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Aship of the line was a type of navalwarship constructed during theAge of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for thenaval tactic known as theline of battle, which involved the two columns of opposing warships manoeuvering tovolley fire with thecannons along theirbroadsides. In conflicts where opposing ships were both able to fire from their broadsides, the faction with more cannons firing – and therefore morefirepower – typically had an advantage.
From the end of the 1840s, the introduction ofsteam power brought less dependence on the wind in battle and led to the construction ofscrew-driven wooden-hulled ships of the line; a number of purelysail-powered ships were converted to this propulsion mechanism. However, the rise of theironclad frigate, starting in 1859, made steam-assisted ships of the line obsolete. The ironclad warship was predecessor to the 20th-centurybattleship, whose very designation is itself a contraction of the phrase "ship of the line of battle" or, more colloquially, "battleship of the line".
The term "ship of the line" fell into disuse except in historical contexts, after warships and naval tactics evolved and changed from the mid-19th century. Some other languages did keep the name however; theImperial German Navy called its battleshipsLinienschiffe untilWorld War I.[1]
The heavily armedcarrack, first developed in Portugal for either trade or war in theAtlantic Ocean, was the precursor of theship of the line. Other maritimeEuropean states quickly adopted it in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. These vessels were developed by fusing aspects of thecog of theNorth Sea andgalley of theMediterranean Sea. The cogs, which traded in theNorth Sea, in theBaltic Sea and along the Atlantic coasts, had an advantage overgalleys in battle because they had raised platforms called "castles" at bow and stern that archers could occupy to fire down on enemy ships or even to drop heavy weights from. At the bow, for instance, the castle was called theforecastle (usually contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le, and pronounced FOHK-səl). Over time these castles became higher and larger, and eventually were built into the structure of the ship, increasing overall strength. This aspect of the cog remained in the newer-stylecarrack designs and proved its worth in battles like that atDiu in 1509.
TheMary Rose was an early 16th-centuryEnglish carrack or "great ship". She was heavily armed with 78guns and 91 after an upgrade in the 1530s. Built inPortsmouth in 1510–1512, she was one of the earliest purpose-builtmen-of-war in the English navy. She was over 500 tonsburthen and had akeel of over 32 metres (105 ft) and a crew of over 200 sailors, composed of 185 soldiers and 30 gunners. Although the pride of the English fleet, she accidentally sank during theBattle of the Solent, 19 July 1545.
Henri Grâce à Dieu (English: "Henry Grace of God"), nicknamed "Great Harry", was another early English carrack. Contemporary withMary Rose,Henri Grâce à Dieu was 50 metres (160 ft) long, measuring 1,000–1,500tons burthen and having a complement of 700–1,000. She was ordered byHenry VIII in response to theScottish shipMichael, launched in 1511.[2] She was originally built atWoolwich Dockyard from 1512 to 1514 and was one of the first vessels to featuregunports and had twenty of the new heavy bronzecannon, allowing for abroadside. In all, she mounted 43 heavy guns and 141 light guns. She was the first Englishtwo-decker, and when launched she was the largest and most powerful warship in Europe, but she saw little action. She was present at theBattle of the Solent againstFrancis I of France in 1545 (in whichMary Rose sank) but appears to have been more of a diplomatic vessel, sailing on occasion with sails of gold cloth. Indeed, the great ships were almost as well known for their ornamental design (some ships, like theVasa, were gilded on their sternscrollwork) as they were for the power they possessed.
Carracks fitted for war carried large-calibre guns aboard. Because of their higherfreeboard and greater load-bearing ability, this type of vessel was better suited than the galley to wield gunpowder weapons. Because of their development for conditions in theAtlantic, these ships were more weatherly than galleys and better suited to open waters. The lack of oars meant that large crews were unnecessary, making long journeys more feasible. Their disadvantage was that they were entirely reliant on the wind for mobility. Galleys could still overwhelm great ships, especially when there was little wind and they had a numerical advantage, but as great ships increased in size, galleys became less and less useful.
Another detriment was the highforecastle, which interfered with the sailing qualities of the ship; the bow would be forced low into the water while sailing before the wind. But as guns were introduced and gunfire replaced boarding as the primary means of naval combat during the 16th century, the medieval forecastle was no longer needed, and later ships such as thegalleon had only a low, one-deck-high forecastle. By the time of the 1637 launching of England'sSovereign of the Seas, the forecastle had disappeared altogether.
During the 16th century thegalleon evolved from the carrack. It was a narrower ship, with a much reduced forecastle, and was much more manoeuvrable than the carrack. It was particularly favored from an early date by the Spanish for theirtrans-Atlantic trade. The main ships of the English and Spanish fleets in theBattle of Gravelines of 1588 were galleons; all of the English and most of the Spanish galleons survived the battle and the great storm on the voyage home, even though the Spanish galleons had suffered the heaviest attacks from the English while regrouping their scattered fleet. By the 17th century every major European naval power was building ships like these.
With the growing importance of colonies and exploration and the need to maintain trade routes across stormy oceans, galleys andgalleasses (a larger, higher type of galley with side-mounted guns, but lower than a galleon) were used less and less, and only in ever more restricted purposes and areas, so that by about 1750, with a few notable exceptions, they were of little use in naval battles.
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King Erik XIV ofSweden initiated construction of the shipMars in 1563; this might have been the first attempt of this battle tactic, roughly 50 years ahead of widespread adoption of the line of battle strategy.[citation needed]Mars was likely the largest ship in the world at the time of her build, equipped with 107 guns at a full-length of 96 metres (315 ft).[citation needed]Mars became the first ship to be sunk by gunfire from other ships in a naval battle.[citation needed]
In the early to mid-17th century, several navies, particularly those of theNetherlands and England, began to use new fighting techniques. Previously battles had usually been fought by great fleets of ships closing with each other and fighting in whatever arrangement they found themselves in, often boarding enemy vessels as opportunities presented themselves. As the use ofbroadsides (coordinated fire by thebattery ofcannon on one side of awarship) became increasingly dominant in battle, tactics changed. The evolvingline-of-battle tactic, first used in an ad hoc way, required ships to form single-file lines and close with the enemy fleet on the same tack, battering the enemy fleet until one side had had enough and retreated. Any manoeuvres would be carried out with the ships remaining in line for mutual protection.
In order that this order of battle, this long thin line of guns, may not be injured or broken at some point weaker than the rest, there is at the same time felt the necessity of putting in it only ships which, if not of equal force, have at least equally strong sides. Logically it follows, at the same moment in which the line ahead became definitively the order for battle, there was established the distinction between the ships 'of the line', alone destined for a place therein, and the lighter ships meant for other uses.[3]
The lighter ships were used for various functions, including acting as scouts, and relaying signals between theflagship and the rest of the fleet. This was necessary because from the flagship, only a small part of the line would be in clear sight.
The adoption of line-of-battle tactics had consequences for ship design. The height advantage given by the castles fore and aft was reduced, now that hand-to-hand combat was less essential. The need to manoeuvre in battle made the top weight of the castles more of a disadvantage. So they shrank, making the ship of the line lighter and more manoeuvrable than its forebears for the same combat power. As an added consequence, the hull itself grew larger, allowing the size and number of guns to increase as well.
In the 17th centuryfleets could consist of almost a hundred ships of various sizes, but by the middle of the 18th century, ship-of-the-line design had settled on a few standard types: oldertwo-deckers (i.e., with two complete decks of guns firing through side ports) of 50 guns (which were too weak for the battle line but could be used to escortconvoys), two-deckers of between 64 and 90 guns that formed the main part of the fleet, and largerthree- or even four-deckers with 98 to 140 guns that served as admirals' command ships. Fleets consisting of perhaps 10 to 25 of these ships, with their attendantsupply ships and scouting and messengerfrigates, kept control of the sea lanes for major European naval powers whilst restricting the sea-borne trade of enemies.
The most common size of sail ship of the line was the"74" (named for its 74 guns), originally developed by France in the 1730s, and later adopted by all battleship navies. Until this time the British had 6 sizes of ship of the line, and they found that their smaller 50- and 60-gun ships were becoming too small for the battle line, while their 80s and over were three-deckers and therefore unwieldy and unstable in heavy seas. Their best were 70-gun three-deckers of about 46 metres (151 ft) long on the gundeck, while the new French 74s were around 52 metres (171 ft). In 1747 the British captured a few of these French ships during theWar of Austrian Succession. In the next decadeThomas Slade (Surveyor of the Navy from 1755, along with co-Surveyor William Bately) broke away from the past and designed several new classes of 51-to-52-metre (167 to 171 ft) 74s to compete with these French designs, starting with theDublin andBellona classes. Their successors gradually improved handling and size through the 1780s.[4] Other navies ended up building 74s also as they had the right balance between offensive power, cost, and manoeuvrability. Eventually around half of Britain's ships of the line were 74s. Larger vessels were still built, as command ships, but they were more useful only if they could definitely get close to an enemy, rather than in a battle involving chasing or manoeuvring. The 74 remained the favoured ship until 1811, whenSeppings's method of construction enabled bigger ships to be built with more stability.
In a few ships the design was altered long after the ship was launched and in service. In the Royal Navy, smaller two-deck 74- or 64-gun ships of the line that could not be used safely in fleet actions had their upper decks removed (orrazeed), resulting in a very stout, single-gun-deck warship called arazee. The resulting razeed ship could be classed as a frigate and was still much stronger. The most successful razeed ship in theRoyal Navy wasHMS Indefatigable, commanded by SirEdward Pellew.
The Spanish shipNuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad, was a Spanish first-rate ship of the line with 112 guns. This was increased in 1795–96 to 130 guns by closing in thespar deck between thequarterdeck andforecastle, and around 1802 to 140 guns, thus creating what was in effect a continuous fourth gundeck although the extra guns added were actually relatively small. She was the heaviest-armed ship in the world when rebuilt, and bore the most guns of any ship of the line outfitted in theAge of Sail.
Mahmudiye (1829), ordered by theOttoman SultanMahmud II and built by theImperial Naval Arsenal on theGolden Horn inIstanbul, was for many years the largest warship in the world. The 76.15 m × 21.22 m (249.8 ft × 69.6 ft)[Note 1] ship of the line was armed with 128 cannons on three decks and was manned by 1,280 sailors. She participated in theSiege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) during theCrimean War (1854–1856). She was decommissioned in 1874.
The second largest sailing three-decker ship of the line ever built in the West and the biggest French ship of the line was theValmy, launched in 1847. She had vertical sides, which increased significantly the space available for upper batteries, but reduced the stability of the ship; wooden stabilisers were added under the waterline to address the issue.Valmy was thought to be the largest sort of sailing ship possible, as larger dimensions made the manoeuvre of riggings impractical with mere manpower. She participated in the Crimean War, and after her return to France later housed theFrench Naval Academy under the nameBorda from 1864 to 1890.
The first major change to the ship-of-the-line concept was the introduction of steam power as an auxiliary propulsion system. The first military uses of steamships came in the 1810s, and in the 1820s a number of navies experimented withpaddle steamer warships. Their use spread in the 1830s, with paddle-steamer warships participating in conflicts like theFirst Opium War alongside ships of the line and frigates.[5]
Paddle steamers, however, had major disadvantages. The paddle wheel above the waterline was exposed to enemy fire, while itself preventing the ship from firing broadsides effectively. During the 1840s, thescrew propeller emerged as the most likely method of steam propulsion, with both Britain and the US launching screw-propelled warships in 1843. Through the 1840s, the British and French navies launched ever larger and more powerful screw ships, alongside sail-powered ships of the line. In 1845,Viscount Palmerston gave an indication of the role of the new steamships in tense Anglo-French relations, describing theEnglish Channel as a "steam bridge", rather than a barrier to French invasion. It was partly because of the fear of war with France that the Royal Navy converted several old 74-gun ships of the line into 60-gun steam-powered blockships (following the model ofFulton'sDemologos), starting in 1845.[5] The blockships were "originally conceived as steam batteries solely for harbour defence, but in September 1845 they were given a reduced [sailing] rig rather than none at all, to make them sea-going ships.… The blockships were to be a cost-effective experiment of great value."[6] They subsequently gave good service in theCrimean War.
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TheFrench Navy, however, developed the first purpose-built steam battleship with the 90-gunNapoléon in 1850.[7] She is also considered the first true steam battleship, and the first screw battleship ever.[8]Napoléon was armed as a conventional ship of the line, but her steam engines could give her a speed of 12knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), regardless of the wind conditions – a potentially decisive advantage in a naval engagement.
Eight sister ships toNapoléon were built in France over a period of ten years, but the United Kingdom soon took the lead in production, in number of both purpose-built and converted units. Altogether, France built 10 new wooden steam battleships and converted 28 from older battleship units, while the United Kingdom built 18 and converted 41.[9]
In the end, France and Britain were the only two countries to develop fleets of wooden steam screw battleships, although several other navies made some use of a mixture of screw battleships and paddle-steamer frigates. These included Russia,Turkey,Sweden,Naples,Prussia,Denmark, andAustria.[5]
In theCrimean War, six line-of-battle ships and two frigates of the RussianBlack Sea Fleet destroyed seven Ottoman frigates and three corvettes with explosive shells at theBattle of Sinop in 1853.[10]
In the 1860s unarmoured steam line-of-battle ships were replaced byironclad warships. In theAmerican Civil War, on March 8, 1862, during the first day of theBattle of Hampton Roads, two unarmouredUnion wooden frigates were sunk and destroyed by theConfederate ironcladCSS Virginia.
However, the power implied by the ship of the line would find its way into the ironclad, which would develop during the next few decades into the concept of thebattleship.
Several navies still use terms equivalent to the "ship of the line" for battleships, including theGerman (Linienschiff) andRussian (lineyniy korabl` (лине́йный кора́бль) orlinkor (линкор) in short) navies.
In theNorth Sea andAtlantic Ocean, the fleets of theRoyal Navy,the Netherlands,France,Spain andPortugal fought numerous battles. In theBaltic, the Scandinavian kingdoms and Russia did likewise, while in theMediterranean Sea, theOttoman Empire, Spain, France, Britain and the variousBarbary pirates battled.
By the eighteenth century, the UK had established itself as the world's preeminent naval power. Attempts byNapoleon to challenge the Royal Navy's dominance at sea proved a colossal failure. During theNapoleonic Wars, Britain defeated French and allied fleets decisively all over the world including in the Caribbean at theBattle of Cape St. Vincent, the Bay of Aboukir off the Egyptian coast at theBattle of the Nile in 1798, near Spain at theBattle of Trafalgar in 1805, and in the secondBattle of Copenhagen (1807). The UK emerged from the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 with the largest and most professional navy in the world, composed of hundreds of wooden, sail-powered ships of all sizes and classes.
Overwhelming firepower was of no use if it could not be brought to bear which was not always possible against the smaller leaner ships used by Napoleon's privateers, operating from FrenchNew World territories. The Royal Navy compensated by deploying numerousBermuda sloops. Similarly, many of theEast India Company's merchant vessels became lightly armed and quite competent in combat during this period, operating a convoy system under an armed merchantman, instead of depending on small numbers of more heavily armed ships which while effective, slowed the flow of commerce.
The only original ship of the line remaining today isHMSVictory, preserved as a museum inPortsmouth to appear as she was while under AdmiralHoratio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. AlthoughVictory has been indry dock since the 1920s, she is still a fully commissioned warship in the Royal Navy and is the oldest commissioned warship in any navy worldwide.[11]
Regalskeppet Vasa sank in lake Mälaren in 1628 and was lost until 1956. She was then raised intact, in remarkably good condition, in 1961 and is presently on display at theVasa Museum inStockholm, Sweden. At the time she was the largest Swedish warship ever built.[12] Today theVasa Museum is the most visited museum in Sweden.[citation needed]
The last ship-of-the-line afloat was the French shipDuguay-Trouin, renamedHMS Implacable after being captured by the British, which survived until 1949. The last ship-of-the-line to be sunk by enemy action wasHMS Wellesley, which was sunk by an air raid in 1940, during theSecond World War; she was brieflyre-floated in 1948 before being broken up.
