Hi Renrich,
>As far as naval architecture was concerned the French had a well deserved reputation although the fledgling US Navy surpassed everyone in the design of their frigates of the Constitution type.
Good point, I forgot US Navy in my post. While the US were quantatively not in a position to take on the British ships-of-the-line in equal strength, qualitatively their frigates (and their frigate crews) were superlative.
By the way, does anyone remember the old C-64 game "Broadsides"? It was a real-time one-vs.-one simulation of Napoleonic era naval combat.
An outstanding game, considering the limitations of the medium!
Lemon - Commodore 64, C64 Games, Reviews Music!.
Click on the screenshot with the overhead view to get an enlarged picture ... the battery configuration and status of both broadsides was displayed on the right, with the HMS Victory in the example having already lost a 42-pounder on the starboard side due to taking fire. You can also see the status of the rigging ... a couple of holes in the sails so far, but as the battle went on, you'd see yards and masts come down, with the ship losing speed and manoeuvrability as a result. Cannon and carronades, ball shot, chain shot, double shot, grape shot, fire at hull, rigging or crew, critical hits to masts or steering, visible splashes and hits when a broadside was fired, partial and complete dismasting, design-your-own-ship mode, a variety of ships for historical duels ... I loved that game. Victory vs. Constitution was actually a very well-balanced battle, with the frigate's manoeuvrability and speed making up for its lighter battery ...
Only the boarding mode sucked!
TheLegacy: Game :: BroadSides
Note the fencers locked in a deadly ... game of paper, scissors, stone
No matter what the odds were, the player who inadvertantly invoked the boarding mode by ramming the opponent would get chewed out thoroughly for as long as the boarding scene lasted - the game couldn't be aborted or continued when a boarding battle had begun!
Regards,
Henning (HoHun)