The first sailing ships appeared, according to historians, about 3,000 years ago in ancient Egypt. Images of such ancient ships are available, among other things, on artifact vases and camphors. The construction of the world's first ships, of course, was as simple as possible. But later craft gradually improved.
The design of the brig ship. Short description
Sailing ships, as you know, can have a different number of masts. Such ships can be equipped with them in the amount of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 pieces. Brig is a ship with two masts and direct sailing weapons. On board a military vessel of this type can be from 6 to 24 guns.
Sailing is called a tooling system that serves to transmit wind power to the hull. At the brig, the masts of the foresail and mainsail are responsible for movement on water. These ships have no mizzen masts.
One of the sails - hafel - in the brig is oblique. It has an irregular trapezoid shape and helps the vessel maneuver. Such a sail of the mainsail-gaff-trisel is called.
Design features of the first ships
The first floating craft used by humans were very simple. Movement was carried out using oars. Also in ancient times, small cargo ships were quite widespread. They were transported by water by workers or animals walking along the shore.
Somewhat later, people began to use sailboats for river and sea trips. For example, such boats in ancient times were widespread in Phenicia.
Of course, the first sailboats were single mast and were relatively small. Ships of this design were used by people in the subsequent very long time - until the end of the Middle Ages.
Three masted vessels
The simplest boats were quite convenient to use and allowed to transport a large amount of cargo. However, with the development of trade and military craft in the Renaissance, their potential for people, of course, began to be missed.
It would be more logical to assume that immediately after single-masted sailors they began to use double-masted vessels. But this is not so. The next type of ships used by man, became three-masted ships with a mizzen mast. In the XVI-XVII centuries, two-masted boats in the world, for example, practically did not exist. This situation persisted for a century and a half.
The first two-masted ships
Of course, attempts to make such craft in those days were made. But the implementation of plans for the assembly of two-masted ships was hindered by the then traditions of shipbuilding:
Shnyavy and bilander
All two-masted ships of those times, unfortunately, were poorly managed. But in the end, people still learned how to build comfortable and fast vessels of this variety. The first such two-masted ships were the schnava and bilander.
The latter type of craft was used mainly by merchants. Bilanders first appeared in the Netherlands, and were later taken over by the French and British. For long voyages such ships were not used. Merchants transported goods to them mainly in coastal waters. The rigging of vessels of this type, like others in Europe at that time, was made of hemp cables of multiple lay.
Shnyavs began to be used by people for movement on water in about 1700. The first who invented and constructed these ships, history, unfortunately, is silent. Presumably, the mizzen mast was once removed from ordinary ships. Ships of this type could be used as both merchant and military.
First brig
How and when did the brig proper appear in the history of navigation? Ships, including two-masted ones used by people in the XVII-XVIII centuries, of course, also gradually improved. In the end, sailors began to sail on the sutures of a special kind - langars.
Ships of this type were almost brig. In such ships, the main mast was tilted slightly forward. This was an important change. There was also an independent hafel sail. This innovation has improved the characteristics of watercraft.
Actually, the brig ships of our usual design appeared on the fleet around the middle of the 18th century. In particular, such vessels were widely used in the 19th century. At that time there were ships of this type, of course, in the Russian fleet.
Brigi in the XVIII century .: for what were used
In the middle of the XVIII century. such ships belonged mainly to merchants. They transported a variety of goods on them. Most often, such vessels cruised in the coastal waters of Europe and the UK. During wars, boats of this variety were most often used as mail. But by the end of the 18th century, brigs in convenient sailing ships found in navigation a different, more interesting application.
Ships of this type then began to be used by people in various kinds of marine research expeditions. Vitus Bering was the first to voyage to North America on such a ship. Two such ships took part in this journey:
Both of these brigs reached the shores of Alaska, but only one of them returned home. Vitus Bering on the ship "Pavel", unfortunately, crashed in the area of ​​the Commander Islands. The ship's crew then escaped. However, not all expedition members managed to survive the forced wintering in harsh climates. Bering himself and another 18 sailors never returned home.
Brigi in the 19th century: description of ships
Even later, such craft from research and trading almost completely transformed into military. For example, such ships took an active part in the naval battles of the American Revolution and the Russo-Turkish War.
According to historical documents, the brig ship model of the beginning of the XIX century. had a displacement of about 350 tons. Moreover, the length of such vessels was usually equal to 30 m, and the width almost never exceeded 9 m. The guns on military vessels of this variety, as already mentioned, could be installed from 6 to 24.
One of the features of the brigs, therefore, was their small size. Accordingly, the armament itself on ships of this type was usually placed on deck.
Brigantine as a variety
In sailing times, of course, such ships were widely used. Brigantines were a simplified version of the brigs. The sizes of such ships were medium or small. At the same time, the foremast of such ships was armed as well as that of the brig. This was the main similarity between these vessels.
The main mast on the brigantines was installed the same as on the schooners. The sizes of vessels of this type were smaller than those of brigs. At the same time, and as military equipment, they were inferior to such ships. In the Mediterranean, ships of this species were very often used by pirates. Even the word “brigantine” itself does not come from “brig”, as one might think, but from “robber” - brigand.
Famous brigs
Sailboats of this type served people faithfully, thus, for more than a hundred years. The most famous in the history of use, in addition to "Paul" and "Peter", can be considered the following brig ships:
Also quite famous brig sailboat is the American "Lady Washington".
"Mercury": what is famous
This ship was laid down in Sevastopol in the winter of 1819. He was launched into the water in the spring of 1820. After 9 years, this brig won a brilliant victory in one of the battles of the Russian-Turkish war in an unequal struggle with two battleships of the enemy. These two ships were called Real Bay and Selimiye. They were armed with a total of 184 guns against 18 "Mercury".
Battle Timeline
There was a battle between the Russian and two Turkish ships on May 14, 1829. On this day, three Russian warships - the frigate "Standart", the brig "Orpheus" and "Mercury" - cruised on the traverse of Penderaclia. When the commanders of these sailboats saw a huge Turkish squadron on the horizon, they decided to turn in the direction of Sevastopol, since there was no special need to accept an unequal battle.
However, the wind that day was weak, and the Mercury, which had the worst driving performance, could not get away from the chase. The ship was overtaken by the two largest and fastest enemy ships.
The Mercury team had to accept an unequal battle. At the same time, captain A. Kazarsky, on the advice of the oldest sailor - navigator Lieutenant Prokofiev - decided to fight to the end, and when the mast is shot down (this device for setting sails, as well as the rigging of ships of almost any design is an Achilles heel) and the brig will give a strong flow, grapple with one of the enemy ships and blow it up.
The first Mercury to attack Selimiye with 110 guns. This huge sailboat tried to approach the stern of a Russian ship. However, the brig managed to dodge and give a full salvo on the sides of the enemy.
A few minutes later, Real Bay approached the left side of the Mercury, and the Russian ship was caught between two enemy ships. The Turks from Selimiye shouted to the brig team: "Surrender!" However, the Russian sailors shouting "Hurray !!!" opened fire from all rifles and guns.
The Turks had to remove the boarding team and start shelling the Mercury brig. Not only the nucleus flew into the ship, but also the firecrackers and knippels. Fortunately, despite heavy fire, the mast of the ship remained intact for a long time, and it remained mobile. Because of the shelling on the "Mercury" there were fires three times, which the sailors quickly eliminated.
Victory
A respite for the fired brig was provided by gunner Ivan Lisenko. With a successful shot, he managed to damage the bayfoot and the water bar of the grotto-marsa ray “Selimiye”. The enemy ship had to wind down for repair. Finally, “Selimiye” fired a salvo at a Russian vessel from all the cannons at once. However, the ship still remained afloat.
After some time, the team of the Mercury brig managed to inflict serious damage on the second enemy ship. Forbey was killed forbram-ray, which caused the fall of foxes. The latter closed the ports of the nose guns. In addition, the ship lost the ability to maneuver, as a result of which he had to lie in a drift.
Having lost 10 people killed and wounded out of 115, "Mercury" by the evening of the next day joined the fleet, marching from Sisopol. For the victory won at the cost of the life of the sailors, this ship was subsequently awarded the stern flag of St. George. The emperor also signed a decree to always have in the Black Sea Fleet a brig called Mercury.
Of course, all team members received high awards. The officers were promoted and could from then on put on their coats of arms the image of the Tula pistol, which was supposed to blow up barrels of gunpowder in case of a leak.
What is famous for the brig "Niagara"
This ship once played a decisive role in the battle between British and American ships in the war of 1912-14. on Lake Erie. The tactics in this battle were dictated by the features of the weapons of enemy ships. The short coronades of the Yankees were quick-fire and gave melee advantages. They had a small firing range. Therefore, it was important for the Americans to “win” the wind and take a better distance position against the long-barreled British guns.
While the Yankees maneuvered in this way, one of their two brigans, the Lawrence, was attacked by three of the strongest British ships. Almost all the sailors of this ship were killed or wounded, and the guns were damaged. The captain of the attacked ship moved to the second American brig, "Niagara", on the boat, and sent him to the center of the British battle line. The largest British sailing ships as a result were in the zone of defeat of the coronades. This, in turn, led to the fact that the British could no longer cope with the Yankee fleet, and after 15 minutes the flags were lowered.
Thus, the Americans first defeated the British in a naval battle, capturing their ships. Some British ships tried to escape, but were intercepted. The least damaged British ships were subsequently converted into hospital ships by the Americans. The remaining watercraft, since it was already impossible to repair them, was simply burned. Not too long served the Americans and the hospital ships of the former enemy. After a while, they all sank in a heavy storm.
"Pirates of the Caribbean"
This popular series, as you know, was shot using sailing ships. In the series “The Curse of the Black Pearl”, the role of “Interceptor” was played by the brig, which is a copy of the vessel “Lady Washington”. This ship was built in 1750 and once transported goods from China across the Pacific Ocean. In 1775 he was converted into a military privatir. That is, his team was engaged in pirate seizures of enemy ships, as directed by the government.
One of the exploits of this legendary brig sailing ship was the victory immediately over four enemy ships and the capture of a large load of sugar. One of the captains of this ship was Robert Gray, the first American to travel around the world. Among other things, this ship is the first American watercraft to reach the coast of Japan.
Of course, the film is not a real brig "Lady Washington". It was an exact copy of this ship, built in 1989. Today, this ship is used for sailing cruises on the Caribbean Sea and along the coast of America. The very old Lady Washington brig once went down in the Philippine Islands.
What other two-masted sailboats exist
In addition to brigs, brigantines, shniv and bilanders at different times of the sea, ships of this type plowed:
- yoli - ships with a mizzen mast located next to the steering wheel and oblique sailing equipment;
- Ketchy - ships that differ from the Yols with a larger mizzen mast.
Also, seafarers once sailed on ships with two masts and slanting sails, called Bermuda schooners.