![]() Her trade was indifferent and her need of new foreign markets was considerable. Southern Europe was comparatively poor, but England was extremely poor. Without that far- sighted prince’s inspiration Columbus would not have found his way to the New World, da Gama would not have revealed a seaway to India, nor would Magellan have disclosed a route round the globe. In Spain the arts of shipbuilding, shiphandling and navigation had been given a remarkable impetus during the earlier part of the fifteenth century by Henry the Navigator. Just as the battles of Salamis and Lepanto were no sudden events and followed only at the end of preparatory incidents, so the great Armada clash was not an isolated effort but the culmination of many endeavours. Jutland, for instance, the greatest sea battle of modern times, was fought in line- ahead formation. ![]() Thus line- abreast tactics were made obsolete, and the line- ahead (or “follow my leader”) formation had to be used. The greatest concentration of fire, therefore, came not when the ship was bows- on towards the enemy, but with her broadside exposed. Guns were placed not merely in the bows (as with the Mediterranean galleys), but also along either side of the hull as well as at the stern. The gun obtained the premier consideration. The full and logical development was not made during Elizabeth’s lifetime, but the basic idea had begun an entirely fresh influence which became more powerful in successive generations when long wars put theories to severe practical test. The invention of guns and gunpowder, the adoption of these for use afloat, and the big canvas- driven ocean- going hulls ready to bear ordnance all combined in completely revolutionizing naval tactics. IF the battle of Lepanto in 1571 ended the long period when the galley had been the essential type of fighting vessel, the Armada operations in 1588 were to provide the first considerable proof that the sailing- ship man- of- war was to be the vessel of the future. This illustration is taken from tapestries which were destroyed by the fire in the House of Lords in 1834. Its commander, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, had been forced from his anchorage at Calais and was driven past Dunkirk, where the Duke of Parma had been making preparations for the invasion of England. The Canopée, which carries Ariane rockets between France and French Guiana, will soon be fitted with rigid wings.The defeat of the great Spanish Armada in 1588 probably did more than anything to impress upon England the need for a permanent fleet of fighting ships, and caused a complete revolution in naval strategy and tacticsĪPPROACHING THE FRENCH COAST near Dunkirk, the Spanish Armada was forced into a dangerous position. La Nébuleuse, a former Camaret tuna boat, fished until the 1980s, and now welcomes passengers. This 310-ton 3-masted ship with a crew of 240 was armed with 20 cannons The Renard, a Malouin emblem, is a replica of the coastline of the famous privateer Surcouf The Nao Victoria, a replica of Christopher Columbus' caravels. Etoile du Roy is a wooden replica of a privateer frigate built in 1745. Cuauthémoc decorative element The Frenchman, formerly a Scandinavian transport ship, now carries passengers. The famous Shtandart, a reconstruction of a Russian ship, has been at the heart of controversy following the war in Ukraine Built in Bilbao in 1982, the Cuauthémoc is owned by the Mexican Navy, which uses her as a training ship. The Dar Mlodziezy, which means "Gift of Youth", was built in 1981 at the Gdansk shipyard to replace the frigate Dar Pormoza, a training ship of the Polish navy. From the French to the Cuauhtemoc, from the Renard to the Nao Victoria, via the Nébuleuse or the Canopée, everyone will find something to feed their curiosity and their maritime imagination. Training ships, old three-masted merchant or fishing vessels, replicas of war sailing ships, or the latest rocket ship, the fleet present in Rouen for Armada 2023 impresses as it does every year. A fleet of ships that inspire the imagination
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