#oar-driven warship

[ltwilliammowett]

A short definition of age of sail

Actually, the term describes itself all by itself, namely the age of the sail. So ship with sails as the only propulsion. Well with that the topic would be settled, if there were not the problem with the temporal classification. Because if that's possible afterwards, then you open Pandora's box. Because there are many views to this thematic and that's why it's so difficult to capture this time frame, it doesn't depend on how this time frame is interpreted but also how you define something. If you try to find suitable definitions in the literature, you'll be disappointed. Many authors and also historians do not deal at all with a definition, the data are given and named after the nation their work is about, e.g. the Tudor Navy, the Navy under Nelson, the French Revolution and the Navy and so on. But the Age of Sail is only mentioned in rare cases.

The whitewashed mud-brick wall of the burial chamber in egpyt with images of over 120 boats of all types and sizes. The chamber contained a wooden funerary boat some 3,800 years ago 

But let’s start from the beginning, at the moment when the sail appears for the first time. This begins with a depiction of a ship in ancient Egypt 5500 B.C., this is the first pictorial representation, it is to be assumed that there are sails already much longer, there are assumptions of about 7000 B.C. with the time when the first deep-sea navigation begins but it is not secured, ships there are by the way still longer there are assumptions of 120000 B.C.

From now on it will be difficult, because even if there are ships with sails in antiquity, which are also seaworthy, so it is said in the research that these do not belong in the Age of Sail that they are still rowed and not operated by sails alone. Just as little count the ships of the Middle Ages (6 - 15th Century) Even if it were the Vikings who entered 1000 A.D. for the first time North America, in the 11th Century the crusades began in which a large ferry traffic but also single sea battles, and in Europe in the 12th Century the Hanseatic League begins (a large North European trading association whose main ships were the so called cog). But what some researchers regard as the beginning is the early 15th century when the Portuguese began to leave their native waters completely and set out to discover.

Map of Ortelius: Magellan's ship Victoria, 1589 

The main number of historians see this as the beginning of the Age of Discovery which, in their opinion, ranged from 1419 - 1660. Later discovery expeditions, by the way, do not fall under this designation.

The later expeditions : the Arctic expeditions in particular, will be considered as a return of the Age of Discovery but have no own name and simply fall under the Age of sail. As a general rule, the beginning of the Age of Sails will be 1571 with the battle of Lepanto in which the last time Galleys fought. But there are also exceptions that it starts 1600. Still others see the beginning of the great age of sail with the date 1571 and add the Middle Ages to the Age of Sail, but don't explain why.

As you can see it's difficult and if you try to understand why this is how it is, you'll see that many historians try to explain it with the development of the warships or when a ship is seaworthy, without the help of humans. So we have two sites here. Site one says that only with the Battle of Lepanto, an event occurs at which a new type of warship occurs, which appears as an independent warship operated without human power and the close combat of the ship, the boarding of the opposing ship and the man to man combat finds its end, as it was typical for the Galleys of the case ( Here must be understand that the men had to board since antiquity an enemy ship and then fought a battle there as on land, they used the decks as a platform.). It was the galleon, where the loading of a cannon didn't last up to 30 min. and you were able to force your opponents to surrender just by the power of the cannons.

The Battle of Lepanto 1571 by Andries van Eertvelt (1590–1652)

Site two, therefore does not refer to the development of the warships but to the development of the ship ( merchant, fisher and so on..)  itself and as soon as the ships were able to sail the oceans without oar force, as it was the case at the beginning of the 15th century. This group can see the beginning of the Age of Sails here.

HMS Warrior 1860

The end, on the other hand, is again a matter of interpretation and is again interpreted differently. Some of them set the end with the HMS Warrior of 1860. She had an iron hull and was sailed by a steam engine and sails. The Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862 is regarded as the battle of a new era. Others somewhere in between but definitely ends the Age of Sail 1872 with the HMS Devastation which was the first warship to get by completely without sails.

HMS Devastation 1871

But it gets difficult again with the Age of Steam because it starts in the early 19th century where ships get a screw or 1833 a steam driven side wheel. But they all are still so-called hybrids which were already running under steam but also had sails. Around 1850 the first steamers comes, which could have sails but also managed it without, the first high-sea steamer comes in 1889. But with the end of the Age of Sail the engines took over and an era which had shaped centuries found its end.

Summary

The beginning of seafaring in the Middle Palaeolithic period- 120000 B.C. according to the current state of research

The beginning of sailing with sails-  7000 B.C., according to the current state of research.

The beginning of the Age of Dicovery- 1419-1660 A.D.

The beginning of the Age of Sail incl. Age of Discovery- 1419- 1862 - excl. Age of Discovery 1571-1862/ 1600 -1862 - the end can also be assumed with 1871.

The beginning of the Age of Steam- early 19th century - early 20th century.

[zerogate]

Greek triremes were 132-foot wooden warships driven by the oars of 170 rowers arranged vertically on three decks. Thucydides, the famous Greek historian, records that in 427 BCE the Athenian Assembly hot-headedly ordered that the men of Mytilene, a colony 211 miles away on the Aegean island of Lesbos, should be put to death, and dispatched a trireme with the command. The next day they repented, sending another trireme to rescind it. The first trireme had a whole day-and-a-half start, but Thucydides records that, by rowing for 24 hours straight, the second ship caught up with the first and canceled the murderous order. Even allowing for exaggeration on Thucydides’ part, this puts the second trireme’s sustained speed in excess of 7.5 miles per hour, or almost 7 knots. This is an impressive pace, but one that was, according to other Greek writers, commonly maintained by even mediocre trireme crews. Such statements have caused many a modern historian to wonder—could today’s oarsmen achieve such speeds? Thanks to a British exercise physiologist, the Greek navy, and a dash of Olympic nostalgia, we now know the answer.     They can’t.     As part of the opening ceremony for the 2004 Athens Olympics, the Olympic flame was towed into the Athenian port of Piraeus by a trireme named Olympias, which was reconstructed by the Greek navy in 1987 from pictures of triremes on ancient lamps and paintings. Harry Rossiter, an exercise physiologist from Leeds University and a racing oarsman himself, took the opportunity to test the endurance of trained modern rowers in a real-life trireme. The results were dismal. Rossiter reported that the modern rowers could, after several months of training, get Olympias up to nine knots for a brief spurt; but they couldn’t maintain that speed, or even just seven knots, for any sustained period. Rossiter measured the rowers’ metabolic rates and discovered the reason: the modern crew just wasn’t physically capable of the sustained aerobic effort required.     'The Athenian oarsmen’s endurance was extraordinary,' said Rossiter’s coresearcher, historian Boris Rankov. 'In that respect, compared to anybody you could find today they were super athletes.' What makes the ancient Greek rowers’ achievements even more remarkable is that they were small men. Champion rowers today average 6'3", giving them a reach advantage with the oars, but ancient Athenian males averaged a mere 5'6". Remarkable, too, is the fact that Athens seemed to have so many of these superb athletes, at one stage fielding a thirty-four-thousand-strong army of rowers for the city’s two-hundred-trireme fleet. The rowers were apparently paid and fed well, but their diet was nothing special, consisting of simple barley meal kneaded with olive oil and wine.     So why then are modern rowers so weak by comparison? Part of the answer seems to lie in training. Elite rowers training for the Olympics today row about one hundred miles a week, which corresponds to between twelve and fourteen hours at the oars. But Thucydides makes it clear that trireme rowers often went on training voyages that lasted for days. Races were also held to keep them at peak fitness. (The Romans, who also used oared triremes, even made their crews practice rowing on land, according to the Greek historian Polybius.)

Peter McAllister, Manthropology

[ancientworld]

📌Triremes, Mediterranean Civilizations⁣ ⁣ 👉A Trireme is an ancient oar-driven warship powered by about 170 oars men. It was long and slender, had three tiers of oars and one sail. On the bow was a battering ram that was used to destroy enemy ships. The tip of the ram was made of bronze and could easily slice through the side of a wooden ship.⁣ ⁣ 👉The Trireme was used by people of the Mediterranean Sea from the 7th to the 4th century BC and gets its name from its three rows of oars on each side, manned with one man per oar. The rowing men were not slaves, but were free men who were paid to row. In Ancient Greece, soldiers (called Hoplites)) had to buy their own armour and weapons so men too poor to afford them became trireme rowers in wartime. They had to have a lot of practice at rowing as, during a battle, the ship had to be able to stop, start and turn very quickly.⁣ ⁣ 👉As well as the rowing men, there were 30 others on a trireme. Some of these were sailors who worked the sail, others were soldiers who shot arrows and tried to get onto enemy ships, to attack their crews with swords and spears. The man who steered the trireme was called a kubernete by the Greeks. From this we get the English word Governor, for a person who leads a state.⁣ ⁣ 👉Because there were many men crowded onto a small ship, triremes could not stay at sea very long. Often, they came to land each evening. The crew would pull the trireme out of the water and then sleep next to it on the beach.⁣ ⁣ 👉Before a battle, the mast and sail were taken off and left on the shore. In battle, triremes would attempt to ram or board each other. Some triremes had catapults and ballistas on them, but they were hard to use in battle. Many ancient sea battles involved hundreds of triremes. In the Battle of Salamis, there were around 360 ships on the Greek side and 600 to 800 ships on the Persian side.⁣ - - - ⁣⁣#parthenon#alexanderthegreat #athens #rhodes#hellas #fyp #learning #ancientarcheology #archeology#war#italy #acropolis #religion #photography#photooftheday #love #instagood #beutiful#colloseum#olympics #theatre #romanempire#crete#rome #italy #romanforum#egypt #alexanderthegreat #lebanon #beirut (at Mediterranean Sea) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDeiOtRnmVT/?igshid=5euq1g0zp9p4

[biblioncollection]

Famous Sea Fights | John Richard Hale | History, War & Military | Audiobook full unabridged | English | 1/7 Content of the video and Sections beginning time (clickable) - Chapters of the audiobook: please see First comments under this video. I propose to tell in non-technical and popular language the story of some of the most remarkable episodes in the history of sea power. I shall begin with the first sea-fight of which we have a detailed history—the Battle of Salamis (B.C. 480), the victory by which Themistocles the Athenian proved the soundness of his maxim that "he who commands the sea commands all." I shall end with the last and greatest of naval engagements, the Battle of Tsu-shima, an event that reversed the long experience of victory won by West over East, which began with Salamis more than two thousand years ago.I shall have to tell of British triumphs on the sea from Sluys to Trafalgar; but I shall take instances from the history of other countries also, for it is well that we should remember that the skill, enterprise, and courage of admirals and seamen is no exclusive possession of our own people. I shall incidentally describe the gradual evolution of the warship from the wooden, oar-driven galleys that fought in the Straits of Salamis to the steel-built, steam-propelled giants that met in battle in the Straits of Tsu-shima. I shall have something to say of old seafaring ways, and much to tell of the brave deeds done by men of many nations. These true stories of the sea will, I trust, have not only the interest that belongs to all records of courage, danger, and adventure, but also some practical lessons of their own. (From the Introduction of the Book) This is a Librivox recording. If you want to volunteer please visit https://librivox.org/ by Priceless Audiobooks

[rhianna]

I shall incidentally describe the gradual evolution of the warship from the wooden, oar-driven galleys that fought in the Straits of Salamis to the steel-built, steam-propelled giants that met in battle in the Straits of Tsu-shima. I shall have something to say of old seafaring ways, and much to tell of the brave deeds done by men of many nations. These true stories of the sea will, I trust, have not only the interest that belongs to all records of courage, danger, and adventure, but also some practical lessons of their own, for they may help to keep alive that intelligent popular interest in sea power which is the best guarantee that the interests of our own navy—the best safeguard of the Empire—will not be neglected, no matter what Government is in power, or what political views may happen for the moment to be in the ascendant.

J.R.H.

[vii]

[speedilydecadentstranger-blog]

The Evolution of Transportation

People and everything has always had the necessity to move or perhaps be moved in one spot to another. Individuals have always searched for much more comfortable or quicker methods to travel. Transportation is really a way people and things move in one spot to another. Different environments require various ways of transportation.

Individuals have invented machines, called vehicles or crafts, traveling. Some vehicles travel on the floor, just like a train. Some vehicles travel on the top of water, just like a jet ski. Some help individuals to travel underneath the water, just like a submarine. People use other kinds of crafts traveling within the air. A heat balloon is definitely an interesting method to travel with the sky.

Crafts like rockets will help individuals to travel into space. On the centuries, inventors designed machines or improved methods for visiting move people faster and faster.

Ships and Boats

Among the earliest methods to transport people and things was by traveling within the water. Boats are small crafts generally utilized for a unique purpose like fishing. Ships are larger crafts that may use sails or perhaps an engine to propel them with the water. They might travel on rivers, lakes, or oceans.

Boats With Paddles

People use flat wooden boards called paddles to row small boats. An oar is yet another term for a paddle. A raft is an easy boat having a flat bottom. We can create a raft using tree trunks or logs. Sometimes, flat bits of wood called planks are bound together to create a raft. Some rafts are made from rubber or perhaps a plastic called vinyl. These rafts tend to be inflatable.

Early Native Americans made canoes from tree trunks. They hollowed the trunk and used a paddle to maneuver from spot to place. Today, an artificial substance, produced by man, called fiberglass is really a popular material for creating a canoe.

A kayak is really a sleeker version of the canoe with a couple of small holes. The holes are where people sit. A rider may attach a watertight skin or enclosure to avoid water from getting into the boat. The boat can change completely over without sinking. Some individuals compete in kayak races. The Olympics have experienced a kayak event since 1936.

Boats With Sails or Motors

Other boats and ships use various kinds of power. A sailboat uses bits of canvas or any other fabrics called sails, that are filled from the wind fills and pushes the boat forward.

Ancient Egyptians used sailboats to maneuver the stones for your Great Pyramids from Aswan to Giza. Pilgrims traveled from England on the large sailboat known as the Mayflower to achieve America in 1620.

A motorboat uses an electrical motor and propellers. Propellers are turning metal blades which help the vessel to maneuver with the water. A speedboat is really a small, but extremely fast motorboat. Speedboats pull water skiers, assist the Coast Guard or marine patrol on rescue missions, or may even compete inside a race.

Larger Boats and Ships

Most large ships are made from metals like iron or steel. They normally use giant propellers powered by engines to maneuver with the water. A steamboat is really a large boat with paddles. A steam-powered engine turns the paddles to maneuver the boat.

The greatest ships are tankers and aircraft carriers. Oil tankers can have countless barrels of oil inside huge cargo areas. Designers built tankers traveling long distances as well as other than oil, they might transport water, chemicals, or liquefied gas.

Aircraft carriers are long, flat warships made to work as a floating airbase. Planes remove and land around the runways on top of the ship.

A submarine is really a metal ship that will travel underwater. A submarine could be sufficiently small to hold a couple of people and remain underwater for a couple of hours. They may also be large, possess a crew of more than eighty people and remain underwater for a couple of months.

Trains

A train is really a vehicle that operates on tracks, or rails. Passenger trains might have many compartments for individuals traveling in one spot to another. Freight trains carry cargo, or things. Different cars transport various kinds of items.

Refrigerator cars transport food. Container cars require a crane to lift cargo in or from the car. Tanker cars transport various kinds of liquids.

Light Rail

People sometimes make use of the term light rail to discuss trains running on city streets. A trolley, also known as a streetcar, is one kind of light rail transportation. The very first streetcars were pulled by horses as well as people. Modern streetcars usually have their power from electricity. Electricity makes things run.

A subway is really a light rail system of cars. A subway operates on the road as well as in underground tunnels. Many large cities possess a network of subway tunnels.

Big Trains

Big trains have wheels running on railroad tracks. They travel long distances between cities and towns. The very first car on the train is definitely the locomotive. The locomotive powers the train. The very first trains used steams engines. Today, most trains get power by using gasoline or electricity. High-speed rail trains are electric trains running faster when compared to a regular train, sometimes known as a bullet train. Extremely high speed rail systems also transport individuals Germany, Korea, and Spain. The very first countries to construct and make use of the bullet train would be the countries of France and Japan.

The monorail is another kind of train. Most monorail systems run on one rail. Some monorails are suspended. The train cars actually hang from your track.

Motor Vehicles

People drive and therefore are passengers in motor vehicles in many places around the globe. Motor vehicles have wheels along with a motor. They may be driven on a variety of land surfaces. Cars, buses, and trucks allow people and things to go to certain places. They could travel where boats and trains cannot go.

Cars

Cars are vehicles utilized by individuals to get in one spot to another. Combustion engines tend to be the ability source for cars. This kind of engine burns gasoline or diesel fuel to operate. Some individuals are worried that combustion engines are leading to pollution within the air.

Inventors are developing other kinds of power systems to create cars run. Electric cars have electric motors running on batteries. Some cars use hydrogen to offer power. A hybrid car utilizes a combustion engine and power supply to create the vehicle work.

Cars vary within their size. A limousine is really a long car, that has space for a lot of passengers and it has a chauffeur to get the automobile. A micro-car, also known as a bubble car, is extremely popular in countries outside of the us. Auto makers designed the microcar to make use of less gas. Additionally it is economical because a modest amount of material is essential to construct the vehicle.

Some individuals want to drive a sports vehicle. The quickest cars are race cars. Some cars have special features, like convertible, that have a fabric or hard top that folds back.

Buses

Buses are larger than cars. A bus features a long body with several rows of seats or benches for passengers. Buses usually work on a schedule. A passenger bus can have people long distances. They travel between different cities and towns. A tour bus carries tourists or people on holiday. Some individuals charter, or rent, a bus for special purposes.

Trucks

Vehicle engineers designed trucks to hold materials of all types. Pickup trucks really are a bit larger than cars. There is a flat bed behind the passenger compartment. They could carry a lot of things within the flat bed. Large trucks transport different types of heavier materials or equipment. They carry points to places where trains and boats cannot travel. An 18-wheeler is an extremely big truck. It offers 18 separate wheels.

Aircraft

Heat Balloons, Blimps and Dirigibles

Aircraft are vehicles or machines that let people travel with the air. The very first kind of air transportation was the air balloon. This is the oldest successful human carrying technology for flight. It floats utilizing a large bag of silk or nylon full of heated air. People travel inside a wicker basket known as a gondola, that hangs underneath.

A blimp or dirigible is sort of a balloon. The gas helium fills in the balloon to assist it float. It features a motor to push it forward. This kind of craft was extremely popular before 1940.

As technology for airplanes improved, people stopped using blimps traveling. Today, advertisers use blimps to promote their goods. Some companies offer sightseeing tours inside a blimp.

Airplanes, Gliders, Helicopters

An airplane is definitely an aircraft that flies using wings as well as an engine. The Wright brothers receive credit for your invention from the first airplane in 1903. Airplanes could be small, and carry only a couple of people. Commercial airplanes could be large and carry many passengers a lengthy distance inside a short length of time. A motor helps make the propellers turn. Most larger airplanes have jet engines. This kind of engine has numerous turning blades inside. They move air considerably faster than ordinary propellers.

Jet airplanes use turbines to ensure they are move faster. The military uses supersonic aircraft, like fighters or bombers, to maneuver quickly with lots of power. A fighter jet is really a small military airplane that will go extremely fast. The Concorde is among the only supersonic planes used being a commercial airplane. It carried passengers from Europe to America in under half enough time it took for any regular airplane to fly exactly the same distance. The Concorde was very costly to fly. Because of rising costs, the Concorde was retired from use. The final Concorde flight was on October 24, 2003.

A helicopter is definitely an aircraft having a large propeller on the top. It may rise in to the air, or remove, straight up. A helicopter may take off without the need for a runway.

A glider features a similar contour around an airplane. It uses just the wind for power. The military could use gliders to provide troops. Gliders are extremely quiet simply because they don't come with an engine. Some individuals take part in glider competitions.

Rockets

A rocket is really a vehicle that travels in to the air in a extremely high speed. It burns fuel to create thrust. Thrust pushes, or propels, the rocket upward. A rocket engine ejects the thrust from the bottom from the rocket. Lots of energy is needed to propel a rocket into space. Energy is essential to create things happen. Astronauts and cosmonauts are individuals who travel into space using rockets. Rockets also transport the satellites within their destination orbit. Satellites study the planet earth as well as other objects within the universe.

Rocket Design and Travel

Multiple sections or stages constitute the style of most rockets. Each stage contains its very own fuel supply and rocket engine.

When its fuel is utilized up, a rocket is released. This lightens the load from the rocket. It allows it traveling faster. A rocket must travel a minimum of 17,700 mph, (28,500 kilometers) to really make it from the atmosphere into space, the so-called "escape velocity". The area of the rocket that really reaches space is usually known as a spacecraft.

Booster rockets

Some rockets get extra thrust from booster rockets. The scientists usually attach the boosters aside from the main rocket. The area shuttle is both a rocket as well as an airplane. It releases two booster rockets. Because the rocket uses up its fuel, it will likewise release another gas tank. The area shuttle lands as an airplane in the event it returns to Earth.

Some key dates within the Transportation development timeline:

   1662 - Blaise Pascal invented a horse drawn public bus.

   1783 - Joseph Montgolfier and Étienne Montgolfier launched the very first heat balloons.

   1814 - George Stephenson built the very first practical steam powered railroad locomotive.

   1900 - Ferdinand von Zeppelin built the very first successful airship.

For more information about transport persoane germania romania , simply visit our website.

[itsiotrecords-blog]

http://ift.tt/2rz4QGn

While the final outcome of most wars is generally decided on land, occasionally a sea battle can have a profound impact on history as well. More than one empire’s plans for further expansion has been waylaid by a catastrophic sea battle, and even entire kingdoms have been brought to their knees because of some fiasco at sea. Of course, not all of the most important sea battles are large;  the Battle of Jutland, for example, was one of the largest naval battles in history but it had little impact on the course of the First World War, while the small engagement between just two ships, the U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Virginia during the Civil War forever changed the face of naval warfare, making some battles game-changers in terms of tactics and technology. And so, without further ado, here are my candidates for the most important or game-changing naval battles in history.

#1 Battle of the Chesapeake, September 5, 1781 Though a comparatively small battle as far as these things go (24 French ships against 19 British ships), the battle proved important in that it singularly made Washington’s victory at Yorktown in October, 1781 possible. Not really much more than a skirmish that left a handful of ships damaged and about 500 men on both sides dead and wounded, the French fleet successfully forced Admiral Thomas Graves to abandon the bay to the French, thereby leaving General Cornwallis, then holed up in Yorktown, Virginia, on his own. With supplies limited, escape impossible, and a combined American and French Army steadily advancing, Cornwallis had no choice but to surrender and the rest is, as they say, history. Had the British carried the day, it is likely Cornwallis would have been evacuated from the peninsula and lived to fight another day and the fate of the colonialist’s rebellion might have been up in the air. As it was, the defeat at Yorktown convinced the British to give up on America and concentrate its resources elsewhere, thus ending the six year long war and creating a new country in the process.

#2 Santiago de Cuba, July 3, 1898 In one of the first clashes between all-metal warships in history, a Spanish fleet of warships was demolished by a similar-sized fleet of American warships off the port of Santiago de Cuba when it tried to escape the port and make a run for the open sea. Led by Spanish admiral Cervera, the decrepit Spanish ships proved to be no match for the American fleet under the joint command of Admirals Schley and Sampson, the result being the loss or capture of all six of ships (four armored cruisers and two destroyers) and the death of 323 men (compared to a single fatality borne by the Americans). So what makes this such an important battle? Like the Battle of Tsushima (we’ll get to that at number 7) the battle had major repercussions on the balance of power in the world. Not only did it force Spain to capitulate, thus bringing an end to the brief Spanish-American War, but it finished Spain as a world power and, with the acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, made America a colonial empire practically overnight.

#3 Hampton Roads, Virginia, March 8 & 9, 1862 Actually, there were two small battles fought over a twenty-four hour period, both of which involved the same ship and together would change naval warfare forever. The first of these was fought between the Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Virginia (often erroneously referred to as the Merrimac because that was the name of the captured Union vessel upon which the Virginia was constructed) and a fleet of wooden Union warships that was blockading the port of Norfolk, Virginia (then in Confederate hands). This first battle effectively spelled the beginning of the end of wooden-hulled warships when the Virginia quickly sunk the warships Cumberland and Congress and badly damaged a third ship before retiring—which she accomplished largely unscathed thanks to her slopping, ironclad hull design. The next day’s battle, however, was not so successful. Intending on finishing off the remaining blockaders the next morning, the Virginia was surprised to be met by the Union’s own version of an ironclad—the all steel Monitor—and the first battle between all-metal warships in history was underway. Using her revolutionary rotating turret, the Monitor, though she mounted just a pair of cannons to the Confederate warship’s 12 guns, easily matched the Virginia’s rate of fire (which, in being fixed, could only be fired when the ship was pointed directly at the Union ironclad). The result of the three-hour brawl ended in a draw, with neither ship possessing enough firepower to deliver a deathblow, and the combatant’s retired, never to fight again. While historians still argue who actually won the battle, it is generally conceded that in preventing the Virginia from breaking the Union blockage, it was at least a strategic victory for the North, who were able to continue blockading the southern ports throughout the balance of the war. Even more important, however, was that the two vessel’s revolutionary use of iron was to forever transform the nature of naval warfare, which from henceforth would be fought between ships built of iron and driven by steam rather than of wood and sail.

#4 Tsushima Straights, 27-28 May, 1905 In what could only be declared as one of the most lop-sided victories in naval warfare, a Russian fleet of nearly a dozen battleships and seventeen smaller vessels was decimated by a Japanese fleet off the southern coast of Korea. Under the command of the legendary Admiral Togo, over the course of two days the Japanese managed to sink no fewer than 21 of the 28 ships of the Czar’s once mighty fleet and capture seven more—all without the loss of a single capital ship. The battle was such a humiliating debacle for Imperial Russia that it forced an end to the year-long war between the two countries on terms favorable to Japan and may have heralded the beginning of the end for the Czar’s reign. (Though he was to hold onto power for another twelve years, the loss of prestige energized anti-royalty forces inside Russia, which, combined with the debacle of World War One, ultimately led to his abdication in 1917.)  The downside for Japan was it gave the Japanese military such a sense of superiority that it would ultimately encourage the start of its own Asian empire, resulting in a protracted war with China thirty years later and, ultimately, a disastrous war with the United States.

#5 Trafalgar, October 21, 1805 In one of the most famous engagements in British naval history, a British fleet of 33 ships under the legendary Lord Horatio Nelson, took on a larger, combined Spanish and French fleet off the southwest coast of Spain and routed it, capturing half of the Franco-Spanish fleet without losing a single ship of its own. The battle was such a serious setback for Napoleon that he was unable to maintain a serious threat of invading England, ensuring that the balance of the Napoleonic Wars—which would rage for another ten years—would be fought entirely on continental European soil. The battle also immortalized Lord Nelson, who died from wounds received during the battle, making him a legend in England and in the annals of naval history, not only for his personal bravery, but for his daring in taking on a superior force using unconventional tactics and proving victorious.

#6 Lepanto, October 7, 1571 In a battle that was to have major repercussions on Europe for centuries to come, the up-till-then unstoppable Ottoman Navy was positively routed by a coalition of warships sailing under the banner of the Holy Roman Empire near the Greek port city of Corinth. Despite the fact that both fleets were of comparable size, the Holy Coalition somehow managed to sink or capture no fewer than 187 Ottoman ships, kill, wound, or capture over 20,000 Turks, and free some 10,000 Christian slaves that the Turks had been using as oarsmen while losing themselves only 17 vessels. The battle was not just a defeat for the Ottoman Navy, but in being the first loss it had experienced in centuries, it destroyed its air of invincibility and invigorated Europe’s resolve at stopping the Turk’s westward expansion into Europe, preventing Europe from being overrun by the forces of Islam and so potentially saving Christendom. It was also the last major naval battle fought between oar-driven galleys, ending a millennia of naval tactics that revolved around close-order deck-to-deck fighting and ramming.

#7 Battle of Midway, June 4-6, 1942 This was the engagement that won the war in the Pacific for the United States by so decisively defeating the Japanese Navy that it was forced to go on the defensive and end its plans for further territorial conquest. (Had it gone the other way, it could well have set the American war effort back a year and possibly even forced the Roosevelt administration to sue for peace.) The interesting thing about this battle is that even though it involved scores of ships on both sides, neither fleet ever spotted the other. In fact, all the fighting was done from the air, with the American and Japanese carrier pilots taking turns trying to send each other to the bottom. In the end, it was Japan who came off the worst: not only did it fail to conquer the strategic island of Midway, but in a fifteen-minute span of time, it lost three of its four big aircraft carriers along with most of its best pilots, ending its dreams of finally defeating the American fleet once and for all. This was also one of the few battles of World War Two in which the Americans were outnumbered, with Admiral Nimitz commanding a fleet built around just three carriers to Japan’s four. The sinking of four of Japan’s irreplaceable carriers was also a sort of payback for Pearl Harbor as all four carriers Japan lost had participated in the attack on December 7th, making it doubly satisfying for a nation still reeling from the disaster of losing the Philippines two months earlier.

#8 Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1945 When war broke out in Europe in September of 1939, Germany’s surface navy was no match for the immense Royal Navy so Hitler decided to utilize the same tactic Germany had used that came perilously close to winning the First World War: blockading Britain with its fleet of U-boats. Knowing that denying the British the imports it needed to keep its economy afloat would bring it to its knees, the strategy at first appeared to be working as German U-boats sank British merchant ships faster than they could be built. Once America entered the fray, however, and could bring her immense industrial strength to bear, things began to go sour for the Germans. Despite sinking huge numbers of American ships, by 1943 American industrial capability, combined with improved anti-submarine weapons and tactics, began to take their toll on the German navy until by 1944, U-boat losses were so bad that Germany was no longer able to take the fight to the Allies, thereby assuring ultimate victory in Europe. Before Hitler’s U-boats were finally tamed, however, they had sunk over 3,000 ships and 14 million tons of shipping—accounting for fully 70% of all Allied sea losses of the war. The cost for the German’s had been catastrophic, however, with the loss of nearly 800 submarines and 28,000 men—fully 75% of all the submarine sailors in the entire navy!  Had it worked, however, Germany might have won the entire war by starving England into submission, much as American submarines successfully did to Japan by sending her merchant fleet to the bottom, which cut off the import of oil and raw materials Japanese heavy industry so desperately needed to keep fighting.

#9 Actium, September 2, 31 BC In an epic battle worthy of Hollywood (and redone for the silver screen more than once) the combined fleets of star-crossed lovers Mark Antony and Cleopatra had their proverbial heads handed to them when they met a Roman fleet of nearly 300 galleys near the city of Actium, Greece and were routed. The battle was not only to determine who would rule Rome, but set the course of history for the next six centuries, making it one of the most important fleet actions in history. Alas, as everyone knows, Antony and Cleopatra’s fleet was routed, leaving them without a country and making them fugitives. Not ones to go down with the ship, however, they escaped to safety (abandoning their own fleet in the process), a move which convinced the bulk of Antony’s remaining army to desert and ended in him ultimately committing suicide alongside Cleopatra. The victory also solidified the Roman ruler Octavian’s hold on power and ultimately resulted in him becoming the first Emperor of Rome, effectively ending the Roman Republic and establishing the Roman Empire in its place.

#10 Salamis, September, 480 BC In a battle that seems almost more mythological and real, a fleet of Greek warships under the venerable Greek commander Eurybiades, took on a Persian fleet at least twice its size (and some ancient sources claim three times as large) in the narrow straights between the Greek mainland and the island of Salamis and beat it soundly. Losing as much as half its fleet (according to some accounts) the battle so badly devastated the Persians that the Persian king, Xerxes, was forced to give up on his quest to invade Greece. What made the battle the most important one in history was that in forcing the Persians to give up their quest of invading Greece, the battle potentially saved Greek culture and, by extension, western civilization in the process.

Other important sea battles: Battle of the Downs, 1639 (victory over the British made Holland a major sea power—at least for a time); Spanish Armada, 1588 (a series of small engagements combined with one heck of a storm saved England from Spanish invasion); and Battle of the Philippines Sea, 1945 (finished off the last of the Japanese Navy in one of the largest surface and air engagements in history).

Source: TopTenz

[biblioncollection]

Famous Sea Fights | John Richard Hale | History, War & Military | Audiobook full unabridged | English | 2/7 Content of the video and Sections beginning time (clickable) - Chapters of the audiobook: please see First comments under this video. I propose to tell in non-technical and popular language the story of some of the most remarkable episodes in the history of sea power. I shall begin with the first sea-fight of which we have a detailed history—the Battle of Salamis (B.C. 480), the victory by which Themistocles the Athenian proved the soundness of his maxim that "he who commands the sea commands all." I shall end with the last and greatest of naval engagements, the Battle of Tsu-shima, an event that reversed the long experience of victory won by West over East, which began with Salamis more than two thousand years ago.I shall have to tell of British triumphs on the sea from Sluys to Trafalgar; but I shall take instances from the history of other countries also, for it is well that we should remember that the skill, enterprise, and courage of admirals and seamen is no exclusive possession of our own people. I shall incidentally describe the gradual evolution of the warship from the wooden, oar-driven galleys that fought in the Straits of Salamis to the steel-built, steam-propelled giants that met in battle in the Straits of Tsu-shima. I shall have something to say of old seafaring ways, and much to tell of the brave deeds done by men of many nations. These true stories of the sea will, I trust, have not only the interest that belongs to all records of courage, danger, and adventure, but also some practical lessons of their own. (From the Introduction of the Book) This is a Librivox recording. If you want to volunteer please visit https://librivox.org/ by Priceless Audiobooks

[biblioncollection]

Famous Sea Fights | John Richard Hale | History, War & Military | Audiobook full unabridged | English | 3/7 Content of the video and Sections beginning time (clickable) - Chapters of the audiobook: please see First comments under this video. I propose to tell in non-technical and popular language the story of some of the most remarkable episodes in the history of sea power. I shall begin with the first sea-fight of which we have a detailed history—the Battle of Salamis (B.C. 480), the victory by which Themistocles the Athenian proved the soundness of his maxim that "he who commands the sea commands all." I shall end with the last and greatest of naval engagements, the Battle of Tsu-shima, an event that reversed the long experience of victory won by West over East, which began with Salamis more than two thousand years ago.I shall have to tell of British triumphs on the sea from Sluys to Trafalgar; but I shall take instances from the history of other countries also, for it is well that we should remember that the skill, enterprise, and courage of admirals and seamen is no exclusive possession of our own people. I shall incidentally describe the gradual evolution of the warship from the wooden, oar-driven galleys that fought in the Straits of Salamis to the steel-built, steam-propelled giants that met in battle in the Straits of Tsu-shima. I shall have something to say of old seafaring ways, and much to tell of the brave deeds done by men of many nations. These true stories of the sea will, I trust, have not only the interest that belongs to all records of courage, danger, and adventure, but also some practical lessons of their own. (From the Introduction of the Book) This is a Librivox recording. If you want to volunteer please visit https://librivox.org/ by Priceless Audiobooks

[biblioncollection]

Famous Sea Fights | John Richard Hale | History, War & Military | Audiobook full unabridged | English | 4/7 Content of the video and Sections beginning time (clickable) - Chapters of the audiobook: please see First comments under this video. I propose to tell in non-technical and popular language the story of some of the most remarkable episodes in the history of sea power. I shall begin with the first sea-fight of which we have a detailed history—the Battle of Salamis (B.C. 480), the victory by which Themistocles the Athenian proved the soundness of his maxim that "he who commands the sea commands all." I shall end with the last and greatest of naval engagements, the Battle of Tsu-shima, an event that reversed the long experience of victory won by West over East, which began with Salamis more than two thousand years ago.I shall have to tell of British triumphs on the sea from Sluys to Trafalgar; but I shall take instances from the history of other countries also, for it is well that we should remember that the skill, enterprise, and courage of admirals and seamen is no exclusive possession of our own people. I shall incidentally describe the gradual evolution of the warship from the wooden, oar-driven galleys that fought in the Straits of Salamis to the steel-built, steam-propelled giants that met in battle in the Straits of Tsu-shima. I shall have something to say of old seafaring ways, and much to tell of the brave deeds done by men of many nations. These true stories of the sea will, I trust, have not only the interest that belongs to all records of courage, danger, and adventure, but also some practical lessons of their own. (From the Introduction of the Book) This is a Librivox recording. If you want to volunteer please visit https://librivox.org/ by Priceless Audiobooks

[biblioncollection]

Famous Sea Fights | John Richard Hale | History, War & Military | Audiobook full unabridged | English | 5/7 Content of the video and Sections beginning time (clickable) - Chapters of the audiobook: please see First comments under this video. I propose to tell in non-technical and popular language the story of some of the most remarkable episodes in the history of sea power. I shall begin with the first sea-fight of which we have a detailed history—the Battle of Salamis (B.C. 480), the victory by which Themistocles the Athenian proved the soundness of his maxim that "he who commands the sea commands all." I shall end with the last and greatest of naval engagements, the Battle of Tsu-shima, an event that reversed the long experience of victory won by West over East, which began with Salamis more than two thousand years ago.I shall have to tell of British triumphs on the sea from Sluys to Trafalgar; but I shall take instances from the history of other countries also, for it is well that we should remember that the skill, enterprise, and courage of admirals and seamen is no exclusive possession of our own people. I shall incidentally describe the gradual evolution of the warship from the wooden, oar-driven galleys that fought in the Straits of Salamis to the steel-built, steam-propelled giants that met in battle in the Straits of Tsu-shima. I shall have something to say of old seafaring ways, and much to tell of the brave deeds done by men of many nations. These true stories of the sea will, I trust, have not only the interest that belongs to all records of courage, danger, and adventure, but also some practical lessons of their own. (From the Introduction of the Book) This is a Librivox recording. If you want to volunteer please visit https://librivox.org/ by Priceless Audiobooks

[biblioncollection]

Famous Sea Fights | John Richard Hale | History, War & Military | Audiobook full unabridged | English | 6/7 Content of the video and Sections beginning time (clickable) - Chapters of the audiobook: please see First comments under this video. I propose to tell in non-technical and popular language the story of some of the most remarkable episodes in the history of sea power. I shall begin with the first sea-fight of which we have a detailed history—the Battle of Salamis (B.C. 480), the victory by which Themistocles the Athenian proved the soundness of his maxim that "he who commands the sea commands all." I shall end with the last and greatest of naval engagements, the Battle of Tsu-shima, an event that reversed the long experience of victory won by West over East, which began with Salamis more than two thousand years ago.I shall have to tell of British triumphs on the sea from Sluys to Trafalgar; but I shall take instances from the history of other countries also, for it is well that we should remember that the skill, enterprise, and courage of admirals and seamen is no exclusive possession of our own people. I shall incidentally describe the gradual evolution of the warship from the wooden, oar-driven galleys that fought in the Straits of Salamis to the steel-built, steam-propelled giants that met in battle in the Straits of Tsu-shima. I shall have something to say of old seafaring ways, and much to tell of the brave deeds done by men of many nations. These true stories of the sea will, I trust, have not only the interest that belongs to all records of courage, danger, and adventure, but also some practical lessons of their own. (From the Introduction of the Book) This is a Librivox recording. If you want to volunteer please visit https://librivox.org/ by Priceless Audiobooks

[biblioncollection]

Famous Sea Fights | John Richard Hale | History, War & Military | Audiobook full unabridged | English | 7/7 Content of the video and Sections beginning time (clickable) - Chapters of the audiobook: please see First comments under this video. I propose to tell in non-technical and popular language the story of some of the most remarkable episodes in the history of sea power. I shall begin with the first sea-fight of which we have a detailed history—the Battle of Salamis (B.C. 480), the victory by which Themistocles the Athenian proved the soundness of his maxim that "he who commands the sea commands all." I shall end with the last and greatest of naval engagements, the Battle of Tsu-shima, an event that reversed the long experience of victory won by West over East, which began with Salamis more than two thousand years ago.I shall have to tell of British triumphs on the sea from Sluys to Trafalgar; but I shall take instances from the history of other countries also, for it is well that we should remember that the skill, enterprise, and courage of admirals and seamen is no exclusive possession of our own people. I shall incidentally describe the gradual evolution of the warship from the wooden, oar-driven galleys that fought in the Straits of Salamis to the steel-built, steam-propelled giants that met in battle in the Straits of Tsu-shima. I shall have something to say of old seafaring ways, and much to tell of the brave deeds done by men of many nations. These true stories of the sea will, I trust, have not only the interest that belongs to all records of courage, danger, and adventure, but also some practical lessons of their own. (From the Introduction of the Book) This is a Librivox recording. If you want to volunteer please visit https://librivox.org/ by Priceless Audiobooks