'Caesar' English 3-Rate 1793 (With plans)

[Mighty_Alex]

HMS Caesar was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 16 November 1793 at Plymouth. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only ship built to her draught. She was also one of only two British-built 80-gun ships of the period, the other being HMS Foudroyant (1798).

Battle of Algeciras Bay

She was involved in the Battle of Algeciras Bay in 1801, during which her Master, William Grave, was killed and buried in Trafalgar Cemetery in Gibraltar.

Battle of Cape Ortegal

The Battle of Cape Ortegal was the final action of theTrafalgar Campaign, and was fought between a squadron of the Royal Navy and a remnant of the fleet that had been destroyed several weeks earlier at the Battle of Trafalgar. It took place on 4 November 1805 off Cape Ortegal, in north-west Spain and saw a squadron under Captain Sir Richard Strachan in Caesar defeat and capture a French squadron under Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley.

Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne

In 1809, she took part in the Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne.

Fate

She was converted to serve as a depot ship in 1814, and was broken up in 1821.

 

General characteristics

Class and type: 80-gun third rate ship of the line

Tons burthen: 1992 tons (2024 tonnes)

Length: 181 ft (55 m) (gundeck)

Beam: 51 ft 3 in (15.62 m)

Depth of hold: 22 ft 4 in (6.81 m)

 

Armament: 80 guns:

Gundeck: 30 × 32 pdrs

Upper gundeck: 32 × 24 pdrs

Quarterdeck: 14 × 9 pdrs

Forecastle: 4 × 9 pdrs

Strachan's Action after Trafalgar, 4 November 1805: Bringing Home the Prizes

After their defeat at Trafalgar in 1805, the remnants of the Franco-Spanish fleet dispersed and sought safety to seaward. Off Cape Ortegal, north-west Spain, was a squadron of British ships under the command of Sir Richard Strachan. His brief was to apprehend Captain Allemand's Franco-Spanish Rochefort squadron and when a group of enemy ships were sighted he initially assumed that they were Allemand's. In fact they were commanded by Rear-Admiral Dumanoir-Le-Pelley who was trying to reach safety with his four ships of the line; the 'Formidable', 80 guns, 'Mont Blanc', 74 guns, 'Scipion', 74 guns and 'Duguay-Trouin', 74 guns. An action ensued in which all four French ships were taken. The painting shows the four ships represented as prizes being carried home to Plymouth. The 'Caesar', 80 guns, is shown in broadside and bow view, flying the red ensign from the stern. The holes in her sails testify to the action and she has the captured French ship 'Formidable', 80 guns, in tow. Pendennis Castle, Falmouth, is visible in the background to the right together with the coastline of Cornwall. Other British ships involved in the action are also towing their captured ships along the English Channel. In the foreground a small boat flying the white ensign is laden with people watching the scene. Several of the men wave their hats to salute the vessels as they sail past and serve to underscore that this has been a British victory. The captured French ships were all added to the Royal Navy, with the 'Formidable', becoming the 'Brave', and the 'Duguay-Trouin', the 'Implacable'. Strachan's action gave the final blow to Napoleon's invasion plans. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral on 9 November 1805 and each of the captains involved in the action was presented with a gold medal. 

Plans:

[Arvenski]

Hang on, Wikipedia says Formidable was a Tonnant-class, so why does that painting apparently portray her as a 3- or maybe even 4-decker?

 

 

Also, HMS Caesar is interesting: I guess I wasn't aware until the other day that the British had built a couple of their own 80-gun two-deckers. It'd be interesting to see how she'd compare to St. Paul and Bucentaure in-game. 

[BlueEagleGER]

Alex, does she have any chaser guns?

[Snoopy]

Bucentaure is longer and afaik a bit beefier in general - and has 12pdrs instead of the 9s. I think all 80ish gun ship should get chasers. I'm a noob and in my lubberly brain I think it would have been possible to rearrange the guns on the forecastle on these vessels .

[Surcouf]

Alex, does she have any chaser guns?

The chaser guns are guns that can move from the deck to the chaser ports guns.

In the game, they are already in place, but in reality this is not the case.

[LeBoiteux]

The chaser guns are guns that can move from the deck to the chaser ports guns.

In the game, they are already in place, but in reality this is not the case.

... or never in place (on small ships) , such as that one :

[marecek05]

Hang on, Wikipedia says Formidable was a Tonnant-class, so why does that painting apparently portray her as a 3- or maybe even 4-decker?

 

 

Also, HMS Caesar is interesting: I guess I wasn't aware until the other day that the British had built a couple of their own 80-gun two-deckers. It'd be interesting to see how she'd compare to St. Paul and Bucentaure in-game. 

 

The guy that painted the picture specialized in horse portraits... so maybe an honest mistake, or an attempt to inflate the British victory...

[marecek05]

Bucentaure is longer and afaik a bit beefier in general - and has 12pdrs instead of the 9s. I think all 80ish gun ship should get chasers. I'm a noob and in my lubberly brain I think it would have been possible to rearrange the guns on the forecastle on these vessels .

 

It should also have 42-lbs guns (36-livre guns ~ 40lbs round) instead of 32 pounders. However due to having similiar crew size, Buc's crew would tire faster. I wish the higher alpha damage, but dpm fall overtime (first couple of reloads of 42 and 32 would be similar speedwise) would be modeled....

Edited August 25, 2015 by marecek05

[Mighty_Alex]

Hang on, Wikipedia says Formidable was a Tonnant-class, so why does that painting apparently portray her as a 3- or maybe even 4-decker?

I think this is just "artist's vision". The painting itself doesn't look very realistic, as you can notice.

[Alex Connor]

Bucentaure is longer and afaik a bit beefier in general - and has 12pdrs instead of the 9s. I think all 80ish gun ship should get chasers. I'm a noob and in my lubberly brain I think it would have been possible to rearrange the guns on the forecastle on these vessels .

 

For a warship not to have chasers would be noteworthy, almost every ship in the game should have at least a pair of bowchasers, either the normal type pointing straight forward or the 45 degree angled type mounted in the hull to fire at a vessel on your forward quarter.

 

Bucentaure would have a pair on the forecastle, another pair on the upper deck firing through the bulwark and 2 more in the angled leading pair of lower deck gunports (note, all these ports would normally be empty and guns moved as required). Pavel would have a pair on the forecastle like any other SoL but doesn't have angled ports in the hull or in the beakhead.

 

All the frigates should have bowchasers, either a pair on the forecastle or a pair in angled upper deck ports, sometimes both (Trincomalee and Constitution).

[maturin]

It's a little silly that the guns in our bridle port can fire so far forward as chasers, bit arbitrarily count as broadside guns in some vessels.

[akd]

... or never in place (on small ships) , such as that one :

Or always in place, but firing as broadside guns instead of chasers (Belle Poule, Mercury).

[BlueEagleGER]

Surcouf, and what about rear ports?

2 front, 2 rear or any other mix?

I DO know that guns can be moved...

[maturin]

Those rear ports down by the rudder are really for anchor cables. At least in a frigate, yiu would have to be pretty desperate to arm them.

For a warship not to have chasers would be noteworthy

For most of the 18th century SoLs didn't bother having bow ports though.

[Alex Connor]

Those rear ports down by the rudder are really for anchor cables. At least in a frigate, yiu would have to be pretty desperate to arm them.

For most of the 18th century SoLs didn't bother having bow ports though.

Rule for stern ports is whether guns are carried on that deck. Frigates and smaller, usually not (barring razees and the few frigates built with an armed gundeck). Frigates though will almost always have a pair of sternports for the quarterdeck, and failing that a pair of ports in the sterngallery itself (a lot of British frigates had this and could mount 4 sternchasers if needed). SoL will always have 2 or even 4 chaser ports under the stern gallery.

 

Any SoL with guns on the forecastle has bowchasers by default, even at the start of the 18th century you would find SoL with 2 or 4 positions to mount bowchasers.