1797 - Admiral Duncan off Camperdown


 
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Naval History of Great Britain - Vol II
1797 British and Dutch Fleets 74

66, and the four remaining ships, 16, making a total of 68 guns. The four 50s mounted 56 guns each : twenty-four 18, twenty-four 12, and eight 8 pounders ; and the Mars, formerly a 60-gun ship, mounted, on her main deck, twenty-six 32, and on her quarterdeck and forecastle, eighteen 18 pounders. So that, although nominally a 44-gun frigate, the Mars, in broadside weight of metal, rather exceeded a British 64. With these explanations, the following will be the account of the number and nature of guns mounted by the two fleets:

BRITISH DUTCH
Long guns No. No. Long guns No. No.
32 pounders 196   32 pounders 216  
24 pounders 226   24 pounders 104  
18 pounders 380   18 pounders 408  
12 pounders 44   12 pounders 168  
9 pounders 206   8 pounders 138  
6 pounders 12 1064      
Carronades     Carronades    
68 pounders 2   None apparently.    
32 pounders 14      
24 pounders 28      
18 pounders 42 86    
Total 1150 Total 1034

The complements of the Dutch ships may be stated as they were returned by their own officers. From being expressed in round numbers, they were probably the full establishment of each ship ; but any deficiency in that respect is more than counterbalanced by the liberal allowance made on the other side. Having thus analyzed the armaments of the different ships engaged, we can, with more confidence, proceed to our next task, that of exhibiting, in one view, the:

COMPARATIVE FORCE OF THE TWO FLEETS.
    BRITISH. DUTCH.
Ships No. 16 16
Broadside-guns No. 575 517
lbs. 11501 9857
Crews Agg. No. 8221 7157
Size tons 23601 20937

When it is considered, that the Dutch had placed their frigates and ship and brig corvettes (even the latter carrying long 12, and some of them Iong 18-pounders), abreast of the intervals in their line, and that many of the British ships, in the van, centre, and rear, were much annoyed, as they luffed up to leeward of their opponents, by the raking fire of those vessel, the above statement, which excludes the whole of them, must appear, if favouring either party, to favour the Dutch. We might perhaps, fairly enough, owing to their active interference,

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