09-22-14 Daily Informative Thread - The Next Level Gunnery of Captain Broke
Captain Broke of the HMS Shannon and his passion for gunnery
Hello Everyone,
I will be up front and say that I did not have the time to put into this post that I'd like, after all we do have to lives outside the AoS realm. But I hope that some of you will find what I have been able to gather informational and who knows...we all may have all learned something new.
Captain Broke is probably best known for his victory over the USS Chesapeake on 1 June, 1813. But he was also very passionate about gunnery, which no doubt contributed heavily to this victory. During this period of time most captains were satisfied with their gun crews achieving a high rate of fire. This was also a desire of Broke's but he wanted to be able to accurately direct the focus of his guns and have all their shot hit home. In order to do this he and his men honed their gunnery to such a degree that the firing arcs for all of the guns were inscribed onto the deck along with points for each gun. This allowed Broke to focus the fire of all his guns on a single point of an enemy ship with the appropriate order. In addition to being able to accurately direct the fire of his guns he also had sights welded onto his cannon that compensated for the tapered angle towards the muzzle; this allowed his gun captains to aim parallel to the bore of the cannon further increasing the chances of a successful shot. In addition to all of these modifications he also equipped each cannon with a gunners level at his own expense (I was not able to find information on what this expense would have been, but I have not doubt that it was not cheap). In turn allowing much more precise aiming instructions than would have been common place at the time. As one can imagine his crews were very well disciplined and drilled with the great guns (I could not find information about how often the great guns were drilled, but there is more than one reference I have found that mention the word relentlessly in conjunction with this) , but also with small arms from the fighting tops (6 days a week with live ammunition).
Engagement with the USS Chesapeake:
From what I have found in the bit of research I have done on this battle it seemed the Chesapeake was at a disadvantage from the beginning. With a crew that seemed to be less than content and from what it sounds like inferior construction due to naval budgets and diverting materials to the USS Constellation construction. In the end Broke and his disciplined crew ended the engagement in a short amount of time.
"The outcome was never in doubt. Within fifteen minutes, the "Shannons" had badly mauled the poorly prepared Chesapeake, damaging her rigging to the point that she drifted listlessly. Broke led a boarding party onto the decks of the Chesapeake and in quick and bloody action captured the American vessel. Fifty-six Americans were killed and eighty-five wounded. Among the dead was Captain James Lawrence, whose last command to his crew was "Don't Give Up the Ship," words that would live on in the United States Navy to the present day."
https://www.marinersmuseum.org/sites...avy/09/09b.htm
Please feel free to add to this if you have additional information or just leave comments, suggestions, critiques.
Thanks, and I hope that this was informational to at least someone other than myself.