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Subject: '74 gun third rate vs. Sixteen
boris the romanian    9/1/2004 9:38:41 AM
This is clearly a ludicrous subject as given the right wind conditions a '74 will blow a sixteen right out of the water (especially in close, with double or triple shot), but if becalmed it is my argument that a ramming attack in the bows or stern by a sixteen would break the '74's back. My brother and I had a Scotch-induced argument, and I just wanted to hear some opinions.
 
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Ehran    RE:'74 gun third rate vs. Sixteen   9/22/2004 1:06:57 PM
i am aware of how lethal slingers are on dry land. throw in a moving target and a bit of wave action however and i think you will find the effective range drops rather drastically. i would wonder why ancient swords would be better than an 18th century cutlass however? light armour and shields make a very considerable difference but they seriously hinder climbing up the side of the 74 to reach the sailors. you may also want to factor in the effect of those little one pounder cannons used to "discourage" would be boarders. imagine shotguns with a one inch bore being fired into a mass of men waiting to climb up to get into the fight. it's not going to be as one sided a fight as you think. i haven't run across any instances of galleys capturing a sailing man o war without first bombarding her.
 
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boris the romanian    RE:'74 gun third rate vs. Sixteen   9/22/2004 8:48:50 PM
"i would wonder why ancient swords would be better than an 18th century cutlass however? " The falcata was made of better steel, and the blade was far more "vicious". Its blows went clean throught Roman "Montefortino" helmets without any trouble and shields were only slightly better protection. The Roman "gladius hispaniensis" had much higher tolerances than any cutlass, and its murderous point was deadly in the hands of a superbly trained marine legionary. "light armour and shields make a very considerable difference but they seriously hinder climbing up the side of the 74 to reach the sailors" The "harpax" grapnel would be very useful in allowing "corvus"-like boarding planks to securely fasten the 'sixteen' to the '74. The swivel guns would be very useful but they wouldn't deal with over four hundred marines. "i haven't run across any instances of galleys capturing a sailing man o war without first bombarding her. " The seventeenth and eighteenth century galleys had a mere fraction of the combat power of the ancient juggernaughts. I don't think they'd stand much of a chance against a 'seven', let alone a 'sixteen'.
 
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