Seafaring is a tradition which encompasses a variety of professions and ranks. Each of these roles carries unique responsibilities which are integral to the successful operation of a seafaring vessel.[1] A ship's crew can generally be divided into four main categories: the deck department, the engineering department, the steward's department, and other. The reasoning behind this is that a ship's bridge, filled with sophisticated navigational equipment, requires skills differing from those used on deck operations – such as berthing, cargo and/or military devices; which in turn requires skills different from those used in a ship's engine room and propulsion, and so on.
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However do note that the following is only a partial listing of professions and ranks. Ship operators have understandably employed a wide variety of positions, given the vast array of technologies, missions, and circumstances that ships have been subjected to over the years.
There are some notable trends in modern or twenty-first century seamanship. Usually, seafarers work on board a ship between three and six years. Afterwards they are well prepared for working in the European maritime industry ashore.[2] Generally, there are some differences between naval and civilian seafarers. One such example is nationality on merchant vessels, which is usually diverse and not identical like on military craft. As a result, special cross-cultural training is required – especially with regard to a lingua franca.[3] Another notable trend is that administrative work has increased considerably on board, partly as an effect of increased focus on safety and security. A study shows that due to this development certain skills are missing and some are desired, so that a new degree of flexibility and job sharing has arisen, as the workload of each crew member also increases.[4]
- 1Modern ship's complement
- 1.2Deck department
- 1.2.1Deck officers
- 1.2.2Deck ratings
- 1.3Engine department
- 1.3.1Engineering officers
- 1.3.2Engine ratings / unlicensed
- 1.4Electro-technical department
- 1.5Steward's department
- 1.2Deck department
- 2Royal Navy historical ship's complement
Modern ship's complement[edit]
Captain[edit]
The captain or master is the ship's highest responsible officer, acting on behalf of the ship's owner. Whether the captain is a member of the deck department or not is a matter of some controversy, and generally depends on the opinion of an individual captain. When a ship has a third mate, the captain does not stand watch.
The captain is responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the ship as he/she is in command. It is his/her responsibility to ensure that all the departments under him/her perform to the requirements. The captain represents the owner and hence is called 'master'.
Deck department[edit]
Deck officers[edit]
Deck officers are licensed mariners that are responsible for the navigation and safe passage of the ship.
Chief mate[edit]
Epaulettes worn by the chief officer on merchant ships (similar to those worn by a commander in the commonwealth navies)
The chief mate is the head of the deck department on a merchant vessel, second-in-command after the ship's Master. The Chief mate's primary responsibilities are the vessel's cargo operations, its stability, and supervising the deck crew. The mate is responsible for the safety and security of the ship, as well as the welfare of the crew on board. The chief mate typically stands the 4–8 navigation watch as OICNW (officer in-charge of the navigational watch), directing the bridge team. Some crews have additional Third mates, which allow the Chief mate to not stand navigational watch, and focus more on cargo and deck operations. Additional duties include maintenance of the ship's hull, cargo gears, accommodations, life saving appliances and firefighting appliances. The chief mate also trains the crew and cadets on various aspects like safety, firefighting, search and rescue, and various other contingencies. The chief officer assumes command of the whole ship in the absence or incapacitation of the master.
Second mate[edit]
The second mate is a qualified OICNW watch stander, directing the bridge team and navigating the ship. The Second mate is the 3rd most experienced deck department officer after the Captain/Master and Chief mate. The Second mate's primary duty is navigational, which includes updating charts and publications, keeping them current, making passage plans, and all aspects of ship navigation. The Second mate's other duties may include directing line handlers, cargo watches, directing anchor detail and training and instructing crew members.
Third mate[edit]
The Third officer is a qualified OICNW watch-stander, junior to the Second Mate. When on navigational watch, the Third mate directs the bridge team, maneuvering the vessel, keeping it safe and on track. The Third mate's primary duty is matters of safety, inspecting gear lockers, lifeboats, and all equipment onboard ensuring that it is safe and operational. Other duties include directing line handlers, cargo watches, directing anchor details and training and instructing crew members. He is normally the part of the Command team during emergencies and drills.
Deck cadet[edit]
A Deck Cadet or Trainee Navigational Officer or Nautical Apprentice is an apprentice who has to learn the basic duties of a deck officer onboard a ship. Deck cadets after sufficient sea time and exams attain certificate of competency of OICNW.
Deck ratings[edit]
Mariners without a certificate of competence are called ratings. They assist in all other tasks that can arise during a voyage. This includes for example, mooring, cleaning of the ship and its holds and repairing broken lines and ropes. These are physically challenging jobs and have to be done regardless of the weather.[2]
Boatswain[edit]
The boatswain is the highest ranking unlicensed (rating) in the deck department. The boatswain generally carries out the tasks instructed by the chief mate, directing the able seaman and ordinary seaman. The boatswain generally does not stand a navigational watch.
Able seaman[edit]
An able seaman (AB) works under the boatswain, completing tasks such as working mooring lines, operating deck gear, standing anchor details, and working cargo. An able seaman also stands a navigational watch, generally as a lookout or helmsman.
Ordinary seaman[edit]
The lowest ranking personnel in the deck department. An ordinary seaman (OS) generally helps out with work that able seamen do. Other tasks include standing lookout, and generally cleaning duties.
Engine department[edit]
Engineering officers[edit]
The engineers are also called technical officers. They are responsible for keeping the ship and the machinery running. Today, ships are complex units that combine a lot of technology within a small space. This includes not only the engine and the propulsion system, but also, for example, the electrical power supply, devices for loading and discharging, garbage incineration and fresh water generators. Also they are commonly considered a high officer in ranking in the ship.[2]
Chief engineer[edit]
The chief engineer on a merchant vessel is the official title of someone qualified to oversee the engine department. The qualification for this position is colloquially called a 'Chief's Ticket'.
The Chief Engineer, commonly referred to as 'The chief', or just 'chief', is responsible for all operations and maintenance that have to do with all machinery and equipment throughout the ship. They may be paid on par with the captain, and holds the same rank as the captain, although he is never responsible for the action of ship. The chief engineer cannot assume command and the command always rests with the Captain of the ship, unless it is clearly mentioned within the safety management system.[citation needed]
Second engineer[edit]
The second engineer or first assistant engineer is the officer responsible for supervising the daily maintenance and operation of the engine department. He or she reports directly to the chief engineer.[citation needed]
Third engineer[edit]
The third engineer or second assistant engineer is usually in charge of boilers, fuel, auxiliary engines, condensate and feed systems, and is the third most senior marine engineer on board. Depending on usage, 'the Second' or 'the Third' is also typically in charge of fueling (a.k.a. bunkering), granted the officer holds a valid Person In Charge (PIC) endorsement for fuel transfer operations.[citation needed]
Fourth engineer[edit]
The fourth engineer or third assistant engineer is junior to the second assistant engineer/third engineer in the engine department.
Engine ratings / unlicensed[edit]
Motorman[edit]
The motorman is an unlicensed member of the engine department, with more experience than an Oiler.
Oiler[edit]
The oiler is an unlicensed member of the engine department, with more experience than a Wiper.
Wiper[edit]
The wiper is an unlicensed member of the engine department, usually with the least experience.[citation needed]
Electro-technical department[edit]
Electro-technical officer[edit]
The electro-technical officer sometimes referred to as the electrical engineer is in charge of all the electrical systems on the ship. The electrical engineer is one of the most vital positions in the technical hierarchy of a ship and engineer is responsible for their assigned work under the chief engineer’s instructions.
Unlike engineers the ETO does not carry out an assigned engine room 'watch' instead they are normally on call 24 hours a day and generally work a daily shift carrying out electrical and electronic maintenance, repairs, installations and testing.
Some shipping companies do not carry electrical officers on their ship to cut down the manning cost, and the electrical duties are carried by an engineer. This is usually the third engineer. However, many companies realized that electrical and electronic system requires some extra attention and therefore require an expert to attend them. Teamspeak clownfish plugin. This is especially true on diesel electric ships or vessels equipped with systems such as dynamic positioning.
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On larger vessels such as cruise ships, electrotechnical officers can have ranks within their profession, such position names include, lead ETO, 1st Electrician, chief electrical officer or chief electrical engineer. In this situation, the highest ranked electrotechnical officer will report directly to the chief engineer. On special class ships such as FPSOs the electrotechnical officer can sometimes earn nearly the same wage as a chief engineer due to the complexity of the electrical systems on the ship.
As the technology advances, more automation and electronic circuits are replacing conventional and electrical systems. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) amended STCW 95 (also known as the Manila Amendment) on June 25, 2010 to introduce the certified position of Electro-technical officer in place of Electrical officer.[citation needed]
With advancements in satellite communications leading to the widespread adoption of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System the old position of radio officer is far less common, although a U.S. Coast Guard license is still issued for it.[5] Ship officers may be licensed by the Federal Communications Commission as GMDSS operators and electrical officers as GMDSS maintainers. Morse code has not been used on French ships since 1997[6] and on U.S. ones since 1999[7] However, an FCC certificate for radiotelegraphy may still be obtained.
Steward's department[edit]
Chief steward[edit]
The chief steward directs, instructs, and assigns personnel performing such functions as preparing and serving meals; cleaning and maintaining officers' quarters and steward department areas; and receiving, issuing, and inventorying stores. The chief steward also plans menus; compiles supply, overtime, and cost control records. The steward may requisition or purchase stores and equipment. Additional duties may include baking bread, rolls, cakes, pies, and pastries.
Chief cook[edit]
The chief cook is the senior unlicensed crew member working in the steward's department of a ship. His position corresponds to that of the Boatswain in the deck department, the pump man in an oil tanker, and the electrician (but not ETO) in the engine department of a container ship or general cargo ship. He is the equivalent to a chief petty officer in the Navy.[citation needed]
The chief cook directs and participates in the preparation and serving of meals; determines timing and sequence of operations required to meet serving times; inspects galley and equipment for cleanliness and proper storage and preparation of food.[citation needed]
Royal Navy historical ship's complement[edit]
Relative ranks in the Royal Navy, c. 1810. Warrant officers are underlined in the chart.[8]
The Captain was a commissioned officer naval officer in command of a ship and was addressed by naval custom as 'captain' while aboard in command, regardless of the officer's actual rank.
Wardroom officers[edit]
The Lieutenants were commissioned officers immediately subordinate to the captain. Lieutenants were numbered by their seniority within the ship, so that a frigate (which was entitled to three lieutenants) would have a first lieutenant, a second lieutenant, and a third lieutenant. A first-rate was entitled to six lieutenants, and they were numbered accordingly.
The 'Sailing Master' was a naval officer trained in and responsible for the navigation of a sailing vessel. The rank can be equated to a professional seaman and specialist in navigation, rather than as a military commander and was originally a warrant officer who ranked with, but after, the lieutenants and was eventually renamed to 'navigating lieutenant' in 1867.
The Captain of Marines was the commissioned office in command of the Royal Marines on the ship.
The Purser was the officer responsible for all administration and of supplies such as food and drink, clothing, bedding, candles, the purser was originally known as 'the clerk of burser'. Pursers received no pay but were entitled to profits made through their business activities. In the 18th century a purser would buy his warrant for £65 and was required to post sureties totalling £2,100 with the Admiralty.[9] They maintained and sailed the ships and were the standing officers of the navy, staying with the ships in port between voyages as caretakers supervising repairs and refitting.[10]
The Surgeon was the medical officer of the ship. Surgeons were ranked by the Navy Board based on their training and social status.[11] Surgeons were wardroom warrant officers with a high status, billeted along with the other officers in the wardroom.[12] Surgeons were assisted by surgeon's mates, who after 1805 were called 'assistant surgeons'.[13] The surgeon and his mates were assisted by boys, who were called 'loblolly boys', named after the gruel commonly served in the sick bay.[7] A small number of doctors with a prestigious medical education were ranked as physicians; they would supervise surgeons on ships or run hospitals on shore.[14]
The Chaplain led the ship's religious services. As an ordained minister, his social status meant he was made an officer.
Standing officers[edit]
Uninstall ableton live 10 trial mac. The Gunner was the warrant officer in charge of the ships's naval artillery and other weapons. He supervised the Armourer, the Gunners mate and the Yeoman of the Powder room.
The Boatswain (/ˈboʊsən/), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, was the warrant officer of the deck department. As deck crew foreman, the boatswain planned the day's work and assigned tasks to the deck crew. As work was completed, the boatswain checked the completed work was done correctly. He supervised the Ropemaker, the Boatswain's mate and the Sailmaker.
The carpenter was the warrant officer who was responsible for the maintenance and repair of the wooden components of the ship. He supervised the Caulker, the Carpenter's mate and the Master-at-arms.
Cockpit mates[edit]
Originally, a master's mate was an experienced petty officer, who assisted the master, but was not in line for promotion to lieutenant.[15] By the mid-eighteenth century, he was far more likely to be a superior midshipman, still waiting to pass his examination for lieutenant or to receive his commission, but taking rather more responsibility aboard ship. Six master's mates were allowed on a first rate, three on a third rate, and two on most frigates.[16]
Senior petty officers[edit]
A Midshipman was an apprentice officer who had previously served at least three years as a volunteer, officer's servant or able seaman, and was roughly equivalent to a present-day petty officer in rank and responsibilities. After serving at least three years as a midshipman or master's mate, he was eligible to take the examination for lieutenant. Promotion to lieutenant was not automatic, and many midshipmen took positions as master's mates for an increase in pay and responsibility aboard ship.
The Clerk was a literate worker who did administrative work on the ship.
The Armourer maintained and repaired the smaller weapons on the ship.
The Caulker maintained and repaired the caulking of the ship's hull.
Sn-pu37h-bk driver for mac mojave. The Ropemaker made, maintained and repaired ropes on board.
The 'Master-at-arms' was a naval rating, responsible discipline aboard ship, assisted by Corporals.
Petty officers[edit]
The Yeoman of the Sheets was in charge of the rope store. Given that the ship was rarely dry inside and the ropes rotted when wet, preserving the rope was a major problem.[17]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Ranks & STCW Requirements
- ^ abc'Careers on board'. Go-maritime.net. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^'Cross-cultural training needs of seafarers, shore-based personnel and industry stakeholders'(PDF). Know-me.org. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^Gesine Stueck. '2.1.Future demand of maritime professionals in the maritime and port industry'. Know-me.org. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^Mariner Credentialing
- ^. --- . .-. . .--. (SOS, RIP)
- ^Maritime Morse Code Slips Gradually Under the Waves
- ^Lavery, Brian (1989). Nelson's Navy: The Ships, Men and Organization. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p. 136. ISBN0-87021-258-3.
- ^Royal Navy Customs and Traditions
- ^Naval Historical Center (2005-07-20). 'Why is the Colonel Called 'Kernal'? The Origin of the Ranks and Rank Insignia Now Used by the United States Armed Forces'. United States Navy. Archived from the original on 1998-07-03. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
- ^King 2001, p. 32
- ^King 2001, pp. 33
- ^King 2001, p. 16>
- ^King 2001, pp. 31
- ^Lavery, Brian (1989). Nelson's Navy: The Ships, Men and Organization. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press. p. 93. ISBN0-87021-258-3.
- ^Lavery, Brian (1989). Nelson's Navy: The Ships, Men and Organization. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press. p. 328. ISBN0-87021-258-3.
- ^The Wooden World: Anatomy of the Georgian Navy by N.A.M. Rodger, ISBN978-0006861522
King, Dean (2001). A Sea of Words: Lexicon and Companion for Patrick O'Brian's Seafaring Tales. Henry Holt. ISBN0-8050-6615-2. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Seafarer%27s_professions_and_ranks&oldid=909423846'
A contemporary diagram illustrating a first- and a third-rate ship.
The rating system of the Royal Navy and its predecessors was used by the Royal Navy between the beginning of the 17th century and the middle of the 19th century to categorise sailing warships, initially classing them according to their assigned complement of men, and later according to the number of their carriage-mounted guns.
- 1Origins and description
- 3Royal Navy rating system in force during the Napoleonic Wars
- 8Practices in other navies
Origins and description[edit]
The first movement towards a rating system may be seen in the 15th century and the first half of the 16th century, when the largest carracks in the Navy (such as the Mary Rose, the Peter Pomegranate and the Henri Grâce à Dieu) were denoted 'great ships'. This was only on the basis of their roughly-estimated size and not on their weight, crew or number of guns. When these carracks were superseded by the new-style galleons later in the 16th century, the term 'great ship' was used to formally delineate the Navy's largest ships from all the rest.[1]
The Stuart era[edit]
The earliest categorisation of Royal Navy ships dates to the reign of King Henry VIII. Henry's Navy consisted of 58 ships, and in 1546 the Anthony Roll divided them into four groups: 'ships, galliasses,[Note 1]pinnaces, and row barges.'[2]:128[q 1]
The formal system of dividing up the Navy's combatant warships into a number or groups or 'rates', however, only originated in the very early part of the Stuart era, with the first lists of such categorisation appearing around 1604. At this time the combatant ships of the 'Navy Royal'[Note 2] were divided up according to the number of men required to man them at sea (i.e. the size of the crew) into four groups:
- Royal Ships (the largest ships in the previous 'great ships' grouping) mounting 42–55 guns and carrying at least 400 men;[3]
- Great Ships (the rest of the ships in the previous 'great ships' grouping) mounting 38–40 guns;
- Middling ships mounting 30–32 guns; and
- Small ships mounting fewer than 30 guns
A 1612 list referred to four groups: royal, middling, small and pinnaces; but defined them by tonnage instead of by guns, starting from 800 to 1200 tons for the ships royal, down to below 250 tons for the pinnaces.[2]:128[q 2]
By the early years of King Charles I's reign, these four groups had been renamed to a numerical sequence.[dubious] The royal ships were now graded as first rank, the great ships as second rank, the middling ships as third rank, and the small ships as fourth rank.[citation needed] Soon afterwards, the structure was again modified, with the term rank now being replaced by rate, and the former small ships now being sub-divided into fourth, fifth and sixth rates.[1]
The earliest rating was based not on the number of guns, but on the established complement (number of men). In 1626, a table drawn up by Charles I used the term rates for the first time in a classification scheme connected with the Navy. The table specified the amount of monthly wages a seaman or officer would earn, in an ordered scheme of six rates, from 'first-rate' to 'sixth-rate', with each rate divided into two classes, with differing numbers of men assigned to each class. No specific connection with the size of the ship or number of armaments aboard was given in this 1626 table, and as far as is known, this was related exclusively to seaman pay grades.[2]:128[q 3]
This classification scheme was substantially altered in late 1653 as the complements of individual ships were raised. From about 1660 the classification moved from one based on the number of men to one based on the number of carriage guns a ship carried.[1]
Samuel Pepys, then Secretary to the Admiralty, revised the structure in 1677 and laid it down as a 'solemn, universal and unalterable' classification. The rating of a ship was of administrative and military use. The number and weight of guns determined the size of crew needed, and hence the amount of pay and rations needed. It also indicated whether a ship was powerful enough to stand in the line of battle. Pepys's original classification was updated by further definitions in 1714, 1721, 1760, 1782, 1801 and 1817 (the last being the most severe, as it provided for including in the count of guns the carronades that had previously been excluded). On the whole the trend was for each rate to have a greater number of guns. For instance, Pepys allowed a first rate 90–100 guns, but on the 1801 scheme a first rate had 100–120. A sixth rate's range went from 4–18 to 20–28 (after 1714 any ship with fewer than 20 guns was unrated).[1]
First, second and third rates (ships of the line)[edit]
A first-, second- or third-rate ship was regarded as a 'ship-of-the-line'. The first and second rates were three-deckers; that is, they had three continuous decks of guns (on the lower deck, middle deck and upper deck), usually as well as smaller weapons on the quarterdeck, forecastle and poop. Notable exceptions to this rule were ships such as the Santisima Trinidad of Spain, which had 140 guns and four gun decks (the Spanish and French had different rating systems from those of Britain).
The largest third rates, those of 80 guns, were likewise three-deckers from the 1690s until the early 1750s, but both before this period and subsequent to it, 80-gun ships were built as two-deckers. All the other third rates, with 74 guns or less, were likewise two-deckers, with just two continuous decks of guns (on the lower deck and upper deck), as well as smaller weapons on the quarterdeck, forecastle and (if they had one) poop. A series of major changes to the rating system took effect from the start of January 1817, when the carronades carried by each ship were included in the count of guns (previously these had usually been omitted); the first rate from that date included all of the three-deckers (the adding in of their carronades had meant that all three-deckers now had over 100 guns), the new second rate included all two-deckers of 80 guns or more, with the third rate reduced to two-deckers of fewer than 80 guns.[4]
Fourth, fifth and sixth rates[edit]
The smaller fourth rates, of about 50 or 60 guns on two decks, were ships-of-the-line until 1756, when it was felt that such 50-gun ships were now too small for pitched battles. The larger fourth rates of 60 guns continued to be counted as ships-of-the-line, but few new ships of this rate were added, the 60-gun fourth rate being superseded over the next few decades by the 64-gun third rate. The Navy did retain some fourth rates for convoy escort, or as flagships on far-flung stations; it also converted some East Indiamen to that role.[4]
The smaller two deckers originally blurred the distinction between a fourth rate and a fifth rate. At the low end of the fourth rate one might find the two-decker 50-gun ships from about 1756. The high end of the fifth rate would include two-deckers of 40- or 44-guns (from 1690) or even the demi-batterie 32-gun and 36-gun ships of the 1690–1730 period. The fifth rates at the start of the 18th century were generally 'demi-batterie' ships, carrying a few heavy guns on their lower deck (which often used the rest of the lower deck for row ports) and a full battery of lesser guns on the upper deck. However, these were gradually phased out, as the low freeboard (i.e., the height of the lower deck gunport sills above the waterline) meant that in rough weather it was often impossible to open the lower deck gunports.[4]
Fifth and sixth rates were never included among ships-of-the-line. The middle of the 18th century saw the introduction of a new fifth-rate type—the classic frigate, with no ports on the lower deck, and the main battery disposed solely on the upper deck, where it could be fought in all weathers.
Sixth-rate ships were generally useful as convoy escorts, for blockade duties and the carrying of dispatches; their small size made them less suited for the general cruising tasks the fifth-rate frigates did so well. Essentially there were two groups of sixth rates. The larger category comprised the sixth-rate frigates of 28 guns, carrying a main battery of twenty-four 9-pounder guns, as well as four smaller guns on their superstructures. The second comprised the 'post ships' of between 20 and 24 guns. These were too small to be formally counted as frigates (although colloquially often grouped with them), but still required a post-captain (i.e. an officer holding the substantive rank of captain) as their commander.[4]
Unrated vessels[edit]
The rating system did not handle vessels smaller than the sixth rate. The remainder were simply 'unrated'. The larger of the unrated vessels were generally all called sloops, but that nomenclature is quite confusing for unrated vessels, especially when dealing with the finer points of 'ship-sloop', 'brig-sloop', 'sloop-of-war' (which really just meant the same in naval parlance as 'sloop') or even 'corvette' (the last a French term that the British Navy did not use until the 1840s). Technically the category of 'sloop-of-war' included any unrated combatant vessel—in theory, the term even extended to bomb vessels and fire ships. During the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy increased the number of sloops in service by some 400% as it found that it needed vast numbers of these small vessels for escorting convoys (as in any war, the introduction of convoys created a huge need for escort vessels), combating privateers, and themselves taking prizes.[4]
The number of guns and the rate[edit]
The rated number of guns often differed from the number a vessel actually carried. The guns that determined a ship's rating were the carriage-mounted cannon, long-barreled, muzzle-loading guns that moved on 'trucks'—wooden wheels. The count did not include smaller (and basically anti-personnel) weapons such as swivel-mounted guns ('swivels'), which fired half-pound projectiles, or small arms.
- For instance, HMS Cynthia was rated for 18 guns but during construction her rating was reduced to 16 guns (6-pounders), and she also carried 14 half-pound swivels.
Vessels might also carry other guns that did not contribute to the rating. Examples of such weapons would include mortars, howitzers or boat guns, the boat guns being small guns intended for mounting on the bow of a vessel's boats to provide fire support during landings, cutting out expeditions, and the like. From 1778, however, the most important exception was the carronade.
Introduced in the late 1770s, the carronade was a short-barreled and relatively short-range gun, half the weight of equivalent long guns, and was generally mounted on a slide rather than on trucks. The new carronades were generally housed on a vessel's upperworks—quarterdeck and forecastle—some as additions to its existing ordnance and some as replacements. When the carronades replaced or were in lieu of carriage-mounted cannon they generally counted in arriving at the rating, but not all were, and so may or may not have been included in the count of guns, though rated vessels might carry up to twelve 18-, 24- or 32-pounder carronades.
- For instance, HMS Armada was rated as a third rate of 74 guns. She carried twenty-eight 32-pounder guns on her gundeck, twenty-eight 18-pounder guns on her upperdeck, four 12-pounder guns and ten 32-pounder carronades on her quarterdeck, two 12-pounder guns and two 32-pounder carronades on her forecastle, and six 18-pounder carronades on her poop deck. In all, this 74-gun vessel carried 80 cannon: 62 guns and 18 carronades.
Cara mendapatkan serial number photoshop cs2 2018. When carronades became part (or in some cases all) of a ship's main armament, they had to be included in the count of guns. Mac os x tiger install dvd dmg.
- For instance, Bonne Citoyenne was a 20-gun corvette of the French Navy that the British captured and recommissioned in the Royal navy as the 20-gun sloop and post shipHMS Bonne Citoyenne. She carried two 9-pounder cannon and eighteen 32-pounder carronades.
By the Napoleonic Wars there was no exact correlation between formal gun rating and the actual number of cannons any individual vessel might carry. One therefore needs to distinguish between the established armament of a vessel (which rarely altered) and the actual guns carried, which might happen quite frequently for a variety of reasons; guns might be lost overboard during a storm, or 'burst' in service and thus useless, or jettisoned to speed the ship during a chase, or indeed removed down into the hold in order to use the ship (temporarily) as a troop transport, or for a small vessel, such as the schooner HMS Ballahoo, to lower the center of gravity and thus improve stability in bad weather. Also some of the guns were removed from a ship during peacetime service, to reduce the stress on the ship's structure, which is why there was actually a distinction between the wartime complement of guns (and men) and the lower peacetime complement—the figure normally quoted for any vessel is the highest (wartime) establishment.
Royal Navy rating system in force during the Napoleonic Wars[edit]
Type | Rate | Guns | Gun decks | Men | Approximate burthen in tons* | In commission 1794[4] | In commission 1814[5] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ship of the line or great frigate* | 1st rate | 100+ | 3 | 850 to 875 | 2,500 | 5 | 7 |
2nd rate | 90 to 98 | 3 | 700 to 750 | 2,200 | 9 | 8 | |
3rd rate | 64 to 80 | 2 | 500 to 650 | 1,750 | 71 | 103 | |
4th rate | 50 to 60 | 2 | 320 to 420 | 1,000 | 8 | 10 | |
Great frigate* or frigate | 5th rate | 32 to 44 | 1 to 2 | 200 to 300 | 700 to 1,450 | 78 | 134 |
6th rate | 28 | 1 | 200 | 450 to 550 | 22 | Nil | |
Frigate* or post ship | 20 to 24 | 1 | 140 to 160 | 340 to 450 | 10 | 25 | |
Sloop-of-war | Unrated | 16 to 18 | 1 | 90 to 125 | 380 | 76 | 360 |
Gun-brig, brig, cutter, or schooner | 4 to 14 | 1 | 20 to 90 | < 220 |
Notes[edit]
^* The smaller fourth rates, primarily the 50-gun ships, were, from 1756 on, no longer classified as ships of the line. Since not big enough to stand in the line of battle, were often called frigates, though not classed as frigates by the Royal Navy. They were generally classified, like all smaller warships used primarily in the role of escort and patrol, as 'cruisers', a term that covered everything from the smaller two-deckers down to the small gun-brigs and cutters.
^* The larger fifth rates were generally two-decked ships of 40 or 44 guns, and thus not 'frigates', although the 40-gun frigates built during the Napoleonic War also fell into this category.
^* The smaller sixth rates were often popularly called frigates, though not classed as 'frigates' by the Admiralty officially. Only the larger sixth rates (those mounting 28 carriage guns or more) were technically frigates.
^* The ton in this instance is the burthen tonnage (bm). From c.1650 the burthen of a vessel was calculated using the formula 'k' x 'b' x ½'b'/94, where 'k' was the length, in feet, from the stem to the sternpost, and 'b' the maximum breadth of the vessel. It was a rough measurement of cargo-carrying capacity by volume, not displacement. Therefore, one should not change a measurement in 'tons burthen' into a displacement in 'tons' or 'tonnes'.
1817 changes[edit]
In February 1817 the rating system changed.[5] The recommendation from the Board of Admiralty to the Prince Regent was dated 25 November 1816, but the Order in Council establishing the new ratings was issued in February 1817. From February 1817 all carronades were included in the established number of guns. Until that date, carronades only 'counted' if they were in place of long guns; when the carronades replaced 'long' guns (e.g. on the upper deck of a sloop or post ship, thus providing its main battery), such carronades were counted.
1856 changes[edit]
There was a further major change in the rating system in 1856. From that date, the first rate comprised all ships carrying 110 guns and upwards, or the complement of which consisted of 1,000 men or more; the second rate included one of HM's royal yachts, and otherwise comprised all ships carrying under 110 guns but more than 80 guns, or the complements of which were under 1,000 but not less than 800 men; the third rate included all the rest of HM's royal yachts and 'all such vessels as may bear the flag of pendant of any Admiral Superintendent or Captain Superintendent of one of HM's Dockyards', and otherwise comprised all ships carrying at most 80 guns but not less than 60 guns, or the complements of which were under 800 but not less than 600 men; the fourth rate comprised all frigate-built ships of which the complement was not more than 600 and not less than 410 men; the fifth rate comprised all ships of which the complement was not more than 400 and not less than 300 men; the sixth rate consisted of all other ships bearing a captain. Of unrated vessels, the category of sloops comprised all vessels commanded by commanders; next followed all other ships commanded by lieutenants, and having complements of not less than 60 men; finally were 'smaller vessels, not classed as above, with such smaller complements as the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty may from time to time direct'.
Other classifications[edit]
Rating was not the only system of classification used. Through the early modern period, the term 'ship' referred to a vessel that carried square sails on three masts. Sailing vessels with only two masts or a single mast were technically not 'ships', and were not described as such at the time. Vessels with fewer than three masts were unrated sloops, generally two-masted vessels rigged as snows or ketches (in the first half of the 18th century), or brigs in succeeding eras. However some sloops were three-masted or 'ship-rigged', and these were known as 'ship sloops'.
Vessels were sometimes classified according to the substantive rank of her commanding officer. For instance, when the commanding officer of a gun-brig or even a cutter was a lieutenant with the status of master-and-commander, the custom was to recategorise the vessel as a sloop. For instance, when Pitt Burnaby Greene, the commanding officer of Bonne Citoyenne in 1811, received his promotion to post-captain, the Navy reclassed the sloop as a post ship.
End of the rating system[edit]
The rating system of the Royal Navy formally came to an end in 1876 by declaration of the Admiralty. The main cause behind this declaration focused on new types of gun, the introduction of steam propulsion and the use of iron and steel armour which made rating ships by the number of guns obsolete.
Practices in other navies[edit]
Although the rating system described was only used by the Royal Navy, other major navies used similar means of grading their warships. For example, the French Navy used a system of five rates ('rangs') which had a similar purpose. British authors might still use 'first rate' when referring to the largest ships of other nations or 'third rate' to speak of a Frenchseventy-four. By the end of the 18th century, the rating system had mostly fallen out of common use (although technically it remained in existence for nearly another century), ships of the line usually being characterized directly by their nominal number of guns, the numbers even being used as the name of the type, as in 'a squadron of three seventy-fours'.
United States (1905)[edit]
As of 1905, ships of the United States Navy were by law divided into classes called rates. Vessels of the first rate had a displacement tonnage in excess of 8000 tons; second rate, from 4000 to 8000 tons; third rate, from 1000 to 4000 tons; and fourth rate, of less than 1000 tons. Converted merchant vessels that were armed and equipped as cruisers were of the second rate if over 6000 tons, and of the third rate if over 1000 and less than 6000 tons. Auxiliary vessels such as colliers, supply vessels, repair ships, etc., if over 4000 tons, were of the third rate. Auxiliary vessels of less than 4000 tons—except tugs, sailing ships, and receiving ships which were not rated—were of the fourth rate. Torpedo-boat destroyers, torpedo boats, and similar vessels were not rated. Captains commanded ships of the first rate; captains or commanders commanded ships of the second rate; commanders or lieutenant-commanders commanded ships of the third rate; lieutenant-commanders or lieutenants commanded ships of the fourth rate. Lieutenant-commanders, lieutenants, ensigns, or warrant officers might command unrated vessels, depending on the size of the vessel.[6]
Other uses[edit]
The term first-rate has passed into general usage, as an adjective used to mean something of the best or highest quality available. Second-rate and third-rate are also used as adjectives to mean that something is of inferior quality.
Notes[edit]
- ^Galliasses, not to be confused with the Mediterranean vessel of the same name.
- ^The term Royal Navy was only introduced after the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660.
References[edit]
- Excerpts
- ^'The earliest naval list in which any classification of ships appears, is dated 1546, and it divides the fifty-eight ships of Henry VIII's Navy, according to their 'quality, into. 'ships, galliasses, pinnaces, and cow barges.''Adams (1885) p. 128
- ^Another list, dated 1612, divides them into. 'ships royal, measuring from twelve hundred to eight hundred tons; middling ships, from eight hundred to six hundred tons; small ships, three hundred and fifty tons; and pinnaces, from two hundred and fifty to eight tons.'' —Adams (1885) p. 128.
- ^The division of the navy into 'rates' appears for the first time in a table drawn up by Charles I., in 1626, and entitled,—'The New Rates for Seaman's monthly wages, confimed by the Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy, according to His Majesty's several rates of ships, and degrees of officers.' Herein are distinctly specified six rates, consisting each of two classes, to which different complements of men are assigned, though, unfortunately, their armaments are not specified. This mode of division would seem to have been adopted for the purpose of regulating the pay of the officers and seamen, rather than with the view of marking any distinction in the force or construction of the shapes.' —Adams (1885) p.128.
- Footnotes
- ^ abcdWinfield, Rif, British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1603–1714, Barnsley (2009) ISBN978-1-84832-040-6
- ^ abcAdams, William Henry Davenport (1885). England on the Sea; Or, The Story of the British Navy: Its Decisive Battles and Great Commanders. The Nineteenth Century: General Collection: History & Archaeology. 1. London: F.V. White. OCLC1013367718. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^Winfield 2009, p. 1
- ^ abcdefWinfield, Rif, British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1714–1792, Barnsley (2007) ISBN978-1-84415-700-6
- ^ abWinfield, Rif, British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1793–1817, (2nd edition) Barnsley (2008). ISBN978-1-84415-717-4
- ^Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). 'Rate (ship)' . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
Bibliography[edit]
- Bennett, G. (2004). The Battle of Trafalgar. Barnsley, United Kingdom: Seaforth. ISBN1844151077.
- Rodger, N.A.M. (2004). The Command of the Ocean, a Naval History of Britain 1649–1815. London: Allan Lane. ISBN0713994118.
- Winfield, Rif (2009). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603–1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, United Kingdom: Seaforth. ISBN9781848320406.
- Winfield, Rif (2010). First rate: The Greatest Warships of the Age of Sail. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute press. ISBN9781591142645.
External links[edit]
Rankings On A Cruise Ship
- Michael Philips, Ships of the Old Navy
Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Rankings
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