Today I had the chance to view a museum exhibit devoted to HMNZS Southland . The exhibit is located in the Bluff Maritime Museum. Below are some photos I took of the exhibit on my smart phone.
A scale model of HMNZS Southland.
The captain' chair. Originally the captain's would have been on the ship's bridge.
The ship's Telegraph.
HMNZS Southland's plot.
A Ikara , HMZS Southland's anti shipping platform/capability.
Anti Submarine torpedo and casing. HMNZS Southland's Anti Submarine weapon/capability.
Seacat Missile and casing. The ship's anti aircraft weapon/capability.
A frigate is, according to my memory, an old designation for warships that were smaller than the Man of Wat ships. I frigate might have 8 or ten pounders on each side where the man of war might carry 22 or 24 pounders on each side. Pounds being the weight of cast iron balls meant to be fired by the cannon. Sometimes the iron ball would be heated red hot before firing with the intent of setting alight the sails of the enemy vessel. Or if really a lucky shot, to get into the enemy's black powder room (aka magazine) and blow the ship UP!
ReplyDeleteThe Spanish Catholic Armada of 1588 was probably the largest assembly of war ships meant to invade Protestant England. It contained so many ships so close together that the English were successful in taking older sailing vessels, setting them alight, then aiming them towards the Armada and let the winds blow them into the massive gathering of ships and thereby causing general havoc amongst the Spanish.
Thus frigates won the greatest victory in sailing boat history!
Hence today's frigates are small, fast and well armed.