Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 11th August 2016, 01:56 AM

To get a broad idea of what a Portuguese battle group consisted here is a portrait picture... The Famous Portuguese Carrack...and other craft .

From https://hist21bsection3.wordpress.co...orized/page/7/

I Quote"This painting of a 16th century Portuguese shipping vessel, called a Carrack, was painted by an unidentified artist in 1540. The Carrack was the second of the preferred shipping vessels used in the 16th century by the Portuguese to make long sea voyages. These vessels were an adaptation and evolvement of the caravel and were much larger. They had a combination of square and lanteen sails, could mount heavy cannons for defense (against pirates or rival naval powers), had multiple decks for different types of cargo, and even had a deck for crew quarters. At each end of the ship were platforms called high “castles” which gave soldiers armed with firearms or crossbows and cannoniers a commanding position from which to defend their vessel and repel seaborne attacks.

The Carrack became the workhorse of transoceanic trade in the 16th century".Unquote.

Regarding advancement in the art of Artillery ...From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_India_Armadas

I Quote"Naval artillery was the single greatest advantage the Portuguese held over their rivals in the Indian Ocean – indeed over most other navies – and the Portuguese crown spared no expense in procuring and producing the best naval guns European technology permitted.

King John II of Portugal is often credited for pioneering, while still a prince in 1474, the introduction of a reinforced deck on the old Henry-era caravel to allow the mounting of heavy guns.[19] In 1489, he introduced the first standardized teams of trained naval gunners (bombardeiros) on every ship, and development of naval tactics that maximized broadside cannonades rather than the rush-and-grapple of Medieval galleys.

The Portuguese crown appropriated the best cannon technology available in Europe, particularly the new, more durable and far more accurate bronze cannon developed in Central Europe, replacing the older, less accurate wrought-iron cannon. By 1500, Portugal was importing vast volumes of copper and cannon from northern Europe, and had established itself as the leading producer of advanced naval artillery in its own right. Being a crown industry, cost considerations did not curb the pursuit of the best quality, best innovations and best training.[20] The crown paid wage premiums and bonuses to lure the best European artisans and gunners (mostly German) to advance the industry in Portugal. Every cutting-edge innovation introduced elsewhere was immediately appropriated into Portuguese naval artillery – that includes bronze cannon (Flemish/German), breech-loading swivel-guns (prob. German origin), truck carriages (possibly English), and the idea (originally French, c. 1501[21]) of cutting square gunports (portinhola) in the hull to allow heavy cannon to be mounted below deck.[22]

In this respect, the Portuguese spearheaded the evolution of modern naval warfare, moving away from the Medieval warship, a carrier of armed men, aiming for the grapple, towards the modern idea of a floating artillery piece dedicated to resolving battles by gunnery alone.

According to Gaspar Correia, the typical fighting caravel of Gama's 4th Armada (1502) carried 30 men, four heavy guns below, six falconets (falconete) above (two fixed astern) and ten swivel-guns (canhão de berço) on the quarter-deck and bow.

An armed carrack, by contrast, had six heavy guns below, eight falconets above and several swivel-guns, and two fixed forward-firing guns before the mast.[23] Although an armed carrack carried more firepower than a caravel, it was much less swift and less manoeuvrable, especially when loaded with cargo. A carrack's guns were primarily defensive, or for shore bombardments, whenever their heavier firepower was necessary. But by and large, fighting at sea was usually left to the armed caravels.

The development of the heavy galleon removed even the necessity of bringing carrack firepower to bear in most circumstances. One of them became famous in the conquest of Tunis and could carry 366 bronze cannons, for this reason, it became known as Botafogo, meaning literally fire maker, torcher or spitfire in popular Portuguese'' Unquote.

11th August 2016, 01:56 AM	#83
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	To get a broad idea of what a Portuguese battle group consisted here is a portrait picture... The Famous Portuguese Carrack...and other craft . From https://hist21bsection3.wordpress.co...orized/page/7/ I Quote"This painting of a 16th century Portuguese shipping vessel, called a Carrack, was painted by an unidentified artist in 1540. The Carrack was the second of the preferred shipping vessels used in the 16th century by the Portuguese to make long sea voyages. These vessels were an adaptation and evolvement of the caravel and were much larger. They had a combination of square and lanteen sails, could mount heavy cannons for defense (against pirates or rival naval powers), had multiple decks for different types of cargo, and even had a deck for crew quarters. At each end of the ship were platforms called high “castles” which gave soldiers armed with firearms or crossbows and cannoniers a commanding position from which to defend their vessel and repel seaborne attacks. The Carrack became the workhorse of transoceanic trade in the 16th century".Unquote. Regarding advancement in the art of Artillery ...From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_India_Armadas I Quote"Naval artillery was the single greatest advantage the Portuguese held over their rivals in the Indian Ocean – indeed over most other navies – and the Portuguese crown spared no expense in procuring and producing the best naval guns European technology permitted. King John II of Portugal is often credited for pioneering, while still a prince in 1474, the introduction of a reinforced deck on the old Henry-era caravel to allow the mounting of heavy guns.[19] In 1489, he introduced the first standardized teams of trained naval gunners (bombardeiros) on every ship, and development of naval tactics that maximized broadside cannonades rather than the rush-and-grapple of Medieval galleys. The Portuguese crown appropriated the best cannon technology available in Europe, particularly the new, more durable and far more accurate bronze cannon developed in Central Europe, replacing the older, less accurate wrought-iron cannon. By 1500, Portugal was importing vast volumes of copper and cannon from northern Europe, and had established itself as the leading producer of advanced naval artillery in its own right. Being a crown industry, cost considerations did not curb the pursuit of the best quality, best innovations and best training.[20] The crown paid wage premiums and bonuses to lure the best European artisans and gunners (mostly German) to advance the industry in Portugal. Every cutting-edge innovation introduced elsewhere was immediately appropriated into Portuguese naval artillery – that includes bronze cannon (Flemish/German), breech-loading swivel-guns (prob. German origin), truck carriages (possibly English), and the idea (originally French, c. 1501[21]) of cutting square gunports (portinhola) in the hull to allow heavy cannon to be mounted below deck.[22] In this respect, the Portuguese spearheaded the evolution of modern naval warfare, moving away from the Medieval warship, a carrier of armed men, aiming for the grapple, towards the modern idea of a floating artillery piece dedicated to resolving battles by gunnery alone. According to Gaspar Correia, the typical fighting caravel of Gama's 4th Armada (1502) carried 30 men, four heavy guns below, six falconets (falconete) above (two fixed astern) and ten swivel-guns (canhão de berço) on the quarter-deck and bow. An armed carrack, by contrast, had six heavy guns below, eight falconets above and several swivel-guns, and two fixed forward-firing guns before the mast.[23] Although an armed carrack carried more firepower than a caravel, it was much less swift and less manoeuvrable, especially when loaded with cargo. A carrack's guns were primarily defensive, or for shore bombardments, whenever their heavier firepower was necessary. But by and large, fighting at sea was usually left to the armed caravels. The development of the heavy galleon removed even the necessity of bringing carrack firepower to bear in most circumstances. One of them became famous in the conquest of Tunis and could carry 366 bronze cannons, for this reason, it became known as Botafogo, meaning literally fire maker, torcher or spitfire in popular Portuguese'' Unquote. Attached Images Last edited by Ibrahiim al Balooshi; 11th August 2016 at 03:15 AM.