Russian/Swedish Gunboat 1801 - Master Korabel - Scale 1:72

[Dubz]

History

In the age of sail, a gunboat was usually a small undecked vessel carrying a single smoothbore cannon in the bow, or just two or three such cannons. A gunboat could carry one or two masts or be oar-powered only, but the single-masted version of about 15 m (49 ft) length was most typical.[when?] Some types of gunboat carried two cannons, or else mounted a number of swivel guns on the railings.

The small gunboat had advantages: if it only carried a single cannon, the boat could manoeuvre in shallow or restricted areas – such as rivers or lakes – where larger ships could sail only with difficulty. The gun that such boats carried could be quite heavy; a 32-pounder for instance. As such boats were cheap and quick to build, naval forces favoured swarm tactics: while a single hit from a frigate's broadside would destroy a gunboat, a frigate facing a large squadron of gunboats could suffer serious damage before it could manage to sink them all. For example: in the Battle of Alvøen (1808) during the Gunboat War of 1807–1814, five Dano-Norwegian gunboats defeated the lone frigate HMS Tartar. Gunboats used in the Battle of Valcour Island (1776) on Lake Champlain during the American Revolutionary War were mostly built on the spot, attesting to the speed of their construction.


A model of a type of decked "gun yawl" designed by Fredrik Henrik af Chapman and used by the Swedish archipelago fleet
All navies of the sailing era kept a number of gunboats on hand. Gunboats saw extensive use in the Baltic Sea during the late 18th century as they were well-suited for the extensive coastal skerries and archipelagoes of Sweden, Finland and Russia. The rivalry between Sweden and Russia in particular led to an intense expansion of gunboat fleets and the development of new gunboat types. The two countries clashed during the Russo-Swedish war of 1788–90, a conflict that culminated in the massive Battle of Svensksund in 1790, in which over 30,000 men and hundreds of gunboats, galleys and other oared craft took part. The majority of these were vessels developed from the 1770s and onwards by the naval architect Fredrik Henrik af Chapman for the Swedish archipelago fleet. The designs, copied and refined by the rival Danish and Russian navies, spread to the Mediterranean and to the Black Sea.[1]

Two variants occurred most commonly:

• a larger 20 m (66 ft) "gun sloop" (from the Swedish kanonslup) with two 24-pounders, one in the stern and one in the bow
  
• a smaller 15 m (49 ft) "gun yawl" (kanonjolle) with a single 24-pounder
  
• Many of the Baltic navies kept gunboats in service well into the second half of the 19th century.[2] British ships engaged larger 22 m (72 ft) Russian gunboats off Turku in southeast Finland in 1854 during the Crimean War. The Russian vessels had the distinction of being the last oared vessels of war in history to fire their guns in anger.[3]
  

Source: Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunboat
























Cheers

Dirk

[Dubz]

More progress made :-)






And I started the main deck.














The photoetched parts (e.g. screw heads) are also of excellent design.










Very nice also the included stand made of great pear wood! The name tag is available in Russian and English.





Cheers

Dirk

[Dubz]

Boat is ready planked. Was without any problems but unfortunately had a mental double drop out while sanding.















And there is color :-)















Cheers

Dirk

[Dubz]

And on we go with the picture story :-)

The first photoetched parts were processed. Since most photoetched parts are etched from two sides, and a minimal offset is therefore almost always present, it is very important to file each part cleanly, because only then it will be a macroproof.

Except for my beloved mini rivets and a few smaller eyebolts from a colleque everything is out of box so far.

















Cheers

Dirk

[Dubz]

Stairs, lying knees and frames for the oars etc. done. Not perfect but ok :-)





















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Dirk

[Dubz]

The case was built and further etched parts were filed and blackend.













And the final stand. I prefer "floating" and not distracting from the Hull.














Cheers

Dirk

[Dubz]

More progress








Pictures





















Cheers

Dirk

[Dubz]

The last days I built the oars and the two spars ... :-)



















Cheers

Dirk

[Dubz]

I will add some small more details later but the wood work is done, now the rigging :-)













Cheers

Dirk

[Dubz]

Mini Update, St Andrews's Flag and stairs.







cheers

Dirk