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Sunday, May 31, 2009

Some datapoints: 1636, 1641, and 1645

We have three good lists from 1630's and 1640's. One is from 1636, from Dr. Graefe's book De Kapiteinsjaren van Maerten Harpertszoon Tromp (1938). Another is from a list dated 1641 of Amsterdam ships and captains. The third is the list of Witte de With's fleet in 1645. There is also some useful information in Dr. De Boer's book Tromp en de Armada van 1639. The question is always, "are these the same ship?"

Thursday, May 28, 2009

I wish that I knew more about the Spanish Dunkirkers

Since a great many of the Dutch naval operations in the 1620 to 1640's involved the Spanish Dunkirkers, I would like to know more about the men and ships that operated from Dunkirk and Ostende. This Wikipedia article has some nice background information but no specifics.

Monday, May 25, 2009

In 1629, there were many 5pdr and 10pdr guns in the Dutch service

We are used to seeing the gun calibers that were used by the Dutch after 1648. These were mostly 3pdr, 4pdr, 6pdr, 8pdr, 12pdr, 18pdr, 24pdr, and a few 36pdr guns. In 1629, there were many 5pdr and 10pdr guns in service. For example, the Goude Raven carried 4-10pdr and 10-5pdr as part of its armament. There were also a few 15pdr and 20pdr guns used in the Dutch service.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Estimating dimensions for old Dutch ships

The ship lists of old Dutch ships only give the size in lasts. I have been running wild, estimating dimensions for the ships, mostly prior to 1648, for which I have not seen dimensions. I have gun lists for many of the ships, so I have the basis for wargame pieces with the estimated dimensions and gun lists. One issue is that many of the published last figures are incorrect for the ships like the Brederode.

Friday, May 08, 2009

My Sevenwolden wargame piece

This is my wargame piece for the Friesland ship Sevenwolden (38 guns) that served in 1653 and was sunk at the Battle of Scheveningen on 10 August 1653.

Sunday, May 03, 2009

A small English warship, circa 1652

This represents my first attempt in several years to make an English ship wargame piece. The ship is 100ft long on the gun deck. A representative ship would be the Hector, taken from the Royalists in 1644 and sold out of the service in 1656. The specifications for this ship are (as estimated):
Ship: Hector, 5th Rate prize
22-30 guns
LGD: 100ft
LK:   80ft
Beam: 25ft
Hold: 10ft
LK x B x D:         200 tons
LK x B x D x (4/3): 266 tons
LK x B x (B/2)/94 : 265-45/47 tons (burden)

Guns probably sakers (5-1/4pdr) and minions (4pdr) 
 (say 16-sakers and 8 minions)

I am in desperate need of better gun information for English ships in 1652 to 1654, if someone has some better information). I would settle for some representative gun lists.

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