74 gun ship
74-gun ships emerged in the 1730s. As a rule, they were two-deckers and therefore had better sailing characteristics than the more clumsy three-deckers and more firepower than smaller two- or monoplane. The development of the "74er" came from France .
These first French "74s" had a length of 170 feet, which corresponds to around 52 m, their main battery was equipped with 36 pounder cannons and was thus far superior to the English two-deckers, which were about 45 m long and only 24 pounders much smaller were. Nevertheless, it took around 20 years until the Bellona, an English ship of similar size, was put into service in 1760 .
literature
- Brian Lavery: The 74 Gun Ship Bellona. Revised edition. Conway Maritime Press, London 2003, ISBN 0-85177-916-6 , ( Anatomy of the ship ).