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History Fama was the flagship of the last great Admiral of the Venetian Republic Angelo Emo, who captained the ship during his continuous missions hunting down Barbary pirate including the siege of Tunis in 1785. Angelo Praised Fama for her considerable speed and agility naming the ship as comfortably the best Venice had. The plans for Fama were drawn up in 1782 and 6 ships were laid, of which 5 were completed she was constructed in the Venetian Arsenal by Giovanni Domenico Giacomazzi, who was considered the best venetian shipwright in of his time and built accordingly the "ad ordinata doppia" system which was implement in 1780 by Angelo Emo who after studying the construction techniques used by the English and the French, hoped to match them or even surpass them. Fama herself spent most of her career in active service, either stationed off of Corfu with the main detachment of the Venetian navy, ready to face threats from threats to the mouth of the Adriatic by the Ottomans or other hostile nations or spent hunting Pirates over the Mediterranean or Barbary Coast. Fama was captured alongside the rest of the Venetian fleet by Napoleon in 1797 when she was briefly renamed Renomee and then renamed again to Du Blois a month later. After her capture she was sailed to Tulon where she was rearmed with slightly smaller guns to fit French standards to take part in Napoleon's Egyptian expedition where she unfortunately collided with the French flagship "L'Orient", suffering severe damage. Despite her damage she remained to Alexandria and was used as headquarters by General Kleber was later partially sunk to block the entrance into Alexandria, she was then captured by the British and sadly broken up without the French, nor British ever realising her potential as a swift and powerful shock ship or as a strong commerce escort and pirate hunter. The Fama Class were given heavy armaments to match larger capital ships but maintaining the speed, versatility and agility of a frigate, thus the name Fregata Grossa came about, translating to Large Frigate, The ideas behind the Fregata Grossa rated ships were to hit hard and fast, able to set combat to their own advantage the theory was a cross between their contemporary super frigates and modern battlecruisers. They also contain similar thoughts used in the huge super frigates of the later 19th century but obviously without the steam engines to power them. The 6 Ships of the Fama Class were: Fama (1784) Gloria Veneta (1794) Le Stengel (1797) Le Beyrand (1797) Diamante (1797) Unnamed (uncompleted) Fama and Gloria Veneta both served under the Venetian Republic with considerable distinction. The other ships of the class were completed during the French and Austrian Occupation periods. Le Stengal and Beyrand both served briefly in the Napoleonic fleet and were then transferred to Austria as part of the peace deal. Diamante was badly damaged during the French Looting period and was patched up but sailed poorly, to deal with this she was armed from head to toe with 24lb guns and used as a floating battery, later she was repaired and served in the Austrian navy as a troop transport ship. A further Unnamed ship of the class was laid but damaged beyond salvation and was sadly broken up with parts being used to outfit other ships but mostly used as firewood. Fama well represents the Venetian Naval doctrine of the time, Venice continuing to fight with a hybrid fleet of Galeass, Galleys and Frigates, due to the history and nature of what remained of the Venetian Empire. Her outfitting, speed and manoeuvrability made her a great shock ship with a strong punch, able to hunt down pirates and operate well in shallow waters and archipelagos with complex coastlines. She is also incredibly well suited for the calm waters of the Mediterranean and able to produce good speed no matter the wind conditions. She was praised for her sailworthiness by her captains and considered the jewel in the late Venetian Fleet. Details Fama was considered a Secondo Rango Fregata Grossa within the Venetian Fleet, then after she was captured by the French she was reclassified as a 3rd rate, although if she were in the game she would likely be similarly placed as Agamemnon, among the 4th rates. Her measurements are (peidi are the Venetian feet): Total Length: 138 piedi or 48.00 meters Keel: 122 piedi or 42.42 meters Width: 37 piedi or 12.86 meters Draft: 17.5 piedi or 6.08 meters (when under French service: 16 fore, 18ft aft (5.2-5.85m)) Bilge Tip (height between the keel and deck): 28 piedi or 9.73m She was crewed by around 450-500 men, depending on how many sailors Venice could muster at the time. The Venetian state had a continuous issue with raising the appropriate number of men to serve on her navies during the later years of the republic. Fama had similar crew numbers to her contemporary 64s by other navies, however due to her smaller size these men served in even more cramp conditions than was generally experienced by the worlds navies, her officers quarters were equally as confined, especially considering that she was used for most of her career as an admiral's flagship, although these close natured lodgings were something the Venetians were always used to back at home in Venice. She sailed incredibly well and was praised for being hugely fast and agile, giving her the best ability to perform her main tasks, protecting merchant shipping and hunting down pirates. Her performance under sail is fairly well documented, receiving universal commendation from the officers who sailed her. I have not yet found any information about how she heeled, rolled and other similar specifics, as Venice had no sailing queries similar to the Royal Navy. Armaments Fama Carried 66 Guns, and her four chasers, below is a make up of weight and armaments during both the French and Venetian outfitting. She also had the potential to point the two cannons nearest the bow on the main gun deck in a forwards direction to aid the 2 dedicated chase guns situated either side of the foremast and 2 rear facing guns. During Venetian period by Venetian Weight 26 x 40lb (26.5 British pounds) (12.04 kg) 26 x 30lb (20 British pounds) (9.03 kg) 14 x 14lb (9 British pounds) (4.21 kg) 2x 14lb (9 British lb) Bow Chasers (4.21 kg) 2x 14lb (9 British lb) Stern Chasers (4.21 kg) Broadside Weight = 1008 Venetian Pounds (667.5 British Pounds) (303.4 kg) French Period By French Weight (reduced to a 64) 26 x 24lb (11.74 kg) 26 x 18lb (8.8 kg) 12 x 6lb (2.93 kg) 2 x 6lb Bow Chasers (2.93 kg) 2 x 6lb Stern Chasers (2.93 kg) Broadside Weight = 588 French Pound (634.75 British Pounds) (287.5kg) Plans The most true plans, showing the proper lines of of either La Fama or Gloria Veneta, as said below in a post stating the edit history of this thread. This is the only record showing the proper 66 broadside gun ports, although the plan below does miss her bow chasers. The other plans like with her sister ship Stengel show the correct lines, but sadly show incorrect positioning for the guns on the quarterdeck, the other plans show only 6 guns either side (12 in total) from when she was reduced to a 64 rather than the true build when she had 7 (14), which are shown correctly here. This is a modern reproduction by Guido Ercole, there are a couple of minor mistakes where she is shown having 28 guns, not her proper 26 on both her gun decks, she is also missing a gun on her weather deck. The rest of the reproduction is still accurate, with the sail plan and also shows a nice idea of what she would have looked like painted. Some less detailed plans, most likely showing Stengel, after she has one of her weather deck gun ports removed making her into a 64. Rough Planking and Framing Methods used Art Many Thanks go to Sella22 for letting me use some of his resources, I would really love to see this ship in the game, she would be a fantastic addition. Thank you for Reading.- 42 replies
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