The carrack was derived from carvel-built Mediterranean vessels, ‘naos’ as they were known in the Iberian peninsula. Carvel planking is characterised by laying the planks edge to edge, as opposed to clinker-building, where the planks overlap.
Carvel planking makes cutting gun ports into the side of a ship a much safer prospect - gun ports would weaken a clinker-built hull. This was an important consideration as from the late 1400’s large bore gunpowder weapons began to play an increasing role in naval warfare. Mediterranean vessels also had flat transom sterns, which increased deck space.
The Mary Rose
Much of the information we have on warship design in this period is derived from examination of the wreck of the Mary Rose, the remains of which were raised in 1982. Built in 1509, she went down with most of her crew at a battle against the French off Portsmouth on 18th July 1545. An abrupt gust of wind forced her to heel over and water flooded in through the open gun ports on her gun deck.
What is interesting about the Mary Rose is she reveals a transition from armed merchantman to purpose-built floating gun platform. Her hull (105 ft at keel level) was strengthened and she carried 44 heavy calibre culverin and 16 smaller pieces known as swivel guns. She was powered by 4 masts - from bows to stern, (front to back) a foremast, mainmast, mizzen and bonaventure mizzen, as well as a bowsprit ( a mast jutting at a 45 degree angle from the bows of the ship.)
Her sail plan was characterised by one sail on the bowsprit, at least two sails on the foremast, three on the main, two lateen (triangular) sails on the mizzen and one lateen on the bonaventure mizzen. By the end of her life, she displaced 700 tons and had a beam (width) of 38 ft. At the time of her sinking, she was crewed by 700 men, which included sailors, soldiers and gunners.
Tudor Naval Warfare
Naval gunnery was still in its infancy. Most pieces were of hoop-and-stave construction - slats of iron bound together with iron rings, just like a beer barrel, and most were breech loaded. The powder chamber was removed, the gun was loaded, and the chamber replaced. This loading technique was relatively quick and easy but the force of the discharge was greatly reduced by cracks between the breech and the powder chamber.
The other option was muzzle, or front, loading. This was extremely time consuming, because gun carriages were very rudimentary and the decks were extremely crowded, which made pulling the muzzle of the gun inboard even more difficult. As absurd as it sounds, many gunners preferred to leave the muzzle protruding from the gun port and clambered outside the ship, straddling their weapon as they loaded it.
Apart from the danger of falling into the sea and the enormous amount of time required for such a loading technique, it would be impossible for a gunner to sit upon his piece after it had been fired 4 or 5 times due to the heat generated from firing.
Because of these problems, and the unstable nature of the guns themselves - many were poorly made and prone to explode - the tactic was for ships to get close to the enemy, fire one potentially crippling broadside and then attempt to grapple and board.
Amongst the many artefacts brought up from the Mary Rose were cases of longbows and thousands of arrows. Archers would be stationed in the waist and tops - platforms built on the masts - and would saturate the foe with arrows before boarding took place. Ships carried soldiers and even the sailors would have at least a heavy knife. Light swivel guns - mounted on the decks and rails - were loaded with small balls or rusty metal scrap and were excellent anti-personnel weapons.
Tudor warships illustrate the transition from medieval naval warfare - essentially land battles fought at sea - to the mighty floating fortresses, capable of enormously destructive firepower, that would eventually reach perfection in the Napoleonic era.
Tudor Warships Henry VIII’s Navy
Angus Konstam, Illustrated by Tony Bryan
Osprey, 2008
The Habit of Victory The Story of the Royal Navy 1545 - 1945
Captain Peter Hore
Sidgwick and Jackson 2005
