Firoccan Age-of-Sail Warships

An overview of Firoccan ships during the Age of Sail.

### Galleon

A large ship developed in the late 1500s, with square-rigged sails on the fore and mainmast, and a lateen sail on the mizzenmast.

### East Lyriaman

Between 1670 and 1720, the largest Firoccan galleons slowly evolved along much the same lines as the warships of this period, with the poop decks being cut down, with advances in rigging and hull design. Many of these square-rigged ships were still called *galleons* until the 1740s. These large square-rigged ships, sometimes larger than a thousand tons displacement, were built and used for the growing trade to Denishu, Dengfeng, Lyria, and beyond, thus receiving the name "East Lyriaman" or "East Dengfengman."

### Light Ships

#### Xebec

Known in Firoccan as the *Xaveco*, the xebec is a fast ship with lateen sails on three masts, matched with a long overhanging bowspirit. Although widely used by Firocco merchants, they were more popular amongst Syrellian and Liotainian sailors, who perfected the design during the 17th and 18th centuries. However, the name *xebec* is usually identified as being of Firoccan or Antargentine origin (although it possibly originates from Syrellia).

#### Galiot

Originally known as a *half-galley*, the galiot was a small vessel powered by both sail and oars, usually used as a light coastal gunboat or trading ship. It was first seen in the early 1500s, but became more common after 1600.

## Warships

### 16th Century

Firocco and Antargentina were early adopters of the **Galleass**, an oversized oar-powered galley fitted with an extra deck for cannon, and more heavily-rigged. Six galleasses were present amongst the Firoccan contingent at the Battle of Cape Sovata. The galleass is often, but not always, identified as part of the design lineage of the galleon.

### 17th Century

Through the 1600s, the Firoccan Armada led the way in the development of a seagoing battlefleet. By 1660, the largest of warships were called ***navios-de-linha***, or "ships of the line," while the smaller vessels with 20-30 guns were called ***fragatas***.

By the 1670s, Firocco split their major warships into four categories:

* **Primeiras**: the largest ships-of-the-line, usually with over a hundred guns on three separate decks
* **Segundas**: a ship-of-the-line with eighty to a hundred guns, usually on three decks until the early 19th Century
* **Terceiras**: ships-of-the-line with sixty-four to eighty guns, the most common type of battleship used in the Firoccan fleet
* **Quartas**: small ships-of-the-line with forty to sixty-four guns on two decks

As with other navies of the era, the bulk of the Firoccan fleet - usually over half of the line of battle, was composed of *Terceiras*. The standard terceira of the late 1600s followed the general specifications of the seventy-gun *Baleafornia* of 1674, which was seen as one of the best examples of the type. The *Balefornia*'s design would serve as the basis for no less than thirty-one ships, organized in roughly six different classes, built between 1676 and 1730.

Primeiras were relatively rare in Firoccan service; usually only two or three vessels of this type would be in service even during wartime, due to their great cost and heavy manpower requirements.

Segundas often served in their place as flagships for important admirals, but their design - until the *Conquistador* of 1815 - was notoriously un-maneuverable in comparison to the larger primeiras or the smaller terceiras. With the same three-decker design as the primeiras, but on a shorter length, they were difficult to steer in difficult wind and sea conditions. One of the better examples was the ninety-gun *Santo Henrique* of 1696, which was originally ordered as a primeira, but redesigned on the stocks as a smaller ship. Like the larger primeiras, they were relatively rare and used as fleet flagships.

After the terceiras, Quartas were one of the more common types of ship in service. Quartas generally fell into two quite distinct categories: purpose-built warships, and converted East Lyriamen. During time of peace, the Firoccan government sponsored certain privately-owned, heavily-armed merchant ships, most of which carried up to fifty guns on two decks. In case of war, these ships would be incorporated into military service as warships. However, most of these designs - still often called *galleons* due to tradition - were more lightly constructed, with deeper drafts, and smaller guns than a proper military ship. Conversely, many quartas were purpose-built warships, lacking the weaknesses of the civilian-owned quartas, but also lacking their cargo and troop-carrying capacity.

Usually, frigates were unrated. By 1690, Firocco had standardized on three different types of frigates - a square-rigged ship of twenty guns, a twenty-eight gun "standard" frigate, and a thirty-four gun "heavy" frigate.

### 18th Century

By the time of the Firoccan-Liotain War, the Firoccan Armada had significant shipbuilding expertise in square-rigged warships of all types. Liotainian strategy, however, challenged the Firoccan Armada in unexpected ways, as the Liotainians focused on sixty gun and forty-four gun battleships, designed for the shallow waters of the Nestorian Sea and Gulf of Argent. The shallow waters in this region caused difficulties for some of the largest Firoccan warships, leading Firocco to build a number of Quartas specifically for the purpose of fighting in these conditions.

The conclusion of the war resulted in a period of organizational restructuring, but relatively little changed in Firoccan shipbuilding. Beginning in the 1720s, frigates slowly increased in size from the 28-gun ships of the 1690s. By 1750, the average Firoccan frigate carried thirty-six guns, usually twelve-pounders, on a single deck. Minor innovations in rigging and construction techniques continued, but the major development came in the late 18th Century, when Firocco led the way introducing coppering to prevent biofouling. By the 1770s, terceiras had also increased in size, moving to the "seventy-four" gun standard established by Celtica.

Some of the greatest design advances occurred instead with the smallest ships. In the 1750s, Firocco led in the development of the naval brig (although this was largely ignored by civilian shipowners due to manning requirements).

### 19th Century

In the 1800s, Firoccan shipbuilders continued to make modest enhancements to their existing designs. In 1814, the 90-gun segundas *Conquistador* was constructed, with ninety guns on two, rather than three, gun-decks. This ship completely changed the Armada's view of the segundas, which had previously been little more than an "economy primeira." A number of these two-decker segundas were built to *Conquistador*'s design.

The smaller 74-gun terceira *Fúria*, built in 1808, served as the template for the largest homogeneous class of Firoccan ships-of-the-line in history, with a total of twenty vessels built.

Only one primeira, the 122-gun *Devastadora* (not to be confused with earlier vessels of the same name) was built during the 1800s. Two other primeiras were partially assembled in the 1820s, but were left on the stocks, eventually being broken up in the 1860s, having never been launched.

Due to an emphasis on numbers, Firocco was a late adopter of the "super-frigate" design invented elsewhere, instead preferring 36-gun frigates until the 1840s. Between 1790 and 1850, Firocco built only three frigates larger than thirty-eight guns. The Firoccan Armada's decision to adopt larger frigate designs presaged, by only a few years, the first steam-powered vessels; the rapid improvements in metallurgy resulted in the trend quickly shifting to fewer, but more powerful, artillery pieces.