USS Monitor in action with CSS Virginia, 9 March 1862 by J.O. Davidson

Both survived because they were so heavily armoured their opponent’s guns couldn’t penetrate.

#Ironclads #USNavy #AmericanCivilWar

Hawke's fleet at Spithead in 1759 by American artist Mark Myers

They will go on to defeat the French at the battle of Quiberon Bay, the most decisive naval engagement before Nelson, fought in a gale on a dangerous lee shore.

#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Sevenyearswar

The latest issue of Quarterdeck is out. It’s free and can be found by following this link.

#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #AmReading

Grand Harbour Valetta in Malta – photo c1863

I’m just back from a research trip to Malta for my next book. Grand Harbour's defences seems little changed, although cruise ships now take the place of the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet.

#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Malta

New York City Docks - c1900s photo taken by Paul W Faust

Most of the world’s great ports would have looked similar at the time, with forests of masts.

#Ageofsail #NewYork #ships

The Down Easter Henry B. Hyde, San Francisco Bay, by American artist Christopher Blossom.

She looks to be passing the place where the Golden Gate will one day be built.

#Ageofsail #Sea #ships

The Rescue by 19th century Russian artist Ivan Aivazovsky

#Ageofsail #Sea #ships

Príncipe Real arriving in Guanabara Bay in 1808 by Geoff Hunt

She has just crossed the Atlantic to Brazil accompanied by a Royal Navy squadron. On board are the Portuguese royal family going into exile after their country had been occupied by Napoleon’s troops.

#Ageofsail #Napoleon #RoyalNavy

The whaleship Essex leaving Nantucket, August 12th, 1819, by New Zealand artist Anthony D Blake

The following year she will be sunk in the Pacific by a sperm whale, providing the inspiration behind Herman Melville’s Moby Dick

#Ageofsail #InTheHeartoftheSea #whaling

Three-masted ship off the coast of Crete by German marine artist Michael Diemer

Diemer, a Bavarian, was brought up far from the sea, but developed a strong interest in ships. He benefitted as a united Germany looked to the sea in the second half of the 19th century.

#Ageofsail #sailing #sea

The Clipper Lightning by British marine artist Montague Dawson

Dawson was a keen yachtsman who served in the Royal Navy. This gives his work a real-world authenticity.

#Ageofsail #sailing #sea

Released Worldwide today – the audio book of Clay and the Sublime Porte.

“Twelve titles into the series, Alexander Clay rates with the greatest heroes in historical naval fiction.” Review in Quarterdeck Magazine

#AmReading #AlexanderClay #RoyalNavy

This year’s heatwave and drought in Europe has caused historically low water levels on the River Danube, exposing over 200 German wrecks scuttled in 1944 by the retreating Germans, including this warship.

#GermanNavy #Diving #WW2

Droits De L'Homme by Steven Dews

In 1797, during a gale off Britany, two British frigates (Edward Pellew’s Indefatigable and the Amazon) outmanoeuvred and drove onto the rocks the much bigger French 74 Droits de l'Homme. The Amazon (in the background) was wrecked as well.

#FrenchNavy #RoyalNavy

On this day in 1945 - Royal Navy heavy cruiser HMS Sussex was struck by a kamikaze near the Dutch East Indies. It failed to penetrate the ship's belt armour, leaving only an imprint on the hull.

Posted by the US Naval Institute

#RoyalNavy #WW2 #JapaneseNavy

San Francisco in 1849

An early photo showing the harbour choked with ships unable to leave because their crews have abandoned them to join the gold rush.
The remains of these ships often turn up during building work in areas of the city reclaimed from the bay.

#California #LostShips #Ageofsail

The Swedish ship Vasa.
She sank shortly after launch in 1628, but thanks to the conditions in the Baltic, which is tide free and has brackish water, her hull was almost perfectly preserved when raised in 1961.

#SwedishNavy #Stockholm #Ageofsail