The British Empire was built and maintained on the strength of its navy, which became a world-beater in the 16th century. Now the technology that gave Queen Elizabeth I's ships their awesome firepower is getting a thoroughly modern investigation, from the BBC TV series* Timewatch*.
At the time of Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, shipboard cannon were a motley collection of different types of artillery. Some were made of brass, some of bronze, others of wrought iron. They fired shot (stone or metal) of various different sizes. Some of the guns were designed for ships; others were originally built to be used on land, but pressed into naval service. We know a lot about artillery in Henry's day from guns recovered from the wreck of his favorite ship, the Mary Rose, sunk by the French in 1545.
However, the Elizabethans made a technological leap: their guns were of standard size, and made from stronger cast iron. Instead of a large number of small guns, they had a small number of bigger guns. They had longer range and a consistent rate; their effectiveness meant that naval tactics remains essentially unchanged for two hundred years afterwards.
"This marked the beginning of a kind of mechanization of war," says naval historian Professor Eric Grove of Salford University for the program. "The ship is now a gun platform in a way that it wasn't before."
Two of the "revolutionary" cannon were recovered from a wreck off the Channel Islands, and modern replicas were recreated for the program. These have proved capable of firing a cannonball at virtually the speed of sound, giving them an effective range of a mile or more. When facing another ship a hundred yards away, they would have enough force to punch right through the wooden wall of a galleon – and out the other side.
Elizabeth's navy was well-known for its lethal gunnery. Their reputation was not enough to deter Philip II of Spain from sending his "Invincible Armada" against them in 1588, with disastrous results for the Spanish. The defeat of the Armada marked the rise of a new naval power that was to dominate the oceans for almost three centuries… apart from the odd unfortunate incident. Or two.
One expert reckons that Good Queen Bess's armorers were "almost fifty years ahead of their time technologically". The advanced cannon certainly seem to have given the English sailors an edge over less advanced opposition; perhaps that's why this unsporting use of military technology has remained secret so long...
The program goes out at 8:00 pm GMT on Saturday, February 21 for British viewers; others can see more clips on the program's website here.
[Photo: AlderneyWreck.com]
