Man O War Ship
The term man o war itself was not a strict naval classification.
Man o war ship. Lurking below the float are long strands of tentacles and polyps that grow to an average of 30 feet and may extend by as much as 100 feet. Also man o war or simply man was a royal navy expression for a powerful first rate ship of the line warship or frigate from the 16th to the 19th century. By the middle of the 17th century warships were carrying increasing numbers of cannon on their broadsides and tactics evolved to bring each ship s firepower to bear in a line of battle. Highly versatile and powerful ships capable of trade diplomacy and combat the man of war was the most prominent of armed ships from the 16th to 19th century.
It was built in 1628 when the swedish king demanded a ship larger than any other ship in the world. The term often refers to a ship armed with cannon and propelled primarily by sails as opposed to a galley which is propelled primarily by oars. Of course sometimes such ship were used to transport treasure or acted as escort to merchant ships. The tentacles contain stinging nematocysts microscopic capsules loaded with coiled barbed tubes that deliver venom capable of paralyzing and killing.
Resembling an 18th century portuguese warship under full sail the man o war is recognized by its balloon like float which may be blue violet or pink and rises up to six inches above the waterline. Spanning a whole variety of ship designs from the 1500s to 1850 but typified by the galleon and ship of the line class of vessels man of war ships were exemplars of ship building expertise delivering high manoeuvrability storage capacity and firepower. The sailing man of war emerged during the 16th century. Three of the man of war s small boats sat on cradles attached to the beams which crossed over the open space.
The man of war now evolved into the ship of the line. He even personally designed it himself with the builders following his specifications down to the letter. The man o war is a naval ship that was designed for combat and not for merchant service. Also man of war man o war man o war or simply man 1 2 was a british royal navy expression for a powerful warship or frigate from the 16th to the 19th century.
The admiral had his day cabin located on this deck at the stern of the vessel.