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two-deckers used by the French and
Spanish navies. The additional height did, however, give the second rate an advantage in close combat with the further advantage of it being able to withstand punishment like a larger ship, but being much cheaper to build and maintain. It was sometimes mistaken by
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The three-decker second-rate was mainly a
British type, and was not built by other European navies to any great degree. As speed is mainly determined by length along the waterline, the three-deck second-rate was a slow sailer compared to both its two-deck equivalent and the first-rate ships. Being
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to approach the enemy at a lesser angle than the remainder of the column, in the hope that having more sail area exposed to the wind would enable these two ships to keep up. A near disastrous example of the three-decker's maladroitness occurred on 25 December 1796 when, on sighting the enemy, the
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which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns and were originally two-deckers or had only partially armed third gun decks. A "second rate" was the second largest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six
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After the
Napoleonic wars, new second rates in the Royal Navy mounted their guns (typically 90 or 91) on two decks once more, leaving the first rates as the only ships with three complete gun decks.
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Apart from its unhandiness, in terms of sheer firepower it was matched or even out-gunned by many of the large 80-gun and
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This article is about the rating of Royal Navy ships. For the rating of late
Georgian and early Victorian buildings, see
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and carrying a crew of 750, the second-rates by the second half of the 18th century carried 32-pounder guns on the
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the same height as a first-rate but shorter meant they handled poorly and had a tendency to sail to leeward;
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the enemy for a first-rate, which could possibly make enemy commanders reluctant to press an attack.
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They were essentially smaller and hence cheaper versions of the three-decker
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Warships of the
Napoleonic Era: Design, Development and Deployment
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The
Command of the Ocean, a Naval History of Britain 1649–1815
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192:was described by one of her lieutenants as sailing
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55:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
349:British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1817–1863
335:British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1793–1817
321:British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1714–1792
307:British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1603–1714
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140:. Like the first rates, they fought in the
102:An illustration of the British second-rate
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86:Learn how and when to remove this message
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196:. Their poor sailing abilities prompted
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133:"ratings" based on size and firepower.
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23:Historic category for Royal Navy ships
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276:. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing.
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337:(2nd edition), Barnsley (2008).
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258:The Battle of Trafalgar
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146:Rear-admiral of the red
70:more precise citations.
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43:list of references
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170:forecastles
168:) on their
138:first rates
126:second-rate
68:introducing
517:Sixth-rate
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480:Third-rate
468:Man-of-war
463:First-rate
245:first-rate
239:The term "
166:carronades
560:Post ship
545:Fire ship
364:Citations
210:HMS
202:Trafalgar
187:HMS
111:John Ward
580:Category
565:Schooner
504:Frigates
218:Spithead
162:gun deck
122:warships
555:Gunboat
116:In the
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206:Prince
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