Bomb vessel
A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing
Development
The first recorded deployment of bomb vessels by the English was for the
The French design was copied by the
Early bomb vessels were rigged as ketches with two masts. They were awkward vessels to handle, in part because bomb ketches typically had the masts stepped farther aft than would have been normal in other vessels of similar rig, in order to accommodate the mortars forward and provide a clear area for their forwards fire. As a result, by the 1800s British bomb vessels were designed as full-rigged ships with three masts, and two mortars, one between each neighboring pair of masts.[8] The full rig also meant that bomb vessels could be used as escort sloops between bombardment missions; in 1805 the Acheron bomb along with the Arrow sloop were both lost in a defence [citation needed] of their convoy. Bomb vessels often had the front rigging made of chain, to better withstand the muzzle blast of the mortars.[3]
Mortars were the only kind of naval armament to fire explosive shells rather than solid shot until the invention of the Paixhans gun. Since it was considered dangerous to have large stocks of shells on board the ships that were firing them, and because the reinforced mortar platforms occupied so much space below decks, bomb vessels were usually accompanied by a tender to carry ammunition as well as the ordnance officers in charge of firing the mortars. However, as naval warfare became more advanced, bomb ships were also accompanied by frigates to protect them from direct assault by faster, smaller vessels.
Bomb vessels were traditionally named after volcanoes, or given other names suggestive of explosive qualities. Some were also given names associated with the underworld. Vessels of other types which were later converted to bomb ships generally retained their original names.
Bomb vessels were highly specialized and expensive to fit out and maintain, and only marginally suited for their secondary role as
Although horizontal fire naval guns propelling explosive shells had entered all major navies by the 1840s (see
Notable bomb vessels and actions
- The bomb vessels Racehorse and Carcass were further strengthened for an expedition of discovery to the North Pole in the 1770s. The uncompleted expedition included a young Horatio Nelson.[10]
- Bomb vessels Discovery, Explosion, Hecla, Sulphur, Terror (1784), Volcano, and Zebra participated in the First Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.[11]
- Thunder, Vesuvius, Aetna, and Zebra participated in the Second Battle of Copenhagen in 1807.[12]
- Thunder and Aetna additionally participated in the Battle of the Basque Roads in 1808 (this action was also notable for including three rocket vessels in support of the bombs).[13]
- The "bombs bursting in air" recorded by Francis Scott Key at the Battle of Baltimore in 1814 were provided by the Volcano, Meteor, Devastation, Aetna, and a new Terror.[14]
- Another Hecla and her sister ship Fury were used by William Edward Parry on a series of voyages to the Arctic between 1819 and 1827.
- During the Battle of Veracruz in 1838, the bomb vessels Cyclope and Vulcain fired most of the shells used by the French, and scored decisive hits on Mexican ammunition depots.
- Sir John Franklin's lost expeditionof 1845.
In fiction
In a fictionalized account, war correspondent, author, and yachtsman G. A. Henty describes in vivid detail the deployment of ten bomb-ketches by the Spanish besiegers during the final period of the siege of Gibraltar.[15]
In The Ramage Touch by Dudley Pope (published 1979), Captain Lord Ramage and the crew of the frigate Calypso capture two bomb ketches, which they subsequently use to thwart a French invasion plan in the Mediterranean. Like the Hornblower books, The Ramage Touch describes in great detail the technical aspects of employing a bomb vessel during the Napoleonic era.
In H.M.S. Cockerell by Dewey Lambdin (published 1995), First Lieutenant Alan Lewrie is set ashore by his vindictive captain, for 'land service' during the siege of Toulon. There Admiral Goodall gives him a bomb ketch, which he commands for several weeks until it is blown out of the water and sunk by a young Colonel of artillery named Buonaparte.
See also
References
- ^ Royal Artillery Institution, ed. (1894). "Journal of the Royal Artillery". Journal of the Royal Artillery. 21. Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution: 31.
- ^ ISBN 0-7509-1972-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84511-694-1.
- ISBN 978-1-57356-557-8.
- ISBN 9781848321878.
- ^ Encyclopédie des gens du monde, par une société de savans. 1834. p. 661.
- ^ Augustin Jal (1848). Glossaire nautique: répertoire polyglotte de termes de marine anciens et modernes. Firmin Didot frères. p. 306.
- ISBN 978-1-55750-209-4.
- ISBN 978-1-57356-557-8.
- ^ Southey, Robert (2001) [1813]. The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson. Starkville, MS: HTA Press.
- ^ James Vol 3, pp. 49–64.
- ^ James Vol 4, pp. 204–211.
- ^ James Vol 4, pp. 410–422.
- ^ James Vol 6, pp. 190–192.
- ^ George A. Henty, Held Fast for England: a tale of the siege of Gibraltar (1779-83) (London: Blackie, 1892) downloaded from the Internet Archive
Further reading
- James, William (1902) [1837]. The naval history of Great Britain (1800–1805). Vol. 3 (New six volume ed.). London: Macmillan.
- James, William (1902) [1837]. The naval history of Great Britain (1805–1809). Vol. 4 (New six volume ed.). London: Macmillan.
- James, William (1902) [1837]. The naval history of Great Britain (1813–1827). Vol. 6 (New six volume ed.). London: Macmillan.
- ISBN 1-59114-611-9.
- Ware, Chris (1994). The Bomb Vessel. London: Conway Maritime Press Ltd. ISBN 1-55750-071-1.
External links
Media related to Bomb vessels at Wikimedia Commons- Naval History of Great Britain by William James, on pbenyon (archived 21 July 2008)
