Some interesting facts about a couple of ships

Joined
Jul 28, 2014
Messages
717
Points
198

Location
Deception Bay, Queensland
From Royal Navy: The Official HMS Victory website. (VICT) This website includes technical data of the 32-pounder smoothbore gun:
Shot weight ............................ 32 lbs (14.4 kg)
Range, point blank ................. 400 yds (364 m)
Range, 1º elevation ................ 820 yds (746 m)
Range, 2º elevation ................ 1200 yds (1092 m)
Range, 3º elevation ................ 1500 yds (1365 m)
Muzzle velocity ...................... 1600 fps (485 m/s)
Penetration 100yds ................. 42 in (106 cm) solid oak
Penetration 400 yds ................ 31.5 in (80 cm) solid oak

USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) On October 21, 1805 the frigate USS Constitution celebrated her eighth birthday. She was the first of Henry Knox’s plan to build the first warships for the US Navy: four 44-gun frigates (Constitution, President, United States and Chesapeake) and two 36-gunners (Constellation and Congress), under the bill approved March 27, 1794 to defend US interests from barbarian piracy in the Mediterranean. She was launched at Hartt’s Naval Yard in Boston and designed by Joshua Humphreys, a well established Philadelphia shipbuilder, who wrote the essential requirements for these ships (MAGO, 64):
“… none ought to be built less than 150 feet keel, to carry twenty-eight 32-
pounders or thirty 24-punders on the gun deck, and 12-pounders on the quarterdeck. These ships should have scantlings equal to 74’s and I believe may be built of red cedar and live oak. … The beams for their decks should be of the best
Carolina pine, and the lower futtocks and knees, if possible, of live oak.
The greatest care should be taken in the construction of such ships, and
particularly all her timbers should be framed and bolted together before they
are rised.”

The British complained that she was not a frigate but a disguised line-of-battle ship, and after her success in the war of 1812, the British constructors cut down some of their old 74’s to two decks to fight the Constitution and President with vessels of similar rating. The Constitution did not want to go to sea. The declivity of the slipways had been reduced after the previous 10 of July, the United States had been damaged in a premature launching caused by excessive declivity of the ways. The ship stopped after twenty-seven feet. The next attempt moved her thirty feet down, but her stern had settled on the ways below and her keel had acquired a permanent hog that was never removed. She was finally put to sea after increasing the declivity of the ways. (MAGO, 67). In the restoration of 1927 the hog measured was fourteen inches and the keel 157ft-10°in. The framing of the Constitution was laid up with no space between the timbers. That made a very solid hull that demonstrated its strength under gunfire. In the engagement of August 19, 1812 with HMS Guerrière, her side was struck by enemy shot that was rebound and made a sailor shout “her sides are made of iron”, which coined her current nickname “Old Ironsides”. The midship section shows the following dimensions:
Molded breadth ............. 43 ft-6 in
Extreme breadth ........... 44 ft-8 in
Oak keel......................... 18 in × 24 in
Oak shoe........................ 6 in
Oak deadwood............... 9 in × 24 in
Oak keelson ................... 18 in × 18 in
Oak upper keelson......... 15 in × 18 in
Live oak frames ............. 15 in mold at keel to 9 in at gunport sills
Yellow pine beams......... 15 in × 18 in gundeck
Live oak knees ............... 10 in thick 82 in throat
Oak side plank ............... 7 in × 10 in, 6 planks at water-line
Oak spirketting............... 5 in gundeck, 6 in upper,2 planks each
Clamps ........................... 5 in, 2 planks
Waterways .................... 15 in square beveled
Diagonal risers ............... 6 pairs each side, tennoned to keelson
Garboard ....................... 6 in
Outer shell...................... 5-1/2 to 4 in, up bilge
Main wales..................... 6 × 7 in × 10 in
Inner ceiling ................... 6 in
Decks (2)......................... 4 in white oak 6ft from side 4 in yellow pine rest 6 in white oak 2 strakes under pillars, 2 str. hatch edge Upper and gundeck had thirty two beams and berth deck below thirty one. Orlop deck had only sixteen beams, nine centered at the mainmast and seven at the foremast. (MAGO, 88) quotes that “during the repair in 1833 a piece of timber 9ft long, 27in wide,
14in thick weighing 1460 pounds was removed from her. On breaking it up, in it were found 364 pounds of iron and 163 pounds of copper”. These dimensions should belong to a piece of deadwood astern, fastened with many iron bolts and using copper nails for the shell planking and sheathing. From these figures we obtain:

Total weight white oak .......... 933 lb
Specific gravity ditto .............. 0.633
Proportion of wood ................ 63.9%
Proportion of iron ................... 24.9%
Proportion of copper .............. 11.2%
With a specific gravity of 450 lb/cu-ft iron occupied 0.033 the volume of oak, which requires that 3.3% of the face surface of the timber be occupied by bolts providing a high density of reinforcement to the hull that would help stop gun shots.
 
The Santísima Trinidad
Experienced 3 careens, totalling 19 months in 36.58 years lifetime.
Disarmed during 3 periods totalling 19.83 years = 54.20 %
Suffered 4 repairs, totalling over 12 months.
Percent lifetime inactive = 61.5 %.
Four times she suffered important damages, but only once in combat before Trafalgar.
Except for her maiden voyage and a short cruise to Newfoundland, most of her service life was in the Cádiz area, where she was stationed.

HMS Victory
Lifetime until Trafalgar = 35.5 years
Commissioned 12.83 years after launching
Disarmed during 4 periods, totalling 7 years
Struck from Navy List, hospital ship for 1.25 years
Drydocked for refitting (8 times), careened (2), reconstructed (1), totalling 6 years.
Service and campaigns added to 13.5 years operating at sea = 38.6 % of her life
 
Donnie, I found out what happened to the ST after the Battle pf Trafalgar. She was in the process of being towed (probably back to England) when a storm broke, the British crew cut the tow ropes[*] and scuttled her.

* Several 'prize' ships were lost during the storm, some having their tow ropes broken others being cut free.
Eric
 
Eric
your research abilities are amazing. You have a great wealth of knowledge about ships and their periods. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your findings.

Donnie

ps. I realize too that others contribute to this site with their depth of knowledge that goes far beyond me and I really appreciate everyone's contributions. I could not make a site like this on my own. I am very grateful for all of you making SOS a nice comfortable place to be and to express your talents and abilities.
 
Back
Top