Old ships transporting horses and wagons???

[NAZGÛL]

Hi!

 

When transporting an whole army, like Gustav II Adolf did when entering the 30 year war, how did they manage to transport animals like horses and oxes? Did they have special ships designed for this? Also bigger things like wagons should have been rather hard to load on a ship back then. I suppose they could be disassembled before loading and then assemble them again after arrival.

 

This has puzzled me when reading history books.

 

/Matti

Edited March 27, 2015 by NAZGÛL

[realworkingsailor]

Have a look here, for a start: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphibious_warfare

 

Andy

[Chuck]

Like this

 

 

[druxey]

The famous naval architect, F.H. Chapman, designed two sizes of horse transport with special loading ramps and doors in the bows specifically for this purpose.

[AntonyUK]

Hi.

I have read a article that discribed the loading and unloading of horses.

The horses were lead out to the ships by small rowing boats ( The horse was swimming)

A sling/ harness was passed around the horse and it was halled aboard as the photos that Chuck posted.

Unloading was the reverse.

I guess that cargo ships would have been used to this purpose as there hatches were much larger.

And they would have used a hoisting beam for this task.

 

Regards Antony.

[NAZGÛL]

Thanks for the info all! Man, I've been riding horses alot earlier and also transporting them in trailers. I can only imagine the troubles the men and animals had during these travels. Lovely model Chuck!

 

 

/Matti

Edited March 28, 2015 by NAZGÛL

[ScottRC]

Hi Matti,

 

See if you can find a copy of the Hornblower A&E episode called the Fireships.  In it there is a segment where they are loading cattle by barging them out to the boat and using the same method as Chuck's model depicts.  It also addressed cleaning, feeding, and the problem of watering large animals in such cramped conditions. 

[NAZGÛL]

Thanks for the suggestion Scott!

 

Yeah I feel the same way you do robin. In a history book I have about the 30 year war they bring up the double feelings the horse men had. They both had a strong bond to their horse and at the same time had to regard it as possible food.

 

But reading about the boatmen on these ships, it's almost as they had the same conditions. I have at least two boatsmen (and also a dragoon soldier from the time of Karl XII) as ancestors and therefore am interested in how their life could have been.

 

 

/Matti

Edited April 2, 2015 by NAZGÛL