Counter March (Navy)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Schematic representation of two counter- march variants executed from the line: turn (Fig. 11) and jibe (Fig. 12)

Counter-march , also in the old spellings Contre-Marsch , Contre march or Kontremarsch , a military referred sailing maneuvers of a fleet sailing ship era.

definition

In the counter-march turns or gybes one in battle or marching order sailing fleet or more consecutively sailing ships of a fleet. It must every ship on the same navigation point evolve on which the previously that evolve vessel did his tack or jibe. Ideally, the ships always remain in the wake of their predecessor. The counter march is one of the simplest moves, but it takes up a lot of space on the water for a complete line or division to perform.

Turn a fleet in line in counter-march

The first ship at the head of the line begins the evolution alone and turns, setting small sails so that the lead to the following ships does not become too great. The following ships turn successively at the same point when the windward side of the predecessor can be seen on board the ship facing evolution. Should a turn of one of the evolutionary ships fail, this ship burns up and runs out of line in order not to hinder subsequent ships in their evolution. After turning upwind , it sets more sails and then tries to catch up and return to its old position in the line. The following ships have to slow down their voyage in a failed turning maneuver in front of them by removing the sail and shift their own turning maneuver a little more towards the leeward side , which is particularly useful if the ships ahead have failed several turns in order to keep the entire counter march going.

Jibe a fleet in line in counter-march

The first ship stops and goes alone past the entire line until it has the last ship in the line at its height. Once here, it luffs to the wind. The following ships follow this movement successively, but set more sails in order not to let the distance to the predecessor become too great.

Counter march for divisions sailing in columns

The counter march can also be used for one, two or three divisions sailing in a column to cross against the wind . The first ship in each column evolves at the same time and travels in the new direction, while the following ships change direction at the same turning points. With three columns, three ships change direction at the same time. So each column always stays in its own wake. The first change of direction of the first ships in a column is only possible at the same time if this is carried out with the support of a signal.

Notes / evidence

  1. ↑ after Jachmann
  2. ↑ according to Pierer's
  3. ↑ after Bobrik
  4. ↑ after Jachmann
  5. ↑ after Bobrik
  6. ↑ According to Bobrik, to hold back means that the wind that previously hit the ship from the front or the side now falls onto the ship from a more aft direction.
  7. ↑ Luffing means, according to Bobrik, that the ship is turned so that the wind comes a little from the front. To do this, the sails have to be tilted so that the wind can still fill them.
  8. ↑ after Jachmann
  9. ↑ In the case of a fleet (usually divided into three) divisions, each division sails in a line (= column) next to the other divisions / columns. In the case of a very large fleet, each division is divided into two lines (= columns).
  10. ↑ after Bobrik

literature

  • Pierer's Universal Lexikon, Volume 1, 4th Edition, Altenburg, 1857–1865
  • Eduard Karl Edmanuel Jachmann : General principles of a fleet tactic: after the Dutch tactic of the Knight of Kingsbergen, Berlin, 1850
  • Eduard Bobrik: General nautical dictionary with factual explanations, Leipzig, 1850