HMS Bellona 1760 by SJSoane - Scale 1:64 - English 74 gun, as designed

[Mark P]

Good Evening Mark;

 

Take a look at the pictures below, which come from Rob Napier's book about his repairs to the Princess Royal, published by Sea Watch books. This has a wealth of colour pictures of the internal features which are normally almost unseen.

 

These show some good views of the roundhouse on this model. The doors are much narrower, and parallel sided. 

 

All the best,

 

Mark P

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2020 by Mark P
Images were rotated

[SJSoane]

Thanks, Mark, that is a terrific book!

The 74 gun ship definitely shows its reduction in size in everything relative to the larger Princess Royal. The Bellona hull at this point flairs out dramatically, to provide sufficient overhang for the catheads and anchors. It leaves less space at the bulkhead for the roundhouse, if the roundhouse is pushed outboard far enough beyond the hull to provide the discharge for the head. The red lines below show a 1'-8" wide door, the same as the doors in the quarter galleries aft. It still needs to chamfer off the lower outboard corner because of the flair of the hull. But it looks like it would work with hinges on the vertical inboard post. Thanks!

 

Mark

 

 

[Mark P]

Good Afternoon Mark;

 

If you don't already have this information, you may find the following extracts helpful with the timbering of the beakhead and forecastle. These are from the contract for Warspite, a 74, dated 1755, which I have transcribed. As the period is similar, the information is useful, and is more contemporary than the Shipbuilders' Repository, which is another source, very helpful, but 30 years later.

 

All the best,

 

Mark P

 

 

Edited May 13, 2020 by Mark P

[SJSoane]

Thanks so much, Mark. It is difficult to find information for ships designed around the Bellona's 1759 date. Most published sources I can find are from several decades later. I have to assume in many cases that things did not change all that much. So I look forward to comparing these numbers to the Ship-Builder's Repository and to Steel, to see the differences if any.

 

I do note in what you sent that it does not seem to prescribe the length of the Cat Heads outboard, only the length inboard, when it is called a Cat Tail, is it not? Do I read this correctly?

 

Mark

[Mark P]

Good Evening Mark;

 

Yes, you have read it correctly. The inboard length, which as you say is indeed called the cat-tail, is specified; the outboard length merely has to be 'sufficient'. The beam under this was normally called the cat-beam, and was the largest beam in the ship, bigger than the wing transom.

 

If you need any other sections, let me know.

 

All the best,

 

Mark P

Edited May 13, 2020 by Mark P

[SJSoane]

Well, it was a rainy day, and I felt like drawing more than building. I kept going on the head, including the figurehead. The curve of the various rails needs refining, but I thought I would do that after after expanding these to true length. This at least gives me approximate locations of things.

 

 

I have to make a decision now about which figurehead to use. The one I prefer and have drawn above is the one on the original model, likely built about the same time as the ship was constructed ca. 1760:

 

The other is on the second model, either constructed or modified when the ship itself underwent a major refit around 1780:

 

I like the simplicity of the first one; too many gee-gaws on the second one, like the bird on Bellona's heel. And I have made many decisions about details over the years consistent with the original design, not the second model. So I really need and want to stay with the look of the first model.

 

However, my wife is insisting that Bellona needs arms if I build the first version. Is it at all possible that the original figurehead would be without arms? Does anyone know of other figureheads of this time without arms? If not, I could assume that the figurehead was shown as incomplete and in process, just like the rest of the model itself. In that case, I could reconstruct arms, following the quarter post sculptures on the stern:

 

 

 

 

 

[Hubac's Historian]

Hi Mark - I also prefer the first figurehead, but I do think the actual ship would not have been launched without arms, as they would add gesture and expression to the figure.  On the plus side, although it certainly begs a little due diligence, I suspect that her arms would be bare; or, at most, only short tunic sleeves. 

[Beef Wellington]

Think its safe to say there would have been (or at least expected to be) arms, we seem to have become very familiar with classical statuary without arms but its only because they broke off at some point.

Edited May 16, 2020 by Beef Wellington

[druxey]

Bellona being a goddess of war, she would not have been unarmed! A sword of some sort in her right hand and shield in her left. I'd be pretty confident that the original figure had those.

[mtaylor]

I'm in agreement that she probably did have arms (both carved human arms and weapons).  Zooming on the first picture, it does seem like the arm is broken off.  There's a crack halfway down the shoulder and the bits above and below don't look (to my eye) like they match up it were cut off or waiting for arms to be attached.   Are there any other pictures of the figurehead say from the front or other side?

[Mark P]

Good Morning Mark;

 

Some good advice: listen to your wife; especially when so many of the other forum members agree with her (not that the latter consideration should influence you as much as the first, of course!)

 

All the best,

 

Mark 

[SJSoane]

 

Thank you, Marc, druxey, Mark and Mark. You helped reinforce an already happy marriage, and my wife feels vindicated!

 

So this conversation led me to learning more about the goddess Bellona. There is good coverage in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellona_(goddess). I discovered that she had a temple devoted to her in Rome, and that she was celebrated every June 3. I will have to observe that date from now on...

 

Interesting that she was noted for wearing a plumed helmet, which is in the second model but not the first. In various artistic images over the ages, she is variously entirely covered in armor, nude, and everything in between. She mostly carries a shield, often covered with a gorgon (see in sculpture below), the mythical creature with snakes for hair. Weapons are harder to generalize. The 1770 sculpture below by Jean Batiste Straub shows a thin spear, with perhaps some feathers or metal ornament underneath the head.

 

 

Johann Baptist Straub, 1770

Public Domain http://warburg.sas.ac.uk/vpc/VPC_search/pdf_frame.php?image=00034081

 

 

And is this what we see in the second model of the Bellona, maybe made a decade after the Straub sculpture, with a spear held upside down? It looks to me like there was once a longer shaft, broken off at her hand. Otherwise, I don't know what that weapon is. But why does the shaft appear to flair out like a handle just below her hand?

 

Maybe it is something like this reproduction Roman spear:

 

http://romans.etrusia.co.uk/roman_army_intro_p3.php

 

 

I did not find any art examples with a sword, which I assume would be like the reproduction below. I am not sure of how this would be held, for upward or downward thrust.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uncrossed_gladius.jpg

 

I really should get back to planking....

 

Mark

 

Edited May 16, 2020 by SJSoane

[Mark P]

Good Evening Mark;

 

It is possibly just a fancy terminal on the spear. some had a spike on the reverse end, so that when it was used in a defensive formation, the end of the spear could be fixed in the ground if desired.

 

Note also the chicken/cockerel by her foot. Is this the same type of bird as in the model's figurehead. Does the chicken/cockerel have a significance for Bellona. The Romans used sacred chickens to provide omens as to whether or not to attack, guided by the way the chickens ate their grain. One famous general, waiting to launch an invasion from a fleet, threw the chickens overboard when they failed to eat in the desired manner, saying "If they will not eat, they will drink!" or something like that.

 

Something slightly odd: we have many words meaning war, or warlike, all rooted in 'Bellum', latin for war. Bellona, belligerent, bellicose, ante-bellum, parabellum. Yet the Italian word 'bella' means beautiful. 

 

All the best,

 

Mark 

Edited May 16, 2020 by Mark P

[Beef Wellington]

Mark, unfortunately can't help with the shape of the spear question, but its probably fair to say that the 'roman spear' is probably not it, a 'pilum' was designed to be thrown only once into an enemy shield and designed to deliberately break/bend and then be very difficult to remove so the cumbersome shaft made the enemy shield much less effective or impossible to use.

[mtaylor]

Looking at the stub of spear in her hand and what you show, I think that's it.  As for the sword, none of the figures you show seem to have a sword. It's possible that she may not have had a sword. The sword went along with the Roman tactics... to close hard and fast with the enemy.  The goal was to be inside the enemies sword as theirs, early on at least, were longer.  They used the stab but also slashed often trying to take off an opponents arm. If faced with cavalry, they went for the leg of the rider or even the horse. Once that was done, they moved on the next one.  The one's they wounded and lived until the end of the battle would then be put to death.   Grisly work back than.

 

To my eye, the feathers on both helms.  One is flattened and the other is "fluffy".

[SJSoane]

Thanks, Mark, Jason and Mark. Fascinating to learn more about Roman armor and tactics.

 

I played with the spear idea, since Bellona is sometimes depicted with one. But I began to worry about a very thin piece of wood jutting out from the model, and thought that mine would meet the same fate as that carried on the second Bellona model--it would be broken off eventually.

 

So, I tried the sword idea, at first the shorter Gladius and then the longer Spatha. I am showing the Spatha in this drawing, just because it looks a little more scary in Bellona's right hand....

 

The shield cannot be made as large as those shown in the images in my previous post, because it would cover most of the figurehead. So I have scaled one down to what looks like a shield in the second Bellona model, with her resting her left hand upon it.

 

I confess I was tempted to place the sword in her left hand, since I am left handed. But then decided I should stick with greater authenticity. But who is to say that Bellona was not left-handed? It would have made her more "sinistra"😙

 

Mark

[Siggi52]

Hi Mark,

 

and if you make the spear from metal. I read, I think in Old Ship Figure-Heads and Sterns, that at some ships they removed all things from the figure head who could get lost by a heavy sea. Even arms!

[dvm27]

Lovely illustration, Mark. Just curious as to whether you have ever carved anything like this in the past. Such a model would be daunting for many of us due to the complex carvings. With your artistic talent I'm betting this will not be an issue for you.

[SJSoane]

Siggi, that is a good point about the spear being removable. I may look again at the spear idea instead of the sword.  The sword doesn't look very impressive so far....

 

And Greg, thanks for the kind comment. I have never carved anything this small, so this will be a big uphill challenge. I had been looking forward to a future workshop with you and David on carving, but in light of the pandemic who knows when that will be possible again?

 

My son is starting to acquire expertise on 3-D printing. If I get desperate, I may print it and paint it ochre! And will I ever tell anyone if I do? But that would also require learning Blender, which is no easy task as I see it right now. Might be easier in the long run to carve it from wood....

 

Best wishes,

 

Mark

[SJSoane]

Hi Mark P., I forgot to comment on your posting. Yes, it was interesting to see the bird in the sculpture and the figurehead. I wonder if the figurehead sculptor saw the stone sculpture for inspiration, or whether it is indeed a reference to a well known view of the ancient Romans regarding predicting the future. I haven't come across anything about this yet.

 

And also, interesting about "bella" as referring both to aggression and beauty. Does anyone more literate in Latin than I am know why the root is common for what one would assume are almost diametrical opposite ideas?

 

Mark

[Beef Wellington]

Ok, could be wrong here so please don't send me to detention...I think war is from the root 'bellum',  whereas beauty is from the root 'bellus', so of course in natural latin fashion these conjugate similarly depending on the sex and context.

[Hubac's Historian]

Well said, BW!

[SJSoane]

Thanks, Jason, that makes sense.

 

I just didn't think the sword was prominent enough, so I followed Siggi's good advice about a removable metal shaft and went back to the lance or spear that we see in the first image in posting #1721 above. Here is what it looks like. I could make the spear out of blackened copper, and drill a hole in her hand to hold it. Or, would it be shiny metal in real life?

 

Now I really, really, am getting back to planking today!

 

Mark

 

[mtaylor]

I would think the lance was iron.  The picture in post #1722 looks like iron down a point where it goes into wood.  I'm still not sure about that wooden part.

[SJSoane]

Hi Mark,

Yes, it is confusing, the Roman spear/javelin. As I read more online, there appear to be one version, the pilum, which has a long metal shaft put into a shorter handle like what the second Bellona model seems to show. But there also appears to be another version of a javelin with a metal head only a foot long, connected to a 2 meter wooden shaft. That is what appears to be held by the Bellona sculpture in posting #721 above. Lacking any further evidence, I will go with the javelin like the sculpture, treating it as a wooden shaft with a one foot long metal head. So I will have to paint the metal shaft as wood in my model.

 

While I was at it, I finally nailed down the size the hawse holes. Since I did not do my framing as actually constructed, I had no idea where the hawse pieces were located at the head, and therefore where the hawse holes were located (since they are drilled with half out of each adjacent hawse piece). So I constructed their locations here.

 

And I did this while waiting for glue to dry in more planking.

 

Mark

 

 

[druxey]

Your version of the spear looks good. The original figure's spear would certainly have been of metal and removable. I suspect it was painted to protect it from corrosion. I might suggest the shield be ported (carried by its straps on her left arm) rather than resting in front of her. It wouldn't be much protective help like that if she were armed and going into battle! The gorgon's head would feature on this shield, as Bellona assisted in the killing of her. The chicken or rooster might be, as suggested, used for augury by reading of its entrails and sacrifice, or be perhaps a symbol of aggression (think fighting cocks).

 

Great discussion above, too many posts to click all for 'likes'!

[mtaylor]

I think you are nailing the figurehead, Mark.  I like the idea of the shield per Druxey.  Pity we don't have access to the time machine to see what it actually was.

[SJSoane]

Hi druxey and Mark,

 

I like the idea of her holding the shield; one less hand to carve! Here is an updated version, minus the gorgon that I don't feel like drawing right now...

I put the captain next to the figurehead just to see how big this really is. She is one big lady! I remember seeing original figureheads in various maritime museums over the years; now I fully appreciate why they were so big.

 

Mark

 

 

 

[druxey]

Some figures were 9' 0" to 11' 0" high. Distinctly larger than life- size. Those on sixth rates were about life size. Tip the shield away a bit around to port and it will be perfect!

[Beef Wellington]

So the next obvious question is how does the figurehead get into the roundhouse?