tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44066198398418000672024-03-18T04:01:55.710-07:00Dawlish Chronicles Duty and Daring in the Heyday of EmpireAntoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.comBlogger269125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-80109187440325765662017-06-02T02:20:00.001-07:002017-06-02T02:22:52.823-07:00Dawlish Chronicles Blog moved to new address<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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These blog articles will be accessible also through the
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I hope that you'll enjoy my blogs as much in the new format as in the old!</div>
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Best Wishes: <i>Antoine Vanner</i></div>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-608544366205650302017-05-05T12:49:00.000-07:002017-06-02T02:07:21.297-07:00Gunboat Diplomacy: Franco-Siamese War of 1893<div class="MsoNormal">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Jules Ferry - <br />and the most ludicrous facial hair of his era</b></td></tr>
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France’s
crushing defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, and the added
humiliation of the loss of the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to the
newly-proclaimed German Empire, led many French to see acquisition of overseas
colonies as a way to restore national pride. A main driver of this policy was the
politician Jules Ferry (1832 – 1893) who justified this, as he stated in the
Chamber of Deputies in 1885, because <i>"It
is a right for the superior races, because they have a duty. They have the duty
to civilize the inferior races."</i> The French were, of course, to
consider themselves a superior race. This drive was instrumental in consolidation
and extension of the French presence in Indo-China, occupations of Tunisia and
Madagascar and acquisition of vast territories in West and Central Africa. This
policy also led to a major war with China in the mid-1880s and was to remain a
source of friction with Britain until the end of the century.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitiSDzRrN_IJ0B1e9wHOE7FQ97dQHV5TrpwfQlbK7hUSGUMjGWviLMlv7DA9gUCgObiZK7jfAYyWBY9kxHUMO0IIAk2hiGbVxwZH5-qEFOS6xUAbOf6ruSEiUuotHAZSBZ3EIjVtu6sMg/s1600/King+Rama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitiSDzRrN_IJ0B1e9wHOE7FQ97dQHV5TrpwfQlbK7hUSGUMjGWviLMlv7DA9gUCgObiZK7jfAYyWBY9kxHUMO0IIAk2hiGbVxwZH5-qEFOS6xUAbOf6ruSEiUuotHAZSBZ3EIjVtu6sMg/s320/King+Rama.jpg" width="203" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>King Rama V</b></td></tr>
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The French
presence in Indo-China, which by the early 1890s extended over modern Vietnam
and involved holding of Cambodia as a protectorate, inevitably brought about
confrontation with the Kingdom of Siam – now Thailand. In this period, Siam’s King Rama V
(1853-1910) initiated a programme of reforms and modernisation which would help
withstand pressure for colonisation by European powers – of which France
represented the greatest threat. Up to this time Siam’s eastern and western
frontiers had been poorly defined, lying as they often did, in remote and
difficult terrain. In due course the frontier with the British possessions of
Burma was settled amicably but the problem proved more intractable on the
eastern frontier with French Indo-China.
The concern reached crisis proportions in 1893 over control of Laos –
where the French already had commercial interests. The expulsion of French
merchants in late 1892 – on accusations of opium smuggling – followed by a
refusal to withdraw Siamese forces from east of the Mekong River, triggered
indignation by pro-colonial politicians in France. As a clear statement of
intent not to back down, a gunboat, the <i>Lutin</i>,
was accordingly sent to Bangkok and moored close to the French legation.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHMSjLmXkEdIuQomWXbDI321wgy5Jolgzt4Obq8iLaYeFnj2Yql73EX9MgcdWlfDMLVH_slp85JGmbBcEL39W9ZQvhm8D4FozjWHK3sV65HjxRNjmLOx1DVKJ53d1Q1KlMK16iMzNRKg/s1600/siam-bild-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHMSjLmXkEdIuQomWXbDI321wgy5Jolgzt4Obq8iLaYeFnj2Yql73EX9MgcdWlfDMLVH_slp85JGmbBcEL39W9ZQvhm8D4FozjWHK3sV65HjxRNjmLOx1DVKJ53d1Q1KlMK16iMzNRKg/s400/siam-bild-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Siamese Army on the march - note field guns carried by the elephants</b></td></tr>
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The situation
escalated in April 1893 when French forces advanced into disputed territory in
Laos. Many of the Siamese forces withdrew ahead of them, though some resisted.
The occupation was generally peaceful until a French police inspector and
seventeen Vietnamese militia men were killed in a Siamese attack on a village
on 5<sup>th</sup> June, an attack allegedly approved of by the Siamese
government. This provided the pretext for yet stronger French intervention and
a demand for reparations.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYN0f7pMAKOryEK0JEiyGptgq5Q79bCbSb72WgshW1-lUs5xSBywBb25vBCTDFSiTuyxljFxt4-KVyZ2tyHR-Yd60TbATw-mwglFclkGKW8f6zuynm246aEziFD7x4JTIytH1re6LX9xc/s1600/Canonniere_Comete_%25281884-1909%2529_bf_1923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYN0f7pMAKOryEK0JEiyGptgq5Q79bCbSb72WgshW1-lUs5xSBywBb25vBCTDFSiTuyxljFxt4-KVyZ2tyHR-Yd60TbATw-mwglFclkGKW8f6zuynm246aEziFD7x4JTIytH1re6LX9xc/s320/Canonniere_Comete_%25281884-1909%2529_bf_1923.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>French gunboat<i> Comete</i></b></td></tr>
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What followed
was a text-book example of “Gunboat Diplomacy”, a demonstration of how naval
power – even in the form of small, unarmoured units – could be decisive in forcing
resolution of disputes. Two small French warships – the sloop (aviso) <i>Inconstant</i> and the gunboat <i>Comete</i> requested permission to cross the
bar into the Chao Phraya, the river on which Bangkok stands. Neither was powerful.
The <i>Inconstant</i>, launched in 1886, was
an 890 ton, 201-foot composite vessel (i.e. a wooden hull carried on iron
frames) that carried a single 3.9-inch gun and five one-pounder Hotchkiss revolvers, five-barrelled weapons that operated on the same
principle as the Gatling. The <i>Comete</i>
was of similar vintage, also of composite build, a 490-ton, 151-foot craft with
two 5.5-inch guns and three revolvers.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Hotchkiss revolver in use by French naval forces off Tunisia, 1881</b></td></tr>
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The Siamese
refused passage but the French commander, a Rear Admiral Edgar Humann, decided
to press ahead anyway, in variance with his instructions by the French
government not to advance against overwhelming force. The Siamese defences were
indeed formidable, the river approach being dominated by the modern Chulachomklao
Fort, commanded by a Dutch mercenary, and armed with seven 6-Inch Armstrong
guns on disappearing mountings and the navigable channel being constricted by
sunken junks. Five Siamese gunboats, commanded by a Dane in Siamese service, were
moored upstream of the junks, though only two were modern and of any fighting
value, and the defences were strengthened yet further by a sixteen-unit minefield.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The <i>Inconstant </i>forging ahead under fire</b></td></tr>
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The French
advance commenced at sunset on 13<sup>th</sup> July – timed, one suspects, to
ensure arrival at Bangkok on the following day, the 14<sup>th</sup>, France’s national
Bastille Day. Visibility was limited by heavy rain. Both French warships were
under tow by the small mail steamer <i>Jean
Baptiste Say</i>. As both<i> Inconstant </i>and<i> Comete </i>were steam driven one wonders if
towing was adopted so that the<i> Say </i>could
be sacrificed to blow a path through the minefield. The rain ceased as the
vessels neared the fort and the Siamese fired three warning shots. The French
forged on regardless. The fort opened fire in earnest and the Siamese gunboats
followed suit. Darkness was falling by now and <i>Inconstant</i> returned fired on the fort while the <i>Comete</i> engaged the gunboats. A small
Siamese boat filled with explosives was sent out to ram one of the French
ships, but it missed its target. It
should have been no contest – the six-inch Armstrongs in the Siamese forts had the
capability to tear the French vessels apart while the French armament had no
hope of inflicting any injury on the masonry fort and its disappearing
gun-mountings. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>French gunboat <i>Lutin - </i>tasked with protecting the French legation at Bangkok</b></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>No glory in Britain's opinion:<br />France attacking a weak opponent</b></td></tr>
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French daring
paid off however – one is reminded of Farragut in somewhat similar
circumstances at Mobile bay. Determination was rewarded as the French vessels smashed
through the Siamese line, ramming and sinking one gunboat in the process and damaging
another by gunfire. The <i>Jean Baptiste Say
</i>was however hit and was forced to cast off its tow before grounding on a
nearby island. The minefield appears to have proved ineffective and both <i>Inconstant</i> and <i>Comete</i> drove on upriver to Bangkok and trained their guns on the
Royal Palace as a powerful inducement to reach an agreement. The French had suffered
three dead and two wounded, the Siamese many more.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There was
however a violent postscript. The grounded <i>Jean
Baptiste Say </i>was captured by the Siamese and her crew was taken prisoner.
On July 15<sup>th</sup> another French gunboat, the <i>Forfait</i>, sent a boarding party to recapture the vessel but it was
repulsed. This represented the end of active hostilities. With Bangkok essentially
blockaded by French forces, as far as maritime trade was concerned, and as
French vessels lay off the heart of Bangkok, there was every reason for the
Siamese to negotiate. A treaty, highly favourable to the French, and consigning
control of Laos to them, was signed three months later. Jules Ferry would have
been pleased, though he did not live to see it – he had died on !7<sup>th</sup>
March that year, following an assassination attempt.</div>
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There have
been few more effective – and cost-effective – examples of gunboat diplomacy. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><i>Britannia’s Spartan</i></span></b></h2>
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1882: Captain Nicholas Dawlish RN has just taken command of the Royal Navy’s newest cruiser, HMS <i>Leonidas</i>. He has however no forewarning of the nightmare of riot, treachery, massacre and battle he and his crew will encounter. Naval battles in the Yellow Sea are just part of it - he must also take account of a weak Korean king and his shrewd queen, of murderous palace intrigue, of a power-broker who seems more American than Chinese and a Japanese naval captain whom he will come to despise and admire in equal measure. And he will have no one to turn to for guidance…</div>
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<b style="font-size: 13.2px;"> Click on the image below to read the opening chapters:</b><br style="font-size: 13.2px; font-weight: normal;" /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13.2px; font-weight: normal;">
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-53623633941075442872017-05-02T17:10:00.000-07:002017-05-02T13:15:04.344-07:00The loss of HMS Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue, September 22nd 1914<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Royal Navy suffered its first major loss in almost a century in September 1914, a disaster that cost 1459 men their lives and destroyed three ships. The impact
on British public-consciousness was massive – comparable to the loss HMS <i>Courageous</i> and HMS <i>Royal Oak</i> in 1939 – and all the more so since it was recognised not
only as avoidable, but the result of poor professional decision-making.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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At the outbreak of war in 1914 all major navies had small
numbers of submarines. There was little over a decade’s experience of their
employment and designs were largely experimental. Limited range and armament,
low speed and, above all, short underwater endurance led many to believe that
the offensive threat they posed, especially to warships, would not be great.
Fevered development during the First World War was to change such views but in
September 1914 many commanders who had grown up in purely surface navies still
held to such opinions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZWfT9HwJJ6tYf_KM1bLy8DnHwWoNftYBAWn374vqTMW_6MhD3iyAVzcUbeeLdPqFYd8-ZamySuVdEEiaSagNx0aObdbq0OXIEuVTfpYYaabtRb4luZuRcl351DqbXOqeftbPyF4fwL8/s1600/HMS+Pathfinder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZWfT9HwJJ6tYf_KM1bLy8DnHwWoNftYBAWn374vqTMW_6MhD3iyAVzcUbeeLdPqFYd8-ZamySuVdEEiaSagNx0aObdbq0OXIEuVTfpYYaabtRb4luZuRcl351DqbXOqeftbPyF4fwL8/s1600/HMS+Pathfinder.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>HMS<i> Pathfinder</i> </b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The first indication of the submarine’s potential came on September
5th 1914, when the British cruiser HMS <i>Pathfinder</i>
was sunk in the North Sea off the Scottish coast. Hit by a torpedo fired by the
German submarine U-21, she was to gain the unfortunate title of being the first
British warship to be sunk in this way.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The <i>Pathfinder</i> was
a "Scout Cruiser", a class which was to evolve in time into the Light
Cruiser. Launched in 1905, she was just under 3000 tons, 385 feet long and
carried nine 4-in guns and smaller weapons. She could make 25 knots top speed
but her limited coal capacity was the class's Achilles heel. On the day of her
destruction her bunkers were so depleted that she was restricted to 5 knots, making
her an easy target for the U-Boat. A magazine exploded within minutes after the
ship was hit and she went down with a loss of 259 men from her crew of some
270. The ship was sufficiently close inshore for her loss to be witnessed by
many on the coast, including the future novelist Aldous Huxley. In a family
letter he recounted in appalling detail what he had heard from members of the
local lifeboat about the human remains found when the area was searched.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hrHzkpO5tFbYH4-8q1er5WjUmMpARWvwdNR7wlwZnmL5PJlP0lr6QRASGWlByjP4UEz91r2V1yP5lQDb8Z8EdVsVmhdHXEq9Gomb26X8fDB5XHD-xiJpaMc2Ut4TmchO1NSmx7Y01JI/s1600/cressy_tuck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hrHzkpO5tFbYH4-8q1er5WjUmMpARWvwdNR7wlwZnmL5PJlP0lr6QRASGWlByjP4UEz91r2V1yP5lQDb8Z8EdVsVmhdHXEq9Gomb26X8fDB5XHD-xiJpaMc2Ut4TmchO1NSmx7Y01JI/s1600/cressy_tuck.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>HMS <i>Cressy </i>when new - still in Victorian livery</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Despite this “wake up call” regarding vulnerability of
warships at low speed the Royal Navy initiated a patrol of the northern
entrance of the English Channel with five obsolete <i>Cressy</i> class armoured cruisers. This group was known as “Cruiser
Force C” and the patrol area they were assigned to was in the shallow waters off
the Dutch coast known as the “Broad Fourteens”. The logic of maintaining a patrol in the area
was unassailable as a fast German raiding force of destroyers could wreak havoc
on British maritime supply lines between the English Coast and Northern France
should they enter the Channel. Though destroyers and light cruisers would have
been more suited to the task it was believed that destroyers would be unable to
maintain the patrol in bad weather and insufficient modern light cruisers were
available. The solution was to deploy old armoured cruisers which had at least
got the necessary station-keeping capability. This was perhaps their only
positive attribute.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The vulnerability of these cruisers was recognised by many
senior officers, not only because of their obsolescence but because of their manning.
Taken hastily from reserve –which meant they had been unmanned and poorly, if
at all, maintained – on outbreak of war they were quickly overhauled and put
back in service. Originally capable of 21 knots they now found it hard to make
15. Crews were in short supply, leading the ships to be manned by reservists,
many middle-aged, many of them pensioners, who had not previously served or exercised
together as units. In addition, nine naval cadets, some as young as 15, were
allocated to each ship, being taken directly from the Royal Naval College. The general view of Cruiser Force C’s fighting
potential was summed up in the nickname it quickly acquired - the "Live
Bait Squadron". <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4nYQRtbkLnNyuCWkcGC8t6JocAz_uRoMxp5-jyLJZiapjsNkMjXIkp5tQ2ZdPLPtyN_8SIYFQChYdFc24rdjBCqFPTPyGOuUmIdG0XJuLeTem37Pr2hzNqqnfmYjBVYEnepcktta3Kk/s1600/HMS_Aboukir+at+Malta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4nYQRtbkLnNyuCWkcGC8t6JocAz_uRoMxp5-jyLJZiapjsNkMjXIkp5tQ2ZdPLPtyN_8SIYFQChYdFc24rdjBCqFPTPyGOuUmIdG0XJuLeTem37Pr2hzNqqnfmYjBVYEnepcktta3Kk/s1600/HMS_Aboukir+at+Malta.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>HMS <i>Aboukir </i>at Malta - note 6" weapons in casemates along sides</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Britain’s armoured cruisers can be fairly described as the
most unsuccessful and unfortunate type of warship ever employed by the Royal
Navy. The 34 vessels of this type that were in service at the outbreak of war
had entered service between 1902 and 1908 – they were not old ships. Of these
34, a total of 13 were to be lost in the next four years. Intended to form part
of the battle fleet, they had been rendered obsolete by the advent of the
almost equally-disastrous battle-cruiser concept. The earlier classes – the six
ships of the <i>Cressy</i> class being the
oldest – had very limited offensive capability, especially in rough weather. They
were large – and expensive – ships and they needed large crews. Details of the <i>Cressy</i> class, of which Cruiser Force C
was composed, were as follow:</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Displacement:
12,000 tons<o:p></o:p></div>
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Length:
472 feet<o:p></o:p></div>
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Engines:
Triple Expansion, 21,000 hp<o:p></o:p></div>
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Maximum
Speed: 21 Knots on completion, probably 15 in 1914<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Armament:
2 X 9.2”, 12 X 6” and many smaller. Also 2X18” torpedo tubes<o:p></o:p></div>
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Crew
at commissioning: 760<o:p></o:p></div>
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On September 20th 1914 Cruiser Force C’s patrol consisted of
HMS <i>Euryalus</i>, HMS <i>Aboukir</i>, HMS <i>Hogue</i> and HMS <i>Cressy</i>,
with a fifth vessel, HMS <i>Bacchante</i> in
remaining in port. Rear Admiral Christian, in <i>Euryalus, </i>was in temporary command of the force. Poor weather made
it impossible for the protecting destroyer force to remain in company and Euryalus
had to drop out due to lack of coal and weather damage to her wireless. Christian had to remain with his ship as the
weather was too bad to transfer. He delegated command to Captain Drummond in <i>Aboukir</i> . A further step in the path leading
to disaster was made when Christian did not make it clear that Drummond had the
authority to order supporting destroyers to sea if the weather improved, as it indeed
did later the following day.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja4xD-r8MQ-U0CCKWa_loHdnW8OZmKVZteu94aZLxkIZDNnkJ_M0HF_2qHRPCBGYUI_4P553zZCRJTPdZwQU2Tx4XxxIgx3ydUDFSecBnmA3KoWju4YFXx7nIyQNbJZ-kwvv7k3a2-JoE/s1600/hogue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja4xD-r8MQ-U0CCKWa_loHdnW8OZmKVZteu94aZLxkIZDNnkJ_M0HF_2qHRPCBGYUI_4P553zZCRJTPdZwQU2Tx4XxxIgx3ydUDFSecBnmA3KoWju4YFXx7nIyQNbJZ-kwvv7k3a2-JoE/s1600/hogue.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>HMS Hogue - the 6" weapons in the lower casemates unworkable in rough seas</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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The other main actor in the drama was also moving towards
the Broad Fourteens. Kapitaenleutnant Otto Weddigen, in command of the German
submarine U-9 – the low number indicting just how early a unit this vessel was
in the Imperial Navy’s submarine force – had left Wilhelmshaven on September 20<sup>th</sup>.
His orders were to attack British
transports landing troops at Ostend, on the Belgian coast. Though only 32, Weddigen
was an experienced submariner and had survived a peacetime accident to the U-3,
from which he and 27 others had escaped though a torpedo tube. The U-9 was very
primitive by later standards, her surface displacement 505 tons, her length 188
ft. Her heavy-oil engines, of 1040 hp, gave her a surface speed of 13.5 knots.
She was armed with four torpedo tubes, two forward, two aft, and carried
reloads for the forward tubes only. Her greatest weakness was her heavy-oil
engine, which produced a very visible exhaust plume.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gprzP110mVhqd47TgUvqe-4ij13bxzBFmz2yxHMmJyqzMjQiPvMBsWSDaQ16wHLHtYQEneAqUccnupFBdjE3yPzMvoiJATTr3EMdzfOQm9zz0hLL6LT-sWDN_w4Pb9lvr6FfYZIKJcs/s1600/U-9.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gprzP110mVhqd47TgUvqe-4ij13bxzBFmz2yxHMmJyqzMjQiPvMBsWSDaQ16wHLHtYQEneAqUccnupFBdjE3yPzMvoiJATTr3EMdzfOQm9zz0hLL6LT-sWDN_w4Pb9lvr6FfYZIKJcs/s1600/U-9.gif" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsyrViY0bLfTDf8atlK5HhZ2X-fJoLKt5RQ_ALcTSPxNr5eApgHZRKqe30vadubtOBj9DS7l7wzsTl6G4rnBLWsmcZOdThE_E4Kwr6STYill8OQLqiIkMOYuF-7xEVQc0fsPn59S4tDz8/s1600/U-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsyrViY0bLfTDf8atlK5HhZ2X-fJoLKt5RQ_ALcTSPxNr5eApgHZRKqe30vadubtOBj9DS7l7wzsTl6G4rnBLWsmcZOdThE_E4Kwr6STYill8OQLqiIkMOYuF-7xEVQc0fsPn59S4tDz8/s1600/U-9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>U-9</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The same weather that plagued Cruiser Force C battered the
U-9 unmercifully – her limited underwater endurance meant that she had to
remain on the surface – and her gyrocompass became inoperable. Weddingen
attempted to navigate by soundings – a doubtful technique even in the best of
circumstances. On September 21<sup>st</sup> he identified his position as some
20 miles off the Dutch coast at Scheveningen, the port of The Hague. He took
his vessel down to 50 ft for the night, stopping his batteries, and resting his
crew.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrcAnyHO_Gi4MqNRNp1EACeG3WwN2CrI7t926kuLmjpBkxNsLbPdBn7BNjo7wLxotmkt8gv-r93RxyLX-U5tT1A5xHaEOi7c4sTJ20WDLCoVCl1__Rnib6_ZbcEkK7opTRJy_MuFlz7A/s1600/U9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrcAnyHO_Gi4MqNRNp1EACeG3WwN2CrI7t926kuLmjpBkxNsLbPdBn7BNjo7wLxotmkt8gv-r93RxyLX-U5tT1A5xHaEOi7c4sTJ20WDLCoVCl1__Rnib6_ZbcEkK7opTRJy_MuFlz7A/s1600/U9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A dramatic contemporary German drawing of the U-9 on patrol. Note the heavy exhaust</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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At dawn on September 22<sup>nd</sup> U-9 surfaced to find
the storm over, the sea calm but for a slow swell. Smoke was seen on the
horizon and the U-9’s engines were immediately shut down to get rid of their
exhaust plume. A quick appraisal led Weddingen to order diving but he continues
to observe through his periscope. Three vessels were approaching – the <i>Aboukir, Cressy</i> and <i>Hogue</i> – and Weddingen steered on his electric motors towards the central
vessel, <i>Aboukir</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Undetected, U-9 came within 600 yards of <i>Aboukir’s</i> port bow before firing a torpedo.
As this was still running Weddingen took his craft down to 50 feet, then heard
“a dull thud, followed by a shrill-toned crash”. Cheering erupted on U-9.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNIkfm6pyfc8i3ufri6sbdov1zF1zVJSubUa9VvekJS3jXZ08fbycMTsKjeqmxgg7lmpOB09YbHLXjrw3dyP1wbx3-6jrYqq4enhgvTTXQwARgS923RVrYsYShgx8ZFoL2hfiDSDEtUg/s1600/aboukir+sinking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNIkfm6pyfc8i3ufri6sbdov1zF1zVJSubUa9VvekJS3jXZ08fbycMTsKjeqmxgg7lmpOB09YbHLXjrw3dyP1wbx3-6jrYqq4enhgvTTXQwARgS923RVrYsYShgx8ZFoL2hfiDSDEtUg/s1600/aboukir+sinking.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Aboukir </i>sinking - as depicted by the famous British maritime painter Norman Wilkinson<br />the <i>Hogue </i>dropping boats to pick up survivors</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpawq5TM1IfkLndNL8cyExjNjjKMkoJm2wDHT9Zhyx-r3v-LuWN0cqHxoPLs_Rqpc_XF2McLVAso8tj5CuOOaO48ouvh-4ncD3OQgAUOcVAv8I_LaZsUhNPBBVqGHXakgyYsODSl9TMtg/s1600/U9aanval.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpawq5TM1IfkLndNL8cyExjNjjKMkoJm2wDHT9Zhyx-r3v-LuWN0cqHxoPLs_Rqpc_XF2McLVAso8tj5CuOOaO48ouvh-4ncD3OQgAUOcVAv8I_LaZsUhNPBBVqGHXakgyYsODSl9TMtg/s1600/U9aanval.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A contemporary illustration of the <i>Aboukir's </i>end<br />The magazines of the time left little to the imagination</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The single torpedo was to prove enough to destroy <i>Aboukir</i>. Hit amidships on the port side,
the engine and boiler rooms were flooded and the ship listed to port. Assuming
that he had hit a mine – even after the loss of the <i>Pathfinder</i> the submarine threat was still underestimated – Captain
Drummond ordered <i>Cressy</i> and <i>Hogue</i> to come closer so that <i>Aboukir’s</i> wounded could be
transferred. Even had a mine indeed been
responsible the order would have been an unwise one, but with the U-9’s
presence still unsuspected it was to prove fatal. Attempts to counter <i>Aboukir’s</i> list by counter flooding
proved unsuccessful and when it was obvious that she was going to roll over
“abandon ship” was ordered. Only one boat got away, the others either wrecked
by the explosion or impossible to launch. Twenty-five minutes after the torpedo
strike <i>Aboukir</i> capsized, remained on
the surface, bottom-up, for a few minutes with a few wretches clinging to her, then
disappeared.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyz66TncvtijS5Jvc2dgmQ6Lc7BLLSH2sPWZwhpzf_a78h6LCWgylB6NWRGmQSudBfhNNdnkfMUvs3vQUu8TNqcJSQhmeGdTKFdUrMvWl1CG5vKvQEknJT1hgQqqGJA-bBCrLxG_kpOBU/s1600/livebait_aboukir_sinking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyz66TncvtijS5Jvc2dgmQ6Lc7BLLSH2sPWZwhpzf_a78h6LCWgylB6NWRGmQSudBfhNNdnkfMUvs3vQUu8TNqcJSQhmeGdTKFdUrMvWl1CG5vKvQEknJT1hgQqqGJA-bBCrLxG_kpOBU/s1600/livebait_aboukir_sinking.jpg" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Aboukir's </i>end - a contemporary illustration</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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U-9, her presence still unsuspected, observed the disaster through the
periscope. <i>Hogue</i> and <i>Cressy</i> were now creeping towards <i>Aboukir’s</i> survivors and lowering boats.
Weddingen ordered the empty torpedo tube reloaded and identified <i>Hogue</i> as his next victim. She was now
stationary and Weddingen fired both bow tubes at her. This action altered U-9’s
balance and her bow broke surface, drawing fire from <i>Hogue</i>. Weddingen managed to get his craft under again and as he did
heard two explosions.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The <i>Hogue’s</i> end
was almost identical to her sister’s and the “abandon ship” order meant leaping
into the water as her boats were already busy with saving <i>Aboukir’s</i> survivors. Now only the <i>Cressy</i> remained and she was transmitting distress signals by
wireless. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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U-9’s batteries were almost depleted but Weddingen was
determined to continue his attack. Through his periscope he could see the
surface strewn it wreckage, bodies, swimmers and overcrowded boats. <i>Cressy</i> was stationary and her boats had
been lowered. U-9’s periscope was spotted and<i> </i>the cruiser opened fire, the surged forward in an unsuccessful
attempt to ram. Then, unaccountably, she
stopped again. Weddingen still had three torpedoes left, two aft, one forward.
He manoeuvred to bring U-9’s stern tubes to bear and fired both at a range of a
thousand yards. One torpedo struck the <i>Cressy</i> but the second missed. Hit on the
starboard side, the cruiser heeled over, then began to right herself. Some ten minutes later Weddigen fired his
last torpedo from its bow tube. Now hit on the port side the already stricken <i>Cressy</i> rolled over and remained on the surface,
bottom up, for a further twenty minutes. Then she too sunk, her crew’s plight
all the worse since the boats she had sent off were already crowded with <i>Aboukir’s</i> and <i>Hogue’s</i> survivors.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2TLknhYW9NHeu4UwBWJx_Md91bkSe4DdO6LjxvhNzZKX21KEgE4mXaisMpaPHAmIIu8xyGPxxBpulQJe0Se6i7UD9bDuYnfTj72ynyHX_qP0DSPTJAvGRM__IWdjCsobwoXEpxT6I-M/s1600/800px-Reuterdahl_-_HMS_Cressy_Sinking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2TLknhYW9NHeu4UwBWJx_Md91bkSe4DdO6LjxvhNzZKX21KEgE4mXaisMpaPHAmIIu8xyGPxxBpulQJe0Se6i7UD9bDuYnfTj72ynyHX_qP0DSPTJAvGRM__IWdjCsobwoXEpxT6I-M/s1600/800px-Reuterdahl_-_HMS_Cressy_Sinking.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A drawing of the <i>Cressy's</i> end by the American artist Henry Reuterdahl (1870-1925)<br />The reality cannot have been much different to this, horrible as it was</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Two Dutch trawlers had approached initially but bore away in
fear of mines. (Note that the Netherlands was neutral throughout World War 1).
About a half hour after <i>Cressy</i> went
down a small Dutch steamer, the <i>Flora</i>,
approached and managed to pluck 286 men from the water. A second Dutch ship,
the <i>Titan</i>, rescued 147 more. Two
British trawlers arrived and joined in the rescue effort and eight British destroyers
arrived from Harwich two hours later. In all 837 men were saved from the three
cruisers but 1459 had been lost.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The U-9, having spotted British destroyers, but managing to
escape detection, signalled news of her success when she reached the Ems
Estuary. On September 24<sup>th</sup> U-9 entered the main German naval base at
Wilhelmshaven to the cheers of the entire fleet. The crew were immediately
national heroes and Weddingen was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class, as well
as other decorations. Every member of the crew received the Iron Cross, Second
Class. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKc817_rtzEu5WZvJ5k6wLnCwHF-arlyTAxC9g57cmuqsl75cNNNGSGHa8EXH0ot_KnOFWv501iedZ2xS_rig7-6sacv-oArEZ3-ueQynjgCNnH9DBe8YV07TTsroAAyngSbin9l81T38/s1600/U9_Heimkehr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKc817_rtzEu5WZvJ5k6wLnCwHF-arlyTAxC9g57cmuqsl75cNNNGSGHa8EXH0ot_KnOFWv501iedZ2xS_rig7-6sacv-oArEZ3-ueQynjgCNnH9DBe8YV07TTsroAAyngSbin9l81T38/s1600/U9_Heimkehr.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>U-9's triumphant return to Wilhelmshaven</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The lessons of the <i>Pathfinder</i>,
<i>Aboukir</i>, <i>Cressy</i> and <i>Hogue</i> sinkings
still did not appear to have been learned at the Admiralty. Six even-older old
cruisers, the 10<sup>th</sup> Cruiser Squadron, were left patrolling off
Aberdeen, on the North-East Scottish coast. Among these was HMS <i>Hawke</i>, a protected cruiser of 7700 tons which
dated from 1893 and was the survivor of a collision with the liner RMS Olympic
in 1911. Kapitaenleutnant Weddingen was by now back at sea and on the morning
of October 15<sup>th</sup> – three weeks after his previous exploit – he found <i>Hawke</i> and her sister <i>Endymion</i> stationary and transferring
mail. As <i>Hawke</i> got under way again – without
zigzagging – Weddingen sank her with a single torpedo. She capsized almost
immediately and 524 of her crew died.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfpYNaPpcnzEVYSdKojsd46Y9i3xypF80EaIYDldwLLGaMGKhnFZWgVR873GwAce6kGPxWsSZ_483TmS6NJ5D7mNXvuGN9TSq5Ub71_UsOAUBQy4XqqnPcF09CAvf7kt4BZLYa2uIS0Q/s1600/HMS_Hawke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfpYNaPpcnzEVYSdKojsd46Y9i3xypF80EaIYDldwLLGaMGKhnFZWgVR873GwAce6kGPxWsSZ_483TmS6NJ5D7mNXvuGN9TSq5Ub71_UsOAUBQy4XqqnPcF09CAvf7kt4BZLYa2uIS0Q/s1600/HMS_Hawke.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>HMS <i>Hawke</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Weddingen was appointed to command of the new submarine U-29
but his tenure was to be tragically short – U-29 was rammed by HMS <i>Dreadnought</i> in the Pentland Firth on 18
March 18<sup>th</sup> 1915.There were no survivors.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Though the three ships lost in the Broad Fourteens were of little
fighting value the impact on British public opinion was massive, not least
because of the heavy loss of life. The numerous “artists’ impressions” of the
sinkings which were published in illustrated magazines did nothing to
understate the horror involved. German reports that the sinkings were the work
of a single submarine and the <i>Times</i>
newspaper speculated that an entire flotilla had been responsible, from which
only the U-9 had returned safely. The subsequent court of inquiry attributed
blame to all of the senior officers involved - Captain Drummond for not
zigzagging and for not calling for destroyers and Rear Admiral Christian for
not making it clear to Drummond that he could summon the destroyers. The most
devastating criticism was of Rear Admiral Campbell, who had been Christian’s
superior, and for whom the latter had been acting – at the inquiry he made the remarkable
statement that he did not know what the purpose of his command was. The bulk of
the blame was directed at the Admiralty for persisting with a patrol that was
dangerous and of limited value against the advice of senior sea-going officers.</div>
<br />
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The impact on neutral opinion was equally powerful. The
supremacy of British naval power had been assumed ever since Trafalgar and was
now suspect. The First World War had
opened badly at sea for Britain, and yet more disasters were imminent. But that’s
another story.<br />
<br />
<h2>
<i>Britannia's Shark</i></h2>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Britannias-Shark-Dawlish-Chronicles-September-ebook/dp/B00Q9GQSQO/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1493755456&sr=8-1&keywords=Britannia%27s+Shark" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAMAqiipOkV5_tTxnaw36KROEmsq4PhyphenhyphenapDTiPX3F0W0AFq9D2e2C5D_Ci-GhuhEkClKbCG-Yfi4OM5eBbr6KJuMuR_LAhTJvPHdUfzT4fBXu3flEpn9FgyfoVlkiqED5hJXzHXRWKj4/s200/Shark+Low+Res+Cover_4977121_Kindle+Front+Cover.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This volume of the <i>Dawlish Chronicles</i> has as its the background of the early development of the submarine and the role played by John Phillip Holland, the Irish-American inventor who was to make it a practical weapon of war. The first Royal Navy submarine was indeed named the <i>Holland</i>. Herein lies one of the great ironies of history, for Holland's initial funding came not from the British or American governments but from an Irish revolutionary society. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">In <i>Britannia's Shark</i> a daring act of piracy draws the ambitious British naval officer, Nicholas Dawlish,
into these machination</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">s</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Drawn in too
is his wife Florence, for whom the glimpse of a half-forgotten face evokes
memories of earlier tragedy. For both a nightmare lies ahead, made worse by a
weakness Dawlish never suspected he had.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Amid the wealth and squalor of America’s Gilded Age, and on a
fever-ridden island ruled by savage tyranny, and manipulated ruthlessly from
London by the shadowy Admiral Topcliffe, Nicholas and Florence Dawlish must
make some very strange alliances if they are to survive – and prevail.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>Click on the cover image above to get more details.</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<br />
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<b style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: 22px;">Download a free copy of </span></b><i style="font-size: 22px;"><b>Britannia’s Eventide</b> </i></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://dawlishchronicles.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=72c15aed12e16a3bd51805c70&id=41a9fd8b3e"><img border="0" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxq2plI17TfaVjnms0FYx4Lr0LyLnKarkia7IPMURA9Rf27J8LcZD3l5_m3ePEoNd7NQLSJIPzuCFBNjPWVDMtg2ppzwEV8bpI8zhawFNEQePgY9D0kPyScL9EX3rrQeZSoIkUjcbCQ4/s400/Message+Banner+Final.jpg" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.098) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Subscribers to the <i>Dawlish Chronicles </i>mailing list receive a free, downloadable, copy of a new short story, </span><i style="font-size: 13.2px;">Britannia's Eventide. </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"> </span><a href="http://eepurl.com/bt5aRn" style="color: #8a7ca1; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;"><b><span style="color: red;">If you have not already subscribed to the mailing list, you can do so by clicking here or on the banner above.</span></b></a></div>
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<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
</h3>
</div>
Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-40282797301231830612017-04-28T13:07:00.001-07:002017-04-28T13:07:46.638-07:00GUEST BLOG: NAPOLEON’S ST. HELENA SUBMARINE<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMg1dqtO0-YMQaYfNmPpj-mjD6dUdbfDIgoLG5Pgj6toLvMC5G5fgNnKnf1mKSMm8clNHDriGZxyMd6w7yDDjtVv4swR9OaUphhcDDYyBHFKqF6BjUQy_tfadtN6t5LOHgXmJWM58PGNI/s1600/Lally+Brown+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMg1dqtO0-YMQaYfNmPpj-mjD6dUdbfDIgoLG5Pgj6toLvMC5G5fgNnKnf1mKSMm8clNHDriGZxyMd6w7yDDjtVv4swR9OaUphhcDDYyBHFKqF6BjUQy_tfadtN6t5LOHgXmJWM58PGNI/s200/Lally+Brown+1.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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The modern travel industry has brought tourists to just
about every part of the world, however seemingly inaccessible. I suspect
however that, though the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic is widely
known as the place of detention of the ex-Emperor Napoleon, very few tourists
ever get there. I’m all the more glad therefore to welcome back my guest
blogger, Lally Brown, has not only lived on the island, but has also put it to
very good account in writing a very authoritative book about Napoleon’s exile
there. You can find out more about Lally and her books at the end of her
article, but first let’s hear here tell about one of the great “What Ifs...” of
history. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">“Napoleon’s submarine and the escape that wasn’t” </span></b> </div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">by Lally
Brown</span></i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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First of all a big "thank you" to Antoine for inviting me back
to write another article for the Dawlish Chronicles blog, it’s both an honour
and a real pleasure.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Like many other readers I
was intrigued by Antoine’s excellent and informative post of 24<sup>th</sup>
March 2016 concerning the <i>Farfadet</i>
Submarine Disaster of 1905, and I was reminded of an extraordinary plot to
rescue ex-Emperor Napoleon from his exile on remote St. Helena by submarine.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Over the five and a half
years of Napoleon’s imprisonment on the island of St. Helena several escape
plans were hatched. Apparently Napoleon studied all of them but declined to
risk any. Some were quite bizarre and some sound positively dangerous. Would
Napoleon really have allowed himself to be dressed as a woman and smuggled on
board a ship in Jamestown harbour? Or been lowered down a steep cliff in a
basket in the dead of night? I think not! However the submarine plot, if true,
must be the most hazardous of all the proposals.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFXzhjrdkQYdvGDwD1MfSW51QcOypPVdrJ0KidmZo7Tl-EZjvdZnppEPGnwsWtUiowmyPw74DkCrJmu7udxy5BsOcMhwkKHVDBwmqASF7-6Mjz_MBtPc32FHme_rP7IMDu0HCE4ua6bY/s1600/Fulton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFXzhjrdkQYdvGDwD1MfSW51QcOypPVdrJ0KidmZo7Tl-EZjvdZnppEPGnwsWtUiowmyPw74DkCrJmu7udxy5BsOcMhwkKHVDBwmqASF7-6Mjz_MBtPc32FHme_rP7IMDu0HCE4ua6bY/s200/Fulton.jpg" width="139" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Robert Fulton</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The submarine story is
fascinating. It starts late in 1797 when an American inventor living in Paris,
Robert Fulton (1765-1815) took an original submarine drawing designed by <span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">a
gentleman called Bushnell to the French government. By towing an underwater
bomb, called a torpedo, Fulton was convinced his submarine (called <i>Nautilus</i>) could successfully <i>‘annihilate England’s Navy’</i>. The idea
was initially well received, but before construction could start, for some
reason the project was cancelled. Possibly because Napoleon was busy elsewhere
in Switzerland, Italy and Egypt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Fulton did not give up. In
1801 he managed to meet Napoleon who agreed to give him 10,000 francs to test
his invention. <span style="color: #1f1f1f;">Fulton moved to Brest where he
conducted several successful experiments.</span><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He wrote: “<i>I conceived every experiment of importance to be proved in the most
satisfactory manner’</i></span><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He submitted
his report</span><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">but in 1802
the Treaty of Amiens was signed and hostilities between France and Great
Britain were halted and Napoleon lost interest in the submarine. Disappointed
Fulton moved to England and approached the authorities there. At first all
seemed to be going well and Fulton began his experiments, but when the promised
funds were not forthcoming Fulton left England for New York in 1806 in disgust.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsTl3fXV146jMmUPDJ3M3l-Xi_fF5ikjFhcTjs00Wr1oHje7Lx5eHoVTXtqYjGyqy1_bClzGjNbcV5qajXzu8YfymIzWy9_bXm3fCStUMt-6Q2-fKUg8xz1kFUtd-Ei1mrR0wo3rdRfs/s1600/Fulton+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsTl3fXV146jMmUPDJ3M3l-Xi_fF5ikjFhcTjs00Wr1oHje7Lx5eHoVTXtqYjGyqy1_bClzGjNbcV5qajXzu8YfymIzWy9_bXm3fCStUMt-6Q2-fKUg8xz1kFUtd-Ei1mrR0wo3rdRfs/s400/Fulton+1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3 align="left" style="text-align: left;">
Fulton’s Submarine drawings in the World
Digital Library (wdl.org)<o:p></o:p></h3>
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<b>Listed as having <i>‘no
known restrictions on publication’</i><o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatFy-3poFdYXL7MmSBwmCCUfEjseSvXnCpFZapbN9sudJqdaBfS2Cjo2MFZqgk9qP2wiA61iJzs2CAdHN5ksJPd9KP7z4ViW9yBLWlKBxdCT_zOO1vngOl6IpbCePvCTxCy7y7fw_WKs/s1600/Fulton+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatFy-3poFdYXL7MmSBwmCCUfEjseSvXnCpFZapbN9sudJqdaBfS2Cjo2MFZqgk9qP2wiA61iJzs2CAdHN5ksJPd9KP7z4ViW9yBLWlKBxdCT_zOO1vngOl6IpbCePvCTxCy7y7fw_WKs/s400/Fulton+2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span style="color: #1f1f1f;">It was while
he was in England that Fulton apparently met the notorious Captain Thomas
Johnstone (1772-1839). A very shady character who was to become central to the
St. Helena submarine escape plot. Sir Walter Scott in his </span><i>‘Life of Napoleon’ </i><span style="color: #1f1f1f;">described Johnstone as: <i>‘A
smuggler of an uncommonly resolute character, and whose life had been a tissue
of desperate risks.’</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">After Fulton’s
departure for America, Johnstone stepped in and quickly took over the submarine
plans and in 1812 </span><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">at the outset of war with the U.S.
the British Government commissioned Johnstone to build a torpedo system and a
submarine and </span>by 1814 Johnstone’s submarine was almost
complete: <i>‘The </i><i><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">hull was formed of sheet iron; her
figure, that of a salmon swimming; her length, about twenty feet; and her space
in the inner chamber, about six feet square. This was formed in an inside boat,
formed of cork and wood.’<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i> </i><span style="color: #1f1f1f;">Unfortunately for the
hapless Johnstone war with the U.S. ended in February 1815 and the submarine no
longer held any interest for the British, funds were withdrawn and the project
shelved. </span>However, when Napoleon was banished into exile to the remote island
of St. Helena after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, it seems that Johnstone
became convinced his submarine design could be used <i>‘in the </i><i><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">meritorious
and humane service of rescuing the immortal emperor Napoleon’ </span></i><span style="color: #1f1f1f;">from
his South Atlantic rock.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f1f1f;">Johnstone searched out
people he felt might be willing to fund his ‘adventure’ to rescue Napoleon. In
1818 he managed to ingratiate himself with Barry O’Meara, the doctor who had
attended Napoleon on St. Helena before being removed by Governor Sir Hudson
Lowe. Barry O’Meara was a keen supporter of the ex-Emperor, lobbying in London
on Napoleon’s behalf. Johnstone’s approaches proved successful and in 1819 he
received £15,000 to start building a submarine. Where all the money came from is
unclear but Count Montholon (Napoleon’s General and friend on St. Helena) says
in his memoirs that <i>‘five or six thousand
louis d’or was given to the funding of a submarine’</i>. Johnstone immediately
set up operations at Blackwall Reach on the Thames, telling the workers the
submarine would be used for smuggling. It is possible the submarine was
actually completed by late 1820, Sir Walter Scott </span>says
<span style="color: #1f1f1f;">Johnstone’s vessel: <i>‘was actually
begun in one of the building-yards upon the Thames; but the peculiarity of her
construction having occasioned suspicion, she was seized by the British
government.’</i></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Personally I think it highly
unlikely that Napoleon would have considered escaping from St. Helena inside a
submarine, but let Johnstone himself have the last word. Below is an account
Johnstone apparently gave to Frederick William Naylor Bayley, who included it
in his own memoirs published in 1835. Whether it is fact or fantasy still remains
a mystery.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">‘I constructed two submarine ships,
which I intended should be engaged in the meritorious and humane service of
rescuing the immortal emperor Napoleon – the greatest man of his age – from the
fangs of his jailor, Sir Hudson Lowe.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Eagle was of the burthen of a hundred
and fourteen tons, eighty-four feet in length, and eighteen feet beam;
propelled by two steam engines of forty horse power. The Etna – the smaller ship – was forty
feet long, and ten feet beam; burthen, twenty-three tons. These two vessels
would be propelled – the large one with two engines of twenty horse power
each , the small one with one engine of ten horse power, high pressure, well
arranged, equipped with warlike stores, and thirty well-chosen seamen, with
four engineers. They were also to take twenty torpedoes, a number equal to the
destruction of twenty ships, ready for action in case of my meeting with any
opposition from the ships of war on the station. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht9AbUezB4S859Fo92fyK_D6HzoJF25slgocCTvVqnbHQRiaw0ZhU0UjO8uoQaXqJIayGyDTaJGcaKwwS8TmzMmdJ19FIpeZfLjJivttRfVVohmxw2OZeTlP7GfM9Oi_pojQNeJzJbNaU/s1600/Fulton+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht9AbUezB4S859Fo92fyK_D6HzoJF25slgocCTvVqnbHQRiaw0ZhU0UjO8uoQaXqJIayGyDTaJGcaKwwS8TmzMmdJ19FIpeZfLjJivttRfVVohmxw2OZeTlP7GfM9Oi_pojQNeJzJbNaU/s400/Fulton+3.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">These
two ships were to be stationed at a convenient distance from the rock (at St.
Helena), abreast of Longwood House, the highest point of the island, being two
thousand feet above the level of the sea, and because deemed inaccessible, of
course unsuspected. All the accessible points were well fortified and guarded.
In this position the two vessels were to lay at anchor at a cable’s length from
each other, the smaller one close to the rock, well-fortified with cork
fenders, in order to guard against any injury which might be apprehended from
the friction or beating against the rock, which could at all times be prevented
by hauling off or on, as occasion required. This smaller ship would be provided
with a mechanical chair, capable of containing one person on the seat, and a
standing foot-board at the back, so that the person at the back could regulate
the ascent or descent at pleasure. Attached to this chair would be a patent
whale-line, two thousand and fifty feet long, with all the necessary apparatus
ready when called for.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3Jem9t4cDaeK2HJmJUOhSfgB72VRZAK2PnXBzDiEj_atC6HIN_0OxRigHVWkehyphenhyphen_50W_roM-wT6AyaQrhwq_Ud9aDQoRHGLHlrtuSuSkb1CyQ0z2WQwcNU80efFINqLZCMp5kAMvwjk/s1600/Fulton+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3Jem9t4cDaeK2HJmJUOhSfgB72VRZAK2PnXBzDiEj_atC6HIN_0OxRigHVWkehyphenhyphen_50W_roM-wT6AyaQrhwq_Ud9aDQoRHGLHlrtuSuSkb1CyQ0z2WQwcNU80efFINqLZCMp5kAMvwjk/s400/Fulton+4.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Thus
far arranged, the vessels were to remain submerged during the day, and at night
approach the surface. Everything being then perfectly in order, I should then
go on shore, provided with some other small articles, such as a ball of strong
twine, an iron bolt, with a block, which I would sink into the ground at the
top of the rock, opposite Longwood House, and abreast of the submarine ships. I
should then obtain my introduction to his Imperial Majesty, and communicate my
plan.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The
residence of the emperor being surrounded by a chevaux-de-frise, and the stables being outside, the servants
only had access to the house. I proposed that the coachman should go into the
house at a certain hour which should be fixed, and that His Majesty should be
provided with a similar livery, as well as myself, the one in the character of
coachman, the other as groom; and that thus disguised we should pass into the
coach house, and there remain unnoticed and unperceived.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQOGZ-M9qzyyzVHYPAtxX9XozQARAJ4SGj_bCqRY5s_wNw0R0zJqJyQUFegP-draUfZCDOayyFa5IAu3Noy_mtyzdVanB78hIF_cbKKLTqWRA9QqhtFI3nzM8N86BLhQg8Qshsg8wltc/s1600/Longwood+House+b+Lally+Brown.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQOGZ-M9qzyyzVHYPAtxX9XozQARAJ4SGj_bCqRY5s_wNw0R0zJqJyQUFegP-draUfZCDOayyFa5IAu3Noy_mtyzdVanB78hIF_cbKKLTqWRA9QqhtFI3nzM8N86BLhQg8Qshsg8wltc/s400/Longwood+House+b+Lally+Brown.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Longwood House (by Lally Brown) - Napoleon's St. Helena residence</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<i style="text-indent: 21.3pt;"><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">We
should then watch our opportunity to avoid the eye of the frigate guard, who
seldom looked out in the direction of the highest point in the Island, and on
our arriving at the spot where our blocks, &c. were deposited, I should
make fast one end of my ball of twine to the ring, and heave the ball down to
my confidential men, then on the lookout below, who would make the other end
fast to the fall belonging to the mechanical chair, by which means I should be
able to haul up the end of the fall, which I should run through the block, and
then haul up the mechanical chair to the top. I should then place His Majesty
in the chair, while I took my station at the back, and lowered away with a
corresponding weight on the other side, until we arrived safe at the bottom.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Embarked
on board the Etna, into which
we should have lowered, as it lay close under the rock, I should then cast off
our moorings, and haul alongside the Eagle,
and remain there during the day; in the evening, prepare our steam, and get
underweigh as soon as it became dark. In this position I should propel by steam
until I had given the island a good berth, and then ship our masts and make
sail, steering for the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1f1f1f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I
calculated that no hostile ship or ships could impede our progress, so as to
offer any very serious obstruction, as in the event of an attack I should haul
our sails, and strike yards and masts (which would only occupy about forty
minutes), and then submerge. Under water we should wait the approach of the
enemy, and then, by the aid of the little Etna, attaching the torpedo to her bottom, effect her
destruction in fifteen minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7p7A-C0WZEp7KIHaQuTNrwLcOnbtecqLuA7drMyqGlDKFAiWlnyHb6lGC-UBNM8wyKO7PJt2r8FQt4Pg_9o-0P0CKi_smyq1Zz7SQUPr7RpvsUMsfHzZt1Kj4UXn3w-yzR3PNBFjEL5I/s1600/Death+of+Napoleon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7p7A-C0WZEp7KIHaQuTNrwLcOnbtecqLuA7drMyqGlDKFAiWlnyHb6lGC-UBNM8wyKO7PJt2r8FQt4Pg_9o-0P0CKi_smyq1Zz7SQUPr7RpvsUMsfHzZt1Kj4UXn3w-yzR3PNBFjEL5I/s400/Death+of+Napoleon.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.75pt;">
<b>Death of Napoleon - by Paul Léon
Jazet (after Steuben) </b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Napoleon died on St. Helena on 5<sup>th</sup> May 1821 but
if he had succeeded in escaping from the island, by submarine or any other
means, our history today might be very different. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Those of you interested in learning more about Napoleon’s
years on St. Helena might enjoy my book <i>The
Countess, Napoleon and St. Helena </i>and anyone interested in the <i>‘what if Napoleon had escaped’</i>
alternative history scenario will surely appreciate Shannon Selin’s book <i>Napoleon in America</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h2>
<o:p> </o:p>About Lally Brown</h2>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kVcpqU-bfLrt0v7hNI9LiPVfMTNgYU0ZO9nROAP4Ia3DVbHAwmlyqwvdcvmLOji1W6Jto6Jhdz57WMchbqDk7Z1rWRHTvggXQUQNLEUPq3n64amF5LEgC6Kelw76zwlMIplNV9qeTzQ/s1600/Lally+Brown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kVcpqU-bfLrt0v7hNI9LiPVfMTNgYU0ZO9nROAP4Ia3DVbHAwmlyqwvdcvmLOji1W6Jto6Jhdz57WMchbqDk7Z1rWRHTvggXQUQNLEUPq3n64amF5LEgC6Kelw76zwlMIplNV9qeTzQ/s200/Lally+Brown.jpg" width="163" /></a></div>
Born and bred in Yorkshire, England, Lally embraced the
Swinging Sixties with naïve enthusiasm. As a teenager in search of adventure
she trekked overland to war-torn Israel, working on a small kibbutz driving a
tractor and picking oranges to earn her keep. She managed to hitch-hike around
the country staying in Haifa, Jerusalem and Acre. This amazing, and
occasionally dangerous experience, was the spark that ignited her lifelong love
of adventure and travel.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lally has lost count of the number of homes she has had over
the years but says her most memorable are those on remote St. Helena Island
where ex-Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was imprisoned and where he died;
Montserrat in the Caribbean when the volcano erupted, Turks and Caicos Islands
and the British Virgin Islands.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As she looks back, Lally is writing about her adventurous
life using the journals she kept at the time. Her books prove that truth can
indeed be far stranger than fiction, with erupting volcanoes, hurricanes,
earthquakes, evacuations, abduction, drug smugglers, people smugglers, armed
robbery, hangings, stowaways, bribery, corruption, political intrigues, riots,
and much, much, more.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_1?ie=UTF8&text=Lally+Brown&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Lally+Brown&sort=relevancerank"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOWjKDVyX0D82s7KxdySVoKPlc61cF8rJ-XOCd5Nn5ybB81IWYTgepT97gcgppde3PBPITBdM18kght0xNKAXu7y0U_GXfCYK_0MXeHNzOVtyhxY0GMBYGpuTijEXDWU6mGMquuqab_1E/s400/Lally+Brown+Books.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><o:p> </o:p>To get more information on Lally Brown’s books click on the
image above</b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p> </div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Napoleon-America-Shannon-Selin/dp/0992127505/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLMU_ecEZcEHOrpFhDF5ybX2BbuHAwHdGx3aTe2mjfmNA0MzGnR8ntbucw6ZVkZ3oUFEYxGXLv3QqxwDUJOqtI-GUjAOYtoIqbpZSDxyH34Po14RfxjCQZcFlpzMjNinV0Q8fP6mPW-I/s200/Napoleon+in+America.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<b>And to learn more about Shannon Selin’s alternative history of Napoleon's career in
America click on image on right:</b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>The year is 1821. Former French Emperor Napoleon has been imprisoned on a dark wart in the Atlantic since his defeat at Waterloo in 1815. Rescued in a state of near-death by Gulf pirate Jean Laffite, Napoleon lands in New Orleans, where he struggles to regain his health aided by voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. Opponents of the Bourbon regime expect him to reconquer France. French Canadians beg him to seize Canada from Britain. American adventurers urge him to steal Texas from Mexico. His brother Joseph pleads with him to settle peacefully in New Jersey...</i></span></div>
Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-54319048185317523412017-04-25T13:47:00.003-07:002017-04-25T13:47:45.882-07:00THE EPIC OF THE SCHOONER BETSEY, 1805<div class="MsoNormal">
I recently came across a book – undated, but clearly late 19<sup>th</sup>
Century – entitled <i>“Thrilling Narratives
of Mutiny, Murder and Piracy”.</i> It was published in New York, though the
author is not named. It is however a treasure house of accounts of obscure
maritime events. One of the most remarkable describes the loss of the schooner <i>Betsey</i> in 1805. I’ve found no other
references to the case, other than a very brief mention in Wikipedia. The privations
of the Betsey’s crew would make a good movie, rather like <i>The Heart of the Sea</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnS8uAO2OXhmBAszYzCDVkb-xaR0S8KE9wp7Ko4gDko94TUchbqOe3swIAIvtuul2xocp7BH07YSluTIwEuSWW6jGLxvUfCN3HYyCxCU3i-JU1g_SohEnWteVmrSxggFS6nTNOXz30CMM/s1600/William_John_Huggins_-_The_topsail_schooner_%25E2%2580%259AAmy_Stockdale%25E2%2580%2598_off_Dover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnS8uAO2OXhmBAszYzCDVkb-xaR0S8KE9wp7Ko4gDko94TUchbqOe3swIAIvtuul2xocp7BH07YSluTIwEuSWW6jGLxvUfCN3HYyCxCU3i-JU1g_SohEnWteVmrSxggFS6nTNOXz30CMM/s400/William_John_Huggins_-_The_topsail_schooner_%25E2%2580%259AAmy_Stockdale%25E2%2580%2598_off_Dover.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The classic perception of a schooner - trim, elegant and practical<br />The <i>Betsey </i>may have looked more mundane than in this painting:</b><div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The topsail schooner <i>Amy
Stockdale</i> off Dover – by William John Huggins (1781-1845)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The <i>Betsey</i>, was a
small British schooner of about 75 tons and in November 1805 she departed from
the Portuguese colony of Macao, on the Chinese coast, bound for the settlement
of New South Wales. Other than her captain, William Brooks, and the mate, Edward
Luttrell, none of the other eight crew members were British – one was Portuguese,
three Filipino and four Chinese. By November 21<sup>st</sup> the <i>Betsey</i> had reached a point in the South
China Sea about 270 miles West of Palawan, and about the same from the Northern
tip of Borneo. Here, in the early hours of the morning, she ran on to a reef.
An attempt was made to drag her off by sending a boat astern to drop an anchor.
When hauling, the cable parted, resulting in both cable and anchor being lost,
but no lives. With destruction of the ship now a distinct possibility the crew
worked on through the hours of darkness on construction of raft from water casks
– the boat appears to have been too small to accommodate the entire crew. According to the book’s account <i>“the swell proved so great that they found
it impossible to accomplish their purpose.”</i> All the time the weather was
driving the damaged vessel onward across the reef – as far, as was estimated,
as some five miles. At last lodged at a point where the water was only two feet
deep, further attempts over the next three days and nights to free her proved
futile.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibdC1Nd9KYP-l_cdhIO1MzmVsI-X7ko965i73zn5VLH8_MYyM7tR2Gdm1fVRJE3GKDAIubX-0VSfS1Bbe4mI5OeEhULVayyRiMocpcOEqY5z0fyQ5LCSrAj9ybTB6zRyroAoRt0S5OHVU/s1600/Betsy+Loss+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibdC1Nd9KYP-l_cdhIO1MzmVsI-X7ko965i73zn5VLH8_MYyM7tR2Gdm1fVRJE3GKDAIubX-0VSfS1Bbe4mI5OeEhULVayyRiMocpcOEqY5z0fyQ5LCSrAj9ybTB6zRyroAoRt0S5OHVU/s400/Betsy+Loss+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The horror of shipwreck</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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There was no option now but to take to the boat and to the
raft that had at last been completed. The intention was to head for the island
of Balambangan, off the northern tip of Borneo. Captain Brooks, Luttrell the
mate and three others were in the boat – with a bag of biscuits between them – while
the remainder of the crew were on the raft. Soon after leaving the <i>Betsey</i> a gale arose from the north-west
and the boat lost sight of the raft, which was never seen again. The gale
continued for another three days “accompanied by a mountainous sea.” By this
time the boat had run out of fresh water and the remaining biscuit was saturated
with seawater. This forced Brooks and his group to resort to the measure which
was often essential in such cases to drink their own urine. The storm had one
advantage – it had blown the boat south eastwards so that on November 29<sup>th</sup>
the cost of Borneo was sighted but it was not until dawn the following day that
they managed to land.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The first objective was fresh water – luckily soon found –
and while hunting for food they encountered two “Malays”. (One assumes that these
were people of one of the indigenous tribes – nineteenth century accounts are seldom
specific on such points). These two returned in the afternoon with two coconuts
and a few sweet potatoes, which they exchanged for a silver spoon. Brooks and
his group remained with their boat on the beach through the night but the next
morning five more Malays appeared with more food to exchange for spoons. (One
is impressed by Captain Brooks’ foresight in bringing the schooner’s cutlery with
him).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The next group of Malays to appear – eleven in total – were
less friendly and mounted an attack. Captain Brooks received a spear thrust in
his stomach – the weapon lodged there – but the mate Luttrell manage to hold
off his own assailant with his cutlass and ran to the boat. Captain Brooks managed
to drag out the spear and also tried to run but he was overwhelmed and both his
legs were cut off by the attackers. Another crew member – identified as “the
gunner” was also badly wounded but managed to reach the boat. The survivors
pushed her out and saw Brooks’ body being stripped. A sail was raised but
shortly afterwards the gunner also died.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8R5pRAUBAKXyaF6s1aWca3XP_KzA7Yer-CF96A5ZhYm4dyPxD9n1LZtoHQZPVyNOZOc5L6FH_yk5CwqYXzlOSbTNZhZaBGw2vaJ4A191kP1nnFScGvMITOEe0mydm938Ix1PdKCO5PQA/s1600/A_Piratical_Proa_in_Full_Chase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8R5pRAUBAKXyaF6s1aWca3XP_KzA7Yer-CF96A5ZhYm4dyPxD9n1LZtoHQZPVyNOZOc5L6FH_yk5CwqYXzlOSbTNZhZaBGw2vaJ4A191kP1nnFScGvMITOEe0mydm938Ix1PdKCO5PQA/s400/A_Piratical_Proa_in_Full_Chase.jpg" width="361" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>"A Piratical Proa in Full Chase": </i>19th C illustration by Charles Ellms.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Luttrell may have been attacked by something similar.</b></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Course was now set for the Straits of Malacca where friendly
shipping might be encountered – this was still some thousand miles away and the
provisions consisted of ten corncobs, three pumpkins, and two bottles of water.
Progress for the next ten days was good and showers provided fresh water. The survivors
were however badly weakened by exposure and hunger. By December 15<sup>th</sup>
they had reached islands off the coast of Sumatra and were immediately attacked
by two proas – fast Malays outrigger sailing craft. (The general area was to
remain a hotbed of piracy for decades to come.) One of the <i>Betsey’s</i> seamen was run through with a spear and died instantly,
while another was wounded. Luttrell, the mate, had a very narrow escape from a
spear piercing his hat. Now prisoners,
Luttrell and one other survivor were taken in three days to <i>“an island called Sube” (</i>which I have
been unable to identity – names having changed so much over the years). They
were handed over to the local rajah, who kept them prisoners, fed only on sago,
for the next four and a half months. In late April 180s the Rajah decided to release
them and had a proa take them to the Riau Islands (just south of modern Singapore,
which would not be founded for another thirteen years). Here they were handed
over to a <i>“Mr. Koek of Malacca”,</i> who
could have been a Dutch trader – no further details are given in the book. The
rajah’s motivation for releasing the two men is not clear – he did perhaps fear
retaliation by Royal Navy vessels if the continued detention got heard of. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Mr. Koek treated Luttrell and the other survivor <i>“in the kindest manner”</i> and they were then
carried on to the trading centre of Malacca by a British ship, the <i>Kandree</i>. Thereafter they disappear from
history. </div>
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If any reader can fill in some of the blanks in this
remarkable story – a small epic – I would be glad to hear from them. Brooks,
Luttrel and their companions were indeed iron men and worth remembering.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h2 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<b><i>Britannia's Reach </i></b></h2>
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Ironclads and gunboats clash on a South American river system while government forces, funded by strong commercial interests, wage a savage war with rebels onshore. <a href="https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/embed?asin=B00I9I8DWC&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_uwYVyb8A7QMRW" style="color: #8a7ca1; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;">Click here </a><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">or on the image below to plunge yourself into a world of danger, betrayal and merciless conflict in which neither side has clean hands and one man battles to maintain his integrity. One click on the image gives you access to the opening chapters...</span></div>
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<b style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: 22px;">Download a free copy of </span></b><i style="font-size: 22px;"><b>Britannia’s Eventide</b> </i></div>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-37580148079896733232017-04-18T13:55:00.000-07:002017-04-18T13:55:25.663-07:00The horrific loss of the liner La Bourgogne, 1898<div class="MsoNormal">
The sinking of the <i>Titanic</i>
in 1912 remains locked in the public imagination as the supreme tragedy of
North Atlantic passenger travel, all the more so since elementary safety
precautions could have saved many more lives, even if they could not save the
ship. What is however quite horrifying is that this disaster was preceded by so
many others, with lesser but still substantial death tolls. The mantra so
common today in the aftermaths of disasters – <i>“Lessons must be learned”</i> – was equally common in those years, but the
lessons were not learned and preventive measure were not implemented. Provision
of an adequate number of lifeboats was one obvious requirement, but so too was
training and discipline of ships’ crews in the event of emergencies. The loss
of the French liner <i>La Bourgogne</i> in
1898 was one of the most disgraceful of such disasters, the final death-toll
being in no small measure due to the behaviour of a crew whose motto appears to
have been <i>“Women and Children Last”.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2PVLqXjUvFVPsSuR1uN0bnExEsJ9S9k1BRskVUhS8DuOE0ep7LH1GLO-1NAFBAC-V3RKCyjh62PtDcLmjbdWzYi-wfTqNH7nOO_JjYnbtMAtXgMAzbJmen1PJVVOZrEv2D6QcjZ9ffE/s1600/La_Bourgogne%252C_ca._1895.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2PVLqXjUvFVPsSuR1uN0bnExEsJ9S9k1BRskVUhS8DuOE0ep7LH1GLO-1NAFBAC-V3RKCyjh62PtDcLmjbdWzYi-wfTqNH7nOO_JjYnbtMAtXgMAzbJmen1PJVVOZrEv2D6QcjZ9ffE/s400/La_Bourgogne%252C_ca._1895.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>La Bourgogne</i>, as seen on a postcard circa 1895</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Launched in 1885, and entering service the following year on
the Le Havre- New York route, the 7395-ton, 490-ft <i>La Bourgogne</i> set a new standard of speed, crossing in just over
seven days. Her maximum passenger capacity was just over 1000, of whom some 390
were accommodated in first-class. Other
than her enviable reputation for speed – 17 knots was considered high at this
time – her career seems to have been uneventful until 1896 when she collided
with a British steamer, the <i>Ailsa</i>, in
New York Harbour. The 2000-ton <i>Ailsa</i>
was at anchor in fog at the time and she sank in situ. On this occasion, it was
the crew of the <i>Ailsa</i> that appears to
have behaved deplorably, as evidenced by a question asked by an MP in the
British Parliament in March 1896, in the aftermath of the accident. The following
quote is verbatim:</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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MR. HAVELOCK WILSON MP: <i>I
beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade, whether his attention has been
directed to the reports of a collision between the British steamship </i>Ailsa<i> and the French Transatlantic liner </i>Bourgogne<i> whether he is aware that the major portion
of the crew of the </i>Ailsa<i> were
foreigners, who immediately after the collision made a rush for the lifeboats,
one of them striking a lady passenger and another kicking a lady in the side,
and that they drew their knives and threatened the passengers; and afterwards
took away the only available lifeboat, in spite of the protests of the captain;
whether he will cause an immediate and full Inquiry to be held into the whole
of the circumstances attending this collision; whether he can state if the crew
of the </i>Ailsa<i> were competent seamen,
able to speak and understand the English language; and, whether they were
shipped in the United Kingdom or before Her Britannic Majesty's Consul at New
York?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even allowing for the general distrust of “foreigners” – i.e.
non-British citizens – was rampant at the time in Britain, the case seems egregious
and indicates just how poor the safety standards and procedures on ocean-going
shipping still were. It was the crew of <i>La
Bourgogne</i> herself however that was to feature in an equally disgraceful manner
two years later. The liner had been refitted in 1897-98, with a quadruple-expansion
engine – then the gold standard – being installed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHHr3Uay4OFW2GFufUxauq5j7yRVXPMorQGoiLI231m9GrQ9CvslArhYGUgTKMAgLXQOcwQDqUZ5LmXHOXZp3uPd9MzKPPuEmPQpGcrVmICXybNAJg4PtSoyKm1etX3OoHfJFa1hHnU8/s1600/Artist%2527s+Impression.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHHr3Uay4OFW2GFufUxauq5j7yRVXPMorQGoiLI231m9GrQ9CvslArhYGUgTKMAgLXQOcwQDqUZ5LmXHOXZp3uPd9MzKPPuEmPQpGcrVmICXybNAJg4PtSoyKm1etX3OoHfJFa1hHnU8/s400/Artist%2527s+Impression.jpg" width="272" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Contemporary artist's impressions left little to the imagination</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Shortly after re-entering service, on July 4<sup>th</sup> 1898,
<i>La Bourgogne</i> ran into thick fog some
hundred miles south of Nova Scotia at five in the morning. Also enveloped in the
fog was the 1550-ton, 245-ft iron-hulled sailing vessel <i>Cromartyshire. </i>She was sounding her fog horn when a ship’s whistle
announced the presence of another vessel close by –<i> La Bourgogne. </i>The<i> Cromartyshire’s
</i>captain was unable to determine the location of the other ship until<i> La Bourgogne’s </i>starboard side loomed
before him. There was no time for evasive action and the sailing vessel gouged
into the liner’s side amidships, where many of the passengers were
accommodated. </div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>La Bourgogne</i> began to
list immediately to starboard. Many of the lifeboats on that side had been
wrecked in the collision and the boats on the port side proved impossible to
launch due to the list. Even in this situation a disciplined response might
have saved lives but <i>La Bourgogne’s</i>
crew panicked and behaved as badly as that of the <i>Ailsa</i> had done two years before. Showing little concern for the
passengers, they rushed for the undamaged boats and launched them. In the
middle of this chaos, the <i>Cromartyshire</i>,
damaged but not fatally, mistook alarm whistles and rockets from the again unseen
<i>La Bourgogne</i> as an offer for
assistance. Only as the fog thinned, and as the liner sank a half-hour later,
was the actual nature of the disaster understood and the <i>Cromartyshire</i> began to pick up survivors from boats and improvised
rafts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7U86Vkp_M4IY7AaP_54GGIAae3sq93sPqvyPG9nlU0CyZSpt4rnRveX1hCf_5BTX0HmkgIlVrqkpB3AHV5o8O_ksT2eCeOWDS1ycyb042wOod5B6_bSUt7dwkmXrYQIf_1iyPy78t204/s1600/La+Bourgogne+Disaster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7U86Vkp_M4IY7AaP_54GGIAae3sq93sPqvyPG9nlU0CyZSpt4rnRveX1hCf_5BTX0HmkgIlVrqkpB3AHV5o8O_ksT2eCeOWDS1ycyb042wOod5B6_bSUt7dwkmXrYQIf_1iyPy78t204/s400/La+Bourgogne+Disaster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The death toll told its own story. Of 506 passengers on
board <i>La Bourgogne</i> only 70 were rescued,
as compared with 103 members of the crew out of a total of 220. Only three of the
<i>La Bourgogne’s</i> eighteen officers survived,
indicating that they at least had remained faithful to their responsibilities. Most
telling of all is that only one woman survived and none of the children on
board. Later reports, which may or may not have been true, indicated that crew
members had stabbed passengers in the water, or had beaten them away with oars,
to avoid the lifeboats being swamped. Public indignation was so high that <i>La Bourgogne’s </i>surviving crew members
needed police protection when they landed at New York to save them from being lynched.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Terrible as the <i>Titanic’s</i>
loss may have been, her crew had nothing to reproach itself with in her final
agony. The same cannot be said of <i>La
Bourgogne’s</i> and their name will live in infamy. </div>
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<h2>
<b><i> Britannia’s Amazon </i></b></h2>
<br />
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I’m rather flattered by a review today by author Meghan
Holloway on her blog. In it she writes that “Antoine Vanner's <i>Britannia’s Amazon</i> is a gripping read and features one of the most
realistic heroines in historical fiction.” Click here to read her blog. I’m all the more
pleased in that I had set myself a challenge, for the first time, of telling a
story wholly from a female viewpoint. It's a dark tale, strongly linked to
actual historical events and a particular concern was to reflect the
constraints that late-Victorian society placed on intelligent, resourceful
women. Click on the image below to read the opening chapters.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/embed?asin=B01M3Y525Z&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_fYN9ybBBCMPTN"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBPyYbgEuZLqjpbXBAPKg9erX_aF6WsYaqsfXgL4nVzn1YDZeu7B8mGTpZ1tE9J4C8IDvAMeYe8koe6KH7DGPrOeLyOZ1kFupl-u-xX6ksCijzHCDNDsA8K3n7SmjCeUYuIg2y8xYzx4/s1600/BAposter2.jpeg" /></a></div>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-71490040158046246212017-04-14T14:23:00.000-07:002017-04-14T14:25:18.370-07:001759 – “The Wonderful Year”<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qmmdODbm3PEPL4zxTS_r0Ul5njLb2fX9MI8e1y5IEXt5JMhyphenhyphen12jHOru4UxMfjOyj9O5Rq_BiSZeLnvY8JzS6zcFHe1xuLsEdiLQfiapVBMz9Nh1Acack_JR6oOt-6Ad9IcfTpKU2cJw/s1600/A+Little+Bookworm+-+Eduard+Swoboda+%25281814-1902%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qmmdODbm3PEPL4zxTS_r0Ul5njLb2fX9MI8e1y5IEXt5JMhyphenhyphen12jHOru4UxMfjOyj9O5Rq_BiSZeLnvY8JzS6zcFHe1xuLsEdiLQfiapVBMz9Nh1Acack_JR6oOt-6Ad9IcfTpKU2cJw/s320/A+Little+Bookworm+-+Eduard+Swoboda+%25281814-1902%2529.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A Little Bookworm - Eduard Swoboda (1814-1902)</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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When I was
twelve I found in our local library a leather-bound “<i>Children’s History of the World</i>” in two volumes, each about two and
a half inches thick. They dated from the 1890s (the summit of human progress
might have been assumed to be Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887) and by
being unashamedly British in outlook would probably arouse the indignation of
any politically-correct educationalist today. But I loved them! I spent my
school summer-holidays of 1958 reading them cover-to-cover and starting all
over again when I got to the end. Several episodes still linger in the memory
for the vividness of the writing, notably the Roman tactic of boarding in the naval
battles of the First Punic War, the Diet of Worms and the Dutch Revolt (the
“Sea Beggars” received especially sympathetic treatment). Knowing that the
books dated from the 1890s I was however surprised by the chapter entitled <i>“The First World War.”</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJFVIIEGs2_UvQraasH7QhojmhtKWDD_7rVSXKixJ4IldheRIfiSLZM2jpe_a2GJzcmF3pMtk9_qsaOv_GYvcALWofpXoL5SoGwtxiaALPYCk4wU1iogDbaAAwz5IL-qBpXreO51ub6U/s1600/Washington_1772+-+Charkes+Wilson+Peale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJFVIIEGs2_UvQraasH7QhojmhtKWDD_7rVSXKixJ4IldheRIfiSLZM2jpe_a2GJzcmF3pMtk9_qsaOv_GYvcALWofpXoL5SoGwtxiaALPYCk4wU1iogDbaAAwz5IL-qBpXreO51ub6U/s320/Washington_1772+-+Charkes+Wilson+Peale.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A 22-year old Militia officer...</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The
description was indeed an accurate one, for the Seven Years War of 1756 – 1763,
was the first to be fought on a global scale. It was longer indeed that seven
years, for hostilities had opened between Britain and Britain in North America
in 1754, triggered by an incident in Pennsylvania involving a 22-year old militia
officer called George Washington. Two years later the conflict took on an even
wider European dimension. The British-led alliance included Prussia, Portugal
and the smaller German states, including Hanover, and was opposed by a French
alliance with the Austrian Empire, Spain, Sweden and Saxony. Russia was
initially allied with Austria but changed sides halfway through. Vast in
geographical scope, it was a war in which, in Thomas Babington Macaulay’s
phrase, European enmities ensured that <i>“black
men fought on the coast of Coromandel and red men scalped each other by the
great lakes of North America.”</i> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmXmijWu9ee3BNf5zqzSvXU-K_KJ1LgnvzhBpBVNYIE-m1VRpA9KzKXJbJabrDcIxzF7oSWOH_l-Q_6YBamfDhO-_0StDBxBKBnopZ3ewmdxw-xzyUJv_CDgysPuV6ORYoX_iJyfaZJQ/s1600/David_Garrick_by_Thomas_Gainsborough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmXmijWu9ee3BNf5zqzSvXU-K_KJ1LgnvzhBpBVNYIE-m1VRpA9KzKXJbJabrDcIxzF7oSWOH_l-Q_6YBamfDhO-_0StDBxBKBnopZ3ewmdxw-xzyUJv_CDgysPuV6ORYoX_iJyfaZJQ/s320/David_Garrick_by_Thomas_Gainsborough.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>David Garrick - 18th Century superstar</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The
consequences of this war are still with us today – not least as regards the
status of Canada – and it confirmed Britain as a world power. A constant
reminder of this today is <i>"Heart of
Oak, </i>the official march of Britain’s Royal Navy, of the Royal Canadian Navy
and of the Royal New Zealand Navy. <i>"Heart
of Oak" </i>started however as the most successful popular song of its
time, not only because of its memorable tune but for the robust and confident humour
of the lyrics. The title refers to the strongest wood at the centre of the oak,
from which Britain’s sailing navy was constructed. The words were written by
the greatest actor of his time, David Garrick, and the music was
composed by a Doctor William Boyce. Its first public performance was on New
Year’s Day 1760, in the Theatre Royal in London’s Drury Lane. It was sung by
Samuel Thomas Champnes, one of Handel's soloists, and was part of a pantomime
written by Garrick entitled <i>"Harlequin's
Invasion".</i> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Giving “Johnny Foreigner” a bloody nose has always been
popular in Britain – especially if he happens to be French – and <i>“Heart of Oak”</i> commemorated a quick
sequence of unprecedented triumphs which satisfied this liking to the limit. The
opening stanza is an uncompromising statement of pride:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 99.25pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<i>Come, cheer up, my lads, 'tis to glory we
steer,<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>To add something more to this wonderful
year;<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>To honour we call you, as freemen not
slaves,<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>For who are so free as the sons of the waves?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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And the chorus
kicks in:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Heart of Oak are our ships,<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Jolly Tars are our men,<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>We always are ready: Steady, boys, Steady!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>We'll fight and we'll conquer again and
again!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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The song was a sensational popular success and it must have
been splendid fun to join in with a whole audience belting it out in a packed theatre.
But what did the <i>“Wonderful Year”</i>
mentioned refer to? The clue is in the date of the song’s premiere, January 1<sup>st</sup>
1760, for it looks back on the events of the preceding months. 1759 had been
the <i>“Year of Victories”</i>, or to the
more classically inclined, the <i>Annus
Mirabilis</i>, the <i>Wonderful Year. </i>The
sequence of these victories by land and by sea ran as follows:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>1st August 1759:</b> At Minden, in Central Germany,
an Anglo-German army smashes a French army, leading the French Chief Minister,
the Duc de Choiseul, to say afterwards <i>"I
blush when I speak of our army. I simply cannot get it into my head, much less
into my heart…</i>”<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMcQqBxaR15yuKlbqo3aag4KPCpoQMPWjyQKnma0AKOOzLr-vI9Td1_hUCpZdeTPftRetc3QdAbxKGGUuuj2ziFOEcErBegj4nBbf8sOo7CjkOtr-2lxiv_g6lBUA9ij6X1i0-C7_p3cQ/s1600/Battle_of_Minden_1759.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMcQqBxaR15yuKlbqo3aag4KPCpoQMPWjyQKnma0AKOOzLr-vI9Td1_hUCpZdeTPftRetc3QdAbxKGGUuuj2ziFOEcErBegj4nBbf8sOo7CjkOtr-2lxiv_g6lBUA9ij6X1i0-C7_p3cQ/s400/Battle_of_Minden_1759.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Battle of Minden - a French army destroyed</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>18<sup>th</sup> and
19th August 1759:</b> In the Battle of
Lagos, off the Portuguese coast, the Royal Navy decisively defeats a French
fleet attempting to pass from the Mediterranean to the French Atlantic coast to
join naval units gathering there to support an invasion force intended for
Britain.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXu-leJAfDvbsJXdyQfGSUOmxZmnuMOaPwkwfxc8IDJP4TJEIlcEF0KIUnXtqDGuN0xVz7QdeNA69bsDRv7wuqpUpcjDzj9rIBOTDin5Rk_5HDqdnZpAdRlTHBwYHx6k39jBZqPCaGMgk/s1600/Lagos+Battle+by+Thomas+Luny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXu-leJAfDvbsJXdyQfGSUOmxZmnuMOaPwkwfxc8IDJP4TJEIlcEF0KIUnXtqDGuN0xVz7QdeNA69bsDRv7wuqpUpcjDzj9rIBOTDin5Rk_5HDqdnZpAdRlTHBwYHx6k39jBZqPCaGMgk/s400/Lagos+Battle+by+Thomas+Luny.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Victory at Lagos, off the coast of Portugal - by Thomas Luny</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>13th September 1759:</b>
British attempts to capture Quebec, the centre of French power in North
America, culminate in a 15-minute battle on “The Plains of Abraham” outside the
city following a stealthy amphibious landing and a surprise approach via an
“impossible” route up a cliff. The French evacuate the city and never regain the
initiative. French Canada is effectively lost forever.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilip_xKhG7_ih1cCEbC4uvC6JUvZblTC4ZbuolnWPjY8iIf7RBuC-fwQRrJU65FFRLfmfVDVy3SStiUpH3HJMIFsgTr6lQ1ucTVnhMN0dqdYoV4V52PwRNz73NqT-CuBMOOVVja9IURRw/s1600/Benjamin_West_+Death+of+Wolfe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilip_xKhG7_ih1cCEbC4uvC6JUvZblTC4ZbuolnWPjY8iIf7RBuC-fwQRrJU65FFRLfmfVDVy3SStiUpH3HJMIFsgTr6lQ1ucTVnhMN0dqdYoV4V52PwRNz73NqT-CuBMOOVVja9IURRw/s400/Benjamin_West_+Death+of+Wolfe.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Victory at Quebec, but at the cost of the life of Britain's star general, James Wolfe</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>20th November 1759:</b> In the Battle of Quiberon Bay the French
naval forces gathered to cover the intended invasion of Britain are smashed by
a Royal Navy fleet commanded by Sir Edward Hawke. The locale is on the French
Atlantic coast, near St. Nazaire, where rocks and shoals are as great a hazard
as the enemy. Hawke nevertheless took his force close inshore in appalling
weather and inflicted a crushing defeat that ended all French hopes of
invasion.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfFZLLw03mT2LXbLUhMnoIAXhDWpbtrLbI32aHMiqfSTZCr-wI3k4QbGMIi1Lhdqj-om6BDg0_QZOx58UmJau9qnkeiL2rMklimnmKJdCClVqFfAOtRfwDK49pumohk7R6Mua1CntnFE/s1600/Nicholas+Pocock+Quiberon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfFZLLw03mT2LXbLUhMnoIAXhDWpbtrLbI32aHMiqfSTZCr-wI3k4QbGMIi1Lhdqj-om6BDg0_QZOx58UmJau9qnkeiL2rMklimnmKJdCClVqFfAOtRfwDK49pumohk7R6Mua1CntnFE/s400/Nicholas+Pocock+Quiberon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Victory at Quiberon Bay - perhaps no sea battle was ever fought in worse weather conditions</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<o:p> </o:p>The last verse of <i>“Heart
of Oak” </i>reflects not just pride in these victories but confidence in the
future:</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 99.25pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<i>We still make them feel and we still make
them flee,<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 99.25pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<i>And drub them ashore as we drub them at sea,<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Then cheer up me lads with one heart let us
sing,<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Our soldiers and sailors, our statesmen and
king!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The confidence was not misplaced. Another triumph followed
three weeks after the song’s premiere:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>22<sup>nd </sup>January
1760: </b>At Wandiwash (today known as Vandavasi, in Tamil Nadu) in the main
French army in India was comprehensively beaten by a British force. French
ambitions in India were dealt a blow from which they never recovered and the
battle confirmed Britain as the new power on the sub-continent.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Nor was this the end of major British victories. On <b>14<sup>th</sup> August 1762</b> Havana in
Cuba was captured from the Spanish, who also lost Manila in the Philippines on
<b>10<sup>th</sup> October 1762</b>.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRO__ScP3hLsj4Jii0GFcKxMVYJ7b_fx_5L1VU0ekexm_GEmgSCkm7YYqFNVtZhT-3wi-V52SHN1DQuuDWNo8XrznWV-_9ctJXmkt8Zb2yrnGJ3BDnCJT1PRn_wo35Ayacd8rWry2zrS4/s1600/375px-Dominic_Serres_the_Elder_-_The_Captured_Spanish_Fleet_at_Havana%252C_August-September_1762.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRO__ScP3hLsj4Jii0GFcKxMVYJ7b_fx_5L1VU0ekexm_GEmgSCkm7YYqFNVtZhT-3wi-V52SHN1DQuuDWNo8XrznWV-_9ctJXmkt8Zb2yrnGJ3BDnCJT1PRn_wo35Ayacd8rWry2zrS4/s400/375px-Dominic_Serres_the_Elder_-_The_Captured_Spanish_Fleet_at_Havana%252C_August-September_1762.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The captured Spanish fleet at Havana - by Dominic Serres the Elder</b></td></tr>
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The war was ended by the Treaties of Paris and of
Hubertusburg in early 1763. Both Britain
and France returned much of the territory they had captured. (A great <i>“What If?”</i> of history is what the
consequences would have been of Britain retaining Havana and Manila). There
was a major exception however: France was so keen to regain the sugar islands
of the Caribbean which it has lost to Britain during the war that it was
willing to cede all of its territory in mainland North America in return for
getting them back. These tiny sugar-producing islands were regarded of
immeasurably greater economic value than Canada, described memorably by
Voltaire as <i>"Quelques arpents de
neige - Some acres of snow". </i>The decision was as short-sighted as the
later Russian sale of Alaska.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Today, at any major national occasion at which the Royal
Navy is represented, <i>“Heart of Oak”</i>
still inspires pride. And one of the middle verses sums up a sentiment not dead
even today:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>We ne'er see our foes but we wish them to
stay,<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>They never see us but they wish us away;<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>If they run, why we follow, and run them
ashore,<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>For if they won't fight us, what can we do
more?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>Thank you, David Garrick and William Boyce!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><i>Britannia’s Spartan</i></span></b></h2>
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1882: Captain Nicholas Dawlish RN has just taken command
of the Royal Navy’s newest cruiser, HMS <i>Leonidas</i>. but he has no Dawlish has no forewarning of the nightmare of riot,
treachery, massacre and battle he and his crew will encounter. Naval battles in the Yellow Sea are just part of it he must take account of a weak Korean king and his shrewd
queen, of murderous palace intrigue, of a powerbroker who seems more American
than Chinese and a Japanese naval captain whom he will come to despise and
admire in equal measure. And he will have no one to turn to for guidance…</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"> Click on the image below to read the opening chapters:</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; font-weight: normal;" /><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; font-weight: normal;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-68119136877189214122017-04-11T10:41:00.000-07:002017-04-11T12:10:30.860-07:00Memorable Quotes about Sea Power<div class="MsoNormal">
Ever since the Athenian victory over the Persians at Salamis in 480 BC the possession of sea power has been of supreme strategic importance. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Here are a few memorable quotes and examples that summarise this fact so well:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>“Without a decisive Naval force we can do nothing definitive, and with it everything honourable and glorious.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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- General George Washington, December 1780.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Events proved Washington correct. The French strategic victory at the Virginia Capes in 1781 made surrender of British forces at Yorktown an inevitability, thereby securing American Independence. Interestingly, this was the only significant victory in French naval history, but its consequences were momentous.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsqbtM7FzEa8Rqnlw5SH80DwLi7YH_jy06V_eIl3451RIMO31eDXQnbppbXMrchQsILwCkZyKIcbI-K_H3CPe5zzqSjQpnHN9C5uCKYOaE_GSJZvrpf_1ppWa7u-yvJjHj4vW9Ug9RhE/s1600/-Battle+of+Virginia+Capes+V.+Zveg++1962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsqbtM7FzEa8Rqnlw5SH80DwLi7YH_jy06V_eIl3451RIMO31eDXQnbppbXMrchQsILwCkZyKIcbI-K_H3CPe5zzqSjQpnHN9C5uCKYOaE_GSJZvrpf_1ppWa7u-yvJjHj4vW9Ug9RhE/s1600/-Battle+of+Virginia+Capes+V.+Zveg++1962.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The battle that made the United States possible - the Virginia Capes 1781<br />(painting by V.Zweg 1962)</b></td></tr>
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<i>“I do not say the Frenchman will not come. I only say he will not come by sea.”</i></div>
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- Admiral Lord St.Vincent 1803<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>Napoleon’s Grand Armeé was camped at Boulogne, in telescope view from the English coast, and was threatening invasion. St.Vincent had every confidence that The Royal Navy would deter any such step. Not only did it do so but it smashed French and Spanish naval power at Trafalgar two years later.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-n3lr5l2Gk05U8muIJYpZHyVedQFMf5BlfGG1tFeJF69OELYFCTD1y5MEksG96T-6YQ-BTjmUkKiv61lI9YQ6qar58G4DUp68k2P5qNfUV1wU5g0hAWAmPQuzdtgiEA6-5BNXJycwFo/s1600/Inspecting_the_Troops_at_Boulogne,_15_August_1804.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-n3lr5l2Gk05U8muIJYpZHyVedQFMf5BlfGG1tFeJF69OELYFCTD1y5MEksG96T-6YQ-BTjmUkKiv61lI9YQ6qar58G4DUp68k2P5qNfUV1wU5g0hAWAmPQuzdtgiEA6-5BNXJycwFo/s1600/Inspecting_the_Troops_at_Boulogne,_15_August_1804.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Napoleon's review of the Grand Arme</b></span><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>é at Boulogne 15 August 1804<br />It never left France for the threatened invasion of Britain</b></span></span></td></tr>
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<i>“There is no way of dealing with the Frenchman but to knock him down – to be civil to them is to be laughed at!”</i></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Admiral Lord Nelson, 1798 at the surrender of the French garrison at Capua<o:p></o:p></div>
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A rather robust view of the enemy and one that served Britain very well in the long years of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnajsASmJOp0dI06sBLTQnDFKVHwTcDAVtjQ5w3fpstEdcKaG5sMguhkJLeaDsS47KV5nDRCJVcSBECS1Wc99E6R-wsUNVXbEuc8GLt5-aeJ-JovlSiqhS2S9k7QlxbQXA2xUA-aVWcpQ/s1600/446px-Gillray_-_Napoleon_raging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnajsASmJOp0dI06sBLTQnDFKVHwTcDAVtjQ5w3fpstEdcKaG5sMguhkJLeaDsS47KV5nDRCJVcSBECS1Wc99E6R-wsUNVXbEuc8GLt5-aeJ-JovlSiqhS2S9k7QlxbQXA2xUA-aVWcpQ/s1600/446px-Gillray_-_Napoleon_raging.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Napoleon - a Frenchman needing to be knocked down</b></td></tr>
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<i>“Had we taken ten sail and allowed the eleventh to escape, being able to get at her, I could never have Called it well done.”</i></div>
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- Nelson again, this time summarising his views on the necessity of making every fleet action into a battle of annihilation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwUKl1uaanGYDDR5z4nT-68x6QMslxcSCLWYA9-nu2CBkZCWtn7HGmGwS01lSEzOXhjigRmO-CnvWpaOBB5aZHNGw12qoSB67sOn_ChsIv-5qJg6TohdfNe8jlBryMI7Y6Nnm2Ppj2Rs/s1600/180px-Battle_of_Trafalgar_Poster_1805.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwUKl1uaanGYDDR5z4nT-68x6QMslxcSCLWYA9-nu2CBkZCWtn7HGmGwS01lSEzOXhjigRmO-CnvWpaOBB5aZHNGw12qoSB67sOn_ChsIv-5qJg6TohdfNe8jlBryMI7Y6Nnm2Ppj2Rs/s200/180px-Battle_of_Trafalgar_Poster_1805.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Trafalgar - the definitive battle of the era</u></b></td></tr>
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<i>“Wherever wood can swim, there I am sure to find the flag of England.”</i></div>
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- Napoleon, July 1815, on his surrender to the Royal Navy<o:p></o:p></div>
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And recognition of the Royal Navy’s worldwide role in 22 years of continuous warfare 1793-1815 it came from its greatest enemy, a fact that made it especially valuable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>“My arm was strong enough, it is true, to stop with a single shock all the horses of the continent. But I could not bridle the English fleet and there lay all the mischief. Had not people the sense enough to see this?”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0cm;"> - </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0cm;">Napoleon at St.Helena in 1816</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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It seems that it was only when he was in his final exile that Napoleon realised that the single most important factor in his downfall was his loss of seaward-control of his shores – whether French or French conquests - no matter how he controlled the land he held.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhg-OouoNe9sbixc2IDs6KwDWR-fFhjIeDRGA7djzEry-jF3NrkhVNouc0QxGoxc_nY1qPVZaixLL4PCyBvQpgSdej54tvN1APIkStaD1oSOXzd9Q7aTmJgOQPhFfTjArnD3WPEE9utk/s1600/Napoleon_on_Board_the_Bellerophon_-_Sir_William_Quiller_Orchardson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhg-OouoNe9sbixc2IDs6KwDWR-fFhjIeDRGA7djzEry-jF3NrkhVNouc0QxGoxc_nY1qPVZaixLL4PCyBvQpgSdej54tvN1APIkStaD1oSOXzd9Q7aTmJgOQPhFfTjArnD3WPEE9utk/s1600/Napoleon_on_Board_the_Bellerophon_-_Sir_William_Quiller_Orchardson.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Napoleon's </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Nemesis</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> - a prisoner on HMS <i>Bellerophon</i> 1815</span></span></b></td></tr>
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<i>“The world has never seen a more impressive demonstration of the influence of sea power upon history. Those far-distant, storm-beaten ships, upon which the Grand Army never looked, stood between it and dominion of the world”</i></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0cm;">- Captain, later Rear-Admiral, Alfred Mahan summing up the role of the Royal Navy in defeating Napoleon. The phrasing is elegant, the quote unforgettable.</span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0cm;">===================================</span></div>
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<b><i>Britannia's Reach </i></b></h2>
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Ironclads and gunboats clash on a South American river system while government forces, funded by strong commercial interests, wage a savage war with rebels onshore. <a href="https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/embed?asin=B00I9I8DWC&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_uwYVyb8A7QMRW" style="background-color: white; color: #8a7ca1; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration: none;">Click here </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">or on the image below to plunge yourself into a world of danger, betrayal and merciless conflict in which neither side has clean hands and one man battles to maintain his integrity. One click on the image gives you access to the opening chapters...</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-52337911935803785092017-04-07T13:24:00.000-07:002017-04-07T12:51:35.130-07:00Adam Worth: the real-life “Napoleon of Crime”<i>“He’s a thief,” Topcliffe said. “A most
accomplished and successful one. That’s why he’s useful to us.”</i><br />
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<i>“But he seemed…”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>“Exactly what he is. A clever, cultured,
agreeable American gentleman, whose profession just happens to be larceny.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTI9ue1lv5LRO_BAqLTrk0Yc8OyhEr3pEBshQYhzSgdyRCZhxHN6Eb5tblaBphw8mq4-UkoGtGkpKM2ZF4x_Itnu-RIXuYCxJHdnN2ouTcX6M2OjLasrnS1LMzrYxwSpTj6mslCe78WT0/s1600/1831284_Adam_Worth_252313c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTI9ue1lv5LRO_BAqLTrk0Yc8OyhEr3pEBshQYhzSgdyRCZhxHN6Eb5tblaBphw8mq4-UkoGtGkpKM2ZF4x_Itnu-RIXuYCxJHdnN2ouTcX6M2OjLasrnS1LMzrYxwSpTj6mslCe78WT0/s320/1831284_Adam_Worth_252313c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Adam Worth in 1892</b></td></tr>
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And this is how Adam Worth, alias Henry Judson Raymond, is
described as he makes his appearance in <i>Britannia’s
Shark</i>, in which he plays a key role. He is similarly prominent as a character in<i> Britannia's Amazon</i>. Important though this involvement in the
affairs of Empire proved to be however, it was only one episode – unknown to
the general public until now – in the career of a real-life professional
criminal who was to be described by a senior Scotland Yard official as <i>“The Napoleon of the Criminal World.”</i> This historical figure was as remarkable for
the global span of his activities as for the ease with which he found
acceptance at the highest levels of British society, despite very humble
beginnings.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Worth was born in Germany in 1844 and was taken by his parents
to the United States when he was five years old. The family settled in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, where his father worked as a tailor. Worth left home early and
by 1860 was in New York City, employed there as a clerk in a department store – what he apparently
described later as <i>“my first and only
honest job". </i>This could have
been the start of a life of respectable drudgery but for Worth – as for many
others – the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 was to provide an opportunity if
only he could survive it. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf8yUTwlQEjwaUJNSKvwFIaFBFdXOYVrPEucWFDmooU_QrS9GM3lao_DeEW-bsLEOKkhP2UaIGvV6GVnyN6H0gMZHarJeAe6ECRG4zMgKHPG49jLxm9_mr3korreyWIydioC__jjCp-gc/s1600/Second_Battle_of_Bull_Run.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf8yUTwlQEjwaUJNSKvwFIaFBFdXOYVrPEucWFDmooU_QrS9GM3lao_DeEW-bsLEOKkhP2UaIGvV6GVnyN6H0gMZHarJeAe6ECRG4zMgKHPG49jLxm9_mr3korreyWIydioC__jjCp-gc/s320/Second_Battle_of_Bull_Run.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Second Bull Run - where Worth died officially</b></td></tr>
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Worth, now seventeen, enlisted, attracted probably as
much by the generous bounty paid to volunteers as by the prospect of adventure. Showing obvious leadership
talents, he was quickly promoted to sergeant in the 34<sup>th</sup> New York Light
Artillery Regiment. When serving at the Second Battle of Bull Run in August
1862 – yet another in a long string of Union defeats – Worth was seriously
wounded and shipped back to hospital in Washington D.C. On recovering he found
that he had in error been listed as killed in action. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This was Worth’s big opportunity. Officially dead, he was
now free to enlist once more and to claim another bounty. Like many others he
got a taste for it, taking the money, deserting, re-enlisting again in another
unit under another name. (It might be commented in passing that such “bounty-
jumpers”, though reprehensible, were no worse than the rich young men who took
advantage of their right to pay poor men to serve as substitutes on their
behalf once the draft was introduced. The bounty-jumpers at least risked death
by firing squad if apprehended. Those who typically paid $300 to a substitute included the banker J.P.Morgan, future president Grover Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt's father, as well as many other wealthy people. There is much truth in the saying that this was <i>"A Rich Man's War and a Poor Man's Fight"</i>).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Worth evaded retribution for his bounty-jumping and at the
end of the Civil War saw opportunities in the New York criminal underworld,
that merciless society so memorably depicted in the Martin Scorcese movie <i>“Gangs of New York”.</i> Working in his
favour was the fact that he was abstemious by nature and that he had a marked
talent for planning and financing criminal enterprises. His luck did however
run out, landing him in Sing Sing prison. He escaped within weeks. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdq9N1OmNdC5cZsIVGPGv64uc-WxLl2275ux3l_3W9Di9-IyAagUa6U7CHYY44zMmiaOuyBABORlSJkh0fkDfwVSgvqHHSBqrETsrt_yyEjWTRJtKVfKh810KdT7TZ3PygUFJWHFU3mK8/s1600/Fredericka_Mendelbaum.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdq9N1OmNdC5cZsIVGPGv64uc-WxLl2275ux3l_3W9Di9-IyAagUa6U7CHYY44zMmiaOuyBABORlSJkh0fkDfwVSgvqHHSBqrETsrt_yyEjWTRJtKVfKh810KdT7TZ3PygUFJWHFU3mK8/s200/Fredericka_Mendelbaum.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Marm Maddelbaum <br />- not to be underestimated!</b></td></tr>
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With his
appearance now altered by magnificent mutton-chop whiskers, he established a
profitable relationship with a fence and criminal financier called Frederika Mandelbaum, known to her friends as "Marm" - obviously a lady to be approached with caution. By 1869 Worth had
masterminded a serious of big robberies and was sufficiently respected to be
contracted to spring a robber called Charley Bullard from prison. This
successful operation involved bribing of guards and digging of a tunnel. Worth
and Bullard now formed a partnership – one of their most notable coups was
robbery of a bank in Boston by the same method featured in the Sherlock Holmes
story <i>“The Red Headed League”.</i> For
this a shop was set up near the bank and from it a tunnel was excavated to gain
entrance. Worth and Bullard were now so successful that the Pinkerton Detective
Agency was set on their trail. Judging the United States to be too hot for them
they set sail for Europe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMuNISuVcqxMehFpesY7GQce_14rEcE9CkkA6gHEzak4INN88g8s85KcOs0GkiQWu1z68XCNsFb0II2MjSbBhjoxA9zxWN0UNhrRUI3KySHXqeBPPZEF83zEq1Hl7EV6A389J5oEkmFiY/s1600/800px-Fredericka_Mendelbaum2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMuNISuVcqxMehFpesY7GQce_14rEcE9CkkA6gHEzak4INN88g8s85KcOs0GkiQWu1z68XCNsFb0II2MjSbBhjoxA9zxWN0UNhrRUI3KySHXqeBPPZEF83zEq1Hl7EV6A389J5oEkmFiY/s400/800px-Fredericka_Mendelbaum2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<b>A typical dinner party hosted by “Marm” Mandelbaum (R) and
her "inner circle".</b></div>
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<b> From "Recollections of a New
York Chief of Police" (1887) by George W. Walling,<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Paris in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870
and the Commune that followed in 1871 was the corrupt and hedonistic sink
immortalised in the work of Zola, de Maupassant and Toulouse-Lautrec. Worth had
now re-invented himself as “"Henry Judson Raymond", an American
financier, and had acquired the grace and polish to carry it off. With Bullard
he operated a major gambling operation in Paris as well as initiating a series
of high-value robberies. In the mid-1870s they moved to Britain and here
“Raymond” established himself as a popular member of smart society, an
acquaintance of the Prince of Wales and a free spender. He bought a magnificent
villa in the London suburb of Clapham and maintained in parallel an apartment
in a fashionable area off Piccadilly. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0LCOuV-3B45cla2MJJFb1SZW7uxlS5gqsdTDkPZu3vFP1Yx0Jy9T2EMWcHQvghyphenhyphenW1nooGcqSRq01jxHV6DGUSYt8t81kraRBHlPM6Uz5o3O1TFVxJLpI9kZmRNY2fSdDxd0X2tu5VS4/s1600/800px-Western_Lodge_Clapham_Common_West_Side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0LCOuV-3B45cla2MJJFb1SZW7uxlS5gqsdTDkPZu3vFP1Yx0Jy9T2EMWcHQvghyphenhyphenW1nooGcqSRq01jxHV6DGUSYt8t81kraRBHlPM6Uz5o3O1TFVxJLpI9kZmRNY2fSdDxd0X2tu5VS4/s400/800px-Western_Lodge_Clapham_Common_West_Side.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Worth's Clapham villa today<br />(with acknowledgements to Wikipedia)</b></td></tr>
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Worth formed a criminal network and
organised major robberies and burglaries through intermediaries such that his
name was unknown to those who were involved directly. The focus was on high-value proceeds and
Worth established the principle that those working for him did not use
violence. William Pinkerton, who was later to have direct dealings with him,
wrote that:</div>
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<i>In all his criminal
career, and all the various crimes he committed, ... he was always proud of the
fact that he never committed a robbery where the use of firearms had to be
resorted to, nor had he ever escaped, or attempted to escape from custody by force
or jeopardizing the life of an official, claiming that a man with brains had no
right to carry firearms, that there was always a way, and a better way, by the
quick exercise of the brain.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpcoHwuaXvDGS__L0m6B6bpqqt5Zf6f46-Iq6CAVj86E802qBU-liE2wZCRllro51CHxTXMob7NKIna3K5QXl76L4DQzLZo5SNqeF3gsBNz4RksH20rOEB8jLjS-yQrYxA6-W_oJPFB4/s1600/Thomas_Gainsborough_Lady_Georgiana_Cavendish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpcoHwuaXvDGS__L0m6B6bpqqt5Zf6f46-Iq6CAVj86E802qBU-liE2wZCRllro51CHxTXMob7NKIna3K5QXl76L4DQzLZo5SNqeF3gsBNz4RksH20rOEB8jLjS-yQrYxA6-W_oJPFB4/s400/Thomas_Gainsborough_Lady_Georgiana_Cavendish.jpg" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Gainsborough's Duchess of Devonshire</b></td></tr>
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Scotland Yard was aware of Worth’s network but was unable to
prove anything. From his London base the
Worth operation now functioned on an international scale, including an
ambitious swindle involving forged letters of credit in Turkey and a theft of
$500,000 worth (in 1870s money!) of uncut diamonds. To oversee the latter
operation Worth travelled to South Africa. It was in this period also the Worth
pulled off his most spectacular coup. The Thomas Ganisborough painting of
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, had recently been rediscovered and was on
display in 1876 at an art dealer’s gallery in London. Worth became fascinated
by it – obsessed might be the better word. He organised its successful theft
with two associates, thereby triggering an international hue-and-cry in the
coming years about its whereabouts. The
expectation was that the unknown thieves would attempt to sell it or ransom it but
it was in fact to remain in Worth/Raymond’s London apartment within a mile of
the gallery. He appears to have immense pleasure in possessing it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Worth’s criminal enterprises – and his double life –
continued through the 1880s. By the early 1890s however he was losing his touch
and was arrested in the course of a botched robbery of a money-transport in
Belgium in 1892. Worth refused to talk but the net drew in on him when his
photograph and details were circulated to Scotland Yard and the United States’
Pinkertons and NYPD. He was now betrayed by several of his associates and
following trial was sentenced to seven years in a Belgian gaol. It appears to
have broken him, possibly more for the fall from social respectability and
prestige than from the physical conditions – he must have endured worse in the
Civil War. <o:p></o:p></div>
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He was released early, for good behaviour, in 1897. He
determined to return to the United States, where his two children were living
(Worth’s affairs with women would need an article to themselves!) but to do so
he needed funds. He got them by robbing £4000 (1897 money!) worth of diamonds
from a London dealer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2tZ9UPQUdqSi8wKhMUIWHfXcNU1m43i_X8fCLp1qSovButB9Oo6RMauFEGDHbWxsRSE-cgqhYGc0RsmpHl1W1HjRedzvauQzfyhYJ18YIunEQlNK6lSqyBNnrrn_9Y0oIUmG3F8izVQ/s1600/Highgate_Cemetery_-_Karl_Marx%2527s_grave%252C_Highgate%252C_London.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2tZ9UPQUdqSi8wKhMUIWHfXcNU1m43i_X8fCLp1qSovButB9Oo6RMauFEGDHbWxsRSE-cgqhYGc0RsmpHl1W1HjRedzvauQzfyhYJ18YIunEQlNK6lSqyBNnrrn_9Y0oIUmG3F8izVQ/s320/Highgate_Cemetery_-_Karl_Marx%2527s_grave%252C_Highgate%252C_London.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Karl Marx - Worth's neighbour <br />in Highgate Cemetery</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Worth was at risk of prosecution in the United States for
his earlier offences there. He had one card still up his sleeve – the Duchess
of Devonshire, whom he had managed to keep hidden for some twenty years. He
approached the Pinkertons and agreed to return the painting to the dealers he
has stolen it from in return for $25,000 and a guarantee of non-prosecution.
The exchange of portrait and payment took place in Chicago. In funds again, Worth returned to London – again
as Henry Judson Raymond – with his children. His son appears at a later stage to
have become a career Pinkerton detective. The Duchess of Devonshire’s ransom
seems to have slipped as easily through Worth’s fingers as all the other money
he had come by over four decades. He died in London in 1902 and was buried,
under the name of Raymond, in a pauper’s grave in Highgate Cemetery, close to
Karl Marx.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The appellation of <i>“The
Napoleon of the Criminal World”</i> was awarded Worth by Sir Robert Anderson, Assistant
Commissioner (Crime) of the London Metropolitan Police, from 1888 to 1901. The phrase
seems to have inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, with
the idea of a criminal mastermind, Professor James Moriarity. Holmes described
him as follows:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbiofBR_Vvb2YLQ7PLeOfY-SKvw_cYvQn9x5DfurR9i6cLbh49odXViKm9orKvNDZA8zJY2ic_S2OXgGapmnFfbDUqjHH4QRAJnBk2_Ue2udQCRvd65aFsB0XlmysQHaHosTLpg_2zbek/s1600/moriarty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbiofBR_Vvb2YLQ7PLeOfY-SKvw_cYvQn9x5DfurR9i6cLbh49odXViKm9orKvNDZA8zJY2ic_S2OXgGapmnFfbDUqjHH4QRAJnBk2_Ue2udQCRvd65aFsB0XlmysQHaHosTLpg_2zbek/s200/moriarty.jpg" width="100" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Moriarty - he looks<br />less fun than Worth!</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<i>'He sits motionless,
like a spider in the centre of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations,
and he knows well every quiver of each of them. He does little himself. He only
plans. But his agents are numerous and splendidly organised… the agent may be
caught. In that case money is found for his bail or his defence. But the
central power which uses the agent is never caught - never so much as suspected”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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And Holmes summed him up as:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>“…the Napoleon of
crime. He is the organizer of half that is evil and nearly all that is
undetected in this great city. He is a
genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker.
He has a brain of the first order.'<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Adam Worth would have been flattered!<o:p></o:p><br />
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<h2>
Adam Worth's role in the Dawlish Chronicles...</h2>
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<h4>
<span style="text-align: justify;">1881: It is in <i>Britannia's Shark</i> that Nicholas Dawlish encounters Adam Worth, a.k.a. Henry Judson Raymond for the first time. To all appearances a rich and cultured Americn who had chosen to live in Britain and move in the highest levels of society, Raymond also has the contacts that Dawlish needs across the Atlantic if a threat to British naval supremacy is to be overcome. Urbane, ruthless and very, very effective, Raymond is an ally worth having...</span></h4>
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</h4>
<h4>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/embed?asin=B00Q9GQSQO&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_zT-5yb1HW548S">Click here to read the opening chapters of <i>Britannia's Shark</i></a></span></h4>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<h4>
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<a href="https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/embed?asin=B01M3Y525Z&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_jJ-5yb9Z1MJ7F"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKF0zTJrkICyakYQVlAksfUCGI7m-H34bMyF1i-4heES5RW7q3y8i0o8LwW0I7A61IV-uPhp6tf6FBNDiT_OXqo-ngij1RRfbuZpzChjWCpynmu-WilPggtv17ziYuPrwqGRO7vBwv-U/s200/Final+Amazon.jpeg" width="133" /></a></div>
1882: In <i>Britannia's Amazo</i>n, Florence Dawlish is facing months of separation when her husband Nicholas sails with his cruiser to the Far East ( as told in <i>Britannia's Shark). </i>Florence expects them to be quiet months which she plans to fill with welfare work for seamen's families in Portsmouth. But her witnessing of a brutal abduction on the street plunges her into a maelstrom of corruption, violence, blackmail and intrigue. The enemies she faces are merciless an vicious, their identities protected by guile, power and influence. Henry Judson Raymond might jut be the person to assist her... but can she trust him?</h4>
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<h4>
<a href="https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/embed?asin=B01M3Y525Z&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_u0-5ybJ12NR8D"><span style="text-align: justify;">Click here to read the opening chapters of </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Britannia's Amazon</i></a></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">To thank subscribers to the <i>Dawlish Chronicles </i>mailing list, a free, downloadable, copy of a new short story, </span><i style="font-size: 13.2px;">Britannia's Eventide</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"> has been sent to them as an e-mail attachment.</span></div>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-20359673423190789442017-04-04T16:35:00.000-07:002017-04-04T01:58:06.430-07:00Disaster off Punta Arenas 1881<div class="MsoNormal">
Chile’s Punta Arenas, on the Brunswick Peninsula, to the northern
side of the Strait of Magellan, is probably the most southerly city in the world.
It was originally established as a penal colony by the Chilean government in
1848 to assert sovereignty over the Strait – at the expense of Argentina, which
had similar ambitions. The Chilean claim was finally accepted in a treaty
between the two countries in 1881. Through the nineteenth century, and up
to the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, this waterway was of the highest
importance as it allowed passage from the South Atlantic to the Pacific while
bypassing Cape Horn. Developments on the Pacific coasts of both North America and
South America led to very high levels of traffic through the strait and as such
the area assumed greater geopolitical importance than it possesses today.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtK6D75OBDAFHUKFTOW2VkZ473sBfyIEIBsjzEows0wAKXfWyPvLPSwpo8Nn5OEkvV2B5a23UGPf2fjM9T4g6RMk1YHrIg7kspzD4FQQVzb9gthMn_3tv45TXrfmYUcgk0j5o5bN4tuZM/s1600/Punta_arenas_collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtK6D75OBDAFHUKFTOW2VkZ473sBfyIEIBsjzEows0wAKXfWyPvLPSwpo8Nn5OEkvV2B5a23UGPf2fjM9T4g6RMk1YHrIg7kspzD4FQQVzb9gthMn_3tv45TXrfmYUcgk0j5o5bN4tuZM/s1600/Punta_arenas_collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Punta Arenas today (courtesy of Wikipedia)</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It was at Punta Arenas that one of the Royal Navy’s most
significant peace-time disasters occurred in 1881 when the steam sloop, HMS <i>Dotterel</i>, was destroyed there by
internal explosion. The significance of this event was that it was possibly the
first in a long series of internal explosions that were to destroy warships in
many navies in the next forty years. Many
of the ships involved were very large units. France was to lose two battleships
– <i>Iena</i> and <i>Liberté</i> – in the years before World War 1 and during this conflict Britain was
to lose several major units – including a modern battleship, HMS <i>Vanguard</i>. Japan was also to lose two
capital ships to explosions during the war, as did Italy, which lost the modern
battleship <i>Leonardo di
Vinci. </i>One explosion – that which destroyed the USS <i>Maine</i> in Havana
harbour in 1898 – was to have a major influence on world history. Wrongly
blamed on a mine laid by the Spanish authorities, this accident was a trigger
for the Spanish-American War, which was decisive in setting the United States on
the path to global superpower status.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8CPOQacA81E5t8FLrETg88eePmEJRjbfTf7QSKh__811DOl2-ubgQoQH6TIlRfnTbsDxhql7iatWp5iBOIeq0P9RRmyGZ9ts9-4qRkGxAiSNPBDPeQKAMgW1JfYO5QvTjAP_FbA6VTU/s1600/HMS+Doterel+1881.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8CPOQacA81E5t8FLrETg88eePmEJRjbfTf7QSKh__811DOl2-ubgQoQH6TIlRfnTbsDxhql7iatWp5iBOIeq0P9RRmyGZ9ts9-4qRkGxAiSNPBDPeQKAMgW1JfYO5QvTjAP_FbA6VTU/s1600/HMS+Doterel+1881.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>HMS <i>Doterel</i>, as completed</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Though the exact causes of the explosions remained uncertain
in many cases – not least because the massive loss of life usually incurred meant
there were few surviving witnesses – the majority were due a low perception of the
risks involved in handling and storing modern ammunition. The victims were
almost invariably moored in harbour when the accident happened and in many
cases ammunition loading and stowage was in progress. Unstable explosives were
not the only cause –a dust explosion during coal loading was a possibility in
at least one case. Careless handling of flammable substances also led to
accidents. Many of these explosions were regarded as mysteries for many years –
in the case of the <i>Maine</i> for decades.
In its immediate aftermath the loss of HMS <i>Doterel</i>
was also seen as unexplained.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
HMS <i>Doterel</i> was one
of fourteen sloops of the <i>Osprey</i>/<i>Doterel</i>-class sloops launched by the
Royal Navy from 1876 to 1880. They were of “composite construction”, which
meant wooden planking over an iron frame. Cheap, slow and well-armed, they were not intended for fleet employment but rather for
support and power projection, often on a single ship basis, on distant stations. Of 1130 tons and 170 ft length they carried a barque rig to supplement
their 1100 hp single-screw engines. Under power they struggled to make much
over 11 knots but the provision of sails reduced their dependency on coal
supplies – a major concern on remote stations – as well as increasing their operational
range. They were heavily armed for their size – two 7 in on pivoting mounts and
four 64-pounders, all muzzle loaders. Though obsolescent, these weapons were
simple to operate and more than adequate for the type of shore bombardment needed
for dealing with local emergencies or petty uprisings.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60fcacVDyTkGskJDSiXCzveJ6eNCqZbORUy0sOlKgXXmDIbn88J3qfR4w4KP73SUABelYYXTHLyEoGFVXx9odn-uubGu64S3omYlLNzcps2ZlS3wonWccvG4q8U3PGWK4sQI-W4z95x8/s1600/HMS_Miranda_(1879)_AWM_302218.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60fcacVDyTkGskJDSiXCzveJ6eNCqZbORUy0sOlKgXXmDIbn88J3qfR4w4KP73SUABelYYXTHLyEoGFVXx9odn-uubGu64S3omYlLNzcps2ZlS3wonWccvG4q8U3PGWK4sQI-W4z95x8/s1600/HMS_Miranda_(1879)_AWM_302218.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>HMS <i>Miranda</i>, a sister of HMS <i>Doterel</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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HMS <i>Doterel</i> was a
new ship, launched the previous year, when she was sent in early 1881 to join the
Pacific Station, which included the western coasts of North and South America
as well as China and Japan. Under her captain, Commander Richard Evans, she arrived
at Punta Arenas at 09:00 on 26 April 1881. Less than an hour later an explosion
occurred in her forward magazine. Eyewitnesses described wreckage being thrown into
the air, followed by a huge column of smoke. Broken into two sections, the ship sank
instantly. Boats from several vessels in the immediate vicinity, and from shore,
rushed to find survivors but out of a crew of 155 only twelve were found, one
of them Commander Evans. The force of the explosion had stripped all his
clothing away and was indeed so violent that only three complete bodies were
subsequently recovered, as well as some body parts. The horror of the situation
is illustrated by the fact that these remains were loaded into boxes and buried
at sea in the same afternoon. An Anglican missionary working in the area, a Reverend
Thomas Bridges, subsequently presided over the mass memorial service.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8bXhdyCwEsENBmNSBrTAaRj5JbXmqG3isfBHxCtpQxysPu6HAlLVi-Jj2v9zq7okiA3koadhAoLMJ6TWIRHMshtvK_ly2kOdMOywkDaAH0BSxmSdOCMNvTB1nqvoqM9ZZ8kDL3JVOHI/s1600/Doterel_Funeral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8bXhdyCwEsENBmNSBrTAaRj5JbXmqG3isfBHxCtpQxysPu6HAlLVi-Jj2v9zq7okiA3koadhAoLMJ6TWIRHMshtvK_ly2kOdMOywkDaAH0BSxmSdOCMNvTB1nqvoqM9ZZ8kDL3JVOHI/s1600/Doterel_Funeral.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Funeral service held above the site of Doterel's wreck</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In the immediate aftermath several theories were advanced as
causes. A boiler explosion, triggering a magazine detonation, was perhaps the most obvious possibility. Another
involved sabotage by Fenians – Irish Republicans – an idea not as bizarre as it
might sound since a successful mission had been mounted five years previously to
rescue six Fenian prisoners from a penal colony in Western Australia. The key
role in this rescue was played by a chartered American whaler, the <i>Catalpa</i>. Another theory considered that the
explosion had been caused by a Whitehead torpedo lost by HMS <i>Shah</i> when she has been in the area three
years before.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhStrIljpJwppY9pAeu8h1fAsZ9DqXemr2BHQ7mjaEQ1coTXWJasqUFD7ZvCLwID8h_7pLomTSdUw_Sd2bp12goTtOBfndADMFQ07KoM11fUMEyLYbqJttmCgB-AfjAn7c4OTj2IOVZg/s1600/Wreck_of_the_HMS_Doterel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhStrIljpJwppY9pAeu8h1fAsZ9DqXemr2BHQ7mjaEQ1coTXWJasqUFD7ZvCLwID8h_7pLomTSdUw_Sd2bp12goTtOBfndADMFQ07KoM11fUMEyLYbqJttmCgB-AfjAn7c4OTj2IOVZg/s1600/Wreck_of_the_HMS_Doterel.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Salvage operations - note the diver being lowered from the boat on the right</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two Royal Navy cruisers, HMS <i>Garnet</i> and HMS <i>Turquoise,</i> were
sent to Punta Arenas to conduct salvage and investigation operations. Extensive
use was made of divers and this received much coverage in illustrated papers
since the “Standard Diving Dress” then represented cutting edge technology. The
possibility of a boiler explosion was definitively proven to be false when the
boilers were found in perfect condition. The investigations showed that <i>Doterel’s</i> hull had been blown apart, leaving
two separate sections, fore and aft. The ship's guns, screw and other valuable
fittings were salvaged. Insights gained provided evidence for formal enquiry at
Portsmouth by a scientific committee. This decided in September 1881 that the disaster
had been caused by detonation of coal gas in <i>Doterel’s</i> bunkers, and that no crew members were at fault.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDsF5QmPydLlfL8NiE-q1dvDmOhcz7BYIgYdkSzwTgjvNucXlEtSfaEkcwPJcARhEuDHWm6aYhfwc_GljAgEVLYoRoklC8wFpXDl4Bq4hL04g_6zNKp8GfFr-uc_uEdIIsvOw-E58WDk/s1600/Diving+Operations+on+Doterel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDsF5QmPydLlfL8NiE-q1dvDmOhcz7BYIgYdkSzwTgjvNucXlEtSfaEkcwPJcARhEuDHWm6aYhfwc_GljAgEVLYoRoklC8wFpXDl4Bq4hL04g_6zNKp8GfFr-uc_uEdIIsvOw-E58WDk/s1600/Diving+Operations+on+Doterel.jpg" width="334" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Another view of salvage operations</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Shortly afterwards,
in November 1881, another explosion occurred on a Royal Navy warship, once again
in Chilean waters. This was on board HMS <i>Triumph,
</i>a broadside ironclad en route to the Pacific Station, as had been the<i> Doterel. </i>Though three men were killed
and seven were wounded the ship herself survived. It was determined that the
explosion had been caused by a volatile substance called <i>xerotine siccative</i> which was mixed in paint to
accelerate drying.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9QhmziF0sa7e92zCIDvKDz_x5JJLgjFoqaeyoLB56S87xdsF3_CsjsixHMZSeJq4BHiUkvlKOgM9MalIOwVSjH5_1dXOkowH7j_WVgLTBQrDO8G9iC26TzRVgSma1j3f63ep3-B_F2nw/s1600/HMS_Gannet_(1878).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9QhmziF0sa7e92zCIDvKDz_x5JJLgjFoqaeyoLB56S87xdsF3_CsjsixHMZSeJq4BHiUkvlKOgM9MalIOwVSjH5_1dXOkowH7j_WVgLTBQrDO8G9iC26TzRVgSma1j3f63ep3-B_F2nw/s1600/HMS_Gannet_(1878).jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>HMS <i>Gannet</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was not until 1883 that the cause of the <i>Doterel</i> explosion was settled. A
surviving crew member, upon later smelling xerotine siccative while on another
ship, stated that he had smelled it before the 1881 explosion. He explained that
a jar of the liquid had cracked while being moved below deck. Two men were
ordered to throw the jar overboard. While cleaning the leaking explosive liquid
from beneath the forward magazine, the men may have broken the rule of not
having an open flame below decks. The xerotine siccative exploded first,
letting off the huge explosion in the forward magazine.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
A lesson had been learned the hard way. The Admiralty
ordered the compound to be withdrawn from use and demanded better ventilation below decks. One
source of disaster had been eliminated, but more remained and numerous other ship
losses lay in the future. But that’s another story…<span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<br />
Though the<i> Doterel's</i> career was a short one, a sister of hers, HMS <i>Gannet</i>, is still in existence. She has been restored beautifully and is now on view at Chatham Historic Dockyard in England. She is well worth a visit and provides as splendid insight to life in the Victorian Royal Navy.</div>
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The photograph on the left shows <i>Gannet</i> in 2005 and is reproduced with all thanks to Paul Englefield and Wikipedia.<br />
<br />
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-5800378168845059422017-03-28T10:37:00.000-07:002017-03-28T11:23:18.876-07:00The Death of the Adder 1882<div class="MsoNormal">
It is well known that the USS <i>Monitor</i>, which can be argued to be the first modern warship, and
which gave its name to a type of ship which would see service
until the end of WW2, was lost off Cape Hatteras in late 1862. This resulted
from a very low-freeboard vessel being exposed to heavy seas – conditions such
ships were never intended for since they were designed as mobile and
heavily-armoured batteries for service in sheltered waters such as river
estuaries. Sixteen men died when the <i>Monitor</i> sank but the scale of the
tragedy was dwarfed by the much heavier loss of a later, more sophisticated,
vessel of the same type in 1882, the <i>Adder</i>
of the Royal Netherlands Navy.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The monitor concept proved to be a very attractive one for
the Dutch Navy, tasked as it was in home waters with defence of the approaches
to its two largest cities, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The Netherlands coast in
the mid-19<sup>th</sup> looked significantly different to what it does today.
The Zuiderzee, the huge and shallow sea inlet to the north-east of Amsterdam
would not be closed off by an enormous dyke until 1932, and much of the area
within it reclaimed. The Delta area in the south of the country, where the rivers
Rhine, Maas and Schelde enter the sea, was a labyrinth of individual channels,
some giving access to Rotterdam, and would remain so until the vast “Delta
Works” were undertaken in the 1950s and 60s to close them off.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5P-AUgfzQTgJ8A-9IY2i2QGgDi3b6nuDxiH9QLDwrUXJiT0ZAfJgJR_MmAJzFPlepggByF4M2w2-UVQs7fky76dc2O5J6kvd7pQj7ytDc09OQ4QvhrqrSyUSRNuz0PIfcTICrPkAu2sk/s1600/Monitors,_dwarsdoorsneden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5P-AUgfzQTgJ8A-9IY2i2QGgDi3b6nuDxiH9QLDwrUXJiT0ZAfJgJR_MmAJzFPlepggByF4M2w2-UVQs7fky76dc2O5J6kvd7pQj7ytDc09OQ4QvhrqrSyUSRNuz0PIfcTICrPkAu2sk/s1600/Monitors,_dwarsdoorsneden.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Longitudinal section of three types of Dutch monitor<br /><i>Cerberus </i>(1870, <i>Adder </i>(1875) and <i>Luipard </i>(1877)</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With increasing sizes and draughts of ships in the 1860s and
70s access to Amsterdam and Rotterdam through the Zuider Zee and the Delta
proved increasingly difficult. The solution was to build two large-scale ship
canals, both running due west from these cities to new openings on the Netherlands
West Coast. Opening in the 1870s, and engineering marvels of their time, both
waterways have been regularly increased in dimensions and capacity in the years
since. The two new waterways changed the pattern of sea-borne mercantile access
to the Netherlands, and given their single points of access to the sea were
easily defensible by shore batteries. In the event of war however – even though
the Netherlands was not liable to any significant threat from other European powers
in this period – the possibility of enemy access to the country’s heartland
through the Zuiderzee and the Delta could
not be ignored. Shallow-draught monitors represented an ideal mobile defence
for these areas. Speed and sea-worthiness were not major requirements since the
vessels would be required to operate over short-distances in largely
land-locked conditions but heavy armouring and heavy weapons would make them
formidable opponents to any invading force.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Between 1868 and 1878 thirteen monitors were completed for
the Royal Netherlands Navy, substantial ships of around 1500 tons and when fully manned
demanding a crew of some 115 men. Since a design requirement can be deduced as being
not to exceed a draught of 3 meters (9.75 ft) very limited accommodation was
provided, or indeed required, since the crews could be housed in barracks
ashore when the vessels were not exercising. Long, narrow upperworks abaft the
single turret seem to have been mainly designed to provide light and
ventilation to the spaces below, as will be seen from the contemporary
illustration above that shows three of these ships in profile.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyaetlK2jn-e44-yj7B9cJVsCgWi83q4m8bxSfOW2cFNWLAtJg-vO0K-R4hZEO7bUuV4OanuyQ2_X-igCYldgq1ntIpCbBRnNF1Nkt4SqyPutlHOO0GEuqRuVC1OOASva2XAJ1GwTpx8/s1600/Doorsnede_rammonitor_adder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyaetlK2jn-e44-yj7B9cJVsCgWi83q4m8bxSfOW2cFNWLAtJg-vO0K-R4hZEO7bUuV4OanuyQ2_X-igCYldgq1ntIpCbBRnNF1Nkt4SqyPutlHOO0GEuqRuVC1OOASva2XAJ1GwTpx8/s1600/Doorsnede_rammonitor_adder.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Plan view of Luipard and cross-sections of her, </i>Adder<i> and other Dutch monitors</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The <i>Adder</i> gave her
name to a class of six vessels which was completed between 1870 and 1876. All
fitted with ram bows as ramming was still regarded as a viable tactic,
especially in confined waters. 192 ft. long and of 1555 tons, these vessels
were heavily armoured with iron – 5.5” on the hull sides and between 8” and 11”
on the turret. Two 9” muzzle-loading rifles were carried in the turret. Speed
as low – maximum 7 to 8 knots and horsepower varied from ship to ship in the
range 560 – 740 IHP.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By the nature of their design, and of their likely tactical
use, such vessels spent little time in the open sea, their greatest exposure to
such conditions being apparently when they moved parallel to the Netherlands
coast when transferring from Ijmuiden or Den Helder in the north, to the base
at Hellevoetsluis in the Delta region. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was on such a voyage south, a short
one, that the <i>Adder</i> set off from Ijmuiden
on the morning of 5<sup>th</sup> July 1882. The stretch of coast involved consisted almost entirely of long open beaches. A difficult passage was expected as the vessel did not
perform well with wind on the beam and in even moderately heavy waves the decks
would be awash. By early afternoon a strong south-westerly was blowing on the
starboard beam and the monitor was sighted close inshore, off the fishing
village of Scheveningen, a suburb of the Hague and which did not then have a
harbour which could have offered shelter. (The present harbour dates from 1904). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgUwCQaZ8lgUTOCvRz1WDpsReQYZYCkSmA8YnvnuproYBD1Oykir17Brjm2wpgnqhc17a5ztKasL_4pnk-nC8x2zEjlN2bBb5pvPFxiol3yeEdAXOevKCsDWQAs9flxdIJH4q-wRiI4g/s1600/Adder_in_actie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgUwCQaZ8lgUTOCvRz1WDpsReQYZYCkSmA8YnvnuproYBD1Oykir17Brjm2wpgnqhc17a5ztKasL_4pnk-nC8x2zEjlN2bBb5pvPFxiol3yeEdAXOevKCsDWQAs9flxdIJH4q-wRiI4g/s1600/Adder_in_actie.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Artist's impression: <i>Adder</i> at sea</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Though the seas might have provided problems for the <i>Adder</i> they were not bad enough as to interrupt the activities of
Scheveningen fishermen. At 1800 hrs a fishing skipper, Abraham Westerduin,
sighted the <i>Adder</i> – seas were washing
across her up as high the funnel – and he judged the situation to be
sufficiently serious as to decide to stand by to render assistance if possible.
Around 2030 the monitor, now obviously in desperate straits, began to shoot off
red, white and green rockets. Some 40 minutes later there was one last flash –
a large one – and a cloud of smoke, or perhaps steam, and then nothing more was
to be seen of the monitor. She had disappeared with all 66 men on board at the
time.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the following days several bodies wearing life-belts were
recovered. A note found in an officer’s pocket indicated that a decision had
been taken at 1800 hrs to turn back to Ijmuiden, the nearest harbour, but the
monitor proved incapable of responding to the helm in the conditions
prevailing. This was confirmed when the wreck was examined by a diver two weeks
later – it lay just over a mile to the north-west of the Scheveningen
lighthouse (still in existence today) and in 60 ft of water depth. The bows
were pointed southwards, and not north towards Ijmuiden. A flag signal calling
for tug-assistance was also found but it does not appear to have been sighted
from shore. The boiler was intact and but the cause of the loss appeared to be
large volumes of water spilling down into the engine room through deck
openings. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-align: justify;">The inevitable enquiry followed.
Not unexpectedly the unsuitability of monitors for exposure to open-sea conditions was a
major issue but the final responsibility was laid on the </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Adder’s</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> officers. The vessel’s captain appears not to have had
previous experience or training in handling monitors but the responsibility for
assigning him – which must have been higher up in the naval hierarchy – appears
to have been skated over.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdYfDsjnBQ2xi02GfN-8I2q_psB2F4iQazFsA01gvCeugynCDimAHCNaznyWkdbI3QOFSWxsLMZEpvzy15E2S2lLBP1-h75ML-aLpx4ItINbbf9M2BfFUDFKFGJFCFS8oBU0s7qXTi5E/s1600/Reinier_Claeszen_(1891)_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdYfDsjnBQ2xi02GfN-8I2q_psB2F4iQazFsA01gvCeugynCDimAHCNaznyWkdbI3QOFSWxsLMZEpvzy15E2S2lLBP1-h75ML-aLpx4ItINbbf9M2BfFUDFKFGJFCFS8oBU0s7qXTi5E/s1600/Reinier_Claeszen_(1891)_a.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The <i>Reinier Claeszen</i> - the Netherlands' last, and unlovely, monitor</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-align: justify;">The </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Adder</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> disaster evoked an outpouring of sympathy throughout the
nation and a fund was set up to support the crew’s widows and orphans. A
further consequence was the spontaneous decision by a group of naval officers
to set up the Royal Association of Naval Officers, which still exists today and
is the oldest professional association in the Netherlands. The monitors
continued in service, but one assumes in conditions that took account of the </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Adder</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> experience, and only one further
one was built for the Netherlands Navy, the </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Reinier
Claeszen</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> of 1891. The Wikipedia entry (in Dutch) on this vessel describes
her as </span><i style="text-align: justify;">“not fully seaworthy: she steered
badly and encountered serious maintenance problems.” </i><span style="text-align: justify;">This seems perhaps an
appropriate epitaph for all these unfortunate vessels.</span><br />
<h2 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;">
<i>Britannia's Amazon</i></h2>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;">
Mystery, Vice and Scandal in Victorian London</h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">
<br /></div>
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In <i>Britannia's Spartan </i>Captain Nichols Dawlish headed to unexpected dangers in the Far East in the cruiser HMS <i>Leonidas</i>. He left behind in Britain his indomitable wife Florence, who was determined to fill the months of separation with welfare efforts to support seamen's families. She expected it to be dull - if worthy - work but a chance encounter was to bring her into brutal contact with the squalid underside of complacent Victorian society. On home ground she faces hazards and betrayals every bit as deadly as her husband does in Korea and the powerful enemies she threatens are prepared to stop at nothing to frustrate her. <i>Britannia's Amazon</i> - strongly linked to actual events - tells her story.</div>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-54977885927441155882017-03-24T14:19:00.001-07:002017-03-24T14:19:48.829-07:00The Farfadet Submarine Disaster 1905<div class="MsoNormal">
Courage of the highest order was demanded of the officers
and men of the navies that first employed submarines in the early twentieth
centuries. Designs were still experimental and operating experience limited, so
that every dive was an adventure. Accidents were frequent – and usually fatal
when they did occur – and progress was achieved by learning very hard lessons.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The French navy was one of the first to commit to
large-scale submarine construction. It looked to the new weapon, as it had
looked to torpedo boats two decades before, as a cheap method of compensating
for relative weakness in battleship numbers by comparison with potential
rivals. At this stage submarines were primarily seen as suited to coastal and port-defence
and the second –and so-far largest – design class, the four <i>Farfadet</i> units, launched between 1901
and 1903 were intended for this purpose. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfSLkPWTFQdIqFjYkFBA2rLNce4ahvc4wGWz2EdoQCnCCQaUpO1QZFDmoeNX7kTrp6kwwPjOLz7PXaTYRuLrxh6sAbJzuluQFvT6zaE26h5-HeNQ9QD42u7EgBKO7YW6mocU52CTzRkjE/s1600/Farfadet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfSLkPWTFQdIqFjYkFBA2rLNce4ahvc4wGWz2EdoQCnCCQaUpO1QZFDmoeNX7kTrp6kwwPjOLz7PXaTYRuLrxh6sAbJzuluQFvT6zaE26h5-HeNQ9QD42u7EgBKO7YW6mocU52CTzRkjE/s400/Farfadet.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The <i>Farfadet </i>in service</b></td></tr>
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135-ft. long and of 185/ 202 tons (surface/submerged), the <i>Farfadets</i> craft were propelled by a
single electric motor driving a variable-pitch propeller. The latter was an
innovative item that dispensed with the need to provide reversing capability
for the motor. Range, determined by the
batteries that had to be charged at the operating base, was limited to 115
miles surfaced and 28 submerged, and the maximum speeds attainable were 6.1
knots on the surface and 4.3 knots when submerged. Small as they were, these
units packed a potentially powerful punch – four 18-inch torpedoes carried on
external drop collars. The potency was proved when one unit of the class, the <i>Korrigan</i>, succeeded in hitting the
monitor <i>Tempete, </i>serving as a harbour guard, with a practice torpedo
while remaining unobserved. This was possibly the first time a target had been hit by a
torpedo launched by a submarine. This considerable feat demanded the <i>Korrigan</i> and her sixteen-man crew remaining
submerged for some twelve hours, somewhat of a record. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPzXFNrdFUwGs_yDb3W1nEHIXZwq08MGsuRk5Yysn9bTvTSX_FlZnCnFPcfa5HiMBNb_efrihR5EmsMHeo0uQ9duWJiMDjQB-S1oh5-ta2lTeww5ClOIcuKE7OB2_Wu4ZbNQWjVh70yE/s1600/Le+Petit+Journal+-+23+juillet+1905+-+La+catastrophe+du+Farfadet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPzXFNrdFUwGs_yDb3W1nEHIXZwq08MGsuRk5Yysn9bTvTSX_FlZnCnFPcfa5HiMBNb_efrihR5EmsMHeo0uQ9duWJiMDjQB-S1oh5-ta2lTeww5ClOIcuKE7OB2_Wu4ZbNQWjVh70yE/s400/Le+Petit+Journal+-+23+juillet+1905+-+La+catastrophe+du+Farfadet.jpg" width="347" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A contemporary artist's impression of salvage operations<br />Shallowness of water is exaggerated</b></td></tr>
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Both <i>Korrigan</i> and <i>Farfadet</i> were towed from La Rochelle, on
the French Atlantic coast to the naval base at Bizerte, in Tunisia, in 1904 to provide
port-defence. It was here that disaster was to overcome the <i>Farfadet</i> on July 6<sup>th</sup> of the
following year when the vessel was undertaking diving exercises some 500 yards
from the arsenal. Commander Cyprien Ratier ordered water to be admitted to the
ballast tanks and the craft began to settle very quickly – too quickly, for the
hatch was not closed properly. (It will be seen from the photographs that the hatches
were a point of vulnerability as they were very close to the waterline when
surfaced and there was no tower as such). Ratier, his mate and the
quartermaster struggled unsuccessfully to close the hatch. Large volumes of
water where now cascading into the boat’s interior and Ratier and his two
assistants were blasted out through the hatch by the escaping air. The <i>Farfadet</i> sank, head-foremost, and buried
her bows in the mud. Ten men had gone down with her. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVEQ7TDAeNuvy7dPWwlx28gfyjvuhLrUzd7OMnefC9A7ubIRa6jvPSIzXmNXWGOkmTmZAXbwB2mwRk_GlExtC7Hc2i_YlJpQcInLLSRZg47l-Zi_5vPmJoQ5JblOhxpX7he-2NapGM09c/s1600/Le_petit_parisien_-_Des_scaphandriers_travaillant_-_juillet_1905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVEQ7TDAeNuvy7dPWwlx28gfyjvuhLrUzd7OMnefC9A7ubIRa6jvPSIzXmNXWGOkmTmZAXbwB2mwRk_GlExtC7Hc2i_YlJpQcInLLSRZg47l-Zi_5vPmJoQ5JblOhxpX7he-2NapGM09c/s320/Le_petit_parisien_-_Des_scaphandriers_travaillant_-_juillet_1905.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Immense public interest<br />in the salvage</b></td></tr>
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The stricken craft was lying in approximately thirty feet of
water and some salvage equipment was immediately available at the base. There
were obviously still men alive inside, for they were hammering on the hull. By
the following morning divers had managed to get four steel hawsers passed
around the hull and a floating crane managed to lift it in the early afternoon so
as to lash it to a pontoon. Sufficient
of the hull had been exposed for air-valves to be accessed and air passed in to
the survivors. It was now attempted to move the craft into shallow water, so as
to ground her. The process was a slow one and in the early hours of the following
morning the hawsers parted and the <i>Farfadet</i>
dropped again. Further efforts failed to lift her before the victims trapped
inside died. No further sounds were heard after July 8<sup>th</sup>, two days
after the disaster. (One notices dreadful similarities to the HMS <i>Thetis</i> disaster in Liverpool Bay in
1939, when the stern of the sunken submarine had been raised above the surface).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Salvage efforts continued, a floating dock being used to
lift the <i>Farfadet</i> – once again, the
role of divers would have been crucial in passing hawsers under, and around, the
hull. On July 9th, the Minister of Marine, Gaston Thomson, arrived from Paris to
observe operations. On July 15th, the floating dock and the submarine suspended
underneath were towed into a dry dock. The floating dock lowered the <i>Farfadet,</i> was then removed, and the dry
dock was pumped out to expose the vessel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9PHnJ00xCkY5LGJw7R4f35vl728XwOqJnW2Z1YfKpP-5jcdpKqDyXxxS257IK3PRw-20JZmlxFktKE2idfLV4fJ-brhC5iR2WX1n6Oti5F70lsbsNnaiEAoR-q5MrPQ21d7MdQ5EXvo/s1600/Farfadet+Wreck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9PHnJ00xCkY5LGJw7R4f35vl728XwOqJnW2Z1YfKpP-5jcdpKqDyXxxS257IK3PRw-20JZmlxFktKE2idfLV4fJ-brhC5iR2WX1n6Oti5F70lsbsNnaiEAoR-q5MrPQ21d7MdQ5EXvo/s400/Farfadet+Wreck.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The <i>Farfadet - </i>recovered and lying on her side in the dry dock.</b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8sUvqoq30_QeG9BbuPnQlFF4nU8amgG45ylycpmeW-Hgervqd4G8hz_4DUbXcxy42wApI8-RkiVSd5L0m69_Jk_KphyphenhyphenlbJqLpNN35jwgREvGdrgp6HwXGQcwrNtwFcCCkS80iJUoXHc/s1600/Le_Petit_Journal_-_30_juillet_1905_-_Obs%25C3%25A8ques_des_victimes_du_Farfadet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8sUvqoq30_QeG9BbuPnQlFF4nU8amgG45ylycpmeW-Hgervqd4G8hz_4DUbXcxy42wApI8-RkiVSd5L0m69_Jk_KphyphenhyphenlbJqLpNN35jwgREvGdrgp6HwXGQcwrNtwFcCCkS80iJUoXHc/s320/Le_Petit_Journal_-_30_juillet_1905_-_Obs%25C3%25A8ques_des_victimes_du_Farfadet.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Repatriation of the bodies</b></td></tr>
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The distressing duty of retrieving the bodies was allocated
to the crew of the sister submarine <i>Korrigan</i>.
Four bodies were discovered in the bow compartment, and two in the centre, all probably
killed during the initial inrush of water. Eight men had however managed to seal
themselves in the compartment aft. These men – who had been beating for hours on
the hull plating – had died dreadfully as seawater had reached the sulphuric
acid of the batteries, thereby releasing poisonous chlorine gas. It appeared
that the last of the crew had died after being trapped for 32 hours.</div>
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The long-drawn out agony of the <i>Farfadet</i> had kept France in horror-stricken fascination, the more
so since submarines were a new concept, poorly understood by the general
public. There was a massive outpouring of national grief and an imposing
funeral service was held in Bizerte and the coffins returned to France thereafter
for final burial. The salvaged submarine was towed across the Mediterranean to the
naval base at Toulon, was reconditioned, and taken back into service. Cyprien
Ratier continued as her commander for another two years.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfou8EM-egA9dG9qBVyBXUETDXa_Wev-gUjguHjnsePIdMcuX1OpoJsTfoXsXVbpS2Lgd8RYph3IMq2miZRfanOiPieRZqOzPbsgpntURjqfmSlG7Zs2vIbLJDb7-cPDlfZ_r_1YNBmjM/s1600/Lutin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfou8EM-egA9dG9qBVyBXUETDXa_Wev-gUjguHjnsePIdMcuX1OpoJsTfoXsXVbpS2Lgd8RYph3IMq2miZRfanOiPieRZqOzPbsgpntURjqfmSlG7Zs2vIbLJDb7-cPDlfZ_r_1YNBmjM/s400/Lutin.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The <i>Lutin </i>- <i>Farfadet's </i>sister and doomed to follow her in a year</b></td></tr>
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The <i>Farfadet</i> was
not the only one of her class to meet disaster. Her sister, the <i>Lutin</i>, was to sink, also near Bizerte, in
October 1906. On this occasion structural failure of the hull occurred under
external pressure. An expensive lesson was learned about design and an entire
crew was lost. She too was salvaged. Already outmoded by the time of these
disasters, and having served their purpose in introducing naval personnel to the
science of submarine operation, all members of the <i>Farfadet</i> class were taken from service in the following years, to
be replaced by more sophisticated and more reliable designs.</div>
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The <i>Farfadet</i> was
not to be the last peacetime submarine disaster. They have continued up to our
own time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h2 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<i>Britannia's </i><i>Shark</i></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">The third of the <i>Dawlish Chronicles</i> series centres on the development - and role - of a prototype submarine. Based on actual events and personalities, </span><i style="font-size: 13.2px;">Britannia's Shark</i><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"> paints a vivid picture of the skills and courage - bordering on madness - which was needed to operate such craft. Click on the image below to learn more and </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">o read the opening chapters.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /></div>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-3064689350449033602017-03-21T14:16:00.000-07:002017-03-21T13:28:29.709-07:00HMS Guardian 1789 – an epic battle for survival<div class="MsoNormal">
In earlier posts I mentioned discovering the wonderful 1895
“Story of the Sea”, edited by “Q” (Sir Arthus Quiller Couch, with contributions
from several luminaries of the era and with splendid illustrations. It dates
from the period in which the British general public’s fascination with things
nautical in general and with the Royal Navy in particular was at its zenith.
One of the most impressive stories I found in it, and which I had not
previously aware of, was of the survival, in appalling conditions, by HMS <i>Guardian</i>, en route to Australia in 1789.
This epic of courage and seamanship is well worth sharing more widely.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcrL1IjyJ_erjlirSbUbC1KkzTyWHt4rTUslohx9lNfqjCMrxY84s6kUuU6XSTtv_xyy85GdqF32q40Kd_frezXmvyKJctNmk9LLrNKwhb2sqw6BLecNNo5ne-TjXeyi_FeLxFLLd6TQ/s1600/First+Fleet+entering+Port+Jackson+on+26+January+1788+by+E.+Le+Bihan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcrL1IjyJ_erjlirSbUbC1KkzTyWHt4rTUslohx9lNfqjCMrxY84s6kUuU6XSTtv_xyy85GdqF32q40Kd_frezXmvyKJctNmk9LLrNKwhb2sqw6BLecNNo5ne-TjXeyi_FeLxFLLd6TQ/s1600/First+Fleet+entering+Port+Jackson+on+26+January+1788+by+E.+Le+Bihan.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The First Fleet entering Port Jackson, 26th January 1788, by E. le Bihan</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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British settlement of Australia commenced in 1788 when the
“First Fleet”, consisting of two naval escorts, six convict transports and
three stores ships, arrived from Britain at Port Jackson – Sydney Harbour. This
was a vast and ambitious project, all the more impressive in that the ships had
to voyage half the way around the world yet arrived safely within two days of
each other after a passage lasting some 250 days. There is almost a
“science-fiction” air about the project, aimed as it was at establishing a
large-scale settlement from the start, albeit one relying on convict labour for
its development. The First Fleet landed 1373 people, of whom 754 were convicts
(including some 189 women and 22 children, some born at sea). Officials and
marines, the latter to preserve order and discipline, amounted to 259 and the
remainder were seamen, many of whom were to leave again with the ships.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Further support for the infant colony was provided the
following year, 1789, with the despatch of HMS <i>Guardian, </i>a frigate converted to carry stores<i>. </i> These consisted of seeds,
plants, agricultural implements and livestock. She had a crew of 123, under the
command of who proved to be the very capable Lieutenant Edward Riou, as well as
a further 25 convicts. Her voyage from Britain to Cape Town, where she put in
briefly, was uneventful, but twelve days after departure from there, on
December 23<sup>rd</sup>, about 1400 miles south east of the Cape, a large
iceberg was sighted.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At this stage Lieutenant Riou was concerned about lack of
water for the animals on board – one gets the impression that these needs had
been underestimated, the more so since one would have expected water supplies
to have been replenished at Cape Town. Hoping to replenish his water by taking
on ice from the berg, Riou advanced cautiously towards it. Boats were swung out
and the <i>Guardian</i> lay to for the ice
to be brought on board.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYr0hUcQ4AEXdjbnCzLB9lZ0Ik2iwm0dlFuJm6HEcW88AsTHzb6tsAB03g6jPP22YHbRpW0YE_b29tM1UMa8gBdR7GfLzBOupgNTOm5od-3xihDCF_eC66hC7GGJoyexVJHXRd9zaUsNU/s1600/Guardian+Aground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYr0hUcQ4AEXdjbnCzLB9lZ0Ik2iwm0dlFuJm6HEcW88AsTHzb6tsAB03g6jPP22YHbRpW0YE_b29tM1UMa8gBdR7GfLzBOupgNTOm5od-3xihDCF_eC66hC7GGJoyexVJHXRd9zaUsNU/s1600/Guardian+Aground.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Guardian </i>aground - Victorian era illustration</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The fact that the iceberg extended a large distance under
water does not seem to have been suspected, since as the <i>Guardian</i> attempted to stand away her bows struck. She swung around
and the bows, though damaged, came free, but the stern now smashed on to the
ice. The rudder was sheared away and a serious breach was made in the hull. The
ice mountain towering above was estimated as “twice was high as the mainmast of
a first-rater” and there were fears of sections of it crashing down. Riou
remained calm in all this and managed, by use of his sails, to get the vessel
free.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The situation was desperate, with six feet of water already
in the hold. It was now a question of “all hands to the pumps” while an attempt
was made to patch the hole at the stern by a sail. The labour went on through
the night and all through the entire next day, during which the weather
deteriorated. Despite this efforts were in progress to lighten the ship, during
which Riou’s hand was crushed by a falling cask. Some ground had however been
gained against the leak when the starboard pump broke down around midnight on
the 24<sup>th</sup>. By Christmas morning not only was the water depth in the
hold increasing once more but the night’s tempest had blown the fore- and
top-mainsails to shreds, leaving the vessel at the mercy of the sea.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Some of the crew, exhausted and despairing, left the pumps
and hid themselves and it was only by threatening to cast them overboard that
they were brought back to work. By now the water had reached the orlop deck and
was gaining two feet an hour. Some of the more self-reliant men came to the
officers and asked for boats to be made ready. Riou agreed to this and those
who wished to leave could do so. Masts, sails, compasses and water casks were
placed in each boat. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVVB6J5pKW8nC-7FSmV7e7Puj9PECCaBUdTjV8xNCpZ9EYYFbEFcW7tjc9XkdWuYwYcqYONdj3zKF97SXcLJtKt-ss0cUCN17zFEXxeOaeL_VdjQOJfcx25BbXSpIcL49vUDhNud2DYk/s1600/HMS_Guardian_Riou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVVB6J5pKW8nC-7FSmV7e7Puj9PECCaBUdTjV8xNCpZ9EYYFbEFcW7tjc9XkdWuYwYcqYONdj3zKF97SXcLJtKt-ss0cUCN17zFEXxeOaeL_VdjQOJfcx25BbXSpIcL49vUDhNud2DYk/s1600/HMS_Guardian_Riou.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Contemporary view of the boats leaving the stricken <i>Guardian</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Knowing that there was insufficient space in the boats, Riou determined to stay behind. 61
others remained with him. These included the officers and 21 of the convicts –
it is unlikely that the latter had any say in the matter. The five boats launched carried 259 – the
overcrowding is almost unimaginable. Clements, the ship’s master, took charge
of the launch, the largest boat. Riou handed him a letter which should be
forwarded, in the event of Clements’ survival, to the Secretary of the
Admiralty. It embodies all that is best of the Royal Navy of the period and is
worth quoting in full as an example of calm dignity, honour and resolution in
the face of almost certain death:</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">HMS <i>Guardian</i>, December 25<sup>th</sup>, 1789<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sir – If any part of the officers or crew of the Guardian
should ever survive to get home, I have only to say their conduct after the
fatal stroke against an island of ice was admirable and wonderful in everything
that related to their duties considered either as private men or on his
Majesty's Service.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As there seems no possibility of my remaining many hours in
this world, I beg leave to recommend to the consideration of the Admiralty a
sister who if my conduct or service should be found deserving any memory their
favour might be shown to her together with a widowed mother.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I am Sir remaining with great respect, your ever Obedt &
humble servt,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> E.
Riou</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbQ5Q4LEkGN4feuDlHdt-gBk_Oe8Iyj7Ayh10f7ScrNAQh-URP1_yFyhjMpVz5BR4BwrEgRhE3C6BBALBKbo990Tj9SDTATpUX2_zet-aZcbITW562EGElvqnq0NIklki5JwAWHM-yIM/s1600/AU+Govt+Portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbQ5Q4LEkGN4feuDlHdt-gBk_Oe8Iyj7Ayh10f7ScrNAQh-URP1_yFyhjMpVz5BR4BwrEgRhE3C6BBALBKbo990Tj9SDTATpUX2_zet-aZcbITW562EGElvqnq0NIklki5JwAWHM-yIM/s1600/AU+Govt+Portrait.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A contemporary depiction of the overcrowding in the boats<br />(With acknowledgement to the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, Australia)</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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With the boats gone, Riou’s efforts to save the ship
continued undiminished. Though the <i>Guardian</i>
was wholly unmanageable it appeared that she had sunk as far as she would go.
This appears to have been due to empty casks in the hold pressing up against
the lower deck, the hatchways of which had been firmly secured. In addition, as
well as the damage at the stern, there was also a hole in the bows and through
this iron and shingle ballast seems to have washed out. The vessel was however
wholly unmanageable, and was drifting at the mercy of wind and wave. It was at
this time that Riou’s leadership was most impressive. At one stage he had to
face down a near mutiny when some of the men constructed a raft of the booms
and were readying to leave the ship on it. Quite providentially a favourable
breeze sprung up as they were launching it and Riou convinced them to stay with
the <i>Guardian</i>.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The ship was to drift for almost two months, until February
22<sup>nd</sup> 1790, when the flat top of Table Mountain was spotted on the
horizon, for by a miracle the <i>Guardian</i>
had drifted steadily towards Cape Town. A British ship sighted her and sent
boats to tow her into the anchorage. Though Riou had brought his people
(including one woman) to safety, his hopes of repairing the <i>Guardian</i> and getting her back to Britain
were frustrated and she had to be abandoned. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In the meantime the <i>Guardian’s</i>
launch – the only one of the five ship’s boats to survive – had been picked up
by a French ship after twelve days at sea. There were only fifteen survivors on
board, including Clements, the master, wo could now forward Riou’s letter to
the Admiralty.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On arrival in Cape Town Riou now wrote another letter:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Table Bay, February 22<sup>nd</sup>.
1790<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sir, - I hope this letter will reach you before any account
arrives of the loss of His Majesty’s ship <i>Guardian</i>.
If it should, I have to beg of your lordships that, on the 23<sup>rd</sup> of
December, the ship struck on an island of ice; and that on the 25<sup>th</sup>
all hope of her survival having vanished, I consented that as many of the
officers and people should take the boats as thought proper. But it pleased
Almighty God to assist my endeavours, with the remaining part of the crew, to
arrive with His Majesty’s ship in this bay yesterday. A Dutch packet is now
under sail for Europe, which prevents me from giving any further particulars,
especially as at this instant I find it more necessary than ever to exert
myself to prevent the ship from sinking at her anchors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I am, sir,
most respectfully<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Your ever
obedient servant, E. Riou</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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This letter arrived at the Admiralty on April 28<sup>th</sup>,
five days after Riou’s first letter and in this period Riou and his men had
been mourned as dead. News was sent immediately to King George III, “who on
reading it, expressed uncommon satisfaction.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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It is pleasing to know that though the 21 surviving convicts
were sent on to Australia, 14 of them were pardoned as a result of Riou's
report of their good conduct on the <i>Guardian</i>.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUru2WacrgAZDVJ-53SXPFJhGsQFuH9p_gpZ7IKxON5LwcrA1BlVep4zEobji1nwlXB0S_0auv-YPp5I-qgOmBLpFnug2Zj466z8QM9KpKSZpP9ZjXfhh6P54v-yPbq97IeGgy3E2YGtY/s1600/Lord_Camelford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUru2WacrgAZDVJ-53SXPFJhGsQFuH9p_gpZ7IKxON5LwcrA1BlVep4zEobji1nwlXB0S_0auv-YPp5I-qgOmBLpFnug2Zj466z8QM9KpKSZpP9ZjXfhh6P54v-yPbq97IeGgy3E2YGtY/s1600/Lord_Camelford.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Thomas Pitt, 2nd Lord Camelford<br />- he seems to radiate pugnacity</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Among the others who remained with Riou on the <i>Guardian</i> was a young midshipman named Thomas Pitt
(1775-1804), son of Lord Camelford, brother of the ex-Prime Minister William
Pitt. Undeterred by this experience Pitt, now 16, volunteered for the major exploration
expedition due to leave under the command of Captain George Vancouver. With no positions
left for officers, Pitt signed on as an able-seaman, a remarkable step for one
of his background. His undisciplined behaviour on the voyage resulted however
in his being flogged three times (once for consorting with native women on
Tahiti, an activity regarded with great suspicion since the <i>Bounty</i> mutiny). While at sea Pitt’s
father had died, making him Lord Camelford himself and also – perhaps – the
only member of the House of Lords ever to be flogged as a common seaman. Back
in Britain, and now commissioned as a lieutenant, Pitt (or Camelford as he now
was) initiated a vendetta against Vancouver, going so far as to assault him in the
street. His life continued to be violent to an extent to which insanity was
suspected – when posted to the West Indies he shot dead a subordinate officer
who hesitated to obey orders. His end
was to come after he left the navy when, in a dispute over a mistress, he challenged
an ex-friend, a Captain Best, to a duel. Camelford was to die of wounds
sustained in the encounter, though, to his credit, his will directed that Best
not be prosecuted in the event of his death.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHu5h2izDSBivRm7kKLSa7l0lVYf4twUZ3aElJ6d2Uc8cwRlfcK7gX2ksv1lJWqOXnQcE1A4-tRQClqPD_-fPKbMr4OnvAWG0X10UFnmXLuRxvJnBIfgIUHMZwaWml3fYmvOxFoHvHqgQ/s1600/The+Caneing+in+Conduit+Street+(1796)%2C%2BJames%2BGillray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHu5h2izDSBivRm7kKLSa7l0lVYf4twUZ3aElJ6d2Uc8cwRlfcK7gX2ksv1lJWqOXnQcE1A4-tRQClqPD_-fPKbMr4OnvAWG0X10UFnmXLuRxvJnBIfgIUHMZwaWml3fYmvOxFoHvHqgQ/s1600/The+Caneing+in+Conduit+Street+(1796)%2C%2BJames%2BGillray.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"The Caning in Conduit Street"<br />James Gilray's cartoon of Camelford attacking Vancouver</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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And the splendid Edward Riou, the hero of the <i>Guardian, </i>what became of him? </div>
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It is sad
to record that he was to die at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. As captain of
HMS <i>Amazon</i>, Riou was entrusted with
command of the frigate squadron, which he brought in close to the Danish forts.
Undeterred by a splinter-inflicted head
wound, and surrounded by dead and dying, he was still encouraging his men when
he was killed by a roundshot while– a death he himself might have wished for. Nelson,
on learning of Riou's death, called the loss 'irreparable'.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Had Riou survived
there is little doubt that he would have advanced to the highest levels of
command and would be better remembered today. He was a magnificent man.<br />
<br />
<h2 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;">
<i>Britannia's Amazon</i></h2>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;">
Mystery, Vice and Scandal in Victorian London</h3>
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<br /></div>
<div>
In <i>Britannia's Spartan </i>Captain Nichols Dawlish headed to unexpected dangers in the Far East in the cruiser HMS <i>Leonidas</i>. He left behind in Britain his indomitable wife Florence, who was determined to fill the months of separation with welfare efforts to support seamen's families. She expected it to be dull - if worthy - work but a chance encounter was to bring her into brutal contact with the squalid underside of complacent Victorian society. On home ground she faces hazards and betrayals every bit as deadly as her husband does in Korea and the powerful enemies she threatens are prepared to stop at nothing to frustrate her. <i>Britannia's Amazon</i> - strongly linked to actual events - tells her story.</div>
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<span style="color: red;"><a href="https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/embed?asin=B01M3Y525Z&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_Yv2kybHF3ZZS6" style="color: #8a7ca1; text-decoration: none;">Click here or on the image above to read the opening chapters</a></span></h3>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-38271477843464565672017-03-17T14:50:00.000-07:002017-03-17T15:32:23.768-07:00The loss of HMS Vanguard 1875<div class="MsoNormal">
The name HMS <i>Vanguard</i>
is associated today with the Royal Navy’s last battleship, scrapped in 1960. An
earlier <i>Vanguard</i> was however to meet an
even more unpleasant fate, and arguably a wholly avoidable one.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLgHjd4Ff_m9V8yOSX0d3yNL3EKTPlXwt-jS-Sfwb07z1crwB2RjRd01jKzWQT9HLCN25B_sYlM3cUzsFl7s3hO61ebypUbcY1zH0VMydHA3HLrQJH2NyTM6DZOSMx-5DFvAf00HWWUE/s1600/Vanguard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLgHjd4Ff_m9V8yOSX0d3yNL3EKTPlXwt-jS-Sfwb07z1crwB2RjRd01jKzWQT9HLCN25B_sYlM3cUzsFl7s3hO61ebypUbcY1zH0VMydHA3HLrQJH2NyTM6DZOSMx-5DFvAf00HWWUE/s1600/Vanguard.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HMS <i>Vanguard</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The HMS <i>Vanguard</i>
launched in 1870 was one of a class of four ironclads, her sisters being <i>Audacious</i>, <i>Invincible</i> and <i>Iron Duke</i>.
The concept of a sea-going ironclad capital ship was only ten years old. HMS <i>Warrior</i>, the first of the type, and which
was as revolutionary in her time as HMS <i>Dreadnought</i>
four decades later, had become the starting point for a new type of warship.
The <i>Vanguard</i> and her sisters
represented a second generation of such ships. Their most notable departure
from the <i>Warrior</i> configuration was
that although <i>Warrior</i> carried her many
guns in broadside mountings, as warships had done for centuries, the <i>Vanguard’s</i> armament of much heavier
weapons was concentrated in a two-storey armoured box amidships. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_5VpO7gSpJbZwWKzNi2KUR_lCgDTPeX2PGv0NVQroulCb0hu1Cah-mpYH_h4cNNFDW4cpWKjsrEF-lGOF6VvxvymSDiHVvFfaea_j3pzg0KNBPtJUDuiZybfvBbmpcT6ZkGshoALOE8/s1600/HMS+Warrior.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_5VpO7gSpJbZwWKzNi2KUR_lCgDTPeX2PGv0NVQroulCb0hu1Cah-mpYH_h4cNNFDW4cpWKjsrEF-lGOF6VvxvymSDiHVvFfaea_j3pzg0KNBPtJUDuiZybfvBbmpcT6ZkGshoALOE8/s1600/HMS+Warrior.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>HMS <i>Warrior</i> - obsolescent in 1875 but today restored to her former glory at Portsmouth</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVt8WbT4i51Kk65Vsjfo3darvk7YkFE4OiI-qzh9uVGZrMdy8QtFzaem0JF8FznRm4V9d0q-s3pqH1lE6K8n_a_GNt9HsHrzNGxMducFwdwgbzRRf3gHv_132zA7Xv4bHtyd7Gs7ZB6hM/s1600/Vanguard+Dimensions.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVt8WbT4i51Kk65Vsjfo3darvk7YkFE4OiI-qzh9uVGZrMdy8QtFzaem0JF8FznRm4V9d0q-s3pqH1lE6K8n_a_GNt9HsHrzNGxMducFwdwgbzRRf3gHv_132zA7Xv4bHtyd7Gs7ZB6hM/s1600/Vanguard+Dimensions.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<i>Vanguard</i> and her
sisters (see table) were rated as “second-class”, of moderate dimensions
that were well suited for deployment on foreign stations, most likely singly. <i>Iron Duke</i> was to serve as flagship of
the China Station for four years form 1871 and was one of the largest ships to
transit the Suez Canal up to that time. Her sailing rig made her particularly
suitable for operations in areas, such as the Pacific Ocean, where coaling
opportunities were limited. All four vessels of the class were described as “good
and steady seaboats but slow under sail”.<br />
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By 1875 <i>Iron Duke</i>
had returned to home waters and was assigned, with her three sisters, with the ironclads
<i>Hector, Defence, Penelope</i> and <i>Achilles</i>, and the by-then obsolescent <i>Warrior,</i> to the First Reserve Squadron. In late August the squadron was based at
Kingstown (now Dun Laoighaire) the large artificial harbour on the southern side
of Dublin Bay. On the morning of September 1<sup>st</sup> the Squadron left Kingstown
in line, the majority of the vessels headed for Queenstown (now Cobh) further south
on the Irish Coast. This enormous force, splendid with their black hulls and buff funnels and masts, must have been a magnificent sight as
they passed, one by one, through the narrow-gap between Kingstown’s two projecting
mile-long piers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRDjJzUEDWa4MDUV6h2Z17a6UCoOtWUZA_KRs1HU6zktyTf3IptW-F6OFPW8_qmp9uYilDiFOgh7Z-cVcc-07qbwC92jIhbc03nxTrrX4GJwQqOy8v4wG6iSdDaJ64eo3l078weN-IeI/s1600/HMS+Vanguard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRDjJzUEDWa4MDUV6h2Z17a6UCoOtWUZA_KRs1HU6zktyTf3IptW-F6OFPW8_qmp9uYilDiFOgh7Z-cVcc-07qbwC92jIhbc03nxTrrX4GJwQqOy8v4wG6iSdDaJ64eo3l078weN-IeI/s1600/HMS+Vanguard.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>HMS <i>Vanguard </i>at sea under sail and steam power</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Six miles out, off the Kish Bank lightship, the <i>Achilles</i> broke away to head for Liverpool
and the remaining ships turned south. The sea was moderate, but a fog came on,
its density increasing. The ships had been proceeding at some twelve knots, but
speed was reduced to half this as the fog persisted. By a half-hour after noon the lookouts on <i>Vanguard</i> could not see more than fifty
yards ahead, and the officers on her bridge could not see the bowsprit. It is unlikely that the situation was any
better on the other ships.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkD7Cizkm5u3Oqqy1gUlHoZMUd0D78WV0naIilse9V-aAkSwqPl5JEfwXX8Us_SAdlwoG7LTOlYwYSBN28REYUsd9Hxk8FU5-UBvB7yiFv35z5rHKZyMYThi91bmWTt3hCg_XAMsDEsJM/s1600/Vanguard+1875+sunk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkD7Cizkm5u3Oqqy1gUlHoZMUd0D78WV0naIilse9V-aAkSwqPl5JEfwXX8Us_SAdlwoG7LTOlYwYSBN28REYUsd9Hxk8FU5-UBvB7yiFv35z5rHKZyMYThi91bmWTt3hCg_XAMsDEsJM/s1600/Vanguard+1875+sunk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Contemporary illustration - <i>Vanguard</i> sinking and <i>Iron Duke's </i>damaged bows (l)</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The <i>Vanguard’s</i>
watch suddenly reported a sail ahead, and the helm was put over to prevent
running it down. The <i>Iron Duke</i> was
then following close in the wake of the <i>Vanguard</i>,
whose action brought the two vessels closer, presenting <i>Vanguard’s</i> port broadside-on to <i>Iron
Duke’s</i> bow. Unaware of any change, and blinded by the fog, the <i>Iron Duke</i> ploughed on. Only at the last
moment did her commander, Captain Hickley, who was on the bridge, see <i>Vanguard</i> emerging from the mist. He
ordered reversing of his engines, but it was already too late. The <i>Iron Duke’s </i>ram struck the <i>Vanguard</i> below the armour-plates, on the
port side, abreast of the engine-room. The rent made was very large—amounting,
as the divers afterwards found, to four feet length —and the water poured into
the hold in torrents. It was immediately obvious that <i>Vanguard</i> was doomed for this was still an age when compartalisation
and damage-control of iron vessels were in their infancy.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxamCUoY-9YLdrhr-Yg-AN-xkLo35U6SREGvB9x3e-Ncphs3zmJHYswNkyUHkayUXngGQ8nJSNVF1vcxVqRMBQXvy1d1_ZGk8NsdsfgIP2jce8xGt9XLwYzrzctu8AD7cWgTvVaWt4TLc/s1600/Vanguard+sinking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxamCUoY-9YLdrhr-Yg-AN-xkLo35U6SREGvB9x3e-Ncphs3zmJHYswNkyUHkayUXngGQ8nJSNVF1vcxVqRMBQXvy1d1_ZGk8NsdsfgIP2jce8xGt9XLwYzrzctu8AD7cWgTvVaWt4TLc/s1600/Vanguard+sinking.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Boats from both ships rescuing <i>Vanguard's </i>crew</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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There was nothing more to be done but to save lives. The <i>Vanguard’s </i>Captain Dawkins ordered
abandonment and officers and men behaved calmly. At the risk of his life one of
the mechanics returned to the engine-room to blow down the boilers, so
preventing an explosion,. The water rose quickly in the after-part, and rushed
into the engine and boiler rooms, eventually finding its way into the
provision-room flat, through imperfectly fastened “water-tight” doors – which
proved anything but. Discipline was superb, the crew standing on deck as if at
an inspection and not moving until ordered. Boats were lowered by both <i>Vanguard</i> and <i>Iron Duke</i> and in the process of transfer the only casualty of the
disaster was sustained – a finger crushed between a boat’s gunwale and a ships’
hull. The actual transfer to <i>Iron Duke</i>
of <i>Vanguard’s</i> entire crew was
achieved in twenty minutes and Captain Dawkins was the last man to leave her.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Vanguard</i> heeled
gradually over until the whole of her enormous flank and bottom, down to her
keel, was above water. Then she sank gradually, righting herself as she went
down, stern first, the water being blown from hawse-holes in huge spouts by the
force of the air rushing up from below. She disappeared some ninety minutes
after the collision. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5f2DGpbZON_vo3Sj2kohivCBhvwlbrIyLDk0Lf92MuABAKQf4SGZI7hJYqd3dnSmPvImATg1skzuqzWQwPjoF7_o5TyV77EMSZNP8pTGXDUEwTybxjkqkEmJTcMiqRC_rpH21LPo1e_A/s1600/Vanguard+Court+Martial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5f2DGpbZON_vo3Sj2kohivCBhvwlbrIyLDk0Lf92MuABAKQf4SGZI7hJYqd3dnSmPvImATg1skzuqzWQwPjoF7_o5TyV77EMSZNP8pTGXDUEwTybxjkqkEmJTcMiqRC_rpH21LPo1e_A/s320/Vanguard+Court+Martial.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The court-martial</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The inevitable court-martial was to prove remarkable for the
statement by the then First Lord of the Admiralty – the minister responsible
for the Navy – that <i>“we ought to be
rather satisfied than otherwise with the occurrence”</i>. Edward Reed, the designer of both ships, and by
1875 a Liberal Member of Parliament, stated that ironclads were in more danger
in times of peace than in times of war. In peacetime, he said, they were
residences for several hundred men, and many of the water-tight doors could not
be kept closed without inconvenience. In wartime however they were fortresses, and
the doors would be closed for safety. Even
more remarkably, close station-keeping in a fog was not considered as contributing
to the disaster. The Court commented negatively on the conduct of the <i>Iron Duke’s </i>officers and indirectly
blamed the admiral in command of the squadron. The Admiralty could find nothing
wrong in either case and visited their wrath on the unfortunate lieutenant on
deck at the time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Vanguard</i> still
lies, largely intact, in some 150 feet of water off Ireland’s Wicklow coast.
She is reachable by experienced air-divers – and reaching her must be a magnificent
experience. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And <i>Vanguard’s</i> Captain
Dawkins? It's sad to report that, well as he behaved after the collision, his career was at an end.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you want to read about adventure in the age of transition from sail to steam, then try <i>The Dawlish Chronicles, </i>which so far stretch to five volumes.<i> </i>Start the adventure with<i> "Britannia's Wolf" </i>which features ironclads in combat, desperate land action in the depths of a savage winter, and murderous political intrigue.<i> </i>You can get it in Kindle or paperback format. Click on the image below for details.</span></b></div>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-24413195745632316912017-03-14T14:50:00.002-07:002017-03-14T14:59:09.273-07:00More Privateer Action: HMS Wolverine, 1799<div class="MsoNormal">
My blog of February 10th of this year – accessible through the
bar to the right – dealt with privateering action in the English Channel in
1793, at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. It demonstrated that even at
this very early stage the naval warfare in the “Narrow Seas” between Britain and
the European coastline was to be of a quite savage nature, not unlike the battles
that were to be fought by British and German coastal forces in the same waters
in World War 2. The pace of action was not to let up in the years that followed
as French privateers, often of very small size, darted out to prey on British
coastal traffic and retired quickly to well-defended bases such as Calais. The
war against them was to be waged not by the mighty battle-fleets or their supporting
frigates but by small handy craft such as brigs and cutters, heavily armed for
their size. The following account, drawing largely on information in the same
W. Clark Russell book of 1889 as my previous blog, relates to another small-scale
but epic battle that was typical of this aspect of the larger conflict.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3z6TgLHxLCOb7VMWb8OSvaLusWfdM1RS2js5HtnNsIuyItGnvnDe4GdyDuOz9JmLD54EFAWcScHA04YzWIJF2W0ce0B6HHoieyfPxjqOcnM3x3pgbPhTe-5dNfPnZhubMH9nDpCDq68/s1600/HMS_Wolverine_1798.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3z6TgLHxLCOb7VMWb8OSvaLusWfdM1RS2js5HtnNsIuyItGnvnDe4GdyDuOz9JmLD54EFAWcScHA04YzWIJF2W0ce0B6HHoieyfPxjqOcnM3x3pgbPhTe-5dNfPnZhubMH9nDpCDq68/s320/HMS_Wolverine_1798.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>HMS <i>Wolverine </i>1798 - her rounded civilian bows<br />betray her civilian origin</b></td></tr>
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HMS <i>Wolverine</i> was a
civilian-owned collier before being purchased by the Royal Navy in 1798 for
conversion to an armed brig. Her armament was powerful – only two of her guns
were long 18-pounders and her others were all carronades, six of them
24-pounders and six 12-pounders. The carronades were murderously efficient
weapons at short range and gave a craft such as the <i>Wolverine</i> a “punch” out of all proportion to their size. She was to
see service immediately after commissioning by Commander Lewis Mortlock when
she supported a “Dieppe 1942” type raid on the port of Ostend. On January 3<sup>rd</sup>
1799 she was cruising off the French port of Boulogne, some twenty miles from the
English coast. Weather conditions were poor but two large French armed luggers were
spotted. These were later identified as the fourteen-gun <i>Le Furet</i> and the eight-gun <i>Rusé</i>,
all weapons being four-pounders. Their combined crews were roughly four times the
70 men carried by <i>Wolverine</i> – a
potentially decisive factor should it come to boarding. These were typical
privateers of the English Channel and such craft usually fled from
confrontation with naval units – their objective was capture of rich commercial
prizes rather than combat – and Mortlock realised that to bring them to action
it would be necessary to play the role of a merchantman, a ruse that <i>Wolverine’s</i> civilian lines would assist.
He accordingly hoisted Danish colours and, as expected, the luggers bore down on
him and hailed. Asked for his identity, Mortlock answered that he was en-route from
Plymouth to Copenhagen. All his guns
were manned, their crews out of sight and to all appearances <i>Wolverine</i> looked like an unarmed and attractive
commercial prize.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6s3gOqP7njnE5dRQOtCQdglGQsheXVekf2mdTQO5H6PhuHd7AdxNLPA_J5eh8cGE9hyphenhyphenf50J5ZkDwABTlKPbBUGxUIixGpOPw-AEhyBAj_Niskcbr8Ro_dVjRcP3p3Jf0TTxjwNQ3R8g/s1600/lougre10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6s3gOqP7njnE5dRQOtCQdglGQsheXVekf2mdTQO5H6PhuHd7AdxNLPA_J5eh8cGE9hyphenhyphenf50J5ZkDwABTlKPbBUGxUIixGpOPw-AEhyBAj_Niskcbr8Ro_dVjRcP3p3Jf0TTxjwNQ3R8g/s320/lougre10.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>An armed French lugger of the period <br /><i>Le Furet</i> and <i style="text-align: start;">Rusé </i><span style="text-align: start;">possibly looked similar</span></b></span></td></tr>
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Mortlock’s deception paid off. As the unsuspecting <i>Le Furet</i> drew close, British colours
were run up in place of the Danish and a full broadside unleashed. Given the
disparity in firepower the only French hope now lay in boarding. <i>Le Furet</i> accordingly ploughed on towards
<i>Wolverine’s</i> starboard quarter and crashed
her bowsprit between the mizzen-shrouds and the mast while small-arms fire were
poured on to her decks from the British tops. Close on <i>Le Furet’s </i>heels the <i>Rusé </i>came
in on <i>Wolverine’s</i> port bow. From both
luggers French boarders now poured across and <i>Wolverine’s</i> gunners had to abandon their weapons to join in the
close combat on deck. The four-to one disparity in crew numbers was firmly in
favour of the French and the fighting was now of a close, hand to hand, nature.
According to Russell’s account, one Frenchman in particular<i> “was observed to be cheering his men and beating them forward with the
flat of his sword. The plucky rascal sprung to the top of the round house,
where he stood hysterically yelling to his people and flourishing his weapon.
Mortlock, supposing him to be the captain of the privateer, rushed at him. The
Frenchman snapped a pistol in his face; it missed fire; he drew out another
pistol but before he could level it Mortlock had plunged his half-pike into his
body and he went overboard.” </i>The resistance seems to have been so resolute
that the French did not press their advantage with any great enthusiasm. A
diversion was created by men from <i>Le
Furet</i> throwing bags full of incendiary material through <i>Wolverine’s</i> stern windows and starting a
fire. This drew the British crew away to fight the conflagration and in the
confusion the French boarders withdrew, cut the lashings that bound their
luggers to the <i>Wolverine</i>, and made
off. <i>Wolverine</i>, scarred but
triumphant, retired to Portsmouth.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnL9lHKXtu-niKfVd_jJyPIZbGFi6aCpBNCh_8s5VHOXs2Cbz_9CRikBdNqJvTMwl0PdF2RlAVab5WSNpuxJx88ufcWe1K-E-EbwV2m0gXayOd-DoxIggfIGzMzwspgYN2rT9WRaSJvr8/s1600/Lewis_Mortlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnL9lHKXtu-niKfVd_jJyPIZbGFi6aCpBNCh_8s5VHOXs2Cbz_9CRikBdNqJvTMwl0PdF2RlAVab5WSNpuxJx88ufcWe1K-E-EbwV2m0gXayOd-DoxIggfIGzMzwspgYN2rT9WRaSJvr8/s320/Lewis_Mortlock.jpg" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Lewis Mortlock - young, handsome and doomed</b></td></tr>
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Reading of such close actions one is often struck by how
light the casualties could be. <i>Wolverine</i>
lost two men, one of them Commander Mortlock, who had been badly wounded. He
died in his mother’s arms a week later and his funeral was attended by every
captain then in Portsmouth. A touching footnote is that his Newfoundland dog,
who had been on board <i>Wolverine</i>
throughout the action, survived unscathed. French losses were heavier – a total of
nineteen killed or dying of wounds shortly afterwards, plus many wounded who
survived. Among the dead were <i>Le Furet’s</i>
captain – possibly the “plucky rascal” whom Mortlock had slain – and three
officers from the <i>Rusé</i>. The disproportion
in losses may be partly explained by the surprise <i>Wolverine</i> unleashed on her unsuspecting attackers and another
factor is almost certainly that the British crew’s stricter discipline and
better training made them more effective than the privateersmen.</div>
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Commander Lewis Mortlock’s name is a forgotten one today,
yet he was one of the thousands of brave, promising, splendid men whose
professionalism was to save Britain and Europe from French domination. We owe
him, and those like him, a debt.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Britannia's Reach</i></b></h2>
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<a href="https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/embed?asin=B00I9I8DWC&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_uwYVyb8A7QMRW" style="background-color: white; color: #8a7ca1; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration: none;">Click here </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">or on the image below to plunge yourself into a world of danger, betrayal and merciless conflict in which neither side has clean hands and one man battles to maintain his integrity. One click gives you access to the opening chapters...</span></div>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-11489449634330552912017-03-10T09:06:00.000-08:002017-03-10T11:08:17.945-08:00Dynamite Guns: Brilliant Technical Dead-Ends!<div class="MsoNormal">
A major role is played in the Dawlish Chronicles novel <i>Britannia’s Shark, </i>set in 1881<i>,</i> by an experimental “pneumatic
projector” – essentially a gun from which the projectile is launched by
compressed air. Such weapons were considered very promising in the 1880s and
1890s and indeed the inventor John Phillip Holland, who also features in <i>“Britannia’s Shark”,</i> built a 9-inch
projector into his 1882 Fenian Ram, arguably the first successful submarine.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijt_WAchoH3DEaJNJnNfwZaVgWBpy1tIPBdWmsj1fUVRz-7q23T6M9MLfCtshURVxjncuqe2OnjkkidUilooT_Z3Z_8eX71VNJeAowydqOst1mi5SOTh3bVxnZOUBrcbMkFmpblvxuPiI/s1600/Fort+Scott+Weapon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijt_WAchoH3DEaJNJnNfwZaVgWBpy1tIPBdWmsj1fUVRz-7q23T6M9MLfCtshURVxjncuqe2OnjkkidUilooT_Z3Z_8eX71VNJeAowydqOst1mi5SOTh3bVxnZOUBrcbMkFmpblvxuPiI/s1600/Fort+Scott+Weapon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>15-inch Dynamite Gun at Fort Winfield Scott, San Francisco</b></td></tr>
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Though forgotten today, the concept was very attractive in
its own day and the spur to its development was the recent invention of
dynamite, an explosive of considerably greater power than any other previously
available. Filling conventional artillery
shells with dynamite would obviously increase their potency but the concern was
that dynamite was sufficiently unstable as to be incapable of resisting the rapid
acceleration involved in discharge from a conventional gun. A method of
propulsion which would give slower acceleration, but comparable range, was what
was required. The answer was to eject the shell from a giant blow-pipe by means
of compressed air.</div>
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There were other advantages. Lighter gauge metal could be
used for the discharge tube than would be needed for a conventional gun-barrel
and larger-calibre weapons could be carried for the same weight. Also the lack
of flame and smoke when the projectile was discharged would reduce visibility,
and chance of location, particularly at night. The greatest potential was as an anti-shipping weapon. A
direct hit would not be necessary if a large enough projectile could be dropped
into the water close to the ship. Exploding underwater, the shock waves would
rupture the hull. Recognition of the effectiveness of below-waterline attack had
already led to the development of the self-propelled torpedo. At a time however
when torpedo speeds, ranges and sizes were still low a pneumatic projector
offered the opportunity of landing a larger charge close to a moving ship more
quickly and accurately, and at greater ranges.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIZiX-t1w2IkwDTPeHHvurAHpw_YOO8z57HxefLwJO0l4xwBK1YnGxpfGLkVd8RGgSfxXbp7r5zDTuaYViUi8SE-rOo6-_TU0Iaps5fOJcp7U_5FqoiGv8F-PmvPy9lBpcd8FwleRtgY/s1600/dynamiteGun-792601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIZiX-t1w2IkwDTPeHHvurAHpw_YOO8z57HxefLwJO0l4xwBK1YnGxpfGLkVd8RGgSfxXbp7r5zDTuaYViUi8SE-rOo6-_TU0Iaps5fOJcp7U_5FqoiGv8F-PmvPy9lBpcd8FwleRtgY/s1600/dynamiteGun-792601.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>8-inch Zalinski gun on trial - note barrel built up of flanged tubes</b></td></tr>
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Credit for proving the concept went to a Mr.D.M.Melford of
Toledo, Ohio, who demonstrated a 2-inch prototype to the US Military in 1884,
firing a 5-pound solid shot over half-a-mile and driving it through a 26-inch
thick concrete target. Mefford seems to have faded from the scene thereafter
but one of the observers at the trial, an artillery lieutenant called Edmund Zalinski picked up the idea and formed the “pneumatic Dynamite gun Company”. By 1885 Zalinski had an operational prototype
with an 8-inch bore which could fire a projectile with a 100 pound dynamite charge
over two miles. The projector was at least as accurate as conventional cannon
of the same calibre and, though the range was less, could carry a much larger
explosive charge,</div>
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The US Navy was now interested – not least because such
weapons could be mounted in smaller, lighter ships. A test in 1887 completely
destroyed a target ship and the publicity this got led to the decision to build
a "dynamite cruiser" armed with three such weapons. Zalinski, by now
US Naval attaché to Russia, returned to supervise development of these
projectors as well as the construction of similar ones for mounting in coastal-defence
fortifications. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtud0FHjEB-XZ7RSyrULy6Yn1S5fxpTLZVIpaH7EgsSQkRBRTpM08hWdyP1UGTekPZbq8Ar1sSJcS9Ew78Q06e0FPr1lKA9bWGHPMtZxriqT7yK4I9sdraxHoP30LuqhxooWcg-DMhYME/s1600/Port+bow+view+of+Dynamite+Ship+USS+Vesuvius,+1891,+postcard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtud0FHjEB-XZ7RSyrULy6Yn1S5fxpTLZVIpaH7EgsSQkRBRTpM08hWdyP1UGTekPZbq8Ar1sSJcS9Ew78Q06e0FPr1lKA9bWGHPMtZxriqT7yK4I9sdraxHoP30LuqhxooWcg-DMhYME/s1600/Port+bow+view+of+Dynamite+Ship+USS+Vesuvius,+1891,+postcard.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>USS <i>Vesuvius </i>on contemporary postcard. Note the three black projector barrels on foredeck</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The <i>Vesuvius</i> – an
unarmoured 246 ft, 930 ton vessel, with
two 2200 hp engines giving her a top speed of 21 knots – was fitted with three fixed
15-inch bore projectors. To aim them the entire ship needed to be aimed at the target
–this was to prove the main operational drawback – and range was varied by
adjusting air pressure. They offered the capability of hurling quarter-ton
dynamite charges up to a mile, while with a reduced charge of 200 lbs the respectable
range of two and a half miles was achievable. In one test fifteen projectiles
were fired by the <i>Vesuvius</i> in just
over sixteen minutes. The projectiles themselves
looked like huge darts, with sheet meal tails carried on an extensions behind the
charge proper, the fins being angled to as to impart a spin – and stability –
in flight. Once the projectile had dropped into the water, and had begun to sink,
salt-covered fuses were exposed which, when fully exposed to sea-water,
completed an electric circuit and detonated the charge.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJQEXyKM-aP51W51I_3QDzVFeg_OnjOsiEIkK1JMUznm1EipxJ4Vy1fJlPyy2pp64C0jpKnUZeAlLRMmzhvkQTDv_-JIywxM04mLda1PP_MfTQDbFsEHZZSVDcQBZGgHCCYyhzpbQ3yA/s1600/Dynamite+Gun%EC%9D%B8+Zalinski+Dynamite+Gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="38" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJQEXyKM-aP51W51I_3QDzVFeg_OnjOsiEIkK1JMUznm1EipxJ4Vy1fJlPyy2pp64C0jpKnUZeAlLRMmzhvkQTDv_-JIywxM04mLda1PP_MfTQDbFsEHZZSVDcQBZGgHCCYyhzpbQ3yA/s1600/Dynamite+Gun%EC%9D%B8+Zalinski+Dynamite+Gun.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>15-inch Zalinski projectile - note the twisted fins</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNTrcNRcL6PeGf5uw0LjCBGhN9ZQ0sbKejpIIhw9EYk2HYWWkTDdCbJwne_0ujYkNivGuuGzvzJuc7weyp6j5DWF-Q3fGgtd9i3il0N3H9FewydLgWYY13tol9mbFZko41X4O6iG_D6w/s1600/View+of+foredeck+showing+dynamite+guns,+Dynamite+Ship+USS+Vesuvius,+1898,+photographed+by+Edward+H.+Hart,+from+Detroit+Publishing+Co.,+via+Library+of+Congress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNTrcNRcL6PeGf5uw0LjCBGhN9ZQ0sbKejpIIhw9EYk2HYWWkTDdCbJwne_0ujYkNivGuuGzvzJuc7weyp6j5DWF-Q3fGgtd9i3il0N3H9FewydLgWYY13tol9mbFZko41X4O6iG_D6w/s1600/View+of+foredeck+showing+dynamite+guns,+Dynamite+Ship+USS+Vesuvius,+1898,+photographed+by+Edward+H.+Hart,+from+Detroit+Publishing+Co.,+via+Library+of+Congress.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>USS <i>Vesuvius </i>- the projector barrels could only be aimed<br />by aligning teh ship's bows on the target</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Despite extensive trials, which revealed many operational problems,
the <i>Vesuvius</i>
did not enter active service until the Spanish-American War in 1898. She was to
bombard a Spanish fortification at Santiago, Cuba, but the results, though visually
spectacular, seem to have been meagre, doing little more than plough up the fort’s
glacis. She was converted to a torpedo-trials vessel thereafter (an ironic fate,
in that the Zalinski guns once had once promised to replace the torpedo) and, with
her pneumatic projectors removed, she lasted to 1922.</div>
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<br /></div>
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One other Zalinski gun was mounted on a warship. This was a
single 15-inch unit mounted on a Brazilian auxiliary cruiser, the <i>Nictheroy, </i>a 7080-ton (displacement)
Brazilian auxiliary cruiser. She was originally a coastal passenger and cargo operated
under the name <i>El Cid</i> by the Morgan
Lines company. Faced with a large-scale naval mutiny in 1894, the Brazilian
government looked frantically for ships overseas, bought <i>El Cid</i>, and had a
Zalinski weapons similar to those of the <i>Vesuvius</i>
installed. Though she reached Brazil the mutiny was suppressed without the <i>Nictheroy </i>needing to open fire. She was purchased back by the
US Navy at the time of the Spanish-American War and had a worthy career
thereafter in various support roles as the USS <i>Buffalo. S</i>he was sold in 1927.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpDZXFNpsYD32uDGwFkzcuflhImLjGi0iHiPJPAbs0vWe9xGV1Rm_J0SJG1EkrqQ7JB8SX9ex8DYJOOGZSi0Jd2_-lDwK0YKuNmVnVV8K_e7uMrQ0QcjoGx8aYjyN2DDDBaiEkTZrFIE/s1600/Battery+Dynamite+at+Fort+Winfield+Scott,+San+Francisco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpDZXFNpsYD32uDGwFkzcuflhImLjGi0iHiPJPAbs0vWe9xGV1Rm_J0SJG1EkrqQ7JB8SX9ex8DYJOOGZSi0Jd2_-lDwK0YKuNmVnVV8K_e7uMrQ0QcjoGx8aYjyN2DDDBaiEkTZrFIE/s1600/Battery+Dynamite+at+Fort+Winfield+Scott,+San+Francisco.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"Battery Dynamite" at Fort Winfield Scott, San Francisco</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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15-inch Zalinski guns were also evaluated by the US Army’s
coastal artillery, offering enough promise for two such weapons, and a small
8-inch gun, to be mounted Fort Hancock, New Jersey, in 1894. These were
regarded as sufficiently successful for three more 15-inch guns to be located at San Francisco in 1898 to protect the Golden Gate, followed by individual
weapons at Hilton Head, South Carolina
and Fishers Island, New York. in 1901. By
then they were being made obsolete by the development of more stable explosives
– such as cordite – which were stable enough to be fired from conventional guns
over much greater ranges. All US Army batteries were scrapped well before WW1.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsbC4fcQJWnkS_DFOtSdTNmSjcaCLGysuGVdfi1Q4hJMpY92ka0IkLyIgOe-lYlfNgz3N3zPtsOpfDh7KiJ8uRY05-pxkJym_qS6jFRHSLIdevYj6NdbLq1hIrmlvy-XM2QcLRKnq3sJw/s1600/WNUS_Zalinsky_Holland_sketch_pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsbC4fcQJWnkS_DFOtSdTNmSjcaCLGysuGVdfi1Q4hJMpY92ka0IkLyIgOe-lYlfNgz3N3zPtsOpfDh7KiJ8uRY05-pxkJym_qS6jFRHSLIdevYj6NdbLq1hIrmlvy-XM2QcLRKnq3sJw/s1600/WNUS_Zalinsky_Holland_sketch_pic.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>USS <i>Holland </i>- note inclined Zalinski guns<br />with torpedo tube below that at the bow</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The concept still had sufficient promised for John Phillip
Holland, built two 8.4-inch Zalinski guns into the first
commissioned US submarine USS <i>Holland</i> (SS-1), no doubt remembering his first
attempt to do so in the early 1880s. They were however removed afterwards.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsOnXD_0GhgItYqsBPoWTeFZ4-4AWyjT2PDshQAD68UHTLC_DEodiORbQZFtjqSB7WeUS4oQLXL8f50SHFuWwUeA8NnCm67H2tz4RuARaJZZ7vs9aEa1bqSeR0-NvRIwcShNy985Fy_U/s1600/USS_Holland_(SS-1)_-_Scientific_American_1898.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsOnXD_0GhgItYqsBPoWTeFZ4-4AWyjT2PDshQAD68UHTLC_DEodiORbQZFtjqSB7WeUS4oQLXL8f50SHFuWwUeA8NnCm67H2tz4RuARaJZZ7vs9aEa1bqSeR0-NvRIwcShNy985Fy_U/s1600/USS_Holland_(SS-1)_-_Scientific_American_1898.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>USS <i>Holland </i>- note projector tube.<br />The cover is missing, so weapon presumably no longer in use</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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One other pneumatic gun was to enter service. This was the bizarre
Sims-Dudley gun for use as mobile field artillery. This duty precluded use of steam-driven
compressors, as installed on ships or at fixed shore batteries. Instead, a separate
cylinder was placed below the projector tube and a smokeless-powder charge was
detonated in it to send compressed air – presumably on the other side of a
piston, to the launching tube. This seems to have been an example of having the worst of both
worlds in design terms, and the age-old principle of Occams’s Razor, as valid
in technology as in philosophy, must have been unknown to the inventors. Despite
this the US Army bought sixteen of these guns, firing 2.5 inch calibre,
10-pound projectiles with 5-pound bursting charges. The projectiles seem to
have been smaller versions of the Zalinski missiles, as shown in teh illustration below.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyf56DcD0K52wDhZn-pYSRdGHDLE-CUkYY0udhQLUB1_3mq6iCQAM2UzCYmuZv0HNNsm1t9btN6ydUaMqZdvuWvrwS8m8qp7WypcUXjX1KzMDlUWHTYDNY3FjXoFDsQHHflmt2jA2x9k/s1600/Sims-Dudley_4_Inch_Dynamite_Gun_on_Field_Mount.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyf56DcD0K52wDhZn-pYSRdGHDLE-CUkYY0udhQLUB1_3mq6iCQAM2UzCYmuZv0HNNsm1t9btN6ydUaMqZdvuWvrwS8m8qp7WypcUXjX1KzMDlUWHTYDNY3FjXoFDsQHHflmt2jA2x9k/s1600/Sims-Dudley_4_Inch_Dynamite_Gun_on_Field_Mount.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sims-Dudley gun - note projectile and smokeless-powder charge on sheet</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Colonel Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders used a
Sims-Dudley gun during the siege of Santiago. Its greatest advantage appears to
have been its lack of a loud report and the fact that its smokeless-power
charges did not reveal the weapon’s location to the enemy. It seems however to have
been mechanically unreliable. The Sims-Dudley faded from history
afterwards – probably deservedly so!</div>
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<o:p></o:p>Though considerable ingenuity was expended in making pneumatic
guns work, and though the American Government was prepared to invest large sums
in their development, they ultimately represented one of history’s technological
dead-ends. The advent of more stable explosives, and of longer-ranged and faster
torpedoes, quickly sidelined them. Pneumatic guns do not however deserve to be
forgotten, and for me, in <i>Britannia’s
Shark,</i> it has been a delight to write about the period when they still held
such promise.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<h2>
<i><b>Britannia's </b></i><i><b>Shark</b></i></h2>
Click on the image below to learn more about <i>Britannia's Shark</i>. This will allow you to read the opening chapters - including the testing of a pneumatic gun.<br />
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-77490736361744977062017-03-07T12:58:00.000-08:002017-03-07T13:33:08.236-08:00The Bellona and Courageux action 1761<div class="MsoNormal">
Devotees of naval history and fiction will know that the
“74”, the so-called Third- Rate ships of the line, were the backbone of the
fleets of the major European powers in the period 1756-1815. Though the type is
primarily thought of as British, the original concept, dating from the 1740s,
was French.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhONnT_n4tV5RRdkejCMOJPeby_a5qvY6zgM7gBZaBkivFAREk_R6x9LsGyCajT_FH7212bJfD0A2HUdorGP3vS1YePc4_PgBS5juMeTtdPOkb740xQ0NOSP1DnrNqNblTOIzz613iA5bE/s1600/1024px-Battle_of_Cape_Finisterre,_1747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhONnT_n4tV5RRdkejCMOJPeby_a5qvY6zgM7gBZaBkivFAREk_R6x9LsGyCajT_FH7212bJfD0A2HUdorGP3vS1YePc4_PgBS5juMeTtdPOkb740xQ0NOSP1DnrNqNblTOIzz613iA5bE/s1600/1024px-Battle_of_Cape_Finisterre,_1747.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Battle of Cape Finisterre 3 May 1747 by Samuel Scott<br />The Royal Navy captured 4 French ships-of-the-line (including 74s), 2 frigates and 7 merchantmen </b></td></tr>
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The Royal Navy captured a number of the early French 74-gun ships
during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48) and was greatly impressed
by them compared to their own smallish 70-gun ships. Britain thereafter began
to construct its own 74s. The balance of fire-power, sailing qualities,
habitability, ability to absorb punishment, plus the endurance that a large
store-capacity brought with size, suited the 74 not just to service in the
battle line but also for blockade duty and for independent missions on distant
stations. As such they were of particular value to the British and French
navies, and to a somewhat lesser extent to the Spanish, in view of the global
reach of their ambitions. The Russian, Dutch and Danish navies were also to
build 74s and the type was to figure in every major action of the period.</div>
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The most notable characteristic of the 74 was that it
carried its guns on two decks, compared with the three decks of First and
Second Rate ships, of which there were far fewer, and which usually served as
Admiral’s flagships. HMS <i>Bellona</i>,
launched in 1760, was essentially the prototype of the Royal Navy’s 74s and her
vital statistics were not significantly departed from in more than 40 generally
similar ships which followed. These were:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ-3-MgecECbgq9GxcUyrsWASPUB-7d881QgfYOicepu3p2y7-lAYuHSTWgePAPb8EbTTM-VaNoVVhSkBx0tsPFUbKxtwX_zz9C5wdl4w49AOMbybfkI4GxMu-FuH2yyspvCuttVIXGvc/s1600/800px-H.M.S._Mars_and_the_French_'74_Hercule_off_Brest%2C_21st_April_1798.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ-3-MgecECbgq9GxcUyrsWASPUB-7d881QgfYOicepu3p2y7-lAYuHSTWgePAPb8EbTTM-VaNoVVhSkBx0tsPFUbKxtwX_zz9C5wdl4w49AOMbybfkI4GxMu-FuH2yyspvCuttVIXGvc/s1600/800px-H.M.S._Mars_and_the_French_'74_Hercule_off_Brest%2C_21st_April_1798.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Two 74s slugging it out off Brest 21st April 1798<br />The French <i>Hercule </i>(l) and the British <i>Mars</i>. The <i>Hercule</i> was captured.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When <i>Bellona</i> commissioned
the Seven Years War – which can be fairly described as “The First World War”
since it was fought on a global scale – was already in progress for four years.
Her first duty was one that was to become monotonously familiar to herself and
to her sisters in the next five and a half decades – blockade of the French
coast. Her first blooding – most appropriately since she was carried the name
of the Roman Goddess of War – was however to occur off the western coast of
Portugal and Spain in 1761. There, off the port of Vigo, Northern Spain, on
August 13<sup>th,</sup> and in company with the 36-gun frigate HMS <i>Brilliant</i>, she was to encounter a close
counterpart, the French 74 <i>Courageux. </i>The
latter was in company with two frigates, <i>Malicieuse</i>
and <i>Ermine</i>. The latter were 36-gun
vessels, very similar to <i>Brilliant</i>.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwS1AcP9Dz37sJLHDaXXvQKa5FIW0g-2yGF9vKouUw0PyefUFL1wjg-iPSuu88FQ3zjaFZFbbQwazSPZb_47rzaso5qV5DU3k8f0aidhBpOG8Gv3MYZC8AbC21mF8C_eL6MmSiaBOP1NY/s1600/Lutine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwS1AcP9Dz37sJLHDaXXvQKa5FIW0g-2yGF9vKouUw0PyefUFL1wjg-iPSuu88FQ3zjaFZFbbQwazSPZb_47rzaso5qV5DU3k8f0aidhBpOG8Gv3MYZC8AbC21mF8C_eL6MmSiaBOP1NY/s1600/Lutine.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>French frigate of the <i>Magicienne</i> class - generally similar to what <i>Brilliant</i> took on two of</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In view of the French having the numerical advantage it is
surprising that the greater aggression was shown by the British. Captain Loggie
of the <i>Brilliant</i> concentrated on
drawing off the two enemy frigates so that Captain Faulkner, of <i>Bellona</i>, could concentrate on the <i>Courageux</i> alone. Throughout the
following engagement <i>Brilliant</i> withstood
the united attacks of both French frigates, until they at last sheered off, both
seriously damaged.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Bellona</i> and <i>Courageux</i> were meanwhile involved in a
classic single-ship action. They had closed very quickly and the <i>Courageux</i> fired her first broadside when
she reached musket-shot range. Faulkner, on <i>Bellona</i>,
kept his nerve – and his fire – however, ordering his gun-crews not to fire
till they saw the whites of the Frenchmen’s eyes, adding, <i>“Take my word for it, they will never stand the singeing of their
whiskers!” <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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Whether or not the speech recorded in an admiring Victorian
history was ever actually delivered by Faulkner it was however an excellent
summary of what he intended to do – and did:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 1.0cm; margin-right: 26.05pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<i>“I propose to
lead you close on the enemy’s larboard quarter, when we will discharge two
broadsides, and then back astern, and range upon the other quarter, and so tell
your guns as you pass. I recommend you at all times to point chiefly at the
quarters, with your guns slanting fore and aft; this is the principal part of a
ship. If you kill the officers, break the rudder, and snap the braces, she is
yours, of course; but, for this reason, I desire you may only fire one round of
shot and grape above, and two rounds, shot only, below. Take care and send them
home with exactness. This is a rich ship; they will render you, in return,
their weight in gold.” <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p>The plan was carried out to the letter and almost every shot
took effect. The French returned a very brisk fire, and within nine minutes of
the action commencing <i>Bellona’s</i>
shrouds and rigging were almost all cut to pieces and the mizzen-mast had
fallen over the stern. Faulkner managed nonetheless to wear his ship round; the
officers and men flew to their respective opposite guns, and carried on, from
the larboard side, a fire even more effective than they had hitherto kept up
from the starboard guns. The French colours were hauled down little over ten
minutes later.<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiox8Wn2Bh3Vrdv7SoRyztvtCLugiqRpwIRG8pGrs64HytL172hrsLVpCxK1mOrbrmZNjMIL-Qmz1WSlxgZQt8LE861LyqUe2aScBBGe-_Sy0i9904VZoZnBZD56VbL2zxRhA5co8S2bEw/s1600/Bellona+by+H.Fletcher+Circa+1890.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiox8Wn2Bh3Vrdv7SoRyztvtCLugiqRpwIRG8pGrs64HytL172hrsLVpCxK1mOrbrmZNjMIL-Qmz1WSlxgZQt8LE861LyqUe2aScBBGe-_Sy0i9904VZoZnBZD56VbL2zxRhA5co8S2bEw/s1600/Bellona+by+H.Fletcher+Circa+1890.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Courageux </i>(l) and <i>Bellona </i>(r) in close action. Brilliant's separate frigate action to the right<br />19th Century illustration by H.Fletcher</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Faulkner ordered the <i>Bellona</i>
to cease firing as soon as the <i>Courageux</i>
struck. Many of her crew had come on deck, congratulating each other on their
victory – and, no doubt, on their prize money – when gunfire erupted, perhaps accidently,
from the <i>Courageux’s</i> lower gun-deck.
Fury now overtook the <i>Bellona’s</i> crew and,
without waiting for orders, they rushed back to their guns. Two full broadsides
were poured into the French vessel before quarter was called for. By the time
firing ceased the <i>Courageux</i> was virtually
a wreck. Only her foremast and bowsprit still stood, several of gun-ports had
been knocked into one, and she had suffered 240 killed and 110 wounded. The <i>Bellona</i>, by contrast, had only six dead and
twenty-eight wounded. The <i>Brilliant</i> which, while outnumbered, had
put two similar frigates to flight, had five men killed and 16 wounded.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3dPg9nrfIXaKQlxNNTe7p-rIySBF1-y6sY2GBW0i5n_436jq4Py9_IQwtLCazLHcMfeBneC1J5SsQvtFOyKWFw6cNnNtutr7Pt994dgrYbBab8lvbLUti6eMiYFUxtitkx0z8-MgFKA/s1600/illo_265.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3dPg9nrfIXaKQlxNNTe7p-rIySBF1-y6sY2GBW0i5n_436jq4Py9_IQwtLCazLHcMfeBneC1J5SsQvtFOyKWFw6cNnNtutr7Pt994dgrYbBab8lvbLUti6eMiYFUxtitkx0z8-MgFKA/s1600/illo_265.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Victorian-era illustration of <i>Bellona's </i>gunners in action</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The <i>Courageux</i> was
brought to Lisbon (the Portuguese were Britain’s allies) and after repair was
taken into the Royal Navy as HMS <i>Courageux</i>.
She was to serve for three decades until
she was wrecked off Gibraltar in 1791. Her French captain, Dugue L'Ambert, had
been wounded in the neck at the start of the action. He died, at Lisbon and it
is pleasing to record that his funeral was attended by the <i>Bellona's</i> officers and the surviving officers of the <i>Courageux</i>.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The <i>Bellona</i> was to
serve until 1814, and to play honourable roles in numerous actions, including
the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. It was however the <i>Courageux </i>action for which she is most remembered. By it she had
established a British reputation for almost unvarying victory in single-ship
actions which was to last until the encounters with the United States Navy from
1812 onwards. But that’s a another story!<br />
<h2>
<b><i>Britannia's Reach</i></b></h2>
<a href="https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/embed?asin=B00I9I8DWC&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_uwYVyb8A7QMRW">Click here </a>or on the image below to plunge yourself into a world of danger, betrayal and merciless
conflict in which neither side has clean hands and one man battles to maintain
his integrity. One click gives you access to the opening chapters...<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/embed?asin=B00I9I8DWC&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_uwYVyb8A7QMRW"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6TUUuh8fYZzdHJHnG-zlneV68H7zlkJFVA-4znuMWScA_pdjmRe-o0b5lVFO7k7idLpHJn_pwH5JK8UXrVDSH09wcIfy8I6-yBATqywXC9W4L0izyUB97cD1gtPX1Y9sMmA1Eia47Em8/s1600/Britannia's%2BReach%2BJPEG%2B6%2B(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: 22px;">Download a free copy of </span></b><i style="font-size: 22px;"><b>Britannia’s Eventide</b> </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">To thank subscribers to the <i>Dawlish Chronicles </i>mailing list, a free, downloadable, copy of a new short story, </span><i style="font-size: 13.2px;">Britannia's Eventide</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"> has been sent to them as an e-mail attachment.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h4 style="margin: 0px; position: relative;">
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-17174260966708907662017-03-03T14:19:00.002-08:002017-03-03T17:11:28.383-08:00The Discovery of Franz Josef Land 1873<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB63Z8URielc0A3oEnFCfABi2Dg9jxlRVAPqIdhIOWCvm1Di3iPlGXRYAfA-udMHzM-PvjSTa-iZ7Uw4A44ns9VHukNIooiw9-txBUfjczaODIMYFkQda2MXvfKGJHNKle1Obmq37pU0s/s1600/Franz_Joseph_of_Austria_1910_old.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB63Z8URielc0A3oEnFCfABi2Dg9jxlRVAPqIdhIOWCvm1Di3iPlGXRYAfA-udMHzM-PvjSTa-iZ7Uw4A44ns9VHukNIooiw9-txBUfjczaODIMYFkQda2MXvfKGJHNKle1Obmq37pU0s/s320/Franz_Joseph_of_Austria_1910_old.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Franz Josef in 1910 -<br />an old man for whom so many young ones died</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The Emperor
Franz Josef (1830 - 1916) of the Austro-Hungarian Empire reigned for an amazing
68 years and is probably best remembered today for his complicity in starting World
War 1. Conscientious, unimaginative, hardworking, pig-headed, but essentially
stupid, his tenure was to be marked by military defeat, political decline and
personal tragedy. His wife was murdered, his son died in a suicide pact, his brother
– the so-called Emperor of Mexico – was shot by a firing squad and his nephew’s
assassination triggered disaster in 1914. His domains lay in Central and Southern
Europe and it is therefore all the more surprising that the archipelago named
after him – <i>Franz Josef Land </i>– should
be located in the Arctic Ocean and be today a Russian possession of
considerable strategic value.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In an earlier
blog (30 September 2016 – accessible through sidebar on right) I described
Austro-Hungary’s <i>Novara</i> scientific
expedition of 1857-59. In this period, such expeditions were matters of
international prestige comparable to space exploration in our own day and Austro-Hungary,
which had only acquired a navy in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, was
keen not to be left out. The resulting <i>Novara</i>
expedition was to be a triumph that included oceanographic and geomagnetic
surveys as well as onshore botany and geology of lands visited and it provided
material for what would become Vienna’s Naturhistorisches Museum in such volume
that some of it is still under examination today. </div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5kbONmvENI9omr5LX7quU_z4aLk-zBDTNhloew5G1-I0gaHvLIi38pDxIc-B6QixF0EqwLnT4KCnosihVXU5B131vs40QlcHMenutXORA2knLvGDUb2jr_PY9TIOj81YpNWKon4O4ZA/s1600/WP_20160924_013+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5kbONmvENI9omr5LX7quU_z4aLk-zBDTNhloew5G1-I0gaHvLIi38pDxIc-B6QixF0EqwLnT4KCnosihVXU5B131vs40QlcHMenutXORA2knLvGDUb2jr_PY9TIOj81YpNWKon4O4ZA/s320/WP_20160924_013+-+Copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The <i>Novara </i>model in Vienna's<br />Naturhistorisches Museum</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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My wife and I spent two days in
the museum last year and we could have spent an entire week there with no less
pleasure and were impressed by two splendid models of ships which had
participated in important scientific expeditions. The first was the previously
mentioned <i>Novara</i>, but the second was
of the later <i>Tegetthoff</i>, which was
responsible for the discovery of Franz Josef Land.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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By the 1870s the
Arctic had become a major focus of exploration activity (see blog of 27.12.16). It was not surprising therefore that when a
major Austro-Hungarian scientific and exploration effort be launched in the early
1870s the focus was to be on the Arctic Ocean and investigation of a possible
route to the North Pole. Financed by two noblemen, the exploration was to concentrate
on the area north-west of Novaya Zemlya. It was under command of a Captain Karl
Weyprecht, who had himself served under the famous Admiral Tegetthoff, for whom
the vessel was named. The crew was small – 24 in number, including scientific staff.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKB1Tik-E_R59jN6kedcT4GePW9yiKh4gzQ2RZfpgDvIpywG3qCbeCDpdxZknRx5_9IHaqWT7IjR6tQ-guLR-2DvA9tHi51s16i0LzM8hq86Tf1jisIx5-wVgiIYfzWnntX0fAbSTD1M/s1600/Tegetthoff+in+Vienna+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKB1Tik-E_R59jN6kedcT4GePW9yiKh4gzQ2RZfpgDvIpywG3qCbeCDpdxZknRx5_9IHaqWT7IjR6tQ-guLR-2DvA9tHi51s16i0LzM8hq86Tf1jisIx5-wVgiIYfzWnntX0fAbSTD1M/s400/Tegetthoff+in+Vienna+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 12.8px;">The <i>Tegetthoff </i>model in Vienna's<br />Naturhistorisches Museum</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The <i>Tegetthoff</i> departed from Tromsø, in
Norway, in July 1872. A month later she found herself locked in pack ice north
of Novaya Zemlya. The phenomenon of ice-drift in the Arctic ocean was not yet
known much less understood, and the ship was in the same nightmare situation as
the American <i>Jeanette</i> expedition of 1878-81
(see blog of 27.12.16). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVL4BGnHtwJ2NYaNIwg2UeHUJbQAzDiShsqsuH5xQv8j4bLjLRoQPMIlrJfUzu1UaXwsErZmXNx3Eu5n9ZcHDJs0K0KWK76-wVZgoUGSEQw3mOX5cDzXythyl-wLeL26d7ZakZ4Z4c8k/s1600/Tegetthoff+in+Vienna+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVL4BGnHtwJ2NYaNIwg2UeHUJbQAzDiShsqsuH5xQv8j4bLjLRoQPMIlrJfUzu1UaXwsErZmXNx3Eu5n9ZcHDJs0K0KWK76-wVZgoUGSEQw3mOX5cDzXythyl-wLeL26d7ZakZ4Z4c8k/s400/Tegetthoff+in+Vienna+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Forecastle details</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_AHaA_I4KQq53u6V9sU9Oe6HqGn3ByScdG8WgX9Q0tYHuyIjSl7Buvl9iippmsX59Be36007qS-JanG78k4Qm3eJW2F7F79du-R5KNeLD7S6FP3h8HGrYd2Lqr9J0KowsKTmHau-tT4/s1600/Tegetthoff+in+Vienna+%25284%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_AHaA_I4KQq53u6V9sU9Oe6HqGn3ByScdG8WgX9Q0tYHuyIjSl7Buvl9iippmsX59Be36007qS-JanG78k4Qm3eJW2F7F79du-R5KNeLD7S6FP3h8HGrYd2Lqr9J0KowsKTmHau-tT4/s400/Tegetthoff+in+Vienna+%25284%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Deck Details</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgObLQnIy7CqC2xJ8hyeGuitPm4JcROII8qwX03uP4bdv60-TvQW3alBn-vszKbOgoo4zy5nIUAjT6IPEiDalCKCmHXWGZC5JLTBKLzcU4VxqPYGMMxjgH7jAYh8OPxaXX9dE1MpwEes/s1600/Tegetthoff+locked+in+ice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgObLQnIy7CqC2xJ8hyeGuitPm4JcROII8qwX03uP4bdv60-TvQW3alBn-vszKbOgoo4zy5nIUAjT6IPEiDalCKCmHXWGZC5JLTBKLzcU4VxqPYGMMxjgH7jAYh8OPxaXX9dE1MpwEes/s200/Tegetthoff+locked+in+ice.jpg" width="196" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Tegetthoff </i>fast in the ice</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Though there was
continued expectation that the ice would ultimately release its hold and give
access to open water, the <i>Tegetthoff</i> was
now drifting into the unknown. The ship was to remain locked during the winter
of 1872-73, through the summer that followed, and through another winter,
1873-74. Hope, discipline and morale remained high however and when an obvious
land mass was sighted a sledge expedition was despatched, under one of the
expedition leaders, Julius von Payer, to investigate. The land discovered proved to be an archipelago,
now known to consist of 191 islands, and one of the most barren places on
earth, and then wholly uninhabited. It was duly named after Emperor Franz
Josef. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SLVQirphrGrfpv0Oae98QE710G5aaG-d94fGuBfD7BNHYCp4XVy-1xtNA1cXc8_BpmnkBn9ZBBrdwW2ZbZIe7Baq2pK3BhGf6c67fi52srUSmixNs0or2kzyHEGHqzCGEbaFoycQ6zY/s1600/Franz-Josef+Land+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SLVQirphrGrfpv0Oae98QE710G5aaG-d94fGuBfD7BNHYCp4XVy-1xtNA1cXc8_BpmnkBn9ZBBrdwW2ZbZIe7Baq2pK3BhGf6c67fi52srUSmixNs0or2kzyHEGHqzCGEbaFoycQ6zY/s400/Franz-Josef+Land+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Location of Franz Josef Land - with thanks to Google Earth</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It seems to have
emerged later that this may not however have bene the first sighting the archipelago,
since a Norwegian sealing vessel may have done so in 1865. Anxious however to
keep secret what could be a fertile area for sealing and whaling, and to ensure
that other vessels would not come to exploit it, no announcement was made by the
captain responsible. The <i>Tegetthoff</i> Expedition’s
objective was however less mercenary and the credit for the discovery is therefore
due to it. One cannot be impressed by the
cool-efficiency with which sledging parties were sent out throughout 1873, even
though the prospects for release of the ship from the ice became more grim by the
day. On one of these sledge journeys von Payer reached 81° 50′ North, the highest
latitude achieved up to that time.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Inz0JKAJWC6b4a-8FGHjh7YtdNMDl2n6PicV83IqJRnyTHzhwGUlPulidOqM5pULqnvn__JaoA7aTMzUKSgEXsh9kz86gRscGpMJ-DcqJj8L7XM5_Hc_dx39QYiWPz6WDEitTY2n_3U/s1600/Franz-Josef+Land+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Inz0JKAJWC6b4a-8FGHjh7YtdNMDl2n6PicV83IqJRnyTHzhwGUlPulidOqM5pULqnvn__JaoA7aTMzUKSgEXsh9kz86gRscGpMJ-DcqJj8L7XM5_Hc_dx39QYiWPz6WDEitTY2n_3U/s400/Franz-Josef+Land+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Franz Josef archipelago - with thanks to Google Earth</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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When spring
arrived in May 1874 the expectation that the ice might free the ship was proved
vain. The decision was accordingly taken to abandon the <i>Tegetthoff</i> and to strike out for the open sea, dragging the ship’s
boats. The journey involved must have been a nightmare and it lasted almost
three months, but on 14 August 1874 open water was reached. The boats carried the
crew to Novaya Zemlya, from where a
Russian fishing boat carried them to Northern Norway. Weyprecht, von Payer and their
men were accorded a well-deserved hero’s welcome at each stage of their
returned to Austria through Norway, Sweden and Germany. Their entry to Vienna
was greeted by a crowd numbered at over a hundred thousand. For all that the <i>Tegettoff</i> herself had been lost, her
scientific contribution had been enormous. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The empire
that Franz Josef had ruled lasted only two years after his death and is now a
distant memory. It is ironic therefore that in the wastes of the Arctic, where
he himself never set foot, his name should be preserved.</div>
<h2 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<b style="color: #8a7ca1; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;">r</span></b></h2>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<i style="line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Britannia’s Reach</span></i><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; float: right; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; margin-left: 1em; padding: 5px; position: relative; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #8a7ca1;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Britannias-Reach-Dawlish-Chronicles-November-ebook/dp/B00I9I8DWC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1424467520"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzRMjWSXFK_JPJ2AhphiW0lStkYCcBXl1667eELc8h8h5ZiLG483YJmqkX3FkFXGAEoKZ8-q43zlqYbrOPCR90bxJOILm5l4T-apHbmggeCxsyaK5PrHiqyYBL_iYUXHwi2xucUFg0Fw/s1600/Britannia's%2BReach%2BFront%2BCover%2Bless%2Bspine.JPG" style="background: transparent; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" width="134" /></a></span></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.56px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #8a7ca1;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Britannias-Reach-Dawlish-Chronicles-November-ebook/dp/B00I9I8DWC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1424467520">Click image for details</a></span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 11.5px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I</span>t’s 1880. On a broad river deep in the heart of South America, a flotilla of paddle steamers thrashes slowly upstream. Laden with troops, horses and artillery, intent on conquest and revenge.</span><span style="line-height: 11.5px;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 11.5px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="line-height: 11.5px;">Ahead lies a commercial empire that was wrested from a British consortium in a bloody revolution. Now the investors are determined to recoup their losses and are funding a vicious war to do so.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="line-height: 11.5px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="line-height: 11.5px;">Nicholas Dawlish, an ambitious British naval officer, is playing a leading role in the expedition. But as brutal land and river battles mark its progress upriver, and as both sides inflict and endure ever greater suffering, stalemate threatens.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="line-height: 11.5px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; line-height: 11.5px;">And Dawlish finds himself forced to make a terrible ethical choice if he is to return to Britain with some shreds of integrity remaining…</span><br />
<h2 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<span style="color: white;"><b> opening</b></span></h2>
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<b style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: 22px;">Download a free copy of </span></b><i style="font-size: 22px;"><b>Britannia’s Eventide</b> </i></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h4 style="margin: 0px; position: relative;">
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-43394870975878600992017-02-24T13:58:00.003-08:002017-02-24T14:11:58.083-08:00From Rebel to Samurai – the epic career of the Ironclad Stonewall/ Kōtetsu: Part 1<div class="MsoNormal">
When thinking of the ocean-going navy of the Southern
Confederacy in the American Civil War the image immediately comes to mind of
fast, largely unarmoured vessels such as the <i>Alabama</i> and the <i>Florida</i>,
general similar in construction terms to commercial vessels, albeit
strengthened to carry heavy armament. The corresponding image of a Confederate
ironclad is, by contrast, an armoured, improvised, steam-propelled raft
intended for service in rivers and coastal waters. It is therefore somewhat of
a surprise to learn that the Confederacy’s last “Blue-Water” naval vessel was a
heavily-armed ironclad, well capable of sinking any major Union warship she
encountered. Completed late in the Civil War, only the end of the conflict brought her potentially devastating career in Confederate service to an end only
just as it was starting. This was however to be just the prelude to spectacular
battle-service in a newly created navy on the other side of the world.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmvTprNtM2FNFWGKBZbGjmPu_2AgdxeyN05ODDY_hqlbnBYASnZ4BvzXS7Ado8um7_r4RfJkpcda0geo7DYPx0P55kv7-uudb-feh1yMpORQjwjLgBD_EPGv8NFrozDP0MEPapZ4hZNns/s1600/Stonewall-Kotetsu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmvTprNtM2FNFWGKBZbGjmPu_2AgdxeyN05ODDY_hqlbnBYASnZ4BvzXS7Ado8um7_r4RfJkpcda0geo7DYPx0P55kv7-uudb-feh1yMpORQjwjLgBD_EPGv8NFrozDP0MEPapZ4hZNns/s320/Stonewall-Kotetsu.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>CSS <i>Stonewall</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The ship that was to
become the CSS <i>Stonewall</i> was one of
two ironclads constructed in France, personal approval for the project being
given in 1863 by the Emperor Napoleon III, who was sympathetic to the
Confederate cause. The objection that French neutrality would be compromised by
delivery of warships to either the Union or to the Confederacy was neatly
side-stepped by circulation of the rumour that they were intended for delivery
to the Khedive of Egypt – the appropriate names of <i>Sphynx</i> and <i>Cheops</i> were
allocated to them. A further element of confusion was added by ensuring that
the armament would come from Britain. The seagoing ironclad concept was a new
and revolutionary one at the time – France’s <i>Gloire</i> and Britain’s HMS <i>Warrior</i>,
the first of the type, had been launched in 1859 and 1860 respectively – so the
Confederacy was betting on acquiring cutting-edge naval technology.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9yFDoDkRexARzx-IoeLHS4SrqTpTIsmkZmNQoxiMGwk7nTocQiQUV7hnwzhPRmucEREegvAUv_68Mdl0ePmaODn_nuUralenxYYycFTtrEDp7YL1_xIa3Ns7WS0PjWrMLQi325SuGW8/s1600/CSS_Stonewall_Plan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9yFDoDkRexARzx-IoeLHS4SrqTpTIsmkZmNQoxiMGwk7nTocQiQUV7hnwzhPRmucEREegvAUv_68Mdl0ePmaODn_nuUralenxYYycFTtrEDp7YL1_xIa3Ns7WS0PjWrMLQi325SuGW8/s400/CSS_Stonewall_Plan.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Armouring of <i>Cheops </i>and <i>Sphynx</i> - note waterline belts and armoured redoubts for and aft</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<i>Sphynx</i> and <i>Cheops</i> were of 1358 tons and some 190
feet long. Their 1200-hp steam engines, driving two screws, gave a top speed of
over 10-knots. Twin rudders made for very tight turning circles – a decided
advantage at a time when combat was likely to be at very close range. They also
carried an auxiliary sail rig – especially valuable for conservation of coal
when operating over long distances. The most notable feature was however the
heavy armour protection – a waterline belt with thickness ranging from 3-5 to
5-inches or iron, as well as some 5-inches on the redoubts fore and aft in
which the armament was housed. These latter structures were not rotating
turrets, but rather protective casemates from which the guns fired through
ports. As such they could be regarded as precursors of the later “central
battery” type of ironclads, as compared with the traditional broadside
arrangement of the earlier <i>Gloire</i> and
<i>Warrior</i>. <i>Sphynx</i>
and <i>Cheops</i> each carried a single 300-pounder
muzzle-loading Armstrong forward, firing over the pronounced ram-bow, with two
68-pounder weapons in the after redoubt. As such they were built to absorb
tremendous punishment as well as to deal it out.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQixTEEidH3mdfPRp-FdlvIZSSQGqBHq-ciTOSkPoZ1xd6I7tGhCNLaDcqZuNKd8rzYhQvW51faTunvlDszNMIjQoKfDlqCYYmFBWn9BkMCDZDNwojmwnQA4gP-q38uDAJxa7H621_hU/s1600/CSS_Stonewall_%25281864%2529_Side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQixTEEidH3mdfPRp-FdlvIZSSQGqBHq-ciTOSkPoZ1xd6I7tGhCNLaDcqZuNKd8rzYhQvW51faTunvlDszNMIjQoKfDlqCYYmFBWn9BkMCDZDNwojmwnQA4gP-q38uDAJxa7H621_hU/s400/CSS_Stonewall_%25281864%2529_Side.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sail Plan of <i>Cheops</i> and <i>Sphynx </i>- note armouring above ram.<br />Note also how the weapons are carried high behind thick armour,</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The vessels were constructed in Bordeaux, on France’s
Atlantic coast, and were launched early in 1864. Human greed is however a major
obstacle to keeping a project of this sort secret. In this case the subterfuge about purchase by Egypt was exposed by a clerk at the shipyard who supplied information on the deal –
and hard evidence, in the form of documentation – to the United States
ambassador in Paris. With a diplomatic
crisis about neutrality brewing, the French Government had no option but to
block the sale. A new customer was immediately available however. Prussia’s
“Iron Chancellor”, Otto von Bismarck, supported by the Austro-Hungarians, had
precipitated war with Denmark. Heavily outnumbered, the Danish resistance was
fierce, heroic and doomed. The bright spot for Denmark was the performance of
its navy, both in support of land operations and on the open sea. <i>(My blog of 8<sup>th</sup> January 2016
regarding the Battle of Heligoland refers. It can be found via the sidebar).</i>
It was accordingly inevitable that both the Danes and their enemies should be
looking to purchase more warships. <i>Sphynx</i>
and <i>Cheops</i> would fit the bill to
perfection. In a cynical deal in which a sale to one side was balanced by a
sale to the other, the <i>Sphynx</i> was
sold to Denmark – and renamed <i>Stærkodder</i>
– while the <i>Cheops</i> was purchased by
Prussia and called <i>Prinz Adalbert</i>.
Thus were neutrality concerns elegantly sidestepped!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg55R6GmaAuduNsU3APhg3w3w5OiSaKS5fTL97B4EEYsEIJgoS_AB6uPeH66LnQ1oBVzfOhek5hvYEEbJqNy25s_VAtfU-dqhKwNYvkyJX29kqD7b1j2YKf4IRoG1PQ5bE5w-s5pGnkavk/s1600/Danish+steam-frigate+NILS+JUEL%252Cduring+the+Battle+of+Helgoland%252Con+9%252CMay%252C1864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg55R6GmaAuduNsU3APhg3w3w5OiSaKS5fTL97B4EEYsEIJgoS_AB6uPeH66LnQ1oBVzfOhek5hvYEEbJqNy25s_VAtfU-dqhKwNYvkyJX29kqD7b1j2YKf4IRoG1PQ5bE5w-s5pGnkavk/s400/Danish+steam-frigate+NILS+JUEL%252Cduring+the+Battle+of+Helgoland%252Con+9%252CMay%252C1864.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Denmark's day of glory - the <i>Nils Juel </i>at Heligoland, 9th May 1864</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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A Danish crew arrived in Bordeaux in June 1864 to start
acceptance trials and take her to Denmark thereafter. (One wonders if there
were any embarrassing encounters with a Prussian crew arriving to take over <i>Prinz Adalbert</i>!). The war was however
winding down – with Denmark comprehensively beaten – and by 1<sup>st</sup>
August a preliminary peace treaty had been signed. By the time <i>Stærkodder </i>arrived in Copenhagen all was
over and she was by now essentially surplus to the requirements of the
vanquished nation.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Confederate agents had however followed the <i>Sphynx/ Stærkodder </i>affair with interest
and were still determined to acquire her. Negotiations – which must have
required a high degree of secrecy – resulted in a sale by Denmark and in early
January 1865 a Confederate crew commanded by Captain Thomas Jefferson Page (1808
– 1899) took delivery. The ship was commissioned at sea as the CSS <i>Stonewall</i>.<i> </i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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These events had not gone unnoticed by Union agents and
diplomats and once intelligence was obtained of the <i>Stonewall’s</i> “breakout” from the Baltic to the North Sea, and on to the
Atlantic, powerful Union Navy units were despatched to find and sink her. There
are strong parallels with the breakout of Germany’s battleship <i>Bismarck</i>
in 1941 and her hunting by Royal Navy forces. Among the Union ships deployed
were the steam-sloop USS <i>Kearsarge</i> –
recently the victor of her duel with the CSS <i>Alabama</i> off the French coast – and her sister USS <i>Sacramento</i>, supported later by the
steam-frigate USS <i>Niagara</i>. Though <i>Kearsarge</i> had been partly protected by
improvised chain-armour, all these ships would have been at a decided – and
perhaps fatal – disadvantage in any duel with the heavily-armoured <i>Stonewall</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMBenquNVLGtJho1hA6EFeh2uhf59lNqBZ95ghg1Esd07K30y9S1y97gkhNPnrrqAYdKmcwTUkYu5Qmj7yWtwtKKlU1iqiGJwv8pWt9QJZUpJ_ce-yOLlUlDG9QgZ7yIe8z5wGXb8SDEw/s1600/Gun+on+Kearsages%2527+deck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMBenquNVLGtJho1hA6EFeh2uhf59lNqBZ95ghg1Esd07K30y9S1y97gkhNPnrrqAYdKmcwTUkYu5Qmj7yWtwtKKlU1iqiGJwv8pWt9QJZUpJ_ce-yOLlUlDG9QgZ7yIe8z5wGXb8SDEw/s400/Gun+on+Kearsages%2527+deck.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Gun exposed on an open deck during the <i>Kearsarge</i> - <i>Alabama</i> duel<br />It is clear that such ships would be at a disadvantage when facing a heavily armoured<br /> vessel like the Stonewall with its weapons sheltered behind 5-inches of iron plate.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Once at sea the <i>Stonewall</i>
developed a leak – it is notable that her now-Prussian sister <i>Prinz Adalbert</i> deteriorated so rapidly
that she was taken from service in 1871 – and she put in at Quiberon, on
France’s Brittany coast, where repair possibilities see to have been limited,
and to take on supplies and further crew members. It is likely that many of
these recruits were not American, as was the case also with other Confederate
raiders, but men of other nationalities who were attracted by pay and by the
opportunity for adventure. <i>Stonewall</i>
now pressed on to Ferrol, in North-West Spain, where she could undertake
repairs. She remained there for almost two months. Word of her presence spread
and the USS <i>Sacramento</i> and USS <i>Niagara</i> took up station outside. (One is
reminded of HMS <i>Shannon</i> lying off
Boston in 1813, daring the USS <i>Chesapeake</i>
to come out).</div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrJAV3RC8BIqkFQxukKr2FJRbgLpA4rV3V03QY0c1ynk7P0X609zhKi1P5bBV40V83LG74ITLm9gW_yMAtcHDh1OioZLnLfwl-1rZ_opEQ7FtWL4l2AjMOTqYxt0J9YaZbn2OC-NAyL0/s1600/Lisbon+firing+Belem+1865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrJAV3RC8BIqkFQxukKr2FJRbgLpA4rV3V03QY0c1ynk7P0X609zhKi1P5bBV40V83LG74ITLm9gW_yMAtcHDh1OioZLnLfwl-1rZ_opEQ7FtWL4l2AjMOTqYxt0J9YaZbn2OC-NAyL0/s320/Lisbon+firing+Belem+1865.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Portuguese battery at Belem fort firing warning shots<br />to restrain USS <i>Niagara</i>. Common sense prevailed a<br />and the situation was defused</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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When the <i>Stonewall</i>
did finally emerge from Ferrol on 24<sup>th</sup> March, the Union warships
waiting for him declined to engage – wisely, in view of the disparity in
armament and armour. Captain Page now
headed for Lisbon, Portugal, to take on coal prior to a dash across the
Atlantic to attack Port Royal in South Carolina, the supply base for the Union
General Sherman's army. The <i>Stonewall</i>
was followed into port by the <i>Sacramento</i>
and <i>Niagara</i> – which under neutrality rules
could only glower at each other in enmity. An attempt by the <i>Niagara</i> to shift her berth was
interpreted by the Portuguese authorities as a potentially hostile move against
the Confederate vessel and warning shots from cannon on the castle of Belem put
an end to the manoeuvre. Formal neutrality rules – demanding that enemy ships
could not leave harbour simultaneously – were strictly applied and the <i>Stonewall</i> slipped away unmolested.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Time was running out for the Confederacy however. On 9th April
Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Grant and on 26th April the
only other major Confederate force was surrendered by Johnson to Sherman. By
the time that Page and the <i>Stonewall</i>
put in at Nassau, in the British possession of the Bahamas, on 6<sup>th</sup>
May the epic conflict was at an end. The ironclad and her crew were now
orphans.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Page now decided to take his ship to Havana, in Cuba, then
still a Spanish possession. He handed her over to the government authorities there
against a payment of $16,000 and paid off her crew. The Spanish in turn handed
the <i>Stonewall</i> to the United States in
return for a similar payment.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The triumphant Union now possessed one of the most powerful
warships afloat, but in the aftermath of the Civil War there was little
appetite for retention of a large navy – the concern was indeed to run down one which had grown to gigantic
levels during the conflict. The <i>Stonewall</i>
lay decommissioned at the Washington Navy Yard for some two years until it was
decided to sell her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And the buyer? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Opened up to foreign contact only thirteen years before, the
Empire of Japan was engaged on a furious, and historically-unprecedented,
campaign of modernisation. Its ambitions were all but boundless and acquisition
of an effective navy was of the highest priority. The ex-Confederate ironclad
would be ideal for their purposes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The <i>Stonewall</i>
would be heading east, and under a new name - Kōtetsu - would embark on the most active
part of her career.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I’ll tell about that in the second part of this article, which
will appear soon. Watch out for it! </div>
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<br /></div>
<b>Japan’s rapid creation of a superbly efficient modern navy
is one of the most remarkable stories in Maritime History. This achievement is
a major theme in my Dawlish Chronicles novel <i>Britannia’s Spartan.</i> Click on the image below to learn more.</b><br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-3348958223375729902017-02-21T11:44:00.002-08:002017-02-21T11:45:49.578-08:00THE WICKEDEST PIRATE PLACE IN THE WORLD <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHmnW8LEh9fY8bp5WjixjaaQVhBNz8USPRUwdMM6lLk4HE5ofiffhgpgVMlFUa_eLqaMQiquTH_b08NB4h-czaHyhb7h8i5iLn-Zl0BnxaaZanWEyGTexe-32VldNPj-SXNfolReYnGQ/s1600/Helen+Hollick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHmnW8LEh9fY8bp5WjixjaaQVhBNz8USPRUwdMM6lLk4HE5ofiffhgpgVMlFUa_eLqaMQiquTH_b08NB4h-czaHyhb7h8i5iLn-Zl0BnxaaZanWEyGTexe-32VldNPj-SXNfolReYnGQ/s200/Helen+Hollick.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Helen Hollick</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">For
me, Antoine Vanner, one of the most unexpected but very rewarding outcomes of publishing my first
book some years ago was that it brought me into contact with a network of other
writers. They proved almost invariably to be delightful, fascinating, engaging
and generous people whom I would never otherwise have met and they all work in the Historical Fiction genre in all its various forms. They have immersed themselves in
specific periods and in conversation, no less than in their fiction, and it is
impossible not to be infected by their enthusiasm for bringing past eras to
life, no matter how different they may be to one's own chosen period. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Not
least among these new friends is Helen Hollick, who is equally at home in the
Arthurian, Norman Conquest and early Georgian periods. She is now adding to her
substantial fiction output with her first non-fiction book, <i>"Pirates: Truth and Tales" </i>(links later in article). To mark the publication I
invited Helen to contribute a guest blog - not for the first time - and what
she has come up with has one of the most irresistible titles imaginable!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE
WICKEDEST PIRATE PLACE IN THE WORLD -
PORT ROYAL</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>By
Helen Hollick</b></i></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXwStpKpwtQTc5bV3eNX4fu6CBdBHnTAMpSrLrHY9XRXkgjwr7K7rgw15SNNQtM2IPrW52rGUl17mwObCgjqT3rsbPMqAOJ77mH37FRotEHpeseU17CRpjPtKRvSBGCPeQ6a3GWiPe-U/s1600/Slaver+crew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXwStpKpwtQTc5bV3eNX4fu6CBdBHnTAMpSrLrHY9XRXkgjwr7K7rgw15SNNQtM2IPrW52rGUl17mwObCgjqT3rsbPMqAOJ77mH37FRotEHpeseU17CRpjPtKRvSBGCPeQ6a3GWiPe-U/s320/Slaver+crew.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"... a variety of weaponry..." - and ready for any devilry!</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Pirates.
We tend to like pirates – at least the ones from the ‘Golden Age’, which was a
very short period in the early eighteenth century, from about 1715 – 1722. Before
that, in the latter 1600s, pirates were better known as privateers and buccaneers
- ‘legal’ sea-faring terrorists. If you had a ship, a crew, plenty of gunpowder
for a variety of weaponry (including cannons), and could persuade your King to
provide you with a Letter of Marque, you could sail off in merry pursuit of the
Spanish. Or the French. Or the Dutch – or a variety of all three, but mostly
the Spanish. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">England
was often at war with Spain. It all sort-of started with the Armada of
Elizabeth I’s reign. The Spanish took their shattering defeat badly. In fact,
they tried again in March 1719 as an attempt to place Catholic James Stuart on
the throne of Britain, instead of George I of Hanover. The Spanish Navy were
obviously not very good at their history lessons, for almost exactly the same
thing happened as that previous attempt – but without Sir Francis Drake playing
bowls at Plymouth Hoe before setting off to do battle. (And before you think
it, no, he was not wasting time. He was an experienced seafarer and knew
perfectly well that he had several hours before he could set sail because the
tide was out.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">This
second Armada set sail from Cádiz – without James, who had failed to reach the
rendezvous point in time. On a previous attempt at landing in Scotland to claim
his throne he fell ill and returned home to France. On several other occasions he
found excuses to clear off on the eve of battle. He would not, I think, have
made a Good King, and he was nothing like his more famous son, Bonnie Prince
Charlie. So off sailed the Spanish, only to have their fleet wrecked by a
horrendous storm in the English Channel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8DA1-rKYpM9Ie-BivI7BDXZZikAe_MlMvh3kntJ1nT6lpsKytJsax1z0ALFxnpmpOxluE4uj6eYZrozSuQ4PPEykaVSycyd9lO6_dKxKeJg_8C7718QJsDeTPQqtuiU11y6ocLGg87QQ/s1600/a%2529+%2528frontispiece%2529+Map-Sea-Witch3-final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8DA1-rKYpM9Ie-BivI7BDXZZikAe_MlMvh3kntJ1nT6lpsKytJsax1z0ALFxnpmpOxluE4uj6eYZrozSuQ4PPEykaVSycyd9lO6_dKxKeJg_8C7718QJsDeTPQqtuiU11y6ocLGg87QQ/s320/a%2529+%2528frontispiece%2529+Map-Sea-Witch3-final.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><b>©
HelenHollick – Cathy Helms</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Because
of these attempted invasions (and a few additional reasons involving religion,
which we won’t go into here) the Spanish were not liked by the English. Squabbling,
however, was an expensive business. Fortunately (for the English) there were a
lot of Spanish Galleons returning from the South Americas and Mexico laden with
treasure… enough to pay for the mounting financial deficit caused by war.
Hence, open season for privateers to plunder any Spanish ship they could find.
The only rule, the loot gained had to be shared with the Government’s Representative,
the Admiralty and the King.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Columbus
discovered Jamaica (although there were native tribes already there) and for
more than 146 years Spain dominated the island. But the British Navy realised
the island’s strategic importance for defence, its flat beaches were ideal for
careening (cleaning the underside of the ship), and its deep-water anchorage
was a perfect sheltered haven. In 1655 Jamaica became British. They set about
building Fort Cromwell, which within a couple of years was tactfully renamed
Fort Charles; such are the consequences of political upheaval.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">In
the days of Henry Morgan who was raiding the Mexican coast around 1665, Port
Royal welcomed in-bound ships as if it were a celebration feast day. Everyone in
town would drop what they were doing and hurry to the waterfront to see what treasures
were to be unloaded. The air was filled with ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’, somewhat like a
17<sup>th</sup> century version of a modern high-prize TV quiz show. Officials
would board a ship as soon as it dropped anchor to remove 1/5<sup>th</sup> of the
plunder for the King, 1/10<sup>th</sup> for the Admiralty and 1/12<sup>th</sup>
for the Governor. (Even pirates paid taxes.) That still left a lot for the
captain and crew. Henry Morgan (and yes, the Rum Brand was named after him)
became Governor in 1675, and Port Royal established itself as a notorious
pirate-paradise - the Wickedest City in the World. Every pirate worth his (or
her) salt would have dropped anchor there at least once. Such famous names as
Blackbeard, Benjamin Hornigold, Charles Vane and Calico Jack Rackham, although
for these two their last visit was not exactly pleasant. They were hanged there
in 1720. (Vane maybe a year later, the records are uncertain.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Po3lMGzhBm3xljdr4-2_8kRfhvoXmNk5bF51D98EGo_Bq3ISOFY7BiMh93RH_bReOW5Y06j_FvDL4SkMcNbHNL60XS8pQDCbONQdCSI20FytXjEWj6li8uFN53MXDkUwWE3b3iuN9YA/s1600/B%2529+canstockphoto3695931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Po3lMGzhBm3xljdr4-2_8kRfhvoXmNk5bF51D98EGo_Bq3ISOFY7BiMh93RH_bReOW5Y06j_FvDL4SkMcNbHNL60XS8pQDCbONQdCSI20FytXjEWj6li8uFN53MXDkUwWE3b3iuN9YA/s320/B%2529+canstockphoto3695931.jpg" width="221" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"> A typical pirate? © igroup</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By 1692
6,500 to 10,000 people occupied fifty-one acres of land on Jamaica, with over
2,000 buildings. A quarter of the population would have been slaves, with
another quarter a fluctuating population of sailors, pirates and merchant
traders. Nor was it only the wealthy citizens who possessed valuable goods.
Spices, silver, jewellery, porcelain and cloth abounded from Big House to
Tavern alike. Port Royal was a thriving boomtown and everyone living in it
during those years of decadence enjoyed those consumer-good luxuries to the cutlass-hilt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">But maybe
the Spanish had the last laugh. On June 7<sup>th</sup> 1692 Port Royal met a
devastating fate by something more omnipotent than any seafaring pirate could
ever hope to be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">An
earthquake struck and the sea swallowed two-thirds of the town in one gulp.
Geologically speaking, for the area to remain underwater the earthquake must
have lowered the level of the sea floor, one plate slipping under another. A tsunami recedes again, leaving destruction and acres of mud. Old Port Royal is now
an underwater town, in effect, a piratical Atlantis. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There are
some excellent documentaries, including images of what Port Royal would have looked
like on the National Geographic website:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/tv/wicked-pirate-city"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">www.nationalgeographic.com.au/tv/wicked-pirate-city</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">4,000
people lost their lives, many killed by the earthquake and tidal wave which
followed, the rest by injuries and disease. Port Royal was never rebuilt, the
survivors moved across the bay and founded Kingston instead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As for
Henry Morgan, he died, probably of liver disease caused by excessive drinking,
in 1688 and was buried on the spit of land that the earthquake swallowed. His
bones are there today, somewhere beneath the surf and the waves, visited only
by the fishes<span style="color: red;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">After
Morgan’s death, attitudes towards piracy changed. Wars with Spain were less
frequent and trade was becoming more important. Buccaneering had ceased, and piracy
took its place hitting the profits of wealthy merchants back in England. It had
to be stopped. An anti-piracy law was passed in 1687, although it was not taken
seriously until 1715, when Henry Jennings, after acquiring a shipload of treasure
from a Spanish fleet wrecked off the coast of Florida, was turned away as a
pirate. Forty-one men were hanged during one month alone in 1722. Far from
welcoming pirates, Jamaica became their nemesis.<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;">Helen’s
latest book, </span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;">Pirates; Truth and Tales</i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;">
is a blend of non-fiction and fiction, looking at the fact and the fiction of
pirates such as Blackbeard, Edward Low, Bartholomew Roberts – and Jack Sparrow,
Captain Hook and Pugwash, with excerpts from her own </span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;">Sea Witch Voyages </i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;">and the novels of Anna Belfrage, Helen Hart,
James L. Nelson and other fiction authors. ‘</span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;">Pirates</i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;">,’
she says ‘</span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;">because of the movies from
Errol Flynn to Johnny Depp have always been a favourite topic. I wanted to
explore some different pirates – and the fictional tales alongside their
factual lives</i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;">.’</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Available
now in hardback in the UK and in early May in the USA (but you can pre-order) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1;"><a href="http://mybook.to/PIRATESTruthTale">myBook.to/PIRATESTruthTale</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;">LINKS</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">
Website: </span><a href="http://www.helenhollick.net/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">www.helenhollick.net</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Main
Blog: </span><a href="http://www.ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">www.ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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To Newsletter: </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://tinyletter.com/HelenHollick">http://tinyletter.com/HelenHollick</a></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-60536316919064789042017-02-17T12:23:00.002-08:002017-02-17T12:25:00.383-08:00Protected Cruisers in the Pre-Dreadnought Era <div class="MsoNormal">
It is always gratifying to an author to received feedback from
readers, particularly when detailed research to support a story is recognised
and appreciated. I was therefore delighted to be contacted recently by an
American reader, Douglas R. Smith, who was intrigued by the central role played
in my novel <i>Britannia’s Spartan</i> by
HMS <i>Leonidas</i>, a fictional member of the
innovative and real-life <i>Leander</i>
class of “protected cruiser” which entered service with the Royal Navy in the
1880s. I’m proud therefore to welcome Douglas as a guest blogger today. I’ve no
doubt you’ll enjoy his article.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>PROTECTED CRUISERS IN </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE PRE-DREADNOUGHT ERA</b></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">by Douglas R.
Smith</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The British Empire was vast and overextended in the late
1800s, and dependent upon vulnerable sea lanes. To compensate it had a Navy
equal to the next two contenders combined. British bankers and businessmen
built a network of intercontinental telegraph lines, reaching all of the way to
New Zealand by 1876, with London at the center. The role of protected cruisers
was for protecting commerce, and raiding that of the enemy, often operating
distantly and independently around the globe.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80koAXoxjYxF4Mz4wZrNpFyMK73VWLwTo7B6nUNdoW69zaJAR2DfWq7H95igMqWMZSJG4TJPC1P8u0Zh1nEkNmWr97VmU35XXksmUA9h1P-loMSkI782T_Oio4G5_AX7FvjoteiZlkjI/s1600/1891+Telegraph+Lines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80koAXoxjYxF4Mz4wZrNpFyMK73VWLwTo7B6nUNdoW69zaJAR2DfWq7H95igMqWMZSJG4TJPC1P8u0Zh1nEkNmWr97VmU35XXksmUA9h1P-loMSkI782T_Oio4G5_AX7FvjoteiZlkjI/s400/1891+Telegraph+Lines.jpg" width="400" /></b></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>1891 Telegraph Map <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Telegraph Connections (Telegraphen Verbindungen), 1891 Stielers Hand-Atlas, Plate No. 5, Weltkarte in Mercators Projection. Uploaded to en:Wikipedia on 03:53, 16 February 2006 by w:User:Flux.books == Licensing == {{PD-</b></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>"Britainia's
Spartan"</i> by Antoine Vanner is the story of the shakedown cruise of the fictional HMS <i>Leonidas</i>, first of her class. Captain Nicholas Dawlish has earned the honor of being her first commander. We have followed
his meteoric career in earlier books, and like all career people, he must struggle to find a
balance, and determine if that balance is worth the personal cost. In a similar
way a warship must find a balance between speed, firepower, and protection, and
do so at an acceptable cost in lives and resources. This is an outline of naval
dynamics with respect to protected cruisers in the dawn of the Pre-Dreadnought
Era, when hydraulics, electricity, and triple reciprocating steam engines were
enhancing the capabilities of warships, but before submarines, destroyers, and
airplanes, much less carriers and tenders for them, changed the nature of naval
warfare. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlS8GamLZsdcOpOIIYtx0_6tRRYs0r4Xz0o54Tac7mewCXG7JtTRZV2JjBJG77sXiMZfByFnxOgvbLwpKUC2Mawq1PZfUVQpb1V4aXOJcUDqr6qdqSpxQk2zKfuffig-CMN55YI8ah4s0/s1600/HMS+Leonidas+JPEG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlS8GamLZsdcOpOIIYtx0_6tRRYs0r4Xz0o54Tac7mewCXG7JtTRZV2JjBJG77sXiMZfByFnxOgvbLwpKUC2Mawq1PZfUVQpb1V4aXOJcUDqr6qdqSpxQk2zKfuffig-CMN55YI8ah4s0/s400/HMS+Leonidas+JPEG.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>HMS <i>Leonidas </i>- Nicholas Dawlish's command in<i> Britannia's Spartan</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2U9gK3Hcs_dZZqHnEemdTjfnh0b5OvAsXup-wIo6j0SUhw3gccrt1Gtc-pyFhN_nBwirFZLlaQZXbXNS30lcMc0ZRCZ1gouKYgK-SQc4S16VSW9OvjH8Ny3MFvNj4KBfhy2c_v-H1e8/s1600/British_Cruiser_Leander.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2U9gK3Hcs_dZZqHnEemdTjfnh0b5OvAsXup-wIo6j0SUhw3gccrt1Gtc-pyFhN_nBwirFZLlaQZXbXNS30lcMc0ZRCZ1gouKYgK-SQc4S16VSW9OvjH8Ny3MFvNj4KBfhy2c_v-H1e8/s400/British_Cruiser_Leander.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">HMS <i>Leander</i>, analog to the <i>Leonidas</i>. </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Armed with ten 6" breechloaders, and carried two 2nd class torpedo boats. </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">She became a destroyer depot ship in 1904.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Source : "The Navy and Army Illustrated" Scanned by Steve Johnson.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Downloaded from Steve Johnson's cyber-heritage website : http://www.cyber-heritage.co.uk/vicnavy/</span></b></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Armored cruisers (
the Russian Navy favored them ) relied on a steel belt for protection, much the
same as the battleships. Often a belt included a ram in the bow, a relic of
ironclad steamships fighting against wooden ships. But since weight was the enemy of speed,
armored cruisers were little better than battleships at commerce raiding. Not
too cost effective. Protected cruisers relied on clever use of curved steel to
deflect shells away from, and coal bunkers to protect, the machinery and
magazines below water level. It worked well provided you didn't collide with
armored ships. The weight savings resulted in greater speed and the range to
defend a far-flung empire.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It's always nice to
have superior range in a main weapon. That's been true ever since the
trebuchet. You can hit the enemy, but they can't hit back. HMS <i>Leonidas</i> had a main battery of all
6" breech loading rifles. A bigger gun could do more damage, but a
contemporary 7", 8", 9",
or even 10" breach loader wouldn't necessarily have more velocity,
accuracy, or effective range ( about 10,000 yards). It would require separate
powder charges and shells in the magazine, complicate handling, adding weight and reducing speed,
particularly as a bow chaser, where it would be most advantageous. The
alternative solution would have been to develop lighter shells for long range
situations, but the trade-off would be reduced impact. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik_T-dmnKG7kMLeVvkStnc5IgDY_5vHWKbJxTTpuNcXFgZDr6r3oqrfAJaVyiEuRZqCFgo5Rpt8ZZCFvVP3odzT8Dko_ISLGmxeKip8T4LlNX4_l7wWJzmRlcapCFWJ_j2ZqteH-mcmt4/s1600/Japanese_protected_cruiser_Izumi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik_T-dmnKG7kMLeVvkStnc5IgDY_5vHWKbJxTTpuNcXFgZDr6r3oqrfAJaVyiEuRZqCFgo5Rpt8ZZCFvVP3odzT8Dko_ISLGmxeKip8T4LlNX4_l7wWJzmRlcapCFWJ_j2ZqteH-mcmt4/s400/Japanese_protected_cruiser_Izumi.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Japanese
protected cruiser <i>Izumi</i> left
elevation plan<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>The British-built
protected cruiser Chilean <i>Esmeralda</i>
1884 (aka IJN <i>Izumi</i> after 1894 ).<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>A bow ram,
10" chasers, a 6" broadside, and 3 sizes of other guns, </b></div>
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<b>but no
torpedo launchers until the sale and refit. </b></div>
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<b>Source: Janes Fighting Ships, 1904
edition Sampson, Low, Marston and Co, London</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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In Nelson's era, sailing ships of the line tended to have
lighter weapons as the decks got higher, ranging from 32-pounders to swivel
guns. It didn't much matter at "pistol shot range" in the days of
sail when rate of fire was the key. As
the range opened up in the Pre-Dreadnought Era, it became difficult to correct
the aim because they couldn't differentiate the splashes. The continuous smoke
from the rapid-fire weapons never cleared, so they couldn't see well enough to
aim anything properly. The innovative “all big gun” design of the HMS <i>Dreadnought</i> solved these issues.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Adding extra "tools" to the armament to anticipate
a multitude of situations, such as several small rapid-fire breach loaders of
various sizes to defend against torpedo boats, is a design temptation for an
independent command. This "Swiss Army knife approach" requires more
crew and training, complicates ammunition storage and handling, and versatility
comes at the expense of role specialization and refinement.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Torpedoes as we know
them were in the early stages, with an effective range limit of only 800 yards,
less for a moving target. Lethal, but more of a coup d' grace than a stand-off
weapon. HMS Leonidas carried two launchers on each broadside. Pairs of
torpedoes are much harder to avoid than solo ones, but crippled ships aren't so
nimble. Perhaps it wasn't a very practical addition to the armament. <o:p></o:p></div>
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An alternative
arrangement would be for the cruiser to carry a pair of torpedo boats, (like
HMS <i>Leander</i>, and the fictional <i>Kiroshima </i>in<i> Britannia’s Spartan</i>) which could be launched for coordinated night
attacks. More skill, but more effect. In terms of costs in cash and lives, it
takes a lot of torpedo boats to equal a battleship, so they were the emerging
threat at the time. France embraced them as part of her <i>“Jeune Ecole” </i>doctrine. The
Americans were developing flywheel powered torpedoes, which had no telltale
bubble trails. A pair of torpedo boats carried aft would lift the bow and
improve the ship's trim, offer an option against a battleship (when a gun fight
was out of the question) , and would enhance blockading a hostile port or
protecting a friendly one (more so with the addition of a few sea mines) . They
might also come in handy for patrolling, carrying messages, search and rescue,
or on convoy duty. They add weight, but would replace some boats and torpedo
launchers. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhw_J_rzCWF9tR4Eav-YAMde45B_ROJepWNEFqaXDIfOUuaG9T59O7aMmXlLVfBKpQZZ7boc-jJjVASrIb-nJlrrb_QhaoZkRi-Ujnz4cZ3v1TJrWoSwdAbCz7bHaugrtZwfIMGcO_Ms/s1600/HMS_Vulcan_1889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhw_J_rzCWF9tR4Eav-YAMde45B_ROJepWNEFqaXDIfOUuaG9T59O7aMmXlLVfBKpQZZ7boc-jJjVASrIb-nJlrrb_QhaoZkRi-Ujnz4cZ3v1TJrWoSwdAbCz7bHaugrtZwfIMGcO_Ms/s400/HMS_Vulcan_1889.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>HMS <i>Vulcan</i>, a torpedo boat depot ship launched in 1889 carried six 16' torpedo boats,</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>two counter-mining launches, and eight 4.7" guns.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>From <i>'The Royal Navy : a history from the earliest times to the present' Vol 7</i> by William Laird Clowes, </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>published 1903 by Samson.Low, Marston and Co. London.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Available at http://www.archive.org/details/royalnavy07clow, </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Public Domain, File:HMS Vulcan 1889.jpg - Wikimedia Commons</b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDnXZsOmfhewEls7e8q5I16XwmVc4BNVm9L0wVfFVcDox6J55cIUX2fCwn8XXGLrd4wFKuTlCadGwVlDMTwLQH5PpnLXKj5OpwYEEmpVTch_cdE6eJuwv8Qgygz2Bnio9_vD5FhF-GNc/s1600/Gatling+on+HMS+Shah+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDnXZsOmfhewEls7e8q5I16XwmVc4BNVm9L0wVfFVcDox6J55cIUX2fCwn8XXGLrd4wFKuTlCadGwVlDMTwLQH5PpnLXKj5OpwYEEmpVTch_cdE6eJuwv8Qgygz2Bnio9_vD5FhF-GNc/s320/Gatling+on+HMS+Shah+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Gatling being fired from a fighting top</b></td></tr>
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Ships retained masts, yards, and sails as backup propulsion
and to stretch the coal supply on long voyages, but the sailing rigs had less
area and the ships more weight than their predecessors, and weren't practical.
In combat, these rigs often became a liability that would obstruct a battery,
create splinters, or act as a sea anchor when hit. Radios hadn't been invented
yet, so they didn't need an antennae mast. They did still need signal halyard
and lookout platforms, and they were good places to mount Gatling guns and
search lights to defend against night torpedo boat attacks. An observer or
gunner couldn't see much from a mainmast close to the smoke stacks. A foremast
and it's supports interfered with the bow chaser and the view from the bridge.
It took years for naval architects to sort things out.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The first designated torpedo boat destroyer went into
service in 1895. Navies would adopt submarines at the turn of the century,
radio 1905, HMS <i>Dreadnought</i> in 1906,
and floatplanes circa 1910. In 1912 the effective range of the torpedo was as
much as 6,000 yards. By then the value and versatility of the destroyer was
proven, and they were replacing torpedo boats. Naval warfare would become
"modern". But in the early 1880s, other cruisers, battleships, and
torpedo boats were the recognized perils, and how to optimize the new cruisers
to fulfil the role of commerce raiders or protectors was the question.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMcr1a31BbsoZGwG58MF8t0DDFkKBZ26QRwbMNbUKj4PQF2NgvvCxOOjWKDQp9GmZXXamHYX3qcuJqgwr03l9PiNTOX_Awa6qUBenthCkyIk_uMV8aKX5YZiK6ruNOMP4nuq9ZfkVq74/s1600/Douglas+Smith+Photograph.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMcr1a31BbsoZGwG58MF8t0DDFkKBZ26QRwbMNbUKj4PQF2NgvvCxOOjWKDQp9GmZXXamHYX3qcuJqgwr03l9PiNTOX_Awa6qUBenthCkyIk_uMV8aKX5YZiK6ruNOMP4nuq9ZfkVq74/s200/Douglas+Smith+Photograph.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Douglas R. Smith</b> was born in Pennsylvania in 1959, where he
developed an interest in history and reading historical fiction. This included
Pre-Dreadnought navies, because they established both Japan and the USA as
world powers. He worked in agriculture, sales, and insurance. Now he and his
wife Karen are in Wisconsin, enjoying their retirement, dining, Disney, and
travel.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h2 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<i>Britannia's Spartan </i></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Six-inch breech loading guns represented the cutting edge of naval technology in the early 1880s. In my novel </span><i style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Britannia’s Spartan</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> they are seen in use on both British and Japanese ships. The splendid woodcut below shows Japanese crews managing just such a weapon in the war of 1895 against China. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><a href="https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/embed?asin=B0198UX6I0&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_d7INyb5MPD5Y4" style="text-decoration: none;"><b><span style="color: white;">If you're in the UK click here to read the opening</span></b></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/embed?asin=B0198UX6I0&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_Y.INybDBA8JJC" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;"><b><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">If you're in the </span>US or Rest of World click here to read the opening</span><span style="background-color: white;">he opening</span></b></span></a></div>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-46732008490127190742017-02-14T13:17:00.000-08:002017-02-14T12:33:42.104-08:00Jean Bart – Sea Raider<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The French
Navy’s record through the centuries never achieved the string of memorable
victories won by Britain’s Royal Navy – though one French victory, that of the Virginia
Capes in 1781, was decisive in assuring American Independence. One French naval
hero was however to achieve a status in his countrymen’s eyes comparable to
Nelson in British ones. This was Jean Bart (1650 – 1702), a man whose career was
so dramatic, and whose character was so outlandish, that only the most daring
of authors would dare create a similar figure in fiction.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The name Dunkirk
evokes today images of the almost miraculous evacuation of British and French
forces in 1940 from the harbour and nearby beaches of this port on the French
side of the English Channel. It played an equally important role in the late
seventeenth century, when Britain, France and the Netherlands were locked in a
series of wars, as it represented the most northerly French naval base. As such
it provided a fortified refuge and source of supply not only for formal naval
forces but also for privateers. Its possession was vital for supporting French efforts
to control the Channel and the North Sea.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdRquTsZSFzkGdE52tIdSsIt4S6IPOmCURgQR6R5SZhAgM7_DZ5tAFxtoAUSpH1zrry20IZupumq6-sPnJVTFPyQj96Endoxw2MvIqo8SwInpD4AvjDadyU3QF5PbGWNUmaPtHu9D6kg8/s1600/Jean+Bart+-+chocolate+Brand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdRquTsZSFzkGdE52tIdSsIt4S6IPOmCURgQR6R5SZhAgM7_DZ5tAFxtoAUSpH1zrry20IZupumq6-sPnJVTFPyQj96Endoxw2MvIqo8SwInpD4AvjDadyU3QF5PbGWNUmaPtHu9D6kg8/s1600/Jean+Bart+-+chocolate+Brand.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The boyhood of Jean Bart - French chocolate label!</b></td></tr>
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It was here
that Jean Bart was born in 1650 to a seafaring family. It may not have been
French – there is some evidence that his original name was Jan Baert,
indicating a Flemish origin, and that he spoke both languages. (Even today the French/Flemish
linguistic boundary lies around a dozen miles north-east of Dunkirk). Details
appear scarce but he seems to have first gone to sea in Dutch service, under
the illustrious Admiral Michiel de Ruyter in the Second Anglo-Dutch War
(1664-67), from which the Dutch emerged victorious. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXebsYHCY3goBjovb5vZpTT92_Ev5VuvxsFthEoeMIiinYNGSbXihJ9e0LOFyEa0UU53YUKG1-D_mavKYIieP56lSD94zxZUu8NKQ264-XQFbDmrQAaTC3JQGmj4hZnNlgyBA8dRIB-JQ/s1600/Rampjaar+1672++A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXebsYHCY3goBjovb5vZpTT92_Ev5VuvxsFthEoeMIiinYNGSbXihJ9e0LOFyEa0UU53YUKG1-D_mavKYIieP56lSD94zxZUu8NKQ264-XQFbDmrQAaTC3JQGmj4hZnNlgyBA8dRIB-JQ/s1600/Rampjaar+1672++A.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The price of Louis XIV's glory - French atrocities during invasion of the Netherlands</b></td></tr>
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In 1672
France invaded the Dutch Republic, the so-called United Provinces. The Dutch
fought back ferociously, so initiating six-years of warfare in which, surprisingly
in view of later history, Britain was to be France’s ally for the first two
years. Jean Bart now entered French service, not as a naval officer – a rank
not open to those of humble birth – but as a privateer operating out of
Dunkirk. Such privateers were privately-owned ships sailing under a <i>“letter of marque”</i>, with government
backing, and were frequently funded by syndicates of investors. Bart’s raids on
Dutch commerce during the first years of the war were so fruitful that in 1675,
at his own expense, he could afford to equip a sloop carrying two guns and 36
men. With this he at once captured a Dutch warship mounting eighteen guns and crewed
by 65 men. He continued to take prizes and could now afford to fit out a 10-gun
ship, promptly capturing a Dutch 12-gun vessel. He then was given command of
five frigates, and on 4th March 1676, captured an 18-gun Dutchman. Shortly
afterwards he met eight British merchant ships, escorted by three warships. He
promptly captured one of the escorts, drove the others off, and took the
merchantmen into Dunkirk. In September of the same year he captured the <i>Neptune</i>, 36-gun frigate, and her entire convoy.
During the six years the war lasted he took 49 vessels in total.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>French ship under attack by Barbary corsairs, mid-17th Century</b></td></tr>
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With peace
restored Bart, irrespective of his birth, was awarded a lieutenant’s commission
– a first step in the Royal French Navy that was ultimately to carry him to the
rank of admiral. He was now given command of a 14-gun ship and sent to cruise off
North Africa against the Barbary corsairs who were to be a scourge of European –
and later American – shipping for another century and a half. This resulted in
capture of a large armed-xebec which was brought back to Toulon as a prize.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In 1683
France was at war again, this time with Spain. It lasted less than a year but
it gave Jean Bart the opportunity to take a Spanish vessel carrying 350 troops,
which he sent in to Brest. He followed this up by capturing two warships off Cadiz,
receiving a severe thigh-wound in the process.<o:p></o:p></div>
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King Louis XIV’s territorial ambitions
were to trigger war again in 1688, a nine-year conflict which was to pitch France
against the so-called “Grand Alliance” of the Dutch, British, Holy Roman Empire
and several lesser principalities. For Jean Bart this was the start of the most
spectacular part of his career. He now commanded a 24-gun frigate, and immediately
took a Dutch privateer, but his luck ran out when he ran into met two 50-gun
British ships. Taken prisoner, he was brought to Plymouth but was to make a daring
escape, stealing a boat and rowing in two and-a-half days across the Channel to
near St. Malo on the coast of Brittany. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQBu4M9slA5fcToxneXaFXkZbnGJ_kc8lp8NVtdpOHjxJkAiUKlHZloiQg8KwCn7YUqZBc0vehAElrlF3cryGJJOQDijnnAqm0XsKeqwhTyR70nyo4ORfQT35be3gJVmHlWczDnsEATs/s1600/Jean_Bart_et_Forbin_s_echappant_d_Angleterre_en_1689.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQBu4M9slA5fcToxneXaFXkZbnGJ_kc8lp8NVtdpOHjxJkAiUKlHZloiQg8KwCn7YUqZBc0vehAElrlF3cryGJJOQDijnnAqm0XsKeqwhTyR70nyo4ORfQT35be3gJVmHlWczDnsEATs/s1600/Jean_Bart_et_Forbin_s_echappant_d_Angleterre_en_1689.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The long row home - Jean Bart escaping from Plymouth to St. Malo</b></td></tr>
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Now a national hero, he was promoted to
captain and given command of the frigate <i>Alcyon</i>.
In her he was to fight under the Count de Tourville on 10th July 1690 at the Battle of Beachy
Head in the English Channel – known by the French as the Battle of Béveziers – a French tactical victory which resulted in
British and Dutch losses of eleven ships for no French loss. This gave the French
temporary control of the English Channel but de Tourville did not follow up the
victory. The battle is unique in that both commanders, British and French, were
to lose their commands for their performances.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhquNQoxJU2NvEmFtcJZTd2qs8vKMTVs7qnlAIswulMUJJtZqCpYZjZheClDPg7HkLIAOhyRGbJgiBHyIYPNJhSpIY-ul6XCVI9_sGE2oo3tmq10TRzNfZzXYzpNzxWuSnmBycDmDzl2k/s1600/Beachy-Head-email-1024x747+-+Nicholas+Ozanne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhquNQoxJU2NvEmFtcJZTd2qs8vKMTVs7qnlAIswulMUJJtZqCpYZjZheClDPg7HkLIAOhyRGbJgiBHyIYPNJhSpIY-ul6XCVI9_sGE2oo3tmq10TRzNfZzXYzpNzxWuSnmBycDmDzl2k/s1600/Beachy-Head-email-1024x747+-+Nicholas+Ozanne.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Battle of Beachy Head, July 1690, by Nicholas Ozanne</b></td></tr>
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<o:p> </o:p>Jean Bart’s next assignment was escorting
merchant shipping from Hamburg to Dunkirk, an activity he combined with successful
commerce-raiding in the North Sea. By 1691 however enemy forces had blockaded Dunkirk.
Bart escaped with several small vessels, slipped out at night and opened fire
on the blockading squadron as he passed. The following evening he captured two British
ships, of 40 and of 50 tons respectively, together with merchant ships he took in
to neutral Bergen, in Norway. He then now directed his attention to savaging a
large Dutch fishing fleet, burning most of them, seizing their escorts and landing their crews on the English coast, then
going on to plunder and burn villages on the Scottish coast. Again blockaded in Dunkirk, , he once more broke
out successfully in October 1693 and at once hurled himself on British
shipping, sustaining his record of captures and raiding the English coast near
Newcastle, returning with enormous spoils. Sallying out again from Dunkirk with
three frigates, he captured more merchant vessels before engaging a convoy
escorted by three men-of-war. Two of these he captured but the third, a 54-gun
vessel, fought off three attempts to board her. She made her escape, abandoning
the convoy to Bart.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgECi2uGVHKfgcHCLiQNlKXgFnxllnWNP3EucKg4gbQLkqacTEHf0XBOYGVf__WGtbPoQS6LaDVtIybyzs3i2jnfR3WxMCAsjJ6jkPeX01YlQd_qm_KBwoFZ_cpxAUBVpkA0zJG2E5rsX4/s1600/Combat_du_Texel_1694+Eugene+Isabey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgECi2uGVHKfgcHCLiQNlKXgFnxllnWNP3EucKg4gbQLkqacTEHf0XBOYGVf__WGtbPoQS6LaDVtIybyzs3i2jnfR3WxMCAsjJ6jkPeX01YlQd_qm_KBwoFZ_cpxAUBVpkA0zJG2E5rsX4/s1600/Combat_du_Texel_1694+Eugene+Isabey.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Battle of Texel, June 1694, by Eugene Isabey</b></td></tr>
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The battle that was to earn Jean Bart
his title of nobility was fought off the Dutch island of Texel on 29th June
1694 when, with a flotilla of seven ships, he recaptured a French convoy which
had earlier that month been taken by the Dutch. He also took three warships of the
eight-strong escort. Greeted with rapture
on his return to Dunkirk, he found himself invited to Versailles to receive the
personal congratulations of Louis XIV.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bart’s last triumph in the North Sea
was at the Battle of the Dogger Bank on 17<sup>th</sup> June 1696. It was
initiated by his locating a Dutch convoy of 112 merchantmen, escorted by five
warships. Speed was essential for a large British squadron under Admiral John
Benbow was searching for Bart’s force of seven ships. Bart threw his own ship
nevertheless at the Dutch flagship, the <i>Raadhuis
van Haarlem</i>, capturing it only after a three-hour battle. Four more Dutch warships
surrendered. Bart then burned <o:p></o:p></div>
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25 merchant ships, making away to the east
only as Benbow's squadron hove into sight. A year later the Treaty of Rijswijk
brought the war to an end, and with it Bart’s fighting career. He died five years
later, still a relatively young man, yet one who had packed more into a single
life than the vast majority of men ever dream of.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlZgWoEtHV21Sylh5m7mOOdMjlFJMvdvLra6aumQXNHFvSII4fEfxKpOJ7SkD-Wpjv4b_hcS9sB9IcQNrubXtKhgjQGYwz7IB-UypzCVIfo0n3rOViWKfRyCc9HslLwF7GaGdcgRKIoE/s1600/Jean+Bart+and+Son.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlZgWoEtHV21Sylh5m7mOOdMjlFJMvdvLra6aumQXNHFvSII4fEfxKpOJ7SkD-Wpjv4b_hcS9sB9IcQNrubXtKhgjQGYwz7IB-UypzCVIfo0n3rOViWKfRyCc9HslLwF7GaGdcgRKIoE/s1600/Jean+Bart+and+Son.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A lesson in courage - Jean Bart's son tied to the mast during a battle</b></td></tr>
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Jean Bart was to achieve mythic status
in death, the embodiment of an <i>“up and at
them”</i> tactical commander rather than a strategist. Records indicate that he
captured a total of 386 ships, besides sinking or burning many more. Some of
the stories told of him may or may not be true, but even the fanciful ones hint
at the nature of his character. One tale has him causing outrage among
courtiers at Versailles by smoking his pipe in the ante-room while waiting for
an audience with Louis XIV. On the king asking him how he broke the blockade at
Dunkirk, he is said to have arranged the courtiers present in a line, then
attacking them with his fists, knocking them down, as a practical demonstration.
In 1697, towards the end of the war, he was tasked with carrying the Prince de
Conti (François-Louis de Bourbon), the French candidate for the Polish crown,
to Danzig. This demanded slipping six frigates through a tight enemy blockade. When
clear of danger, the prince asked Bart if he had not been afraid that the enemy
might have captured them. Much to the Prince's horror, Bart informed him that
not the slightest danger of such a contingency had existed, as his son had been
stationed with a match in the magazine to blow up the ship upon receiving a
pre-arranged signal. Another story has him tying his own son to a mast during
an action to cure him of fear of death and gunfire.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikb4sWRzZ3GGjljzKFkIwor64X44u5M_4ojKQJern20pdbnG-Hsc3Uj_O9KC8IDlbAaqIt0bQcJ1yF_UdRHhSmgRQT2SDKlXsas0YoZCQc-NHcJQXasjZohT_3LUPqPHcVObcN4TS-qmA/s1600/Jean+Bart+under+attack+from+USS+Ranger+planes+1942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikb4sWRzZ3GGjljzKFkIwor64X44u5M_4ojKQJern20pdbnG-Hsc3Uj_O9KC8IDlbAaqIt0bQcJ1yF_UdRHhSmgRQT2SDKlXsas0YoZCQc-NHcJQXasjZohT_3LUPqPHcVObcN4TS-qmA/s1600/Jean+Bart+under+attack+from+USS+Ranger+planes+1942.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Jean Bart under attack by aircraft from the USS <i>Ranger</i>, Casablanca, November 1942</b></td></tr>
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Jean Bart’s name has lived on in the French
Navy, some 27 ships being named for him since his death. The most famous was France’s
last completed battleship, which in November 1942, when only partly completed, was
to fire on American warships during the Casablanca landings until silenced by dive
bombers from the carrier USS <i>Ranger </i>and five 16-inch hits by the USS
<i>Massachusetts</i>. Finally completed after WW2, she was to remain in French service
until 1961. The current vessel
is an anti-aircraft frigate launched in 1988.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The name of Jean Bart lives on.<br />
<br />
================<br />
<h3>
<i style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Britannia’s Reach</i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> is the second of the </span><i style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dawlish Chronicles.</i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
So what’s it about?</span></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Britannias-Reach-Dawlish-Chronicles-November-ebook/dp/B00I9I8DWC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1424467520"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzRMjWSXFK_JPJ2AhphiW0lStkYCcBXl1667eELc8h8h5ZiLG483YJmqkX3FkFXGAEoKZ8-q43zlqYbrOPCR90bxJOILm5l4T-apHbmggeCxsyaK5PrHiqyYBL_iYUXHwi2xucUFg0Fw/s1600/Britannia's%2BReach%2BFront%2BCover%2Bless%2Bspine.JPG" width="134" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Britannias-Reach-Dawlish-Chronicles-November-ebook/dp/B00I9I8DWC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1424467520">Click image for details</a></b></td></tr>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">It’s 1880. On a broad river deep in the heart of South
America, a flotilla of paddle steamers thrashes slowly upstream. Laden with
troops, horses and artillery, intent on conquest and revenge.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">Ahead lies a commercial empire that was wrested from a
British consortium in a bloody revolution. Now the investors are determined to
recoup their losses and are funding a vicious war to do so.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">Nicholas Dawlish, an ambitious British naval officer, is
playing a leading role in the expedition.
But as brutal land and river battles mark its progress upriver, and as
both sides inflict and endure ever greater suffering, stalemate threatens.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">And Dawlish finds himself forced to make a terrible
ethical choice if he is to return to Britain with some shreds of integrity
remaining…</span><br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-66475804327547252362017-02-10T13:46:00.002-08:002017-02-10T13:46:40.540-08:00Privateer Action in the English Channel, 1793<div class="MsoNormal">
Probably like many others I have always thought of
privateers in the Age of Fighting Sail as preying on enemy merchant shipping on
commercial routes in open ocean, far from land. My perception has however been
changed by an 1889 book, <i>“Betwixt the
Forelands”, </i>by the Victorian maritime author W. Clark Russell, in which he deals
with the naval history of the English Channel from the Middle Ages onwards. At
its narrowest, this strait between the English and French coasts is only some twenty
miles wide, and domination of it was always a key objective of British naval policy.
It was – and is – one of the busiest commercial waterways in the world,
offering access to Northern Europe from the Central Atlantic. Clark Russell’s
book highlights the fact that, though Britannia might rule the waves and dominate
the Channel, the prize of rich commercial pickings was always an inducement for
French privateers in light craft to dart out, seize their prizes and retire quickly
to the cover of their well-defended home ports. The story of one such foray
tells just how savage these encounters could be.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwDr-Shn-GnFuk4DxCdlk0W6F8Y7w2GYoP36QzAdTMQk0dwwF5y8R4ZDNBmZXkOqyRGH5aAjl_Vrgb1G2LKBlEOA1QPSehK2vKOA2PQI8ytXua1HrOi32Z-UCEAoW-c-XFbCVGPSiF-0/s1600/British_brig_attacking_a_French_lugger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwDr-Shn-GnFuk4DxCdlk0W6F8Y7w2GYoP36QzAdTMQk0dwwF5y8R4ZDNBmZXkOqyRGH5aAjl_Vrgb1G2LKBlEOA1QPSehK2vKOA2PQI8ytXua1HrOi32Z-UCEAoW-c-XFbCVGPSiF-0/s400/British_brig_attacking_a_French_lugger.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Close action action in the Narrow Seas</b><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>“British
brig attacking a French lugger” by Thomas Buttersworth (1768-1842)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<b><br /></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Tensions between Britain and Revolutionary France had
escalated through 1792. Following the execution of the French King Louis XVI on
21<sup>st</sup> January 1793 Britain expelled the French ambassador and on 1
February France responded by declaring war on Great Britain. The period of the
Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, which were to last until 1815, with a break
of only a few months, had begun. Within days of the declaration the crew of a
British merchant ship, the <i>Glory</i>, was
to be one of the first victims of the war at sea, and indeed at its most cruel.
Under a Captain Benson she had just cleared
the South Foreland and its White Cliffs, just north-east of Dover, when a
French privateer bore down upon her. An attempt to flee failed and the French
vessel sent a boat across with fifteen armed men. What followed was atrocious. According
to Clark Russell Benson was <i>“seized,
bound hand and foot, and lashed down upon a chest. His crew was clapt in irons,
plundered of every article, and insulted by every injurious terms the Johnnies
could lay their tongues to”</i> (It is notable that in this period the French
were referred to as ”<i>Johnnies</i>”).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiBmb9EPMywK4-WNyO6g6kcthtPDF8SCfF96-0Mtz6Lsh7h2DKoRM030pYhqL64eutIHnZ0NSGSzkKF6dGCiMZ9SN7L_g2DZD9tj-E6BsvYpuvKB6zY46FIjVUB4oD6TLO6Bcqf8-CaKI/s1600/Sir+Samuel+Hood+%25281762+%25E2%2580%25931814%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiBmb9EPMywK4-WNyO6g6kcthtPDF8SCfF96-0Mtz6Lsh7h2DKoRM030pYhqL64eutIHnZ0NSGSzkKF6dGCiMZ9SN7L_g2DZD9tj-E6BsvYpuvKB6zY46FIjVUB4oD6TLO6Bcqf8-CaKI/s320/Sir+Samuel+Hood+%25281762+%25E2%2580%25931814%2529.jpg" width="219" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sir Samuel Hood</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The French were now preparing to run their prize back home –
Calais was twenty miles away, the great base at Dunkirk just twice that – but
now retribution arrived in the form of the 32-gun frigate HMS <i>Juno</i>, en-route to the Mediterranean and commanded by the future
Vice-Admiral Samuel Hood (1762 – 1814), a cousin of the more renowned admiral
of the same name. There could be no contest, no hope of escape, and the French
surrendered without further ado.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is what followed which was perhaps most interesting, and I
quote below from the statement made by the <i>Glory’s</i>
Captain Benson, as repeated by Clark Russell:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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After his ship had been boarded and his crew put in irons
Benson claimed that the Frenchmen <i>“led me
down to my cabin, where they placed me on my back, and lashed me to my chest by
my neck, arms and legs, with my head hanging over. I was in the most excruciating
pain for four hours and a half. In this helpless condition the cowardly
miscreants (they disgrace even the name of Frenchmen) snapped a pistol at my
head, and another made a thrust at me with a cutlass, which fortunately went off
at an oblique direction through my coat and jacket.</i>” Worse was to follow. <i>“They cut off my dog’s head, they said, for the
purpose of representing the fate of the whole crew when we got to France.”</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As the <i>Juno</i> drew
near the French released their prisoners – it would have been unwise for the
French to be found with their captives so cruelly trussed up. Benson was however
little inclined to forgive and forget and, as he remarked, <i>“It is difficult at all times to keep the passions within a due state
of subordination.” </i>He accordingly snatched a cutlass from the hand of the French
seaman who untied him and “<i>I almost at
one stroke severed his left hand from his body; when, fearing for the further
effects of my frenzy, he jumped out of the cabin window and was drowned. Another
followed his example. And jumped off the taffrail, and the (French) captain,
dreading the just vengeance which was awaiting him, took a pistol and shot
himself through the head.” <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Gpb4dHofa_aeq168TvL-KD5CS2lWNYNFI-go02_eLPkMjAiXvI0cTjWn3dg9PPT_5RCpTCF7qlf3hhKQROCsLjcX3hFZ1r7n8tZZsHfCr5D3gV22HUO1fUfbGZsk7TJKx3hx7A1GE8o/s1600/Thomas_Buttersworth_-_A_Royal_Navy_brig_chasing_and_engaging_a_well-armed_pirate_lugger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Gpb4dHofa_aeq168TvL-KD5CS2lWNYNFI-go02_eLPkMjAiXvI0cTjWn3dg9PPT_5RCpTCF7qlf3hhKQROCsLjcX3hFZ1r7n8tZZsHfCr5D3gV22HUO1fUfbGZsk7TJKx3hx7A1GE8o/s400/Thomas_Buttersworth_-_A_Royal_Navy_brig_chasing_and_engaging_a_well-armed_pirate_lugger.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Thomas Buttersworth - a Royal Navy brig chasing a privateer</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Benson’s “<i>frenzy</i>”
was still unsatisfied: <i>“I was not yet
reduced to reason and, before the Juno’s crew could overpower me, had cut and
lacerated three more of the Frenchmen so dreadfully that they were now entirely
covered with blood, and now lie in the hospital without any hope of recovery</i>.”</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It is possible that today Benson would be hauled before a
court to answer for violation of the Human Rights of his persecutors. His era was however a more robust one and he
ends his statement: <i>“Those only who
suffer can feel, and, though the more moderate part of mankind my blame me for
rashness, my own heart acquits me of any deliberate or unprovoked act of
cruelty</i>.” </div>
<br />
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This small, vicious, action was one of the first of the new
conflict. Hundreds more lay ahead in a then-unimaginable twenty-two years of
war.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h2 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<i>Britannia's Spartan </i></h2>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Six-inch breech loading guns represented the cutting edge of naval technology in the early 1880s. In my novel </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Britannia’s Spartan</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> they are seen in use on both British and Japanese ships. The splendid woodcut below shows Japanese crews managing just such a weapon in the war of 1895 against China. </span></div>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-5153367272650462352017-02-07T12:17:00.000-08:002017-02-07T12:54:44.331-08:00France and Prussia clash off Cuba: The Battle of Havana 1870<div class="MsoNormal">
Single-ship actions, in which a lone ship from one navy is
matched against a lone ship of the enemy’s, represent some of the most dramatic
battles in naval history. The captains and crews cannot depend on support or
rescue through the intervention of a larger force and the battle represents the
moment in which training, skill and discipline all come together to determine
victory or defeat. In other articles on this blog I’ve described some of the most dramatic of such
actions – <i>Quebec</i> vs <i>Surveillante</i> (1779), <i>Indefatigable</i> vs. <i>Droits de l’Homme</i> (1797) and <i>Shah</i>
vs. <i>Huascar</i> (1877) – and the Naval
War of 1812 consisted largely of similar encounters. Each of these actions took
place in the context of larger tactical or strategic objectives. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGiNAZ_Gdgyozawg_QBoNIyt4P31VrrLotuzHUPRSfnZNBTClWbIRCOt_XeKEaKnLY9D3sxxk64ImB5PuCixhb64J3UipEsf7hgbHVyktWtCh3MLWhhadXDhojGuGtg7b-wJBxmbq88L8/s1600/Havana+1870.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGiNAZ_Gdgyozawg_QBoNIyt4P31VrrLotuzHUPRSfnZNBTClWbIRCOt_XeKEaKnLY9D3sxxk64ImB5PuCixhb64J3UipEsf7hgbHVyktWtCh3MLWhhadXDhojGuGtg7b-wJBxmbq88L8/s400/Havana+1870.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>German pride; The Battle of Havana, November 9th 1870<br />A card issued by a margarine manufacturer - SMS Meteor on left</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A more obscure action, fought off the coast of Cuba in 1870,
was one which was radically different in that it could have had no bearing,
however remote, on the outcome of a greater conflict. It was indeed triggered
by almost medieval concepts of pride and honour.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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In 1870 the French Second Empire under Napoleon III entered
unwisely into war with Prussia, the pre-eminent power in Germany. Within weeks
of the start of hostilities French land forces had been defeated in battle after
battle. Napoleon III himself had been surrounded and forced to surrender with an
entire army and Prussian forces, supported by other German allies, had invaded
Northern France and had brought Paris itself under siege. France had a large
navy, Prussia a few ships only, and those small, but the French found themselves
incapable of using their powerful modern ironclads to gain any strategic
advantage.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSc9MPR0fwWJMf4dHlImz0DIA-vIZfNC4p7Q04d1LXIv6UBaHfTQ8bla-JlkPBJXwHedtEwSC-OIRiQWM3sX5RfXXV3NUOxBg50ZK4goMC82t24fBFq6kS7bb8o2epxOHq9UDedHlOlE/s1600/Sedan+-+napoleon+III.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSc9MPR0fwWJMf4dHlImz0DIA-vIZfNC4p7Q04d1LXIv6UBaHfTQ8bla-JlkPBJXwHedtEwSC-OIRiQWM3sX5RfXXV3NUOxBg50ZK4goMC82t24fBFq6kS7bb8o2epxOHq9UDedHlOlE/s1600/Sedan+-+napoleon+III.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>After French defeat at Sedan, Germany's chancellor, Bismarck (on right)<br />comforts the defeated Emperor Napoleon III</b></td></tr>
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By November 1870, as winter came, siege conditions inside Paris
were beginning to bite. Food was running short (even elephants in the zoo were
eventually eaten), political upheaval had resulted in proclamation of a republic,
but without agreement by various hostiles factions as to what this meant, attempts
at breakout by the defenders and of relief by other French forces were unsuccessful
and communication with the outside world was by balloon only. Elsewhere in
France efforts were being made to regroup whatever forces had so far escaped
defeat – futile efforts which in turn were to lead to yet further defeats.<o:p></o:p></div>
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While Metropolitan France was enduring this agony a wooden-hulled
French sloop of the three-ship <i>Guichen</i>
class, the <i>Bouvet</i>, was serving in the
more idyllic surroundings of the French West Indies. Launched five years
earlier, of 750 tons and 182 feet long, she carried auxiliary sails to
complement the 575 hp steam engine that gave her, at best, 10.7 knots. Like
many similar vessels in other navies she was intended for “colonial service”
only, with shore bombardment of unsophisticated enemies her most likely hostile
duty. This said, she was heavily armed for her size – one 6.4” and four 4.7”
guns.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0La8BdM4ENppza2X3RAI-l9OZcqo1IVZIYs-nRAFFbg1Ylg6hErCWZmPlDZXz-9liswFUHb7ItZkcWZASRtVCRMb2SsggtaRboG5KU5FGVIzJZNcQbxG-RUEbQxk_nCC_GWERdGOrMg/s1600/SMS_Meteor_(1865).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0La8BdM4ENppza2X3RAI-l9OZcqo1IVZIYs-nRAFFbg1Ylg6hErCWZmPlDZXz-9liswFUHb7ItZkcWZASRtVCRMb2SsggtaRboG5KU5FGVIzJZNcQbxG-RUEbQxk_nCC_GWERdGOrMg/s1600/SMS_Meteor_(1865).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>SMS <i>Meteor</i></b></td></tr>
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Also in the area was the Prussian gunboat <i>Meteor </i>of the eight-ship<i> Chamaeleon </i>class. She too was<i> </i>wooden hulled, of 415 tons and 142 feet
long. She carried sail as well as steam – a 320 hp engine which urged her to
just over 9 knots maximum. She was more weakly armed than the French <i>Bouvet</i>, carrying only one 24 pounder and
two 12 pounders.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On November 7<sup>th</sup>
the <i>Meteor</i> steamed into Havana, then the
capital of what was still the Spanish-ruled colony of Cuba. The <i>Bouvet</i> arrived from Martinique a few
hours later. Both ships moored and it is easy to imagine the suspicion with
which their crews viewed each other. They were however in a neutral port and no
offensive action could be undertaken. Also in the harbour was a French mail
steamer, the <i>Nouveau Monde</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On the following
day the <i>Nouveau Monde</i> left Havana, en
route for Veracruz. Fearing however that the Prussian <i>Meteor</i> might emerge, overtake and capture her, the mail steamer’s
captain appeared to lose his nerve and he returned to Havana. The <i>Meteor’s</i> potential as a commerce raider
had been recognised – but to realise it she had to get away from Havana, and that
meant neutralising the <i>Bouvet</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Events now
took a turn that seemed to belong more to the days of chivalry than to those of
total war in which Prussia and France were already locked. The <i>Meteor's</i> captain issued a formal
challenge to the captain of the <i>Bouvet</i>
to fight a battle – not indeed a wise move since the <i>Meteor</i> was heavily outgunned and as both ships were evenly matched
as regards speed, making flight unlikely if defeat threatened. The <i>Bouvet</i> duly accepted the challenge and she
left Havana to wait for the <i>Meteor</i>. Neutrality
laws did however demand that the Prussian<i>
</i>warship had to wait another day before she could leave harbour since Spain
was not a party to the conflict.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjncHntU5I9SA1QioNTVn8hsJkC7mkXBJo4YMWqkjRVFiqJX4t7sn1eZxRKwvdLL4ybTb-9k5hsNBRGameEXuYaY_s3YiMwsX3hYBP8mDHxvB56_HZbFAemyXBRglsHlzsRyZxsanoLkws/s1600/Combat_du_Bouvet_et_du_Meteor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjncHntU5I9SA1QioNTVn8hsJkC7mkXBJo4YMWqkjRVFiqJX4t7sn1eZxRKwvdLL4ybTb-9k5hsNBRGameEXuYaY_s3YiMwsX3hYBP8mDHxvB56_HZbFAemyXBRglsHlzsRyZxsanoLkws/s1600/Combat_du_Bouvet_et_du_Meteor.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The <i>Bouvet</i> (right) pounds the <i>Meteor</i></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRkkuRY-Rih5FnMd9NOhFPCGv2CFwMZZpRtVSGpjl_g_QQ1qkqzuZYzaHlMxHPgZcuZDaLtz2wFLCk1fOGYKWV0UIBhiMsYMGpHcOA_y2LJn_b9cLc6cXpqJaIEeXoXKclQiOL_zjDa7U/s1600/METEOR+in+1911+publication.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRkkuRY-Rih5FnMd9NOhFPCGv2CFwMZZpRtVSGpjl_g_QQ1qkqzuZYzaHlMxHPgZcuZDaLtz2wFLCk1fOGYKWV0UIBhiMsYMGpHcOA_y2LJn_b9cLc6cXpqJaIEeXoXKclQiOL_zjDa7U/s200/METEOR+in+1911+publication.jpg" width="139" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Meteor- 1911 image</b></td></tr>
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The <i>Meteor</i> duly steamed out from Havana on
November 9<sup>th</sup> and towards the <i>Bouvet</i>,
which was waiting 10 miles offshore, just outside the Spanish/Cuban territorial
waters. The French opened fire immediately and the German vessel returned it.
The action, at very close range, lasted upwards of an hour and the <i>Meteor</i>, not surprisingly, got the worst
of it, losing both main and mizzen masts.<br />
<br />
The <i>Bouvet</i> now moved in to finish the job by boarding but at the critical
moment a steam pipe was damaged, leaving her dead in the water. Had the <i>Meteor</i> been more heavily armed this might
have been her opportunity to destroy the <i>Bouvet</i>.
The French did however succeed in getting their ship into neutral Spanish territorial
waters under sail and the struggle could no longer be continued. (This is
perhaps the only instance of sail power proving of utility under battle
conditions to a steam-powered warship).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPKbTbv6aJ7U1rMxfJojK_P6kSfKGCHDmIwL9bRqdGA9TY3Vczw3Jy2mJAdpOHu8UmvvlcnH4tqETkxNDpr6DYd6XGsqsGWpoiewqdnRrlf23Q_PhuJMhE8MiDKbPXZvz0S6hhEDUvt8/s1600/SMS_Meteor_%25281865%2529Rave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPKbTbv6aJ7U1rMxfJojK_P6kSfKGCHDmIwL9bRqdGA9TY3Vczw3Jy2mJAdpOHu8UmvvlcnH4tqETkxNDpr6DYd6XGsqsGWpoiewqdnRrlf23Q_PhuJMhE8MiDKbPXZvz0S6hhEDUvt8/s1600/SMS_Meteor_%25281865%2529Rave.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>SMS <i>Meteor </i>- dismasted and damaged, but still full of fight</b></td></tr>
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Though both
ships survived the encounter, the <i>Bouvet</i>
was to come to an equally dramatic end some ten months later when she was
wrecked near Haiti. Inconclusive as it was, and without any potential to
influence the outcome of the main conflict, this was the only naval encounter
of the Franco-Prussian War. It was however of great symbolic significance to the
Prussians – who within three months, and with the support of their other German
allies, were to proclaim the establishment of the new German Empire – the Second
Reich. Humiliatingly for the French, the proclamation was to take place in
Louis XIV’s huge palace of Versailles. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A fledgling
navy had stood up to a larger and longer established one and it had held its
own. The courage of the <i>Meteor’s</i> crew
had served notice to the world that however small its naval power might still be,
Germany had the determination and skills to make her a force to be reckoned
with at sea in the future. And the rest is history…<br />
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<i>
Britannia's Reach</i></h2>
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It's November 1879 and on a broad river deep in the heart of South America, a flotilla of paddle steamers thrashes slowly upstream. It is laden with troops, horses and artillery, and intent on conquest and revenge. Ahead lies a commercial empire that was wrested from a British consortium in a bloody revolution. Now the investors are determined to recoup their losses and are funding a vicious war to do so. A British naval officer, Nicholas Dawlish, is playing a leading role in the expedition. But as brutal land and river battles mark its progress upriver, and as both sides inflict and endure ever greater suffering, stalemate threatens. And Dawlish finds himself forced to make a terrible ethical choice if he is to return to Britain with some shreds of integrity remaining…<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/embed?asin=B00I9I8DWC&asin=B00I9I8DWC&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_KMQCxbB4JT0WN">Click here or on cover image to read the opening chapters</a></b></span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: 22px;">Download a free copy of </span></b><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px;"><b>Britannia’s Eventide</b> </i></div>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4406619839841800067.post-89135388732883366042017-02-03T13:43:00.000-08:002017-02-03T13:43:41.160-08:00Day’s Submarine 1774 <div class="MsoNormal">
Sir Murray
Fraser Sueter (1872 – 1960) was one of the most colourful personalities of the
Royal Navy prior to and through the First World War. He is best remembered today as a pioneer of
aviation – of airships as well as fixed-wing craft – and he was essentially the
creator of the RNAS, the Royal Navy Air Service. One of his most notable
achievements was development of the torpedo-carrying aircraft, and his was also
involved with innovative employment of armoured cars. A forceful personality,
he ran foul of senior levels in the Admiralty late in the war, and he retired –
or was perhaps induced to do so – at the age of only 48 as a Rear Admiral,
entering politics thereafter. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Prior however
to his association with aviation, Sueter had been involved with introduction of
submarines into the Royal Navy, a role that his specialism in torpedoes during
his early career fitted him for. In 1907 he published a massive volume entitled
<i>“The Evolution of the Submarine Boat,
Mine and Torpedo”, </i>with a subtitle of “<i>From
the sixteenth century to the present time</i>.” This massive tome, well-illustrated
by old prints and later by photographs, is a goldmine of information for
anybody interested in naval warfare. I
have been lucky to have access to a copy and the following account, of an early
experiment I had never previously heard of, draws upon it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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John Day (? – 1774) was a ship’s carpenter. When living in
Norfolk in the 1770s he became fascinated with the idea of submarines. He does
not seem to have paid attention to propulsion underwater and concentrated on
the ability to submerge a human safely. He experimented initially with models and
later modified a small boat in which he conducted test dives to 30-feet near Yarmouth,
ascending safely afterwards. Following
this success, he gained support of a gambler called Christopher Blake, and
others, who put 340 Pounds Sterling at Day’s disposal to build a "diving
chamber". A 50-ton sloop was purchased for conversion and was fitted out
for more ambitious tests.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>The illustration above, taken from Sueter’s book, shows
cross-sections of the vessel. A sealed wooden air-chamber was constructed amidships
with access through a manhole in its roof. Large stones were suspended beneath
as ballast and could be slipped free from within to allow fast ascent. One
successful submergence was made in Plymouth Sound and this prompted a second in
a deeper and more exposed part of the anchorage. This attempt took place on
June 20<sup>th</sup> 1774 and the craft was initially found too buoyant to
sink. Day accordingly ordered further stones to be added after he had entered and
sealed the airchamber. With the extra ballast, the craft plunged down to the
seabed 22 fathoms (132 feet) below the surface.</div>
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Day had bet
with Blake that he could remain safely underwater for 12 hours. The time passed
and there was no sign of the craft itself, nor of the coloured floats which Day
had intended to release for signalling. Given the depth and the water pressure –
some 57 pounds per square inch – it is probable that the slab-sided wooden compartment
had collapsed. Lord Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty (professional head of
the navy) was in Plymouth at the time and he ordered the Frigate HMS <i>Orpheus</i> to undertake a rescue attempt.
These proved fruitless and hope was abandoned. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There was a macabre postscript. A London physician – a
Doctor Falcke – heard of the incident and rushed to Plymouth. He was convinced
that if Day was still in the air-filled chamber the cold of the water might
have kept “his blood in a good condition” and that animation might be
suspended. If the body could be recovered before decomposition set in then Falcke
believed that he could reanimate the body. With this in mind he privately
initiated sweeping operations. These located the wreckage some 300 yards from
shore but attempts to lift it failed when weather deteriorated. It seems that
Day’s body was never recovered. </div>
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Day’s death was to be the first in a submarine. It was not
to be the last and fatal accidents were to mark to development of these craft
long before they ever saw service in war.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>And to read about another early submarine ...</b></span><br /><br />... you may be interested in <i>Britannia's Shark</i>, in which a real-life submarine prototype developed by John Phillip Holland ("Father of the Submarine") plays a significant role/ Click on the image below for more details.</div>
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Antoine Vannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490972848447907013noreply@blogger.com0