British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793-1817 (WINFIELD, Rif)

British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793-1817

At the zenith of its power in 1809 the Royal Navy comprised one half of all the warships in the world, the first (and last) time any navy achieved this dominance. Given its importance, it is not surprising that much attention has been lavished on this subject, but among the numerous books on the design, development and technical details of these ships, there is surprisingly little readily available on their careers. Now this gap is comprehensively filled by this superb reference book, outlining the history of every ship - built, purchased, captured or hired - that served in the Royal Navy during the wars of the 1793-1815 era. Individual coverage totals well over 2000 vessels, ranging from 427 ships of the line and 463 frigates to 646 post ships and sloops, as well as a host of lesser craft.

The book is organised by Rate, classification and class, with outline technical and building data, followed by a concise summary of the careers of each ship in every class. This information includes:

• dates of commissions

• major refit periods (with costs where known)

• changes of captain

• the stations where they served (and when)

• details of any noteworthy actions in which the ships took part.

It enables anyone to follow up a casual reference to any warship, and will provide the researcher with a solid core of information on which to base further study. Specially commissioned general arrangement drawings depict the most significant classes, while contemporary prints and drawings illustrate the wide variety of service required of naval vessels in these wars.

With nothing remotely like it in print, this is a work of the utmost importance to every naval historian and general reader interested in the navy of the Nelsonic era.