uss frolick

TOMPIONS, LONG GUNS: "Tompions, One diameter of the bore of the piece in Length, and one tenth less than the diameter of the piece in diameter, with a gradual swell, one third the diameter of the bore of the piece towards the head. To be made of white pine wood with a hole three tenths of an inch through the center lengthwise. Caliber/Length in inches, tenths of an inch / Diameter Inches, tenths of an inch 42 Pdr, 7, 0 / 6, 9 32 " 6, 4 / 6, 3 24 " 5, 8 / 5, 7 18 " 5, 3 / 5, 2 12 " 4, 7 / 4, 6 9 " 4, 2 / 4, 1 6 " 3, 7 / 3, 6" TWINE, LONG GUNS: "Twine, Twine sufficient to sew and sieze the bag of a stand of grape, nineteen times the diameter of the bore of the piece in length, part whipping and part sewing twine. Caliber / Length in feet, inches, tenths of an inch 42 Pdr, 11, 1, 0 32 " 10, 1, 6 24 " 9, 2 , 2 18 " 8, 4, 7 12 " 7, 5, 3 9 " 6, 7, 8 6 " 5, 10, 3" The above calculations are made on the caliber being as follows, Viz, 42 Pdr, seven inches 32 Pdr, six inches and four tenths 24 Pdr, five inches and eight tenths 18 Pdr, five inches and three tenths 12 Pdr, four inches and seven tenths 9 Pdr, four inches and two tenths 6 Pdr, 3 inches and seven tenths and the shot, two tenths of an inch less than the bore of the piece. The rules for breechings, blocks, Hooks, and thimbles, and tackle falls are not sufficiently accurate to have them made by but by adding or diminishing a few tenths accordingly to the discretions of the gunner, they will answer the purpose. The passing boxes are intended to hold one cartridge."

SOCKETS FOR THE WORM, LONG GUNS: "Sockets of the worms, The socket one diameter of the bore of the piece in length" Caliber/ Length in Inches, Tenths of an inch 42 Pdr, 7, 0 32 " 6, 4 24 " 5, 8 18 " 5, 3 12 " 4, 7 9 " 4, 2 6 " 3, 7 SHANKS OF THE WORMS, LONG GUNS: Shanks of the worms: The shanks two thirds of the diameter of the bore of the piece in length. Caliber/ Length in Inches, Tenths of an inch 42 Pdr, 4, 6 32 " 4, 2 24 " 3, 8 18 " 3, 4 12 " 3, 0 9 " 2, 8 6 " 2, 4 STAFFS OF THE WORMS, LONG GUNS: "Staffs for worms, Three diameters of the bore of the piece, longer than the bore of the piece. One fourth the diameter of the bore of the piece in diameter. To be made of Ashe Wood." Caliber/Length in feet, inches / Diameter Inches, tenths of an inch 42 Pdr, 11, 8 / 1, 7 32 " 10, 8 / 1, 6 24 " 9, 8 / 1, 4 18 " 8, 10 / 1, 3 12 " 7, 10 / 1, 2 9 " 7, 0 / 1, 0 6 " 6, 2 / 0, 9"

BITT SCREWS, LONG GUN: "Gun Furniture Continued. Bitt Screw, The screw to be two thirds the diameter of the bore of the piece in Length Two thirds of an inch in diameter. To be made of German Steel. Caliber/ Length in Inches, Tenths of an inch / Diameter in the Clear, Inches 42 Pdr, 4, 6 / 2 32 " 4, 2 / 2 24 " 3, 8 / 2 18 " 3, 4 / 2 12 " 3, 0 / 2 9 " 2, 8 / 2 6 " 2, 4 / 2 " BITT HANDLES, LONG GUN: "Bitt Handles The handles, two thirds the diameter of the bore of the piece in length To be made of seasoned oak, in the shape of a butchers steel handle The bitt is to come through the handle and rivit on the upper part Let the rivit be countersunk, with a copper firuly [A Ferrule, perhaps ? This is a metal ring or cap used to strengthen a slender wooden pole] on the lower part of the handle.] Caliber/ Length in Inches, Tenths of an inch 42 Pdr, 4, 6 32 " 4, 2 24 " 3, 8 18 " 3, 4 12 " 3, 0 9 " 2, 8 6 " 2, 4 " WORMS, LONG GUN: "Worms, The same diameter as the shot of the piece One and three fourths the diameter of the bore of the piece in length Caliber/ Length in Inches, Tenths of an inch / Diameter in the Clear, Inches, Tenths 42 Pdr, 5, 1 / 6, 8 32 " 4, 8 / 6, 2 24 " 4, 2 / 5, 6 18 " 3, 9 / 5, 1 12 " 3, 6 / 4, 5 9 " 3, 0/ 4, 0 6 " 2, 7 / 3, 5"

Next page. This document is not bound, nor are the pages numbered. I am listing them in the order given to me twenty years ago. Since all the Gun's dimensions are listed together separately from the Carronade's, I will assume that this is still in some logical order. SPONGE BLOCK, LONG GUN: [Note: NOT Sponge Bob!] "Sponges, Blocks, The same diameter of the shot of the caliber below the caliber [of the piece]. [if ] the sponge is intended [to be] Viz. a 32-pounders sponge, [then the] blocks ought to be the diameter of a 24 pounder shot. One and two thirds the diameter the diameter of the bore of the piece in length. To be made of a poplar wood with a secret worms. [i don't know what a 'secret worm' is, but the carronade's sponge block doesn't have one. Maybe he's a friend of Sponge Bob.] Caliber/ Length in Inches, Tenths of an inch / Diameter in the Clear, Inches, Tenths 42 Pdr, 11, 6 / 6, 2 32 " 10, 6 / 5, 6 24 " 9, 6 / 5, 1 18 " 8, 7 / 4, 5 12 " 8, 7 / 4, 0 9 " 7, 0 / 3, 5 6 " 6, 1 / 3, 2" SPONGE STAFF, LONG GUN: "Sponges, Staffs, Three diameters of the bore of the piece longer than the bore of the piece [in Length - important omission!] One fourth the Diameter of the bore of the piece in Diameter. To be made of Ashe Wood. Caliber/Length in feet, inches / Diameter Inches, tenths of an inch 42 Pdr, 11, 8 / 1, 7 32 " 10, 8 / 1, 6 24 " 9, 8 / 1, 4 18 " 8, 10 / 1, 3 12 " 7, 10 / 1, 2 9 " 7, 0 / 1, 0 6 " 6, 2 / 0, 9" [Note: Above Identical to rammer staff dimensions, except for 6 pounders.] SPIKES FOR TOMPIONS, LONG GUN: [i'm not sure what this is ... Perhaps the tompion was hammered so hard in place to keep the water out, that they needed a chisel to remove it?] "Spikes, for Tompions, One and a half the diameter of the bore of the piece in Length. One eighth the diameter of the bore of the piece in Diameter, with a smooth round head a narrow chisel end, a little turned up." Caliber/ Length in Inches, Tenths of an inch / Diameter in the Clear, Inches, Tenths 42 Pdr, 10, 5 / 9, 0 32 " 9, 6 / 8, 0 24 " 8, 7 / 7, 0 18 " 7, 9 / 6, 0 12 " 7, 0 / 6, 0 9 " 6, 3/ 5, 0 6 " 5, 5 / 5, 0"

I found this document in the National Archives, "Record Group 45,, Office of Naval records and Library, Subject File, 1775-1910." Specifically in "Box Number 139", while researching my Johnston Blakeley biography. Since it looked kinda cool, I had a copy made. Good thing I did, because I don't believe such a document appears in print elsewhere. The documents' full title is "Dimensions of Gun Furniture by Caliber and Length of the Gun, 1821-24." The authors name is not recorded. It is very long, and I almost regret volunteering to transpose it here. But the information is very useful for ship modeling, especially in larger scales. It is divided up separately for long-gun and carronades. Although it is dated 1821-24, I believe it is applicable for all navies, plus or minus at least a generation, probably more. Note on the Staff Table below. They have assumed a length for a standard long gun of the period, but long guns vary greatly in length, and since the staff length is a function of the bore, the staff will be unique to that gun. (Example: There were long nine-pounders that vary in length from five feet long to nine feet long, and the staff must be long enough to push the charge all the way back). I will be copying one page at a time, as time allows. Here it goes RAMMERS, LONG GUNS: "Rammer Heads: The Same Diameter of the Shot. One and one half the diameter of the Bore of the piece in Length. To be made of seasoned oak. With a score to receive a copper [feruly ? [A Ferrule, perhaps? This is a metal ring or cap used to strengthen a slender wooden pole] on the end next to the staff, and another for a seizing. Caliber/ Length in Inches, Tenths of an inch / Diameter Inches, Tenths 42 Pdr, 10, 5 / 6, 8 32 " 9, 6 / 6, 2 24 " 8, 7 / 5, 6 18 " 7, 9 / 5, 1 12 " 7, 0 / 4, 5 9 " 6, 3/ 4, 0 6 " 5, 5 / 3, 5 Rammers, Staff: Three diameters of the bore of the piece longer than the bore of the piece, one fourth of the bore of the piece in diameter. To be made of Ashe Wood. Caliber/Length in feet, inches / Diameter Inches, tenths of an inch 42 Pdr, 11, 8 / 1, 7 32 " 10, 8 / 1, 6 24 " 9, 8 / 1, 4 18 " 8, 10 / 1, 3 12 " 7, 10 / 1, 2 9 " 7, 0 / 1, 0 6 " 6, 2 / 0, 8" Also on the same page, PASSING BOXES, LONG GUNS: "Passing Boxes Two diameters of the bore of the piece in length and the diameter of the bore of the piece in the clear. To be made of leather, three parts, tanned [?]. They are to be slung with green hide, laid up as a piece of rattling. the cover to overlap two-fifths, the diameter of the bore of the piece. To be rivitted with copper rivits with a piece of poplar wood half an inch thick fixed in the bottom. Caliber/ Length in Inches, Tenths of an inch / Diameter in the Clear, Inches, Tenths 42 Pdr, 14, 0 / 7, 0 32 " 12, 8 / 6, 4 24 " 11, 6 / 5, 8 18 " 10, 6 / 5, 3 12 " 9, 4 / 4, 7 9 " 8, 4/ 4, 2 6 " 7, 4 / 3, 7"

There is no link to share, but I have a full paper copy of the original. As time allows, I'll transpose it here. I assume the 1820 American Navy rules would do just fine for RN ships 1770-ish.

I have just such a handwritten document for the US Navy, circa 1820 for both "guns" and "carronades" . (Chorus: "Jeez Frolick, is there anything you don't have?") But it is too long to transpose it here, at least for now. Is there one item specifically that you're looking for? Here's an example for match tubs: Carronades: "Match tubs: One and one half diameter of the bore of the piece in height; Two diameters of the bore of the piece is the diameter of the bottom; One and a half the diameter of the bore of the piece is the head; to have two iron hoops; the head sunk one inch in with the holes in it; the staves to be made of oak; head and bottom of pine." Then there is a little table listed out to "tenths of an inch". 24-pounder Carronade tubs, for example, would be: " Height 8 inches, 7 tenths; Diameter of head 8 inches, 7 tenths; Diameter of bottom 11 inches, 6 tenths." I believe the 24-pounder's bore diameter is about 5 1/4 inches. For long-guns match-tubs, the formula is different: "Match Tubs: One and three fourths the diameter of the bore of the piece in height Two and one fifth the bore of the diameter of the piece is the diameter of the bottom One and three fourths the diameter of the bore of the piece is the diameter of the head. To be made of oak staves, the head and bottom of pine; 3 iron hoops; the head sunk in one inch, with three holes in it." I assume that the carronade match-tubs would have had three holes also, even though is wasn't mentioned. Therefore, from a separate table, a long 24-pounder's match tub would have been: "Diameter of the head 10 inches, 0 tenths; Diameter of the bottom 12 inches, 7 tenths; Height 10 inches, 0 tenths."

A scuttle opening that large on one side of the deck, but not on the other, and so close to a hatch corner, just seems structurally wrong. Assuming that the helmsman is right handed, then what shallow round object, otherwise in need of protective covering, might he need to grab quickly from a handy locker with his left hand, but not take his right hand from the helm?

That makes sense. Although a stretched 20-gun Cruiser would have looked really cool ...

I was re-reading William James's "Naval Occurances ..." (1817) today, and he mentions on page 351 in his discussion of the Peacock/Epervier and Wasp/Reindeer/Avon fights, that one Cruiser Brig, HMS Primrose, was built 8 feet longer than the rest of her class. But all modern references for Primrose's design describe her as a standard Cruiser. But James was usually spot on with his technical analysis, albeit a tad Ameriphobic in his conclusions. I wonder if they just enlarged her amidships and gave her an extra port per side?

The book is in French - a language that I do not speak - but it is one of the most informative books in my library due to the excellent large color photographs. I bought Volume One, ten years ago, and it is masterful in its own right. But this has so many models that are historically important to me that I feel I must share my thoughts. I will mention some, but not all of Volume 2's many vessels. L'Egyptienne, 1798, Frigate de 24. Here is a beautiful, powerful, but forgotten ship. She was captured intact after the fall of Alexandria Egypt in 1801. The model is very accurate, but there are also British Admiralty drafts of her available. She is less known than her famous sister frigate La Forte, of 1794. She was noteworthy for having been part of a small French frigate squadron that defeated a more powerful British squadron in the Indian Ocean, whose ranks included a 74 gun ship. Forte was later taken in an epic bloody nighttime battle against the 18-pounder frigate, HMS La Sybille. What makes these two ships so important? They were about 170 feet long between perpendiculars, and both carried batteries of thirty long 24 pounders on their main deck. They were as powerful as, and they look very much like, the Frigate Constitution and her sisters. But they were afloat and famous years before plans for the Yankees were even drawn up, let alone launched. Were they an influence on the American designers? They must have been ... The Egyptienne model is done admiralty style, in unpainted wood at 1:36 scale, and it is very complete. It is rigged, and there is a full interior, viewable through removable sections of planked hull, that reveal cables, casks, ballast, etc stacked beneath. The carvings are shown on the stern, but the figure head was either removed or it fell off. It is shown on the Admiralty draught, though. Every little deck detail and obscure piece of rigging is shown. She has ten windows across her stern, the out four being fakes. Historical note: There were two other french 24 pounder frigates built at the same time of a radical design: La Resistance and La Vengeance. The latter frigate fought the Constellation in 1800, after exchanging her long 24's out for long 18's. I have the NMM draught of La Resistance, later HMS Fisgard. Her figurehead is of a young topless woman with no arms - hardly the symbol of resistance! La Renommee, 1806, Frigate de 18. This model was the reason I bought the book. She was captured off the Ilse de France in 1811 and taken into the Royal Navy as HMS Java. She was the very ship that fought the Constitution. There are thirty photos of her. Anyone wanting to build a model of either of the Connies' big foes are in for a disappointment. Admiralty draughts of neither the Guerriere nor the Java survive. You would have to reconstruct them from other plans of similar French prizes in the Royal Navy. Boudroit claims that Renommee was a standard Joel Sane' designed 18 pounder frigate. I've seen enough plans of Sane frigates through the years to know that this is not true. This model show several features not seen in other Sane ships. Her stern is unusually upright, lacking that extreme Sane rake. Her stem post is oddly shaped, and although it is hard to tell from the photographs, she may have an old fashioned, beak-head bulkhead stem, as did La Clorlinde, with whom she was sailing when captured. I believe that she was a Forfait designed frigate. I have found an Admiralty draught of another frigate, built in the same city and at about the same time, that looks a lot like this model. La Renommee has eight windows across her stern, the outermost pair being fakes. Sound familiar? But all Sane's frigates had an odd number of windows. This 1:48 model is rigged, and has much minute deck detail. She even has a windsail rigged to bring fresh air below decks. Dr. Herbert. You mentioned that you have this book. Does Renommee looks as though she has a beak-head bulkhead to you? La Belle Poule, 1822: La Belle Poule is a massive, 60-gun spar decked 30-pounder frigate. She is of the size and force as that of the 44-gun American Potomac/Columbia/Raritan Class of super-frigate. Of the American ships, there is very little in detail that survives from the interwar period, other than just the lines decks and profile plans. On the 1:40 scale model of La Belle Poule, everything is shown, from deck houses to ships boats to special cones and baskets designed to hold coiled rigging. There are scale scuttle butts, match tubs, horse blocks, and all brass binnacles. I cannot overstate the importance of this and other french models in this regard. There is AUTHENTIC CONTEMPORARY detail here, that is not available elsewhere on British models or plans. It is not just French Navy detail. I believe these small items of sailing gear to have been mostly universal by this point. I've seen that wooden rigging basket in a real photo of an 1860s American sail frigate's spar deck. Her gun ports are two piece hinged affairs, just like Connie has now. This was a transitional period, where iron fittings were just being introduced. The brass skylight gratings and brass companionway cover frames are beautifully done and apply to ships of other nations. According to this model, the old French practice of rigging her carronade breechings in a continuos loop that ran outboard in a trough, had been discontinued for the standard English breeching. The Brig Cygne (the Swan), also shown in this book, shows the old method. It was originally designed to keep even tension on the breech no matter which angle the gun was traversed. But it probably proved vulnerable and impossible to repair during an action. All the above statements apply to the double decked, spar-decked La Tage, rated 100 guns, which, for all practical purposes, could be the North Carolina or the Ohio or the Vermont, American 74's. La Tage is a 1: 40 scale rigged, waterline model with a flotilla of ships boats displayed floating along side her. La Tage and her capital class have an unusual feature. The forward bow is double planked! The doubling starts before the fore mast, extending forward, and bends over the rabbit of the stem post and continues all the way across the stem. The white painted gun-deck stripes also continue across the entire stem post. I guess this was done to protect the planks butt heads mortised into the stem post, but that's one hell of a corner to have to bend planks into! Ships carvings, flag lockers, hammock netting decorative batten patterns are there in abundance. La Tage has a light weight metal stern gallery (Which the USS Vermont got in her later years) that has zig-zagged deck planking! The 120 gun four-decker La Valmey is more of the same. Imagine, if you will, the USS Pennsylvania. There are many smaller vessels too. An all of them are completely rigged to the finest detail. If you could go back in time with a color film camera, and walk the decks of French Naval vessels, I doubt you could record as much information as there is presented in this book. These two volumes are destined to be future, rare classics. At $139 shipped each, they are well worth it.

I just received my online Ancre order, "Musee de la Marine: Modeles Historiques, Tome 2", two weeks after placing it with no problems. Review to come.

Ordered it through Ancre! There goes this month's grog budget ...

Wow! The 44-gun L'Egyptienne! Sister frigate to the famed raider La Forte with 30 24-pounders on her main deck. The French Constitution. And La Renomme of 1806 !!!!!!!!! This is HMS Java, of whom no plans survive at the NMM. I Thanks, Wayne!

Volume One by Ancre is fantastic, but it is expensive. What ship models are photographed in the second volume? I am specifically interested in the frigates and the corvettes. Thank You.

I would imagine that there were different ways to rig the netting, depending upon the type of expected attack: whether by an enemy frigate of by a flotilla of armed enemy boats.

There is an 1802 watercolour of the flush-decked Ship Jason of Boston by Antoine Roux showing her with her boarding nettings rigged. They appear to be secured somehow to the outer, lower level of the hammock cranes. They do not appear to extend down far enough to cover over the gun ports. Midshipman James Fenimore Cooper described the boarding nettings fitted to the Constellation in 1813: "The boarding nettings were made of twenty-one thread ratlin stuff, that had been boiled in half made pitch, which rendered it so hard as almost to defy the knife. To give greater security, nail rods and small chains were secured to the netting, in lines about three feet apart. Instead of tricing to the rigging, this netting was spread outboard, towards the yard arms, rising about twenty five feet above the deck. To the outer rope, or ridge line of the netting, were secured pieces of kentledge, with the idea that by cutting the tricing lines when the enemy should get along side, his boats and men might be caught beneath, by the fall of the weights." See, "Boarders Away with Steel, Volume 1, Edged Weapons and Pole Arms", by William Gilkerson, Andrew Mobray Publishing, page 53.

If you play the Movie 'Titanic' backwards, it's about a magic ship that saves people ...

Thanks for the book review, Joss. I will still pick one up, should I ever find one. I will definitely buy your Amphion book! (Hint, hint.)

Mr. Matrim, I wonder if you could briefly review the "The Frigate Amphion" book by Michael Feather, and please let me know where a hard copy may be found!

Let me first say that I love this frigate and I love your work! The inboard profile plan of Leander, 50, 1813, shows the spar deck ports mostly above the gun deck ports. Leander was a fir built ship. (Sadly the lines drawings have been lost, but the deck plans and frame plans survive.) The model of a fir-built (with a square tuck stern) 50-gun frigate, thought to be possibly Leander, but minus the gangway ports, in The Science Museum has the same set up. There is a detailed painting of the USS Constellation, circa 1830, by one of the better Italian marine artists of the day, showing all her spar-deck ports placed exactly above her gun deck ports. In my long suffering thread on the Essex's stern, (Page 1, Post # 8) I quote a 1807 letter written by American Naval Constructor Josiah Fox on the subject of upper deck port placement that may be of interest here. Also, I was wondering what you thought of the "Later Amphion" revised sheer draught, dated February 1, 1800, that shows a complete barricading over of the forecastle ports of her sister-ships Aeolus and Medusa. Would they have done the same with the Amphion? (See Robert Gardiner, The Heavy Frigate, Conway, page 48-9.)

In honor of the Siren's fateful final cruise, you could say that you "Met the Medway", or "Pulled a Parker", after the British 74 that captured her, or her late ailing captain who died at sea.

Anyone remember the scene in "The Far Side of the World" where JA and SM fall overboard through Surprise's cabin windows undetected one night, and just when they think that things could not get worse, they are rescued by militant, lesbian, native women escaping their home island, who decorated their raft with dried severed male members tacked to the sides? I don't think that happened to Lord Cochrane. Anyway, this is evidence that Mr. O'Brien occasionally smoked wacky-weed.

That is a great letter! I love these little snippets of every day life back in the Napoleonic days. Not many survive. I like how they flogged the perpetrator. The Lively had a great history, aside from PO'B's, and her plans are very well documented, including even her carvings. Is she a modeling project with you? She was a handsome ship and, of course, was a sister to the famed HMS/USS Macedonian. You should print the letter here in its entirety for all of us to savor!

Thanks!