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An very interesting story of Royal Danish Navy
The last great ship-of-the-line
The British demanded a total unconditional surrender after Battle of Copenhagen and that the whole Danish-Norwegian Navy be handed over to them. Copenhagen gave up and surrendered. September 6, 1807, General Ernst Peymann, the Danish Chief-in-Command, surrendered the city..
One single Danish ship-of-the-line, the PRINDS CHRISTIAN FREDERIK, had avoided being handed over to the British, as the ship was in Norway in 1807, thereby it was the last of the major warships of Denmark-Norway. During the spring of 1808 it was needed to protect the sea transfer of a French-Spanish army sent to assist Denmark-Norway, and the PRINDS CHRISTIAN FREDERIK, commanded by Captain C. W. Jessen was ordered to protect army while it was crossing the sea.
As the ship were soon to be spotted by British ships at Sejerø in the southern part of Kattegat, Captain C. W. Jessen could see himself out numbered by the British force of at least 2 major warships and 3 frigates. Instead of leading the British towards the army that were in middle of crossing the Great Belt, Jessen changed his course away from the troops and up towards Sjællands Odde. While darkness came crawling on the evening March the 22 1808, the last Danish-Norwegian major warship began a long and bitter fight to the end against the British Ships. After several hours of battle the PRINDS CHRISTIAN FREDERIK was set to rest on a sandbank while the ship was burning and later exploded, the flag was stricken. Among others of the fallen was one of the great heroes from the battle of Copenhagen Roads, 1801, Lieutenant Peter Willemoes.
Ship of the line PRINDS CHRISTIAN FREDERIK (middle of picture) in the final battle. To the right, the STATELY, to the left, the NASSAU with the frigate QUEBECK to the stern
First lieutenant Peter Willemoes was struck in the head by the first British broadside. This romanticized picture shows the first lieutenant dieing in the arms of next in command Captain C. A. Rothe.
and a monument which was erected at Odden Harbor, about 330 yards from the position.
Desperate naval engagement between the Bon Homme Richard and Serapis 1853
Fight of the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis
USS Bonhomme Richard
USS Bonhomme RichardCareer (US)Name:Bonhomme RichardBuilder:Randall & Brent ShipyardsLaunched:1766[1]Acquired:4 February 1779In service:4 February 1779Out of service:25 September 1779[1]Fate:Sank in battleGeneral characteristicsTons burthen:998 tons (1014 tonnes)[1]Length:152 ft (46 m)[1]Beam:40 ft (12 m)[1]Draft:19 ft (5.8 m)[1]Propulsion:SailComplement:380 officers and enlisted[1]Armament:28 x 12-pound smoothbore, 6 x 18-pound smoothbore, 8 x 9-pound smoothbore[1]
The first USS Bonhomme Richard, formerly Duc de Duras, was a frigate in the Continental Navy. She was originally an East Indiaman, a merchant ship built in France for the French East India Company in 1765, for service between France and the Orient. She was placed at the disposal of John Paul Jones on 4 February 1779, by King Louis XVI of France as a result of a loan to the United States by French shipping magnate, Jacques-Donatien Le Ray.
Jones renamed her Bon Homme Richard - usually rendered in more correct French as Bonhomme Richard, to honor Benjamin Franklin, the American Commissioner at Paris whose almanac, Poor Richard's Almanac had been published in France under the title Les Maximes du Bonhomme Richard.[1]
On 19 June 1779, Bonhomme Richard sailed from Lorient accompanied by Alliance, Pallas, Vengeance, and Cerf with troop transports and merchant vessels under convoy to Bordeaux and to cruise against the British in the Bay of Biscay. Forced to return to port for repair, the squadron sailed again 14 August 1779. Going northwest around the west coast of the British Isles into the North Sea and then down the east coast the squadron took 16 merchant vessels as prizes.
On 23 September 1779, they encountered the Baltic Fleet of 41 sail under convoy of HMS Serapis (44) and Countess of Scarborough (22) near Flamborough Head. After 18:00 Bonhomme Richard engaged Serapis and a bitter engagement, the Battle of Flamborough Head, ensued during the next four hours that cost the lives of nearly half the American and British crews. At first, a British victory seemed inevitable as the more heavily armed Serapis used its superior firepower to rake Bonhomme Richard with devastating effect, killing Americans by the score. The Commanding Officer of the Serapis then called on Jones to surrender, who replied, "Sir, I have not yet begun to fight!" Jones eventually succeeded in lashing the two ships together, nullifying his opponent's greater maneuverability and attempting to take advantage of the larger size and considerably greater crew of the Bonhomme Richard. An attempt by the Americans to board Serapis was repulsed, as was an attempt by the British to board Bonhomme Richard. Finally, after another of Jones's squadron joined in the fight (uncaringly causing serious collateral damage aboard the Richard) the British captain surrendered at about 10.30pm. Bonhomme Richard, shattered, on fire, and leaking badly defied all efforts to save her and sank at 11:00 on 25 September 1779. John Paul Jones sailed the captured Serapis to the United Provinces for repairs.
Though Bonhomme Richard sank subsequent to the battle, the outcome of the battle convinced the French crown of the wisdom of backing the colonies in their fight to separate from British authority. The defeat of Serapis, in home waters no less, stung the British Admiralty. Bonhomme Richard's final resting location is the subject of much speculation. A number of efforts have been conducted to locate the wreck. As of 2005, these efforts have been unsuccessful. The location of the wreck is presumed to be in approximately 180 feet of water off Flamborough Head in Yorkshire, a headland near where her final battle took place. The number of other wrecks in the area and a century of fishing trawling operations have complicated all searches
HMS Serapis
Defence of Captn Pearson in his Majesty's Ship Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough Arm'd Ship Captn Piercy, against Paul Jones's Squadron, 23 Sept 1779, by Robert Dodd
On 23 September 1779, commanded by Captain Richard Pearson, she engaged the American warship USS Bonhomme Richard under the command of Captain John Paul Jones in the North Sea at the Battle of Flamborough Head, England. At the time of this battle, the ship carried 50 guns, having an extra six 6-pounders.[2] The two vessels exchanged heavy fire and Bonhomme Richard lost most of her fire power, but by attaching the two ships together, Jones was able to overcome much of Pearson's advantage of greater firepower (although the Bonhomme Richard was a larger ship with a considerably greater crew).[3] The famous quote, "I have not yet begun to fight!"[3] was Jones's response to Pearson's premature call for Bonhomme Richard to surrender. The battle raged on for three hours as the crew of Bonhomme Richard tenaciously fought Serapis, raking her deck with gunfire. Eventually, Alliance, a frigate in Jones's squadron, began firing at both the attached ships indiscriminately. Bonhomme Richard began to sink, but Captain Pearson, unable to aim his guns at the frigate because he was tied to Jones's ship, surrendered, handing Serapis over to the Americans.[3] Aftermath
Jones sailed to the neutral United Provinces (the Netherlands), but diplomatic complications arose because the Dutch authorities did not recognize the United States. The Serapis was renamed by Jones after her capture as the USS Serapis. An improvised Serapis flag was secretly entered into the Dutch records to avoid the charges of piracy. Serapis and her consort Countess of Scarborough were later declared as French captures.
Although the two British vessels had lost the battle, they had succeeded perfectly in protecting the very valuable convoy, and both captains were well rewarded. Loss of Serapis
The French commissioned the Serapis to a privateer named Roche who planned to use the ship against the British in the Indian Ocean. However, in July 1781 the ship was lost off the coast of Madagascar when a sailor accidentally dropped a lantern into a tub of brandy. The crew fought the fire for two and one half hours, but the flames eventually burned through the spirit locker walls and reached a powder magazine. The resulting explosion blew the stern off the ship and the vessel sank.
In November 1999 American nautical archeologists Richard Sweet and Michael Tuttle located the remains of the Serapis.
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Austrian Navy I
Battle of Lissa
On July 20, 1866, near the island of Vis in the Adriatic, the Austrian fleet, under the command of Rear-Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, made its name in the modern era at the Battle of Lissa during the Third Italian War of Independence. The battle pitted Austrian naval forces against the naval forces of the newly created Kingdom of Italy. It was a decisive victory for an outnumbered Austrians over a superior Italian force, and was the first major European sea battle involving ships using iron and steam, and one of the last to involve large wooden battle ships and deliberate ramming.
Italian commander Carlo di Persano
Austrian commander Wilhelm von Tegetthoff
Austrian triple-decker wooden battleship Kaiser (centre of picture) ramming the Italian ironclad Re di Portogallo.
Austrian triple-decker wooden battleship Kaiser engaged in close gunfire with Italian ironclad Re di Portogallo
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Austrian Navy II
Battle of Lissa Austrian triple-decker wooden battleship Kaiser
Re d'Italia sinking after being rammed by Tegetthoff's flagship, the Ferdinand Max
The badly damaged and burning Austrian triple-decker Kaiser in the right of picture, and the Re d'Italia in the centre being rammed by Tegetthoff's ironclad Ferdinand Max
The Re D'Italia begins to roll over as Max von Stannic backs the Erzherzog Ferdinand Max out of the hole he has torn in the side of the Italian ship
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Austrian Navy VI
Battle of Heligoland
Screw-driven corvette Erzherzog Friedrich in 1868, a veteran of the Battle of Lissa
Austrian Fleet at Pola, end 1866 / early 1867. Frigate Schwarzenberg in centre of picture, the Erzherzog Ferdinand Max to the left and the Kaiser at anchor in the left background
Frigate Novara from expedition report "Voyage of the Austrian Frigate Novara around the Earth" (1861–1876)
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Austrian Navy VII
Battle of Heligoland.The Austrian frigate SCHWARZENBERG (to the left in the painting) is on fire and turning, while RADETZKY moves in to provide cover
The Austrian flagship, the frigate SCHWARZENBERG, seen here after the battle.
The 3,075-ton armored corvette Drachewas one of the recent ironclads the Hasburg fleet launched in 1862
The Ferdinand Max had a long and honored semi-retirement. Here in 1880s, her sail rig removed. Remained in comission until 1886
In the long twilight of her career, Ferdinand Max served as a tender to the gunnery training ship at Pola. In this humble but highly appropriate capacity she lingered for 29 years. She was hulked in 1889 but not broken until 1917. 51 years was well above the average lifespan of a wooden ship in that era.
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Name:Bonhomme RichardBuilder:Randall & Brent ShipyardsLaunched:1766[1]Acquired:4 February 1779In service:4 February 1779Out of service:25 September 1779[1]Fate:Sank in battleGeneral characteristicsTons burthen:998 tons (1014 tonnes)[1]Length:152 ft (46 m)[1]Beam:40 ft (12 m)[1]Draft:19 ft (5.8 m)[1]Propulsion:SailComplement:380 officers and enlisted[1]Armament:28 x 12-pound smoothbore, 6 x 18-pound smoothbore, 8 x 9-pound smoothbore[1]
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