This volume covers the general historical background of sailing warship.

This definitive work is a major step forward in the study of the sailing warship. For the first time, the development of the line-of-battle ship is described precisely, in terms of individual ships and classes, highlighting the factors influencing specific changes in design. This sophisticated approach allows the author to tackle a great many myths-such as the static nature of eighteenth century design, or the pre-eminence of French naval architecture-and his conclusions challenge the accepted view in many areas of naval history. For the enthusiast and academic historian alike, The Ship of the Line is essential reading for a better understanding of the navy in the age of sail.Volume II is devoted to technical developments in hull design, construction, rigging, armament and fittings. The definitive work on the subject, a major step forward in the understanding of the sailing warship in the Royal NavyProvides a detailed account of changes in approaches to design over two hundred years A complete description of how ships of the line were constructed in the dockyard and what different types of fittings were applied to the shipso100 line drawings, plus 94 black-and-white illustrationsBrian Lavery is a leading authority on the sailing fighting ship, and is the author of a series of critically acclaimed works, each of which was a major step forward in the understanding of the subject. These include The Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War, Nelson's Navy and Building the Wooden Walls. He is currently Curator of Ship Technology at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

For nearly two hundred years huge wooden warships called ships of the line dominated war at sea and were thus instrumental in the European struggle for power and the spread of imperialism. Foremost among the great naval powers were Great Britain and France, whose advanced economies could support large numbers of these expensive ships. This book, the first joint history of these great navies, offers a uniquely impartial and comprehensive picture of the two forces their shipbuilding programs, naval campaigns, and battles, and their wartime strategies and diplomacy. Jonathan R. Dull is the author of two award-winning histories of the French navy. Bringing to bear years of study of war and diplomacy, his book conveys the fine details and the high drama of the age of grand and decisive naval conflict. Dull delves into the seven wars that Great Britain and France, often in alliance with lesser naval powers such as Spain and the Netherlands, fought between 1688 and 1815. Viewing war as most statesmen of the time saw it as a contest of endurance he also treats the tragic side of the Franco-British wars, which shattered the greater security and prosperity the two powers enjoyed during their brief period as allies.

The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich houses the largest collection of scale ship models in the world, many of which are official, contemporary artefacts made by the craftsmen of the navy or the shipbuilders themselves, and ranging from the mid seventeenth century to the present day. As such they represent a three-dimensional archive of unique importance and authority. Treated as historical evidence, they offer more detail than even the best plans, and demonstrate exactly what the ships looked like in a way that even the finest marine painter could not achieve. ?The Ship of the Line is the second of a new series that takes selections of the best models to tell the story of specific ship types – in this case, the evolution of the ship of the line, the capital ship of its day, and the epitome of British seapower during its heyday from 1650–1850. This period too coincided with the golden age of ship modelling.?Each volume depicts a wide range of models, all shown in full colour, including many close-up and detail views. These are captioned in depth, but many are also annotated to focus attention on interesting or unusual features, and the book weaves the pictures into an authoritative text, producing a unique form of technical history.?The series is of particular interest to ship modellers, but all those with an enthusiasm for the ship design and development in the sailing era will attracted to the in-depth analysis of these beautifully presented books.

Gives precise details of the wooden warships built by the Royal Navy between 1600 and 1815, with exact information on sizes and scantlings.

Clearly written text, detailed illustrations, and full-size working plans provide novices and experienced model builders with all the information they need to create exact replicas of two 19th-century sailing ships—the Benjamin F. Packard, a classic American clipper, and the Alice Mandell, a famous whaler. The one-volume edition of two rare model-building manuals also devotes chapters to ship’s rigging (ancient and modern) and abundant information on clippers and old-time whaling ships. A treasury of essential information for hobbyists, model builders, and devotees of the great age of sail.

C.S. Forester's distinguished account of the Anglo-American naval war of 1812. Age of Fighting Sail is a shrewd and skillful telling of a complex war that altered the course of history. A must read for lovers of history and wooden sailing ships.

"Prominent in building Britain's maritime empire in the eighteenth century, the Royal Navy also had a significant impact on politics, public finance and the administrative and bureaucratic development of the British state. The Navy was the most expensive branch of the state, and its effective funding and maintenance was a problem that taxed the ingenuity of a succession of politicians, naval officers and bureaucrats. The Navy, in many ways a victim of its own success, grew faster than the infrastructure that supported it and the public purse that funded it. By the middle of the century the difficulties this growth created had become critical, and the challenge this presented was taken up by Admiralty Boards led by Anson, Egmont, Hawke and Sandwich. Resolving these problems introduced administrative reforms and innovations in the Navy's administration and in public finance, some of which pre-figured later bureaucratic development. There was however a political price to pay, when the management of the Navy and its apparent unpreparedness for the War of American Independence made the Earl of Sandwich and the Navy a focus for political opposition to an unpopular government and a disappointing war."--BOOK JACKET.

Although purpose built fighting ships had existed earlier, the principal characteristics of the classic sailing warship were defined in the mid-seventeenth century, and the line of battle ship became ever more distinct. Alongside came the greater specialisation of the fleets and the evolution of the frigate and the adaptation of myriad types of craft for naval use. The story of these developments is clearly elucidated in this paperback volume.