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3D: 18-pounder frigate designed by af Chapman, 1798


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Hi folks!

 

I started this little project as a simple study on how the body plan would translate into a 3D shape but I liked what I saw so I continued and added further details. It´s by no means finished and there are a lot of things still to do.

 

The draught can be found in D. Harris' highly recommendable biography about the swedish shipwright Frederik af Chapman.

 

It´s part of a series of drafts, ranging from a snow to a 110-gun ship, which have been made by af Chapman in 1798. Out of this series, only three ships were actually launched, a brig, a 74-gun ship and the 24-pounder frigate af Chapman.

 

post-395-0-42102600-1455276834_thumb.jpg

 

This frigate was designed to intercept danish smugglers at the west coast of Sweden and pierced for 24 18-pounders on the upper deck plus 12 6-pounders on the quarterdeck and forecastle. But, due to lack of funds, it was never built.

 

Dimensions (imperial feet):

 

length p/p:                                                               145' 2''

breadth:                                                                     36' 9'

draught aft:                                                                16' 9''

height of the middle gun port above the water:           6' 10''

length-to-breadth ratio:                                              3,95                                   

 

I found the rather modest armament in relation to the size especially interesting. For comparison, af Chapman´s Bellona-class, which consisted of ten frigates launched between 1783 and 1785, measured 151' 11' p/p and carried 26 24-pounders and 14 6-pounders.

 

This may be an indication that this ship was designed primarily for speed, not firepower.

(but it´s not like that Chapman´s ship were slow, quite the contrary, the Bellonas were capable of going 14 knots and the af Chapman is described as the 'meilleure marcheuse de son temps' - the fastest ship of her time - in the french Atlas du Genie maritime, published in the mid-1830s).

 

 

But enough of the talking, here are some WIP pictures:

 

post-395-0-33118000-1455272122_thumb.png

 

post-395-0-62152900-1455272146_thumb.png

 

post-395-0-83479100-1455272180_thumb.png

Edited by Bava
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  • 2 weeks later...

It is interesting that Chapman would give her only 24 guns broadside, and the forward-most 18-pounder was so very far aft. Her lines must have been very sharp forward, to have done that. Her stem reminds me of the experimental HMS Triton model, an unusual 18-pounder, 32-gun frigate that drew the same draught of water forward as aft.

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Her lines must have been very sharp forward, to have done that.

 

Well observed, she has a pretty sharp bow and a fine run. A bit difficult to see on the pictures, though.

 

 

Frigates with 24 guns on the upper deck were pretty common in the swedish and danish navy before the 1780s, probably because they preferred shorter - thus cheaper -  ships with rather fine lines combined with british construction features. Chapman´s ten ships of the Bellona-class were the first frigates in the swedish navy with a conventional 26-guns setup (they carried 24-pounders, by the way).

 

And the forward-most gun port at the position of the foremast was a typical design feature of Chapman, maybe comparable to earlier french frigates like La Renommée or La Belle Poule.

 

Her stem reminds me of the experimental HMS Triton model, an unusual 18-pounder, 32-gun frigate that drew the same draught of water forward as aft.

 

 

Ha, you´re not the first to compare this ship to the Triton, got the same response on another modelling board :)

Triton was made of pine, right?

Edited by Bava
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Ha, you´re not the first to compare this ship to the Triton, got the same response on another modelling board :)

Triton was made of pine, right?

 

Depends on which Triton.   :P  :P

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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a beautiful rendering of that frigate Bava,

 

love those pics in your Post # 2, very elegant lines

 

Nils

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  • 1 month later...

Un trabajo excelente. Al final con tu permiso me gustaría intentar hacer un modelo. Gracias por compartir y estoy en la espera de tus avances.

 

An excellent job. At the end with your permission I would try to do a model. Thanks for sharing and I am waiting for your progress.

Un cordial saludo,

Demetri

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  • 4 years later...

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