h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Method and Procedures of Nelson's Navy - A20744822
Author: Bob Stafford (Keeper of The Treacle Shadow) - U3151547

Please comment

This is really interesting Bob, thank you I learnt something and it wasn't dry (which something about ships hasn't a hope of not being you'd hope )

There were a few things I noticed on skimming, a couple of fullstops in places they shouldn't be (in front of ao 6 in the gun amounts) and some minor punctuation which I'm sure you'll find on subsequent rereads

I've visited the Victory a couple of times, and that's about as close as I come to knowing anything more to help you out with this Entry - I think Alex Ashman should be able to offer some more (he wrote the 5 part series on the history of the English Navy ) So there's some EG links to be peppered amongst this at some point to no doubt

Good luck with it

Thanks mate if youlike it its half way there

Ah, you know PR though, they'll be more to do yet!

hmm, I also seem to recall someone mentioning they might be writing an Entry on the Battle of Trafalgar too (was that you? and if so, how's it coming?)

Have a look I am hopeing alex will do the battle part I have done the run up some of the front was alex as well but he looks like he has gone off the idea.
What do you think dose the useing of signals as headers work.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/A20737848

Bob..

Not to detract from this Entry, but that looks like a good start and I really like the use of signals as headers Good luck with that one too!

Nice one, Bob I'll follow this one with interest.


It's more than that - it's the world's oldest commissioned warship, and is still manned by Officers and Ratings of the Royal Navy.

Icy

Yeah Icy is correct the Victory is the oldest serving war ship in the world it is the flagship of the Second Sea Lord of the Admiralty in his role as Commander in Chief of the Royal Navy's Home Command (CINCNAVHOME). At the moment that job is filled by Vice-Admiral Adrian Johns her current commanding officer is Lieutenant Commander J Scivier

http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/conWebDoc.1756

This is an intresting point from the wiki entry on the victory...

'It is said that when Thomas Hardy was First Sea Lord, he told his wife on returning home, that he had just signed an order for Victory to be broken up. She burst into tears and sent him straight back to his office to rescind the order. Though this story may be apocryphal, the page of the duty log containing the orders for that day is missing, having been torn out.'

A good website on the Victory...http://www.hms-victory.com/

I know your entry is on nelson era ships but you may be able to squeeze those facts in...

Thanks Icy


Check the entyy now please.




Bob...

Cardi-Bling
Thank you for the pointer. Check the entry now please. Is this what you ment.

Bob...

Any one anything to add please...

Yup, I'll bug you with a possible extra section...

Fighting tactics.

The British navy's tactics at the time were, in the main, to fire solid shot into the hull of the enemy ship, thus trying to sink it outright.

They used to do this by timing the firing of the guns so that the ship fired its broadside 'on the downroll' I.e.: when the roll of the ship was such that the guns were aiming lower. This, incidentally caused enormous casualties on the other side, not from cannonballs piercing the hulls of the enemy ship, rather from the splinters of wood shooting across the inside of the enemy gundecks whenever the outside of the hull was hit by a cannonball.

The French, on the other hand, used much more grapeshot and fired 'on the uproll', aiming for the masts and rigging of their enemies, with the final aim of simply disabling the enemy ship before closing to board and capture it.

This is one of the reasons for the disproportionate casualty figures of battles like Trafalgar.

Hi Whisky

Oh yes good one

Hi Whisky


All added tiny ammendment (added casuality rates) looks good please comment.

Thanks for the input

Bob...

Ps I have put in Trafalgar as well as you are a co writer

Any more comments please...

Hi is this done

Any more ideas please

Hi Bob;

This statement - "There were six rates in all and the lowest rate had between 20 and 28 guns" contradicts your line ratings that follows. Your ratings list is correct.

"Regardless of type the construction of all rated ships had three masts" - Should read all rated ships of the line, Schooners might only have a single mast.

"Doclyards were also established in Jamaica, est. 1675 and Antigua, est. 1671." - Dockyards

Grape and Cannister are two different types of shot. Grape was a set of balls in a canvas bag - each weighing about 2 pounds - thus a 24 pounder had a bag of 12 shot a 32 pounder 16 etc. These dispersed on firing. Cannister was a collection of musket and shot to a weight of about half a pound, packed in a cylinder. Max range was about 200 yards. Bar shot was often wrapped in oily rag which combusted on firing, thus adding flames to the damage potential.

Regarding losses - the French lost 99 ships destroyed in action - the British lost 5 in the 9 years from 1793 - 1802.

On pay - an ordinary seaman earned £1 5s 6d a month - a captain earned 16gns.

Hope this helps.