Warships of the Napoleonic Era (Blueprint Series (Annapolis, Md.).) [first edition]

Warships of the Napoleonic Era reproduces original plans of all the principal types of warship employed during the Napoleonic Wars, from the huge three-deckers which fought in the line of battle, down to gunboats and the often ignored support craft on which every dockyard depended.This period is widely regarded as the apogee of the sailing man of war, which reached a degree of efficiency never previously attained. Every major seapower was involved in this conflict, and at some point virtually all of them were arrayed against Great Britain and many of the enemies' ships, taken in battle, were then drawn, ensuring that a representative selection of accurate draughts survives for all the main protagonists. Accompanying texts and captions describe the function and development of each of the apparently bewildering variety of rates.For ship modellers, and historians of the sailing navy, this book is a reference work.