These Royal Navy gun brigs were specifically designed and built to harass the French (and their allies) during the Napoleonic Wars along vulnerable European coastlines. Depicting this heavily-armed small vessel over a map of the English Channel seemed very appropriate to me. The 1:64-scale brig is a top-quality Vanguard Models kit of their "HM Adder." Researching this vessel I learned that dozens of these small, shallow draft warships were cranked-out to specifically harass the French. They employed two drop keels that minimized rolling and leeway on open waters. Once near a shoreline (the draft was as little as 3'9" at the bow), they were maneuvered with oars that would allow the crew to position them to fire on enemy ships as well as create harassment on nearby shores. They were commanded by lieutenants, not post-captains and featured small crews. The armaments included twelve 18-pounder carronades and two bow-facing 24 pound long guns. To bring the devastating long guns into action, tactics also included dropping anchor and affixing a "spring;" a rope with one end tied to the anchor and the opposite end hauled by the crew in order to swing the cannon at the bow into better firing positions. The gun brigs were economical (not made of oak), fast to build and were also employed as merchant and troop ship escorts.
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