign of Prince Oleg to Byzantium on ships. The Russian sailing fleet was already formed by Peter I. The construction of the first ships proceeded in the likeness of European ones. The first major battle of the domestic fleet is celebrated with the Swedes in the Northern War. In the future, naval forces only begin to grow.

Large ships of the Baltic Fleet

The largest military sailing ships in Russia (as well as in the world) were battleships. The first battleships were laid down at the Ladoga shipyard, which had no experience in building large ships, as a result of which the ships received poor seaworthiness and maneuverability. List of sailing battleships of the Russian imperial fleet, which became the first in service in the Baltic:

Riga,
Vyborg,
Pernov,

All three ships were launched in 1710 and were classified as battleships of the 4th rank. On the sides were placed 50 guns of various calibers. The crew of the ship was 330 people. Sailing ships in the Russian fleet also lost their importance with the development of steam engines and battleships, but were still used for reconnaissance operations until the time of the civil war.

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