Wolfe-class ship of the line
;_Wolfe_(cancelled_1831)_RMG.ZAZ0138.jpg) 1815 lines of Wolfe and Canada
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Wolfe-class ship of the line |
| Builders | Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | HMS St Lawrence |
| Built | 1814–1815 |
| Planned | 2 |
| Cancelled | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | First-rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 2,152 40⁄94 (bm) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 50 ft 8 in (15.4 m) |
| Depth of hold | 18 ft 4 in (5.6 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Armament |
|
The Wolfe-class ship of the line was a 112-gun
Background and design
Throughout the War of 1812 America and Britain fought for control of the strategically important Great Lakes.[Note 1] As both sides looked to defeat the other an arms race took place in the construction of warships. This escalated quickly, increasing from 20-gun corvettes like HMS Montreal to 56-gun frigates like HMS Psyche.[2] Early vessels on the Great Lakes had been built very shallowly to avoid the numerous shoals and bars, but this negatively affected their sailing characteristics. The new warships built by the Royal Navy prioritised speed and firepower instead and so were deeper than their forebears, although still shallower than conventional sea-going ships of their types.[3][4]
The Royal Navy warships built on the Great Lakes during the war were necessarily adapted in their designs for service in the unique location, but embraced modern design features that the Royal Navy had developed for its sea-going fleet as well. They used the newly fashionable flat sheers and wall sides in their designs, and were flush decked with minimal stern gallerys.[3]
The arms race continued, and culminated in the construction of
Despite much controversy over the design, St Lawrence was completed in October 1814.[6][3] As soon as she was ready for sea the ship tilted the balance of power on Lake Ontario towards the British to such a degree that the American squadron ended its operations on the lake and anchored at Sackets where it stayed for the rest of the war, only performing minor patrols with its smaller warships.[7][8]
The arms race on the Great Lakes continued after the construction of St Lawrence, and the American shipyards began a first rate construction program of their own. Two 120-gun ships of the line,
Construction and armament
Wolfe and Canada were both ordered in 1814 to be built at
The Wolfe-class ships were laid down to hold 112
Cancellation
| Ship name | Builder | Ordered | Laid down | Suspended | Cancelled | Fate | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolfe | Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard | 1814 | 1814 | 1815 | 1831 | Destroyed by storm 31 July 1832 | [6] |
| Canada | 1832 | Broken up |
When the War of 1812 ended in February 1815 the arms race on the Great Lakes abruptly stopped and the need for more ships was removed.[6][10] The two Wolfe-class ships were not finished, but their wooden frames had been completed. The Royal Navy commander on Lake Ontario, Commodore Sir James Yeo, cancelled several ongoing shipbuilding projects in around late February, but ordered that work on Wolfe and Canada be continued.[15][16] Construction was suspended rather than cancelled in March, and the shipbuilding facilities at the dockyard were reduced.[6][10][17] Had the war continued into 1816 all five first rates constructed on the Great Lakes would have been completed, leading to what historian Donald R. Hickey describes as "five of the most powerful warships in the world...concentrated within thirty-five miles of each other...on an inland lake with no access to the sea".[18]
In 1817 the Rush-Bagot Agreement was signed, severely limiting the number of warships the two sides could keep on the lakes, with only one each allowed on Lake Ontario.[19] The various naval facilities on the lakes became at most supply depots. This left the Royal Navy's part-built warships in ship graveyards.[10] The frames of Wolfe and Canada were left on the stocks at Kingston for another fifteen years and never completed.[6][10][20] In the 1830s the dockyard began to be dispersed with. Wolfe was officially cancelled in 1831 and Canada followed her in 1832. The frame of Wolfe was then destroyed in a storm on 31 July, and Canada was broken up on the stocks.[6][10]
Notes and citations
Notes
- North America Station.[1]
Citations
- ^ Gardiner (1999), p. 88.
- ^ Gardiner (1999), pp. 88–90.
- ^ a b c d e f g Gardiner (1999), p. 89.
- ^ Malcolmson (2001), p. 112.
- ^ Malcolmson (2001), pp. 110–112.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Winfield (2008), p. 30.
- ^ Malcolmson (1998), pp. 308–309.
- ^ Bamford (2007), p. 91.
- ^ Bamford (2007), p. 127.
- ^ a b c d e f Malcolmson (2001), p. 113.
- ^ Malcolmson (1997), p. 426.
- ^ Bamford (2007), p. 133.
- ^ Malcolmson (1998), p. 327.
- ^ Bamford (2007), p. 159.
- ^ Malcolmson (1998), p. 312.
- ^ Malcolmson (1998), p. 319.
- ^ Houghton (2017), p. 20.
- ^ Hickey (2012), p. 195.
- ^ Bamford (2007), p. 128.
- ^ Bamford (2007), p. 92.
References
- Bamford, Don (2007). Freshwater Heritage: A History of Sail on the Great Lakes, 1670–1918. Toronto: National Heritage Books. ISBN 978-1-897045-206.
- Gardiner, Robert (1999). Warships of the Napoleonic Era. London: Chatham. ISBN 1-86176-117-1.
- ISBN 978-0-252-07837-8.
- Houghton, John (2017). The Navies of the World 1835–1840. Melbourne: Inkifingus. ISBN 978-0-646-57760-9.
- Malcolmson, Robert (1997). "HMS St Lawrence: The Freshwater First-Rate". The International Quarterly Journal of the Society for Nautical Research. 83 (4): 419–433. .
- Malcolmson, Robert (1998). Lords of the Lake: The Naval War on Lake Ontario, 1812–1814. London: Chatham. ISBN 1-86176-112-0.
- Malcolmson, Robert (2001). "Part II: War on the Great Lakes". In Robert Gardiner (ed.). The Naval War of 1812. London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-3605.
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-78346-926-0.