The 74-Gun Ship Bellona Book

The '74' was the classic line-of-battle ship of the late eighteenth century, and Bellona was one of the most important and long lived. Launched in 1760, during the Seven Years War, she belonged to the first truly successful class of British 74-gun ships, a design by Thomas Slade that was built in large numbers over more than twenty years. Bellona herself served with distinction over 54 years, fought in four wars and was not broken up until 1814. The 'Anatomy of the Ship' series aims to provide the finest documentation of individual ships and ship types ever published. What makes the series unique is a complete set of superbly executed line drawings, both the conventional type of plan as well as explanatory views, with fully descriptive keys. These are supported by technical details and a record of the ship's service history. This volume features a full description of the ship, how she came to be purchased, and the short history of her naval service. With over 300 perspective and 3-view drawings, accompanied by in-depth descriptive keys. This revised edition features a large-scale plan of the ship on the reverse of an extended fold-out jacket. Brian Lavery is probably the world's leading authority on the ship of the line. Apart from contributing numerous articles to magazines and journals, he edited and introduced a reprint of Deane's Doctrine of Naval Architecture, 1670, the earliest full treatise on the subject in English. He is also the author of the highly successful two-volume history of sailing battleships, The Ship of The Line as well as the critically acclaimed best-selling Nelson's Navy.