Autorentext

Rif Winfield has worked in the shipping and computer industries, has been for many years a charity director, has operated his own retail businesses (with his wife Ann), and has been a candidate for elections to Parliament and other levels of government, including serving as an elected Councillor and being appointed to government posts in health and in local government. A life-long researcher into naval history, he lives in Mid Wales and is the author of a number of standard works on the ships of the British Navy.

Klappentext

A detailed, data-rich account traces hundreds of ships from the Wars of the French Revolution through the Napoleonic era, noting commissioning, refits, captains, stations, and actions with contemporary illustrations.

When first published in 2005 this book was hailed as a major contribution to naval history, and its value as a reference work was reflected in the speed with which it went out of print. This revised edition incorporates some important corrections, but retains the comprehensive coverage of the first, with details of well over 2000 ships that served during the Wars of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Empire - whether purpose-built, captured, purchased or merely hired. As well as technical data on the ships, information includes commissioning dates, refit periods, changes of captain, the stations where they served (and when), as well as notes on any actions in which they took part.

The book is well illustrated with contemporary prints and drawings that show the wide variety of service required of naval vessels in these wars, while specially commissioned general arrangement drawings depict the most significant classes. In all, it is a fitting tribute to a navy that at the zenith of its power in 1809 comprised one half of all the warships in the world.