| The era of colony inventions stimulated the
growth and improvement of the navy. The state controlling the shipping routes controlled the whole
New World. This period witnessed more naval battles than all the previous ones. In 1653, the British Admiralty divided ships into 6 classes: 1 - over 90
cannons, 2 - over 80 cannons, 3 - over 50 cannons, 4 - over 38 cannons, 5 - over 18 cannons, 6 - over 6 cannons. According to this
classification, the quantity of decks
and the ship's size were regulated. The first three classes related to
battleships with a displacement of 900 - 1,800 tons and a crew of about 750
people. The fourth and fifth classes were attributed to frigates. The sixth class was represented by transport and messenger ships.
There
were also a lot of ships not included in any of these classes: bombardier ships, fire-ships, yachts, pontoons, schooners, etc. Battleships were the major naval
strength. They appeared in the mid-17th century. At this time, the ships started forming strict columns.
Ships had previously lined up before a battle
and later broken formation, turning the battle into a chaotic scramble.
Artillery was used inefficiently, with ships preventing each other from
firing. It was very difficult to command the ships' fire and to carry out coordinated actions. Small vessels stuffed with explosives and inflammables,
fire-ships floating down-wind, could easily find their victims. A small, cheap vessel could founder
a flagship. The column formation greatly strengthened the warships' effectiveness, but to make the navy really strong it had to consist of equal, mighty ships. Otherwise the enemy
could find a
weak spot and break the array.
Thus, the introduction of battleships appeared to be a turning point in military operations
for winning sea domination. Frigates - ships with less
ammunition and of smaller displacement, but of higher speed - were created to conduct cruiser operations.
In the late 16th century, Sir Robert Dedly built the first frigate, and 80 years later they
were widely used in European fleets. English warships were
usually heavy-loaded with the lower ports 3 feet above the water. The ports were not to be opened in windy weather.
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