'La Fama' Venetian Fregata Grossa/2nd Rate 1784 (with plans) (4th rate in game)

[A. P. Hill]

What a model!

 

Jiminy Cricket ... the detail ...

And I thought I was detail anal.

[Fluffy Fishy]

Here are a few more shots of the model of Fama in various stages near completion, again showing some of the incredible detail that was included by its creator. There is a little distortion in some of the shots but for the most part they came out quite well, allowing for a better understanding of how the ship would have looked. I am also planning on trying to get some high def plans for the ship to add to the thread at some point soon, I just need to figure out how is best to get shots of them.

Hope you enjoyed the 2nd batch of these, I have a few more but they aren't really quite as useful to anyone here, I'd advise getting yourself the book Das Erbe der Serenissima should you want to explore things a little more, however the book is only published in German, there are lots of pictures though, the paper plans are well worth it on its own too. Hope you guys enjoyed the pics

Edited August 4, 2018 by Fluffy Fishy

[Jones el Tuerto]

It looks awesome I would love to see her in game and sail with her!

È BELLISSIMA! 

 

[Nicolau Coelho]

Yes!

[Fluffy Fishy]

I know I have been promising this for a long time but here are some shots of the plans included in Das Erbe der Serenissima, these are the massive almost A1 paper size plans that come along side the book itself, specifically these are the ones as it says in the text above them belonging to the sister ships of Fama, Stengel and Beyrand. I have also included a shot that I will leave in a spoiler below that includes Rif Winfield's French warships in the Age of sail and Brian Lavery's Ship of the Line: A History in Ship Models to show just how a little bit of scale to massive the plans are.

Looking at the pictures themselves I am particularly fond of the drawings showing the internals and even more so the image showing how she was rigged, especially as I personally haven''t come across many ship plans that include rigging shots. Interestingly the Venetian rigging plan tends to be quite different to other nations, the fore and mizzen masts are located a little more to the extremities of the ship, the bowsprit is more pronounced and the masts slightly higher than examples from other navies. The comprehensive nature of the plans is incredible, I would fully recommend buying Das Erbe der Serenissima just for these plans alone.

Sadly they aren't the best quality images around, I have done the best I can with the equipment I have, which is a phone camera, some pegs, a chair, a flattened cardboard box and a very heavy book in the attempt to take the best quality images I can, sadly though there is a little bit of distortion on the side of the phone camera and I also don't have the best lighting conditions available. Hopefully they have come out well enough to show off just how fantastic the plans are. Enjoy

 

 

Edited August 4, 2018 by Fluffy Fishy

[Haratik]

I would love to see her modeled, and in the game itself

[Fluffy Fishy]

I have been toying around with this thread recently, adding little bits and adjusting what is on it and I thought I might add some of the Artwork I've come across over time which includes the Fama class ships, mainly Fama, Gloria Veneta, Beyrand and Stengel. There are some nice bits I've stumbled by over the years of constant coming back to this ship so I thought I may as well throw them all up on this thread. Thank you to everyone who still keeps an eye out in the shipyard, I hope you enjoy these pictures by the fantastic artist Sandro Ferlugio:

This is a rough sketch watercolour of Fama at the Bombardment of La Goletta, while not a particularly accurate piece looking at Fama herself, the watercolour shows a nice interpretation of some of the activities going on supporting the destruction of the port town so often used as a base for Barbary pirates.

This is a picture showing the main expedition fleet on its way to the Tunisian Coastline in 1784, with Fama proudly presented in the foreground of the picture, the painting also shows some of the other ships present in the fleet, most easily seen are the Venetian first rate ships Forza and Vittoria also included are the bombard sloop Distruzione, the Frigate Palma and a Galiot and a Xebec.

In the spoiler below I will leave two close up shots, looking more closely at some of the details shown in the painting.

 

The first shows some of the crew close up, with an authentic drilled posture that would have been used by the Venetian navy at the time.

The second shows some of the flag symbols used by the Venetian navy, as with other navies to issue commands, Fama being the flagship of the Venetian fleet during the time of Angelo Emo's premiership as high admiral of Venice. It also shows quite nicely some of the rigging used by the ship.

Notice the great detail of the sailors climbing the rigging and standing to attention in the picture above.

This picture is a rough sketch that would later inspire the painting above, note the slightly different ship placement and absence of Palma and Distruzione, while the first rates also end up in slightly different positioning,

This picture shows the construction of the floating gun platforms used in the Bombardment of Sfax, it also again shows the large Venetian first rates Forza and Vittoria, and the bombard ship Distruzione, a Galiot and a few ship's boats. Fama is the ship on the immediate right of the painting unloading a long gun onto the gun platform. This is actually a picture I really like of the ship, partly because it gives a nice show of detail to how the ship would have looked from an angle unusual for ship paintings.

This image is one of the Bombardment of Sfax itself, with the full listing of ships shown in the writing at the bottom. The majority of the numbers show the floating bombardment platforms but it also lists the ships with convenient numbers, and going left to right it lists the ships; Concordia, Vittoria, Palma, Fama, Eolo, Distruzione, Polonia, Cupido and Exploritore. The bombardment of Sfax was one of the most significantly destroyed towns in the campaign.

While not as clear as the one above, this picture is a similar kind of piece again from around the time of the event. It shows the blockade of Ancona by the Russo-Turkish fleet, the ships Beyrand, Stengel and La Harpe are the large ships blocking the harbour mouth, although details are somewhat difficult to see it shows a nice perspective of what the desperation of the siege might encounter, with the Venetian ships serving under France, who were fighting the Russians and Turks at sea and also the Austrians on land during this battle.

I hope you enjoyed the sharing of these images, hopefully I will stumble across some more over time and share them with you all as I go. Thanks as always for reading.

Edited August 18, 2018 by Fluffy Fishy
Why are spoiler's so horrifically clunky to use on this forum....

[Arvenski]

47 minutes ago, Fluffy Fishy said:

Why are spoiler's so horrifically clunky to use on this forum....

Good to know it's not just me that has trouble with them. They seem to be a pain in the neck. 

Great images, though. And great posts. I've been reading a few of your posts in this thread; they're very well made. 

[Jean Ribault]

3 hours ago, Intrepido said:

...due to the game release in only a few months.

Oh how I'd like to become a believer.  My faith is not so strong as yours. 

[Arvenski]

4 hours ago, Intrepido said:

Its a pity so many ships will never be added to the game due to the game release in only a few months.

I doubt they'll stop adding new ships once the game releases. In fact, didn't they say a while ago that they weren't sure about adding any new ships before release?

[Fluffy Fishy]

I have posted this picture before, but I have decided to redo it with more information, to properly look at how it works within the context of the ships involved so as to give an Idea of Fama, and how she compares to other ships of similar sizes. I have also reuploaded the image to have much less distortion from page bending. The picture is of a comparison of how various ships sit in the water and is from the book Das Erbe Der Serenissima, by Dr Karl Klaus Korner. I have also included some specifics of the ships featured so as to further understand the comparison.

 

 

 

 

Concordia (1772) Venetian 40/56 gun Fregata Grossa/Second Rate:

Improved San Michele Arcangelo Class

Designer: Antonio Nadal di Annibale

Measurements

Total Length: 128,85 (Venetian foot) (44.8m)

Keel Length: 110 (Venetian foot) (38.25m)

Total Width: 35 (Venetian foot) (12.17m)

Bilge tip: 27.5 (Venetian foot) (9.56m)

Draught: 16.5 (Venetian foot) (5.73m)

Armament:

Fregata Grossa:

20 x 30lb (Venetian pound) (9 kg each)

20 x 14lb (Venetian pound) (4.2kg each)

Total Broadside: 440 lb (Venetian pound)

Second Rate:

24 x 30lb (Venetian pound) (12 kg each)

24 x 14lb (Venetian pound) (4.2kg each)

8 x 12lb (Venetian pound) (3.6 kg each)

Total Broadside: 576 lb (Venetian pound) (173.38 kg)

Plans:

 

 

(This is not the ship shown, I couldn't find an accurate plan, this is the original plan for the San Michele Arcangelo, Cooncordia featured a more restrained austere hull with regards to carvings, with updated bulwarks on the quarterdeck, more in time with typical thought of the era and experience with the original design.)

 

 

 

Short History: Designed as an improved, more modern version of the San Michele Arcangelo class first launched in 1749. Concordia was laid down in 1767 and launched in 1772. The majority of her career was spent supporting Venetian convoys to and from the eastern mediterranean, as part of this role she supplemented her role as a heavily armed transport ship and carried spare masts to support the Venetian navy. She later took part in the war against the Bey of Tunis where she took part in the hunting down of barbary ships and bombardment of Tunisian towns. Once the war had ended she returned to Venice and was in 1793 refitted as a receiving ship, where she served for 20 years before being broken up.

 

Dolphin (1781) British 44 gun 5th Rate;

Roebuck Class

Designer: Thomas Slade

Measurements

Length of Gundeck: 139' 11" (42.37m)

Length of Keel: 115' 6” (35.06m)

Width: 37' 10” (11.28m)

Depth of Hold: 16' 4" (4.89m)

Tons Burthen: 880 47⁄94

Draught: 19’ 3” (5.87m)

Armament:

20 x 18lb (8.16 kg each)

22 x 9lb (4.8 kg each)

2 x 6lb (2.72 kg each)

Total Total Broadside: 285 lb (129.27kg)

Plans:

 

 

 

 

 

Short History: HMS Dolphin was one of the batch of Roebuck class ships launched in 1781 towards the end of the American war of Independence, she was commissioned for service in the North Sea and was present at the battle of Dogger Bank, fighting against the Dutch. She was reassigned to the Jamaica Squadron in 1782 where she would spend the remainder of the war. With peacetime she was repaired and then laid in ordinary where she would stay until 1789, when she was refitted as a hospital ship in response to the Nootka crisis, where war with Spain looked likely to erupt, although by the time the refit was finished the crisis was over and again laid in ordinary. In 1793 she was commissioned as a storeship for the Mediterranean squadron where she took part in the evacuation of Porto Ferrajo and the capture of Minorca then returning to Lisbon to serve as a Hospital ship. In 1800 she returned to England and was refitted as a troopship, and later dispatched back to the Mediterranean where she took part in the Royal Navy’s Egyptian campaign, then returning and being paid off in 1802. In 1804 she saw another refit into a storeship, and would work to take supplies to Ireland. She then was refitted again in 1805, and went on to serve in the Leeward Islands, was refitted again and then broken up in 1817.

 

Grampus (1782) British 50 gun 4th Rate

Grampus Class Frigate

Designer: Edward Hunt

Measurements

Length of Gundeck: 148' 1 (45.11m)

Length of Keel: 121' 8" (36.89m)

Width: 40' 8" (12.4m)

Depth of Hold: 17' 9“ (5.19m)

Tons Burthen: 1,070 25⁄94

Draught: 20’ 7” (6.27m)

Armament

22 x 24lb (10.89 kg each)

22 x 12lb (5.44 kg each)

6 x 6lb (2.72 kg each)

Total Broadside: 414 lb (187.79 kg)

Plans:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short History: Built in Liverpool in 1782 very little seems to be written about her that I have seen, a similar design to the portland class although slightly larger with some interesting features like a fully built up bow and one of the ships that started the theme of enclosing the waist.  She was first commissioned in 1782 in home waters, in 1783 she was refitted for foreign service and recommissioned the same year although sadly I can’t find details to where this service took her. She returned in 1785, when she was refitted for African service, and then commissioned to serve there. She was later returned to Depford in July 1794 and broken up a month later.

 

Rättvisan (1783) Swedish 62 gun Third Rate

Improved Wasa Class

Designer: Fredrik Chapman

Measurements

Total Length: 167 (Swedish foot) (49.6m)

Width: 45’ 9” (Swedish foot) (13.59m)

Depth of Hold: 19’ 6” (Swedish foot)

Draught: 19’6 (Swedish foot) (5.79m)

Armament

Peacetime:

26 x 24lb (Swedish pound) (10.2 kg each)

28 x 18lb (Swedish pound) (7.65 kg each)

8 x 6lb (Swedish pound) (2.55 kg each)

Total Broadside: 588 lb (Swedish pound) (249.9 kg)

Wartime:

26 x 36lb (Swedish pound)

28 x 24lb (Swedish pound) (10.2 kg each)

8 x 6lb (Swedish pound) (2.55 kg each)

Total Broadside: 828 lb (Swedish pound) (351.9 kg)

Plans:

 

 

 

 

 

Short History: Rättvisan was one of the Improved Wasa Class ships drawn up by Chapman, constructed at great speed in Karlskrona, with her keel laid down on 19th of July.1783 and was launched only a month and a half later on the 2nd of September straight into service. Rattvisan was heavily involved with the Swedish-Russo war of 1788-90 where she took part in the battles of Hogoland and Vyborg. It was during the battle of Vyborg where she was captured by the Russians, who much prized Swedish ships. Now with Russia, she was commissioned to the Baltic in 1791, then stationed in Revel’ Roads between 1792-4, England 1795-6, then the Baltic again in 1797, the same year she was docked in Kronshtadt and surveyed for draughts so as could be copied. She departed her dock in 1798 and went to assist British efforts in the North sea until 1800. She then returned to russia, and received repairs between 1803-4 after which she returned to service in the Mediterranean. She fought at the battles of Mount Athos, The Dardanelles and Lemnos in 1807, was stationed to Lisbon between 1807-8 and then went on to be interned at portsmouth. She remained there until she was sold in 1813, although her guns were returned to russia.

 

 

Fama (1784) Venetian 66 gun Fregata Grossa/Second Rate (3rd Rate French/Austrian ship)

Fama Class

Designer:Domenico Giacomazzo

Measurements

Total Length: 138 (Venetian foot) (48.00)

Keel Length: 122 (Venetian foot) (42.42m)

Width: 37 (Venetian foot) (12.86m)

Draught: 17.5 (Venetian foot)(6.08m)

Bilge Tip: 28 (Venetian foot) (9.73m)

Armament:

26 x 40lb  (Venetian pound) (12 kg each)

26 x 30lb  (Venetian pound) (9 kg each)

14 x 14lb  (Venetian pound) (4.2kg each)

Total Broadside: 1008 lb (Venetian pound) (303.41 kg)

Plans:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short History: Designed as part of a modernisation project, bringing Venetian ships up to date with the double framed typical european standards of the time, she was launched in 1784 and sailed for Malta where immediately became the flagship of Angelo Emo, she took part in various action during this campaign, attacking large barbary ships and taking part in the bombardment and destruction of many of the most prolific bases for north african piracy. Following the death of Angelo Emo she returned to Venice carrying his body with full honours. After this she was displaced from being flagship by the larger ship Vittorio and she was sent to be stationed in Corfu, where she would spend the rest of her Venetian career patrolling the coastline for pirates. Following the surrender of Corfu she was captured and enlisted into the French Fleet, where she was sent to Toulon and received a small refit and rearmament, and was renamed Renomee, then Dubois. She then went on to serve in Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign, where she would sadly come into collision with the french flagship L’Orient at Alexandria, because of the damage she received she was then used as the command headquarters for the French forces, and later partially sunk to block the British fleet from entering the harbour, after the British routed the French from Egypt, she was captured by the British who inspected her and found her in poor condition so fully sank her. (For more history of her and her sister ships, please check the other posts in this thread, there are more in depths plans too)

 

Edited August 21, 2018 by Fluffy Fishy

[Barbancourt]

Excellent documentation

[Lord Vicious]

Probably one of best looking ship also by its armament seams really competitive

[SirAlatriste]

Really good ship, I hope this will go in the game. Lovely ship. And the venetian flag will arise soon in Flags DLC!!!!  We need more stuff like this one!!!

[LIONOFWALES]

We must have it! I would definitely try it at least. The more designs the merrier.