Sail and Steam |
Click on thumbnail for larger image.
When steam propulsion was first fitted into British ships-of-the-line, the engines were not powerful and masts with a full outfit of sails were retained for cruising. Naval staff considered that steam engines were not totally reliable and they may breakdown - the early ones did - so a warship had to have an alternative means of propulsion. Engines were used intermittently and for short periods when the wind was not favourable or in dead calm. Engineers were trained to operate and maintain the engine and associated machinery but they had to fight hard to gain their rightful status amid opposition and downright hostility on board from conservative sail ship officers reluctant to see sail drill disappear and for smoke, soot and coal dust to cover the decks, buffed-up metalwork and brightly-painted superstructure. After 100 years of Pax Britannica, they seem to have forgotten what was the role of a fighting navy - built for action not for show. |
Catalogue number **** French warships with sails out Part of the French Mediterranean fleet probably drying out the sails whilst off the port of Villefranche sur Mer at the turn of the century. **** |
![]() |