The world's largest wooden ship. Ship of the line (sailing)

29.04.2015 21 710 0 Jadaha

Science and technology

It is believed that as a class of warships, battleships appeared only in the 17th century, when a new tactic was formed. naval battles.

The squadrons lined up against each other and began an artillery duel, the ending of which determined the outcome of the battle.

However, if we mean by linear large warships with powerful weapons, then the history of such ships goes back thousands of years.

In ancient times, the combat power of the ship depended on the number of warriors and rowers, as well as the throwing weapons that were placed on it. The name of the ships was determined by the number of rows of oars. Oars, in turn, could be designed for 1-3 people. The rowers were placed on several floors, one above the other or in a checkerboard pattern.

Quinqueremes (penters) with five rows of oars were considered the most common type of large vessels. However, in 256 B.C. e. in the battle with the Carthaginians at Ecnome, the Roman squadron included two hexers (with six rows of oars). The Romans were still insecure at sea and instead of traditional rams, they started a boarding battle, installing the so-called "crows" on the decks - devices that, having fallen on an enemy ship, tightly fettered it to the attacking ship.

According to modern experts, the largest ship could be a septirema (seven rows of oars) about 90 meters long. A ship of greater length would simply break in the waves. Nevertheless, ancient sources contain references to octers, eners and decims (respectively, eight, nine and ten rows of oars). Most likely, these ships were too wide, and therefore slow-moving, and were used to defend their own harbors, as well as in the capture of enemy coastal fortresses as mobile platforms for siege towers and heavy throwing devices.

Length - 45 meters

Width - 6 meters

Engines - sail, oars

Crew - about 250 people

Armament - boarding "raven"

It is widely believed that armored ships appeared in the second half of the 19th century. In fact, their birthplace was medieval Korea...

We are talking about kobukson, or "turtle ships", created, as it is believed, by the famous Korean naval commander Lee Sunsin (1545-1598).

The first mention of these ships dates back to 1423, but the opportunity to try them in action appeared only in 1592, when the 130,000-strong Japanese army tried to conquer the Land of Morning Calm.

Having lost a significant part of the fleet due to a surprise attack, the Koreans, having four times smaller forces, began to strike at enemy ships. The battleships of the samurai fleet - sekibune - had crews of no more than 200 people and a displacement of 150 tons. In front of twice as large and tightly armored kobuksons, they turned out to be defenseless, since it was impossible to take such "turtles" for boarding. Korean crews sat in chest-like casemates made of wood and iron and methodically shot the enemy with cannons.

Kobuksons were set in motion by 18-20 single oars and even with a fair wind they could hardly reach speeds of more than 7 kilometers per hour. But their firepower was crushing, and invulnerability brought the samurai to hysterics. It was these "turtles" that brought victory to the Koreans, and Lee Sunsin became a national hero.

Length - 30-36 meters

Width - 9-12 meters

Engines - sail, oars

Crew - 130 people

Number of guns - 24-40

The rulers of the Venetian Republic, perhaps, were the first to understand that dominance over maritime communications allows you to control world trade, and with such a trump card in the hands of even a tiny state can become a strong European power.

The basis of the sea power of the Republic of St. Mark were galleys. Vessels of this type could move both on sails and on oars, but were longer than their ancient Greek and Phoenician predecessors, which made it possible to increase their crews to one and a half hundred sailors, capable of acting both as rowers and as marines.

The depth of the galley hold was no more than 3 meters, but this was enough to load the necessary supplies and even small batches intended for the sale of goods.

The main element of the vessel were curved frames that determined the shape and influenced the speed of the galley. First, a frame was assembled from them, and then sheathed with boards.

This technology was revolutionary for its time, allowing the construction of a long and narrow, but at the same time rigid structure that did not bend under the influence of waves.

The Venetian shipyards were a state-owned enterprise surrounded by a 10-meter wall. More than 3,000 professional craftsmen, who were called arsenolotti, worked on them.

Unauthorized entry into the territory of the enterprise was punishable by imprisonment, which was supposed to ensure maximum secrecy.

Length - 40 meters

Width - 5 meters

Engine - sail, oars

Speed ​​- b knots

Load capacity - 140 tons

Crew - 150 rowers

The largest sailing ship of the line of the 18th century, unofficially nicknamed El Ponderoso ("Heavyweight").

It was launched in Havana in 1769. It had three decks. The hull of the ship, up to 60 centimeters thick, was made of Cuban redwood, the mast and yardarms were made of Mexican pine.

In 1779 Spain and France declared war on England. The Santisima Trinidad went to the English Channel, but the enemy ships simply did not engage with it and slipped away, taking advantage of the speed advantage. In 1795, the Heavyweight was converted into the world's first four-deck ship.

On April 14, 1797, at the Battle of Cape San Vincent, British ships under the command of Nelson cut off the nose of a column led by the Santisima Trinidad and opened artillery fire from a convenient position, which decided the outcome of the battle. The victors captured four ships, but the pride of the Spanish fleet managed to escape capture.

The British flagship Victoria, which carried Nelson, attacked, along with seven other British ships, each with at least 72 guns, the Santisima Trinidad.

Length - 63 meters

Displacement - 1900 tons

Engines - sail

Crew - 1200 people

Number of guns - 144

The most powerful sailing ship of the line of the Russian fleet was launched in 1841 at the Nikolaev shipyard.

It was built on the initiative of the commander of the Black Sea squadron Mikhail Lazarev, taking into account the latest developments of British shipbuilders. Due to careful processing of wood and work in boathouses, the life of the vessel exceeded the standard eight years. The interior decoration was luxurious, so that some officers compared it to the decoration of the imperial yachts. In 1849 and 1852, two more similar ships left the stocks - "Paris" and " Grand Duke Konstantin", but with a simpler interior decoration.

The first commander of the ship was the future vice-admiral Vladimir Kornilov (1806-1854), who died during the defense of Sevastopol.

In 1853, the "Twelve Apostles" transported almost 1.5 thousand infantrymen to the Caucasus to take part in the battles against the Turks. However, when the British and French came out against Russia, it became obvious that the time of sailing ships was a thing of the past.

A hospital was set up on the Twelve Apostles, and the cannons removed from it were used to strengthen coastal defenses.

On the night of February 13-14, 1855, the ship was scuttled to reinforce the underwater barriers at the entrance to the bay that had been washed away by the current. When work began on clearing the fairway after the war, it was not possible to raise the Twelve Apostles and the ship was blown up.

Length - 64.4 meters

Width - 12.1 meters

Speed ​​- up to 12 knots (22 km/h)

Engines - sail

Crew - 1200 people

Number of guns - 130

The first full-fledged battleship of the Russian fleet, built on Galerny Island in St. Petersburg according to the project of Rear Admiral Andrei Popov (1821-1898), originally bore the name "Cruiser" and was intended specifically for cruising operations. However, after it was renamed "Peter the Great" in 1872 and launched, the concept changed. Speech began to be conducted already about a vessel of a linear type.

It was not possible to bring the engine part to mind; in 1881, Peter the Great was transferred to Glasgow, where specialists from the Randolph and Elder company took up its reconstruction. As a result, the ship began to be considered the leader among the ships of its class, although it did not have to show off its power in real hostilities.

By the beginning of the 20th century, shipbuilding had gone far ahead, and the next modernization of the case no longer saved. In 1903, the Peter the Great was converted into a training ship, and since 1917 it has been used as a floating base for submarines.

In February and April 1918, this veteran took part in two of the most difficult ice transitions: first from Revel to Helsingfors, and then from Helsingfors to Kronstadt, avoiding capture by the Germans or White Finns.

In May 1921, the ex-battleship was disarmed and reorganized into a mine block (floating base) of the Kronstadt military port. From the list of the fleet "Peter the Great" was excluded only in 1959.

Length - 103.5 meters

Width - 19.2 meters

Speed ​​- 14.36 knots

Power - 8296 l. With.

Crew - 440 people

Armament - four 305 mm and six 87 mm guns

The proper name of this ship became a household name for a whole generation of warships, which differed from the usual battleships in greater armor protection and the power of guns - it was on them that the “all-big-gun” principle (“only big guns”) was implemented.

The initiative of its creation belonged to the first Lord of the British Admiralty John Fisher (1841-1920). Launched on February 10, 1906, the ship was built in four months, involving almost all the shipbuilding enterprises of the kingdom. The power of his fire salvo was equal to the power of a salvo of an entire squadron of battleships of the recently ended Russo-Japanese War. However, it cost twice as much.

Thus, the great powers entered the next round of the naval arms race.

By the beginning of the First World War, the Dreadnought itself was already considered somewhat outdated, and the so-called "superdreadnoughts" were replacing it.

This ship won the only victory on March 18, 1915, sinking the German submarine U-29, commanded by the famous German submarine Lieutenant Commander Otto Weddingen, with a ramming attack.

In 1919, the Dreadnought was transferred to the reserve, in 1921 it was sold for scrap, and in 1923 it was dismantled for metal.

Length - 160.74 meters

Width - 25.01 meters

Speed ​​- 21.6 knots

Power - 23,000 liters. With. (estimated) - 26350 (at full speed)

Crew - 692 (1905), 810 (1916)

Armament - ten 305 mm, twenty-seven 76 mm anti-mine guns

The largest (along with the Tirpitz) German battleship and the third largest representative of this class of warships in the world (after the battleships of the Yamato and Iowa types).

Launched in Hamburg on Valentine's Day - February 14, 1939 - in the presence of Prince Bismarck's granddaughter Dorothea von Löwenfeld.

On May 18, 1941, the battleship, together with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, left Gotenhafen (modern Gdynia) in order to disrupt British sea lanes.

On the morning of May 24, after an eight-minute artillery duel, the Bismarck sent a British battle cruiser Hood. On the battleship, one of the generators failed and two fuel tanks were pierced.

The British staged a real raid on the Bismarck. The decisive hit (which led to the loss of control of the ship) was achieved by one of the fifteen torpedo bombers that rose from the Ark Royal aircraft carrier.

Bismarck went to the bottom on May 27, confirming with his death that now the battleships must give way to aircraft carriers. His younger brother Tirpitz was sunk on November 12, 1944 in the Norwegian fjords as a result of a series of British air raids.

Length - 251 meters

In the meantime, let's quickly and briefly "run" to the 15th century, and there we will already reveal the issue in more detail. So let's start:

First sailing ships appeared in Egypt around 3000 BC. e. This is evidenced by the paintings decorating ancient Egyptian vases. However, the birthplace of the boats depicted on the vases is, apparently, not the Nile Valley, but the nearby Persian Gulf. Confirmation of this is a model of a similar boat found in the Obeid tomb, in the city of Eridu, which stood on the shores of the Persian Gulf.

In 1969, the Norwegian scientist Thor Heyerdahl made an interesting attempt to test the assumption that a ship equipped with a sail, made of papyrus reed, could sail not only on the Nile, but also on the high seas. This vessel, essentially a raft, 15 m long, 5 m wide and 1.5 m high, with a 10 m mast and a single straight sail, was steered by a steering oar.

Before the use of the wind, floating craft either moved by oars or were pulled by people or animals walking along the banks of rivers and canals. Vessels made it possible to transport heavy and bulky goods, which was much more productive than transporting animals by teams on land. Bulk goods were also transported mainly by water.

papyrus ship

A large naval expedition of the ruler of Egypt Hatshepsut, undertaken in the first half of the 15th century, is historically attested. BC e. This expedition, which historians also consider trading, proceeded through the Red Sea in ancient country Punt on the east coast of Africa (this is roughly modern Somalia). The ships returned heavily laden with various goods and slaves.

In close navigation, the Phoenicians used mainly light merchant ships that had oars and a straight rake sail. Vessels intended for long-distance navigation and warships looked much more impressive. Phoenicia, unlike Egypt, had very favorable natural conditions for building a fleet: near the coast, on the slopes of the Lebanese mountains, forests grew, dominated by the famous Lebanese cedar and oak, as well as others. valuable breeds trees.

In addition to the improvement of sea vessels, the Phoenicians left another remarkable legacy - the word "galley", which probably entered all European languages. Phoenician ships set sail from the large port cities of Sidon, Ugarit, Arvada, Gebala, etc., where there were also large shipyards.

Historical materials also speak of the voyage of the Phoenicians in a southerly direction through the Red Sea to indian ocean. The Phoenicians are credited with the honor of the first voyage around Africa at the end of the 7th century. BC e., that is, almost 2000 years before Vasco da Gama.

The Greeks already in the IX century. BC e. they learned from the Phoenicians to build ships that were remarkable for that time and early began the colonization of the surrounding territories. In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. the area of ​​​​their penetration covered the western shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the entire Pontus Euxinus (Black Sea) and the Aegean coast of Asia Minor.

Not a single wooden antique ship or part of it has survived, and this does not allow us to clarify the idea of ​​​​the main types of galleys, which has developed on the basis of written and other historical materials. Divers and scuba divers continue to explore the seabed at the sites of ancient naval battles in which hundreds of ships were lost. about their form and internal structure can be judged by indirect signs - for example, by accurate sketches of the location of clay vessels and metal objects, preserved where the ship lay, And yet, in the absence of wooden parts of the hull, one cannot do without the help of painstaking analysis and imagination.

The vessel was kept on course by means of a steering oar, which had at least two advantages over the later rudder: it made it possible to turn a stationary vessel and easily replace a damaged or broken steering oar. Merchant ships were wide and had ample hold space to accommodate cargo.

The ship was a Greek war galley circa 5th century BC. BC e., the so-called bireme. With rows of oars arranged in two tiers along the sides, she naturally had greater speed than a ship of the same size with half the number of oars. In the same century, triremes also became widespread - warships with three "floors" of rowers. A similar arrangement of galleys is the contribution of ancient Greek masters to the design of sea vessels. Military kinkerems were not "long ships", they had a deck, internal quarters for soldiers and a particularly powerful ram, bound with copper sheets, located in front at water level, which broke through the sides of enemy ships during naval battles. Similar combat device the Greeks adopted it from the Phoenicians, who used it in the 8th century. BC e.

Although the Greeks were able, well-trained sailors, sea travel was a dangerous business at that time. Not every ship reached its destination as a result of either a shipwreck or a pirate attack.
The galleys of ancient Greece plowed almost the entire Mediterranean and Black Sea, there is evidence of their penetration through Gibraltar to the north. Here they reached Britain, and possibly Scandinavia. Their voyages are shown on the map.

At the first big clash with Carthage (in the First Punic War), the Romans realized that one cannot hope for victory without having a strong navy. With the help of Greek specialists, they built 120 large galleys in a short time and transferred to the sea their method of warfare, which they used on land - an individual battle of a warrior against a warrior with personal weapons. The Romans used the so-called "crows" - boarding bridges. On these bridges, which pierced the deck of the enemy ship with a sharp hook, depriving him of the possibility of maneuvering, the Roman legionnaires broke into the enemy deck and started the battle in their usual manner.

The Roman fleet, like the contemporary Greek fleet, consisted of two main types of ships: "round" merchant and slender battle galleys.

Certain improvements can be noted in the sailing armament. On the main mast (mainmast) a large square straight sail is retained, which is sometimes supplemented by two small triangular upper sails. A smaller quadrangular sail appears on the forward inclined mast - the bowsprit. Increasing the total area of ​​the sails increased the force used to propel the vessel. However, the sails continue to be an additional mover, the oars, not shown in the figure, remain the main one.
The value of the sail, however, undoubtedly increased, especially on long voyages, which were made as far as India. This was helped by the discovery Greek navigator Gippala: The August southwest and January northeast monsoons contributed to the maximum use of sails and at the same time reliably indicated the direction, like a compass much later. The road from Italy to India and the return journey, with an intermediate crossing by caravans and ships along the Nile from Alexandria to the Red Sea, lasted about a year. Previously, the path by oars along the shores of the Arabian Sea was much longer.

During trading voyages, the Romans used numerous Mediterranean ports. Some of them have already been mentioned, but one of the first places should be given to Alexandria, located in the Nile Delta, whose importance as a transit point increased as Rome’s trade with India and the Far East grew.

For more than half a millennium, the knights of the high seas, the Vikings, kept Europe in fear. They owe their mobility and omnipresence to dracars - true masterpieces of shipbuilding art.

On these ships, the Vikings made distant sea voyages. They discovered Iceland, the southern coast of Greenland, long before Columbus they visited North America. The snake heads of the stems of their ships were seen by the inhabitants of the Baltic, the Mediterranean and Byzantium. Together with the squads of the Slavs, they settled in the great trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks.

The main mover of the drakar was a raked sail, with an area of ​​70 m2 or more, sewn from separate vertical panels, richly decorated with gold braid, drawings of the coats of arms of the leaders or various signs and symbols. Ray rose with the sail. The high mast was supported by the stays going from it to the sides and to the ends of the vessel. The sides were protected by richly painted shields of warriors. The silhouette of the Scandinavian ship is one of a kind. It has many aesthetic merits. The basis for the reconstruction of this ship was the drawing of the famous carpet from Bae, which tells about the landing in 1066 of William the Conqueror in England.

At the beginning of the 15th century, they began to build two-masted coggs. The further development of world shipbuilding was marked by the transition in the middle of the 15th century to three-masted ships. For the first time this type of vessel appeared in the north of Europe in 1475. Its fore and mizzen masts are borrowed from Mediterranean Venetian ships.

The first three-masted ship to enter the Baltic Sea was the French ship La Rochelle. The skin of this ship, which had a length of 43 m and a width of 12 m, was not laid flat, like tiles on the roof of a house, as was done before, but smooth: one board close to another. And although this method of sheathing was known before, nevertheless, the merit of his invention is attributed to a shipbuilder from Brittany named Julian, who called this method "carvel" or "craveel". The name of the plating later passed into the name of the type of ships - "caravel". Caravels were more elegant than coggs and had better sailing equipment, so it was no coincidence that medieval discoverers chose these strong, fast and roomy ships for overseas campaigns. Characteristic features of caravels are high sides, deep sheer deck in the middle part of the vessel and mixed sailing equipment. Only the foremast carried a square straight sail. Latin sails on the slanting yards of the main and mizzen masts allowed ships to sail steeply into the wind.

In the first half of the 15th century, the largest cargo ship (perhaps up to 2000 tons) was a three-masted, two-deck karakka, probably of Portuguese origin. In the 15th-16th centuries, composite masts appeared on sailing ships, which carried several sails at once. The area of ​​the topsails and kruysels (top sails) was increased, which made it easier to control and maneuver the vessel. The ratio of body length to width ranged from 2:1 to 2.5:1. As a result, the seaworthiness of these so-called "round" vessels improved, which made it possible to make safer long-distance voyages to America and India and even around the world. A clear distinction between sailing merchant and military ships did not exist at that time; for a number of centuries, only a rowing galley was a typical warship. The galleys were built with one and two masts and carried Latin sails.

"Vasa" Swedish warship

At the beginning of the XVII century. Sweden has significantly strengthened its position in Europe. The founder of the new royal dynasty, Gustav I Vasa, did a lot to bring the country out of medieval backwardness. He delivered Sweden from Danish rule, carried out a reformation, subordinating the previously all-powerful church to the state.
The Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648 was underway. Sweden, which claimed to be one of the dominant countries in Europe, sought to finally consolidate its dominant position in the Baltic.

The main rival of Sweden in the western part of the Baltic Sea was Denmark, which owned both banks of the Sound and the most important islands of the Baltic Sea. But it was a very strong opponent. Then the Swedes focused all their attention on the eastern shores of the sea and, after long wars, captured the cities of Yam, Koporye, Karela, Oreshek and Ivan-gorod, which had long belonged to Russia, thus depriving the Russian state of access to the Baltic Sea.
However, Gustav II Adolf, the new king of the Vasa dynasty (1611-1632), wanted to achieve complete domination of Sweden in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea and began to create a strong navy.

In 1625, the Stockholm Royal Shipyard received a large order for the simultaneous construction of four large ships. The king showed the greatest interest in the construction of a new flagship. This ship was named "Vasa" - in honor of the Swedish royal Vasa dynasty, to which Gustav II Adolf belonged.

The best ship craftsmen, artists, sculptors, and wood carvers were involved in the construction of Vasa. Hendrik Hibertson, a well-known shipbuilder in Europe, was invited as the chief builder. Two years later, the ship was safely launched and towed to the outfitting pier, located just under the windows of the royal palace.

Galion "Golden Hind" ("Golden Doe")

The ship was built in the 60s of the 16th century in England and was originally called "Pelican". On it, the English navigator Francis Drake in 1577-1580, as part of a squadron of five ships, undertook a pirate expedition to the West Indies and made the second circumnavigation of the world after Magellan. In honor of the excellent seaworthiness of his ship, Drake renamed it the "Golden Hind" and installed a figurine of a doe made of pure gold in the bow of the ship. The length of the galleon is 18.3 m, the width is 5.8 m, the draft is 2.45 m. This is one of the smallest galleons.

Much big ships than galleys, there were galleasses: they had three masts with Latin sails, two large steering oars in the stern, two decks (lower for rowers, upper for soldiers and cannons), and a surface ram in the bow. These warships proved to be durable: as late as the 18th century, almost all maritime powers continued to replenish their fleets with galleys and galleasses. During the 16th century, the appearance of a sailing ship was formed as a whole, which was preserved until the middle of the 19th century. Ships increased significantly in size, if for the 15th century ships of more than 200 tons were rare, then by the end of the 16th century there were single giants reaching 2000 tons, and ships with a displacement of 700-800 tons were no longer rare. From the beginning of the 16th century, European shipbuilding increasingly began to use oblique sails, at first in their pure form, as was done in Asia, but by the end of the century, mixed sailing rigs spread. Artillery was improved - bombards of the 15th and culverins of the early 16th centuries were still not very suitable for arming ships, but by the end of the 16th century the problems associated with casting were largely resolved and a familiar-looking naval gun appeared. Around 1500, cannon ports were invented, it became possible to place cannons in several tiers, and the upper deck was freed from them, which had a positive effect on the ship's stability. The sides of the ship began to fill up inward - so the guns of the upper tiers were closer to the axis of symmetry of the ship. Finally, in the 16th century, regular navies appeared in many European countries. All these innovations gravitate towards the beginning of the 16th century, but, given the time required for implementation, spread only towards its end. Again, shipbuilders also had to gain experience, because at first the ships of a new type had an annoying habit of capsizing immediately when leaving the stocks.

During the 16th century, the appearance of a sailing ship was formed as a whole, which was preserved until the middle of the 19th century. Ships increased significantly in size, if for the 15th century ships of more than 200 tons were rare, then by the end of the 16th century there were single giants reaching 2000 tons, and ships with a displacement of 700-800 tons were no longer rare. From the beginning of the 16th century, European shipbuilding increasingly began to use oblique sails, at first in their pure form, as was done in Asia, but by the end of the century, mixed sailing rigs spread. Artillery was improved - bombards of the 15th and culverins of the early 16th centuries were still not very suitable for arming ships, but by the end of the 16th century the problems associated with casting were largely resolved and a familiar-looking naval gun appeared. Around 1500, cannon ports were invented, it became possible to place cannons in several tiers, and the upper deck was freed from them, which had a positive effect on the ship's stability. The sides of the ship began to fill up inward - so the guns of the upper tiers were closer to the axis of symmetry of the ship. Finally, in the 16th century, regular navies appeared in many European countries. All these innovations gravitate towards the beginning of the 16th century, but, given the time required for implementation, spread only towards its end. Again, shipbuilders also had to gain experience, because at first the ships of a new type had an annoying habit of capsizing immediately when leaving the stocks.

In the first half of the 16th century, a ship appeared with fundamentally new properties and a completely different purpose than the ships that existed before. This ship was intended to fight for supremacy at sea by destroying enemy warships on the high seas with artillery fire and combined significant autonomy for those times with the strongest weapons. The rowing ships that existed up to this point could only dominate a narrow strait, and even then, if they were based in a port on the shore of this strait, in addition, their power was determined by the number of troops on board, and artillery ships could act independently of the infantry. A new type of ships began to be called linear - that is, the main ones (like "linear infantry", "linear tanks" the name "linear ship" has nothing to do with lining up - if they were built, then just in a column).

The first battleships that appeared on northern seas, and later on the Mediterranean Sea, were small - 500-800 tons, which approximately corresponded to the displacement of large transports of that period. Not even the biggest ones. But the largest transports were built for themselves by wealthy merchant companies, and battleships were ordered by states that were not rich at that time. These ships were armed with 50-90 guns, but they were not very strong guns - mostly 12-pounders, with a small admixture of 24-pounders and a very large admixture of small-caliber guns and culverins. Seaworthiness did not stand up to any criticism - even in the 18th century, ships were still built without drawings (they were replaced by a layout), and the number of guns was calculated based on the width of the ship measured in steps - that is, it varied depending on the length of the legs of the chief engineer of the shipyard. But this was in the 18th, and in the 16th, the correlation between the width of the vessel and the weight of the guns was not known (especially since it does not exist). Simply put, ships were built without a theoretical basis, only on the basis of experience, which was almost non-existent in the 16th and early 17th centuries. But the main trend was clearly visible - guns in such a quantity could no longer be considered as auxiliary weapons, and a purely sail design indicated a desire to get an ocean-going ship. Even then, battleships were characterized by armament at the level of 1.5 pounds per ton of displacement.

The faster the ship was, the fewer guns it could have in relation to the displacement, since the more the engine weighed - the masts. Not only did the masts themselves with a mass of ropes and sails weigh a fair amount, they also shifted the center of gravity upwards, therefore they had to be balanced by laying more cast-iron ballast in the hold.

The battleships of the 16th century still had inadequate sailing equipment for sailing in the Mediterranean Sea (especially in its eastern part) and the Baltic. The storm jokingly blew the Spanish squadron out of the English Channel.

Already in the 16th century, Spain, England and France together had about 60 ships of the line, with Spain more than half of this number. Sweden, Denmark, Turkey and Portugal joined this trio in the 17th century.

Ships of the 17th and 18th centuries

In the north of Europe at the beginning of the 17th century, a new type of vessel appeared, similar to flutes - a three-masted pinasse (pinasse). The same type of ships also includes the galleon that appeared in the middle of the 16th century - a military ship of Portuguese origin, which later became the basis of the fleets of the Spaniards and the British. For the first time, guns were installed on the galleon both above and below the main deck, which led to the construction of battery decks; guns stood on the sides and fired through the ports. The displacement of the largest Spanish galleons of 1580-1590 was 1000 tons, and the ratio of the length of the hull to the width was 4:1. The absence of high superstructures and a long hull allowed these ships to sail faster and steeper to the wind than "round" ships. To increase the speed, the number and area of ​​​​sails were increased, additional sails appeared - foxes and underliesels. At that time, jewelry was considered a symbol of wealth and power - all state and royal courts were luxuriously decorated. The distinction between warships and merchant ships became more distinct. In the middle of the 17th century, frigates began to be built in England, which had up to 60 guns on two decks, and smaller warships, such as a corvette, sloop, bombard, and others.

By the middle of the 17th century, battleships had grown significantly - some already up to 1500 tons. The number of guns remained the same - 50-80 pieces, but 12-pounder guns remained only on the bow, stern and upper deck, guns of 24 and 48 pounds were placed on other decks. Accordingly, the hull became stronger - it could withstand 24-pound shells. In general, the 17th century is characterized by a low level of opposition at sea. England, almost throughout its entire length, could not deal with internal turmoil. The Dutch preferred small ships, relying more on their numbers and the experience of the crews. France, powerful at that time, tried to impose its hegemony on Europe by wars on land - the French were of little interest to the sea. Sweden reigned supreme in the Baltic Sea and did not lay claim to other bodies of water. Spain and Portugal were ruined and often found themselves dependent on France. Venice and Genoa quickly turned into third-rate states. The Mediterranean Sea was divided - the western part went to Europe, the eastern - to Turkey. Neither side sought to upset the balance. However, the Maghreb ended up in the European sphere of influence - English, French and Dutch squadrons did away with piracy during the 17th century. The greatest maritime powers of the 17th century had 20-30 battleships each, the rest had only a few.

Turkey also began to build battleships from the end of the 16th century. But they still differed significantly from European models. Especially the shape of the body and sailing rig. Turkish battleships were significantly faster than European ones (this was especially true in the Mediterranean), carried 36-60 guns of 12-24 caliber pounds and were weaker armored - only from 12-pounder cores. Armament was a pound per ton. The displacement was 750 -1100 tons. In the 18th century, Turkey began to lag significantly behind in terms of technology. Turkish battleships of the 18th century resembled European ones of the 17th century.

During the 18th century, the growth in the size of ships of the line continued uninterrupted. By the end of this century, battleships had reached a displacement of 5,000 tons (the limit for wooden ships), armor was strengthened to an incredible degree - even 96-pound bombs did not harm them enough - and 12-pound half-guns were no longer used on them. Only 24 pounds for the upper deck, 48 pounds for the two middle decks, and 96 pounds for the bottom deck. The number of guns reached 130. True, there were also smaller battleships with 60-80 guns, with a displacement of about 2000 tons. They were more often limited to 48-pound caliber, and they were also protected from it.

Incredibly increased the number of battleships. England, France, Russia, Turkey, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Portugal had battle fleets. By the middle of the 18th century, England had almost undivided dominance at sea. By the end of the century, she had almost a hundred battleships (including those that were not in active use). France scored 60-70, but they were weaker than the English. Russia under Peter stamped 60 battleships, but they were made in a hurry, somehow, carelessly. In a rich way, only the preparation of wood - so that it would turn into armor - should have taken 30 years (in fact, Russian ships and later were built not from bog oak, but from larch, it was heavy, relatively soft, but did not rot and lasted 10 times longer than oak). But their number alone forced Sweden (and the whole of Europe) to recognize the Baltic Sea as Russian inland. By the end of the century, the size of the Russian battle fleet even decreased, but the ships were brought up to European standards. Holland, Sweden, Denmark and Portugal had 10-20 ships each, Spain - 30, Turkey - also about that, but these were already ships of a non-European level.

Even then, the property of battleships was manifested that they were created most of all for numbers - so that they were, and not for war. It was expensive to build and maintain them, and even more so to equip them with a crew, all kinds of supplies and send them on campaigns. They saved on this - they did not send it. So even England used only a small part of her battle fleet at a time. Equipment for a campaign of 20-30 battleships was also a national task for England. Russia kept only a few battleships on alert. Most of the battleships spent their entire lives in the port with only a minimal crew on board (capable, in case of urgent need, to overtake the ship to another port) and unloaded guns.

The ship next in rank to the battleship was the frigate, designed to capture the water space. With the incidental destruction of everything (except battleships) that was available in this space. Formally, the frigate was an auxiliary ship in the battle fleet, but, given that the latter was used extremely sluggishly, frigates turned out to be the most popular of the ships of that period. Frigates, like later cruisers, could be divided into light and heavy ones, although such a gradation was not formally carried out. The heavy frigate appeared in the 17th century, it was a ship with 32-40 cannons, counting the falconets, and displacing 600-900 tons of water. The guns were 12-24 pounds, with the latter predominating. The armor could withstand 12-pound cannonballs, the armament was 1.2-1.5 tons per pound, and the speed was greater than that of a battleship. The displacement of the latest modifications of the 18th century reached 1500 tons, there were up to 60 cannons, but usually there were no 48-pound ones.

Light frigates have been common since the 16th century, and in the 17th they made up the vast majority of all warships. Their production required a significantly lower quality wood than for the construction of heavy frigates. Larch and oak were considered strategic resources, and pines suitable for making masts in Europe and the European part of Russia were counted and taken into account. Light frigates did not carry armor, in the sense that their hulls withstood wave impacts and mechanical loads, but they did not claim more, the skin thickness was 5-7 centimeters. The number of guns did not exceed 30, and only on the largest frigates of this class were 4 24 pounds on the lower deck - they did not even occupy the entire floor. The displacement was 350-500 tons.

In the 17th and early 18th centuries, light frigates were simply the cheapest warships, ships that could be made a whole cloud and quickly. Including by re-equipment of merchant ships. By the middle of the 18th century, similar ships began to be specially produced, but with an emphasis on top speed- corvettes. There were even fewer cannons on corvettes, from 10 to 20 (there were actually 12-14 cannons on 10-gun ships, but those that looked at the bow and stern were classified as falconets). The displacement was 250-450 tons.

The number of frigates in the 18th century was significant. England had little more than ships of the line, but still got a lot. Countries with small battleship fleets had several times more frigates than battleships. The exception was Russia, which had one frigate for three battleships. The point was that the frigate was intended to capture space, and with it (space) in the Black and Baltic Seas it was a bit tight. At the very bottom of the hierarchy were sloops - ships designed to carry out sentinel service, reconnaissance, combat piracy, and so on. That is, not to fight other warships. The smallest of them were ordinary schooners of 50-100 tons in weight with several guns less than 12 pounds in caliber. The largest had up to 20 12-pounder guns and a displacement of up to 350-400 tons. Sloops and other auxiliary ships could be any number. For example, Holland in the middle of the 16th century had 6,000 merchant ships, most of which were armed.

By installing additional guns, 300-400 of them could be turned into light frigates. The rest are in sloops. Another question is that the merchant ship brought profit to the Dutch treasury, and the frigate or sloop consumed this profit. England at that time had 600 merchant ships. How many people could be on these ships? A is different. In principle, a sailboat could have one crew member for every ton of displacement. But this worsened habitability and reduced autonomy. On the other hand, the more numerous the crew, the more combat-ready the ship turned out to be. In principle, 20 people could manage the sails of a large frigate. But only in good weather. They could do the same in a storm, simultaneously working on the pumps and battening down the port covers knocked out by the waves, they could do it for a short time. Most likely, their strength would have ended earlier than the wind. To conduct a battle on a 40-gun ship, a minimum of 80 people were required, - 70 load the guns of one side, and another 10 run around the deck and lead. But if the ship performs such a complex maneuver as a turn, all gunners will have to rush from the lower decks to the masts - when turning, the ship will certainly have to move tacks against the wind for some time, but for this, it will be necessary to tightly reef all direct sails, and then, of course, open them again. If the gunners need to either climb the masts, then run into the hold for the cannonballs - they won’t shoot much.

Typically, sailboats designed for long passages or long cruising had one person on board for 4 tons. This was enough to control the ship and for combat. In the event that the ship was used for landing operations or boarding, the crew could reach one person per ton. How did they fight? If two roughly equal ships met in the sea under the flags of the warring powers, then both of them began to maneuver in order to take a more advantageous position from the side of the wind. One tried to follow the other's tail - so it was possible at the very interesting point take away the wind from the enemy. Considering that the guns were guided by the hull, and the maneuverability of the ship was proportional to its speed, no one wanted to move against the wind at the time of the collision. On the other hand, having too much wind in the sails, it was possible to slip forward and let the enemy pass to the rear. All these dances were original in the sense that it was practically possible to maneuver only by direction.

Of course, the whole story did not fit into the LiveJournal framework, so read the continuation on InfoGlaze -

15.06.2017 12118

“Prussia” is a five-masted sailing ship with an all-steel hull. Previously, she was the world's largest ship with direct sails, as well as the only five-masted sailing ship of this class in the world merchant fleet. The sailing ship was built in 1902 by order of the Hamburg shipping company Layesh. Hamburg is the home port of the sailing vessel. Unlike many others, the Prussia sailboat was never equipped with auxiliary engines. The length of the ship is 147 meters, the width is 16.3 meters, the displacement is 11,150 tons, the volume of the ship is 5,081 RT (registered tons), the sail area is 6,806 square meters, and the years of operation are from 1902 to 1910.

France II is a French five-masted sailing ship. This sailboat is considered one of the largest in the history of shipbuilding. "France II" was laid down at the shipyards "Chantiers et Ateliers de la Gironde" in the French city of Bordeaux in 1911. The length of the sailboat is 146.20 meters, the width is 17 meters, the displacement is 10,710 tons, the volume of the vessel is 5,633 RT, the volume of sails is 6,350 square meters.

“R.C.Rickmers” is a German five-masted sailing ship and also served as a merchant ship. The length of the sailboat is 146 meters, width - 16.3 meters, displacement - 10,500 tons, volume of the vessel - 5548 registered tons, sail area - 6,045 square meters.

Schooner "Thomas W. Lawson" is the only seven-masted sailing ship in the world. It was launched in Quincy in 1902. The famous shipowner Deon Crowley really wanted to create the largest sailing ship in the world, and therefore he became the inspirer and author of the idea of ​​its construction. The length of the sailboat is 144 meters, the width is 15 meters, the displacement is 10,860 tons, the volume of the vessel is 5,218 RT, the sail area is 4,330 square meters, the gross tonnage of the Thomas W. Lawson schooner was 5.218 (brt), which is 137 (brt) was at that time more than the five-masted barque "Prussia", which was put into operation a few months before the schooner "Thomas. W. Lawson.”

The Royal Clipper is a five-masted, four-star cruising sailboat that was built in the image and likeness of the Prussia (1902 - 1910). The layout of the sailboat was developed by Zygmunt Horen, a Polish specialist in ship devices, and the sailboat itself was put into operation in 2000. The longest sailboat in the world can carry 227 passengers. The Royal Clipper can reach speeds of up to 20 knots. The length of the ship is 134.8 meters, the width is 16.5 meters, the displacement is 5,061 tons, the volume of the ship is 4,425 tons, the sail area is 5,202 square meters.

“Potosi” is a five-masted sailing merchant ship, which was built in 1895 by order of the Hamburg shipping company “Layesh”. The route of the sailboat passed between Germany and Chile. The length of the sailboat is 132.1 meters, the width is 15.1 meters, the displacement is 8,580 tons, the volume of the vessel is 4,026 tons, the sail area is 4,700 square meters.

Copenhagen "Kobenhavn" - the last five-masted barque, which was built in 1921 by the Scottish shipyard "Ramage and Ferguson" by order of the Danish East Asiatic Company after the First World War in Copenhagen. The length of the barque is 131.9 meters, the width is 15 meters, the displacement is 7,900 tons, the volume of the vessel is 3,901 RT, the sail area is 4,644 square meters.

Frans I is one of the largest five-masted barges. The sailing ship was built in 1890. It was the first French sailing cargo ship and the second in the world during this era. The length of the ship is 133 meters, width - 14.9 meters, displacement - 7,800 tons.

The Wyoming is a six-masted, 125-meter, double-deck schooner that was built primarily from Canadian pine. At that time it was the height of perfection of wooden shipbuilding. Wyoming is the world's largest all-wood ship. The length of the ship is 137 meters, the width is 15 meters, the displacement is 8,000 tons, the volume of the ship is 3,731 tons, the sail area is 3,700 square meters.

The Great Republic is the largest wooden clipper ship of the 19th century. It was built by the famous American shipbuilder Donald McKay. Clipper "Great Republic" was not equal in size. Most American clippers of the 19th century were about 70 meters long and were considered the largest in the world, English clippers averaged about 60 meters. The length of the Great Republic was 101.5 meters, the width of the clipper was 16.2 meters, and the displacement was 4556 tons. The height of the grotto "Great Republic" reached 70 meters. The total sail area is 6070 square meters.

The Viking is a four-masted steel barque built in 1906 in Copenhagen. This is the largest sailing ship ever built in Scandinavia. The length of the Viking is 118 meters, the width is 13.9 meters, the displacement is 6,300 tons, the volume of the vessel is 2,959 rt, the sail area is 3,690 square meters.

“Sedov” is a four-masted barque that was built in 1921 under the name “Magdalene Vinnen II”. Since 1936, the name has changed to "Kommodore Johnsen". And in 1945, the barque was transferred to the USSR by Great Britain and was renamed in honor of the famous Russian polar explorer Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov. Today, the Sedov is one of the largest sailing training ships in the world. Length - 117.5 meters, width - 14.6 meters, displacement - 7,320 tons, vessel volume - 3,556 RT, sail area - 4,192 square meters.

The Union is a training sailing vessel of the Peruvian Navy. The sailboat has a four-masted steel hull. The Union was built in 2014 by Shipyard Marine Industrial Services of Peru, also known as SIMA. The length of the barque is 115.75 meters, width - 13.5 meters, displacement - 3,200 tons, sail area - 4,324 square meters.

The Kruzenshtern is a four-masted barque, a Russian training sailing ship. It was built in 1925-1926 in Germany. During the descent, the bark was named Padua, but in 1946 it became the property of the USSR and was renamed in honor of the famous Russian navigator Admiral Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern. The ship's home port is Kaliningrad. The length of the sailboat is 114.5 meters, the width is 14.4 meters, the displacement is 5,805 tons, the volume of the vessel is 3,064 tons, the sail area is 3,900 square meters. The ship made numerous transatlantic and round-the-world expeditions. Travel Club of Mikhail Kozhukhov provides unique opportunity not just visit Kruzenshtern, but go on a trip to.

Pamir is a multi-masted sailing vessel. At one time, multi-masted sailing ships, which received the unofficial name “flying “P”, gained worldwide popularity. This series of sailboats was built at the end of the 19th century by order of the German shipping company “F. Laeisz. Bark "Pamir" is one of them. The length of the vessel is 114.5 meters, the width is 14 meters, the displacement is 3,910 tons, the volume of the vessel is 3,020 RT, the sail area is 3,800 square meters.

Juan Sebastian de Elcano is a Spanish Navy training ship. It is used as a training base for cadets of the Naval Academy. Elcano is the largest of the world's training schooners. According to the type of sailing armament, “Elcano” refers to topsail (marseille) schooners, on the foremast it carries four straight sails and three oblique, on the remaining three masts - only oblique sails. The ship was designed and built at the shipyard "Echevarieta and Larinaga" in Cadiz, and launched on March 5, 1927. The schooner was named after Juan Sebastian de Elcano (1476-1526), ​​the first sailor to circumnavigate the world. The length of the vessel is 113 meters, the width is 13 meters, the displacement is 3,670 tons, the volume of the vessel is 2,464 RT, the sail area is 3,153 square meters.

Esmeralda is a training sailing ship of the Chilean Navy built in the middle of the 20th century. She was laid down at the Cadiz shipyard in 1946, and six years later the ship was sold to Chile as part of the repayment of Spain's debt to that country. On May 12, 1953, the ship was launched, and on June 15, 1954, the Chilean flag was raised. The length of the vessel is 113 meters, the width is 13 meters, the displacement is 3,673 tons, the volume of the vessel is 2,400 RT, the sail area is 2,935 square meters.

“Mir” is a three-masted training ship, a frigate according to the accepted classification of training ships, or a “ship” according to sailing equipment - a ship with full sailing equipment, which belongs to State University Sea and River Fleet named after Admiral S. O. Makarov (St. Petersburg), and since 2014 - to Rosmorport. Mir was built at the Gdansk shipyard in 1987. The length of the vessel is 109.6 meters, the draft is 6.6 meters, the total sail area is 2771 square meters, the height of the middle mast is 49.5 meters. Accommodates up to 200 people.

Nadezhda is a three-masted training ship. A ship with full sailing equipment, in the register is listed as a frigate. Currently, it belongs to the Federal State Unitary Enterprise of the Far Eastern Basin Branch "ROSMORPORT". The length of the vessel is 109.4 meters, width - 14 meters, displacement - 2,297 tons, sail area - 2,768 square meters.

Training sailing ship “Dar Molodezhi” is a Polish three-masted training sailing ship, frigate. It was built at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk and launched in 1982. The heir to the legendary sailing ships "Lwow" ("Lions") was launched in England in 1869, one of the first steel sailing ships. Length - 108.8 meters, width - 13.94 meters, displacement - 2,946 tons, vessel volume - 2,384 RT, total sail area - 3,015 square meters.

“Pallada” is a three-masted training ship (a vessel with full sailing equipment, in the register it is listed as a bark, in the press it is sometimes called a frigate), owned by the Far Eastern State Technical Fisheries University (Vladivostok). Length - 108.6 meters, width - 14 meters, displacement - 2,284 tons, total sail area - 2,771 square meters.

“Khersonesos” is a training three-masted frigate (a ship with full direct sailing armament), the training base of the Sevastopol branch of the State Maritime University named after. Admiral F.F. Ushakov (port of registry - Sevastopol). The length of the frigate is 108.6 meters, the width is 14 meters, the displacement is 2,987 tons, the total sail area is 2,770 square meters.

The Libertad is a training sailing vessel of the Argentine Navy. It was built in the 1950s at the Rio Santiago shipyard near La Plata and has become one of the largest sailing ships in the world. The first exit to the sea was made in 1962. Passed more than 800 thousand nautical miles (1.5 million kilometers), visited about 500 ports in more than 60 countries. The length of the vessel is 103.7 meters, the width is 13.8 meters, the displacement is 3,765 tons, the total sail area is 3,652 square meters.

Amerigo Vespucci is an Italian training sailing vessel. The three-deck sailboat “Amerigo Vespucci” is a reminiscence of a linear sailing steamer of the 50s-60s. XIX century. It was launched in February 1931 in Naples. The length of the vessel is 100.6 meters, the width is 15.56 meters, the displacement is 4,146 tons, the volume of the vessel is 3,545 RT, the total sail area is 2,580 square meters.

“Stadsraad Lemkul” is a three-masted Norwegian sailing ship, a barque, built in 1914. Assigned to the port of Bergen. It is the oldest and largest sailing ship in Norway. The length of the vessel is 98 meters, the width is 12.6 meters, the displacement is 1,516 tons, the volume of the vessel is 1,701 RT, the total sail area is 2,026 square meters.

We continue to replenish our piggy bank

Not so long ago it was reported that it was being tested. This is certainly interesting, but let's get back to the historical classic sailboats.

The human desire for scale and gigantism is due to different reasons. However, in recent times, more and more often this reason is a banal desire to stand out or become the owner of a record. Another thing is the times when sailing ships were the main type of maritime transport.

Today we will learn about the largest sailing ships in history. Moreover, we will measure in different ways and in different classes of ships.

The world's largest barque

The first place in size among the barges is the five-masted ship France II, launched back in 1912 and owned by France. A bark is a sailing vessel with a large (from three) number of masts, on which all the sails are straight, except for the stern. At the stern, the sails are slanting. The total length of the vessel "France II" was 146.2 meters. It set a considerable number of records for the speed of cargo delivery around the world. The ship sailed for 9 years, until in 1922 it ran aground off the coast of New Caledonia and was abandoned there. Later, the ship was finally destroyed during an American pilot exercise in 1944. In France, there is even a foundation that plans to restore the ship and return it to its homeland.

It was an extremely large sailing ship. The hull of the ship and its five masts were made of steel. The total sail area was 6350 m². The interior of the ship could satisfy even the most demanding taste: there was a large piano room, a photo lab, a library and several luxury cabins. In addition to a significant carrying capacity, the ship allowed wealthy passengers to travel in comfort and luxury.

The world's largest schooner

But the largest schooner was created in the USA in 1902. Moreover, the ship "Thomas W. Lawson" is the only one in history that had as many as seven masts. A schooner is a sailing vessel with two or more masts, the sails on which are all oblique. The maximum length of the ship "Thomas W. Lawson" is only 2 meters and 20 centimeters less than the record holder. The ship sailed safely with bulk cargo between the US and Canada for more than five years. And then he went on his first and last voyage across the Atlantic. The ship was twice caught in a storm and ran into the coastal rocks. 17 crew members out of 19 were killed. It happened off the coast of England.

The largest sailing ship in operation

Of the sailing ships currently in operation, the Royal Clipper is the largest in the world. It was built in 2000 and is a cruise ship with a capacity of 227 passengers. The ship belongs to Luxembourg, although it was built in Poland and Germany. The maximum length of the vessel is 133.8 meters. The ship sails in the Mediterranean in summer and in the Caribbean in winter. During the off-season it runs through Atlantic Ocean.

The largest in the history of barquentine

The largest barquentine in history is the functioning Spanish ship "Juan Sebastián de Elcano". It was built back in 1927 and is still successfully sailing the sea. Of course, the ship was several times overhauled. However, its dimensions and main features remained the same. This four-masted ship with a forward straight sail and all the rest slanted (signs of a barquentine) is a considerable 113 meters long.

The world's largest yacht

And finally, we have the largest yacht in the world. We are not going to resolve this dispute, since there is still a competition between the Eos and Maltese Falcon yachts, which ship is the largest. We start from the maximum length data. And in this dispute, it is the Eos that wins due to the longer 10-meter bowsprit. The total length of this giant is 92.92 meters.

What else can be added to this list, well, for example:

British steamship Great Eastern (Great Eastern) - the original name of the Leviathan. The design of the vessel belongs to Isambard Brunel. The Great Eastern was launched in 1858, and until the very end of the 19th century it was not only the largest sailing ship, which, by the way, the ship is to this day, but also the most big ship in the world. The Great Eastern could carry up to 4,000 passengers and was many times larger than all existing ships of that time.

An interesting fact is that the 6 matches of the ship were named according to the days of the week - from Monday to Saturday.

Here is another sailing vessel Club Med 2 (ClubMed 2). The ship belongs to the French travel company ClubMed. The five-masted ship was launched in Le Havre (France) in 1992.

Club Med 2 is one of the largest sailing cruise ships in the world, cruising the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas in summer and the Caribbean in winter.

The bulk carrier Aqua City, built by the Surumi shipyard in Japan for Aqua City Maritime, is in fourth place today. The ship is 180 meters long and 26.30 meters wide. The vessel was created in 1980. Since 1990, the ship has changed owners and renamed several times. Now it is called Merida.

Uzuki Pioneer (Usuki Pioneer) is a Japanese bulk carrier with a combined engine and sails. Successfully worked from 1985 to 1995. Used to transport timber and grain. The length of the ship is 162.5 meters.

In 1995, the ship's sailing center was dismantled due to high maintenance costs and the need for frequent repairs.

10

It was the largest sailing ship of its time. It had four full decks (the upper one was flush with the sides, as later on some ships). According to the project, he had to have a huge cargo capacity, while maintaining, in order to reduce costs, the usual crew size.

Unfortunately, before the first voyage to Britain, as a result of a fire, the ship burned out to the waterline and sank. After being raised and restored, it lost its upper deck, the area of ​​sails and the volume of cargo spaces were reduced. The crew (130 people) was reduced by half. The Great Republic went through several owners until, during a storm in March 1872, she was wrecked and sank.

9

The last five-masted barque, built in 1921 by the Scottish shipyard Ramage and Ferguson by order of the Danish East Asia Company after the First World War in Copenhagen. On December 14, 1928, with 16 regular crew members and 45 cadets on board, he left Buenos Aires and headed southeast. The ship had to reach Australia in ballast, where it would receive the cargo - wheat - and deliver it to Europe.

On December 21, the last communication session with the sailboat took place, since December 22 the ship has not been in contact and has since been considered missing. What caused his death - a sudden squall or a collision with an iceberg - remained unknown.

8

Huge five-masted barque. It became the first sailing ship in history, whose tonnage exceeded 4000 gross register tons.

7

One of the largest barques of its time. France was preparing to host the World Exhibition in Paris, dedicated to the entry of the world into the coming 20th century.

A colossal steel tower had already been built - a symbol of the triumph of technological progress; later it will be called by the name of the builder Eiffel. Another such symbol, demonstrating the wide possibilities of metal, was to be the new French steel sailboat. The new sailboat and the giant tower were equally talked about.

6

A five-masted four-star cruising sailing ship built in the image and likeness of Prussia (1902-1910). It was designed by Zygmunt Horen, a Polish specialist in ship devices, entered service in 2000 and, being the longest sailing ship in the world, can accommodate 227 passengers. The ship can reach speeds of up to 20 knots.

5

The six-masted 125-meter double-deck schooner, built mainly from Canadian pine, is the height of perfection in wooden shipbuilding.

This is the world's largest and the only all-wood vessel in our top ten giants, which is of particular interest to both shipbuilders and sailors.

4

The only seven-masted ship in the world. It was launched from the slipways of the For River in Quincy in 1902. The famous shipowner Deon Crowley had a great desire to create the largest sailing ship in the world, as a result of which he was the inspirer and author of the idea of ​​​​building this giant.

Almost all the time, the sailboat was operated on the same line and transported more than one thousand tons of coal and other bulk cargo between the USA and Canada. However, in 1907 it was chartered by an oil company to transport oil products across the Atlantic Ocean. The vessel with full holds of barrels of oil products set off on its first and tragically last transatlantic voyage.

3

Merchant ship, five-masted barque. Like all ships built by AG Rickmers, the hull was traditionally painted green. Below the waterline - red.

Given that the ship was equipped with a steam engine, it did not appear on the lists of the largest sailing ships in Germany, despite the fact that since 1914 it has occupied one of the leading places in terms of size and displacement. Some sailors jokingly called it a sailing steamer. The maximum carrying capacity was 7,900 tons. To increase the carrying capacity, even the coal bunker was reduced.

2

French five-masted barque. It is considered one of the largest sailing ships in the history of shipbuilding. Laid down at the Chantiers et Ateliers de la Gironde shipyards in Bordeaux in 1911.

During the Second World War, in 1944, the ship, which until that time was aground, came under the sight of an American bomber and was destroyed during a bombing exercise.

1

Five-masted sailing ship with an all-steel hull. It was the largest straight-sail ship in the world and the only five-masted sailing ship of this class in the world merchant fleet.

In 1910, Prussia collided with another ship while on a voyage with cargo for Chile and eventually sank.