A sumptuous production of a book to underline the extraordinary vessel that is its subject. The publisher is renowned for releasing very high quality books on naval history and this is an excellent example with stunning and lavish illustration. – Most Highly Recommended.
NAME: Sovereign of the Seas 1637, A Reconstruction of the Most Powerful Warship of its Day FILE: R3158 AUTHOR: John McKay PUBLISHER: Seaforth Publishing, Pen & Sword BINDING: hard back PRICE: £40.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: Line of battle ship, gun platform, technology, Royal Navy, rigging, construction, power, heavy guns, 100+ gun ship, 17th Century, naval warfare, naval architecture ISBN: 978-1-5267-6629-8 PAGES: 296 IMAGE: B3158.jpg BUYNOW: tinyurl.com/y95q2hpc DESCRIPTION: A sumptuous production of a book to underline the extraordinary vessel that is its subject. The publisher is renowned for releasing very high quality books on naval history and this is an excellent example with stunning and lavish illustration. – Most Highly Recommended. The Sovereign of the Seas was an incredibly powerful warship that was something of a vanity project for the King who was personally involved in her specification and massive firepower. The ship was not only a powerful warship but also a highly decorated work of art. The Dutch called her the 'Golden Devil' and she dwarfed the ships of the Admiralties of the United Provinces. Many readers may come to the history of this ship with a perspective set in the days of Nelson. For many, HMS Victory is seen as the most powerful vessel at the peak of ship design. It is interesting to compare her to the Sovereign of the Seas The Sovereign of the Seas not only achieved more than 100 guns, but they included heavier long guns than the largest battleships in the navy of Nelson. The guns were equal in accuracy and could be used at longer range. Where the ships of Nelson's day carried long guns in the main battery of 32 pounders, the Sovereign carried 42 pounders. The secondary armament was of 18 pounders and 9 pounders. In weight of shell, the Royal Navy a hundred fifty years on did carry 64 pounder guns but these were the Carronades, or Smashers, mounted on slides and with a short barrel. They were intended for close action, where the Sovereign could stand off a target and pound it with its 42 pounder long guns on four wheel trucks. The author has reconstructed the Sovereign of the Seas. No contemporary plans have survived and visual evidence is contradictory. He has therefore analysed the available data and reconstructed the design and appearance in incredible detail. The result is a book that will satisfy all naval history enthusiasts and provide all of the detail to assist a skilled modeller in producing a spectacular exhibition quality model. Very few books of warships contain the level of detail provided here in logical sections that cover every aspect of design and construction.