Razee
Arazeeorrazée/rəˈziː/[1]is asailing shipthat has been cut down (razeed) to reduce the number of decks. The word is derived from the Frenchvaisseau rasé,meaning a razed (in the sense of shaved down) ship.[2]
Seventeenth century[edit]
During the transition fromgalleonsto morefrigate-like warships (1600 – 1650) there was a general awareness that the reduction in topweight afforded by the removal of upperworks made ships better sailers;Rear AdmiralSirWilliam Symondsnoted after thelaunchofSovereign of the Seasthat she was "cut down" and made a safe and fast ship. In 1651Sovereign of the Seaswas again made more manoeuvrable by reducing the number ofcannon.Ships were razeed not only by navies but also bypirates–Charles Johnson'sA General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates[3]describesGeorge LowtherrefittingGambia Castlein 1721:
They one and all came into measures, knocked down the cabins, made the ship flush fore and aft, prepared black colours, new named her theDelivery,having about 50 hands and 16 guns.
This did not reduce the number of gun decks, but had the effect of making the razee ship much handier, since theforecastleandaftcastleno longer createdwindage,top weight was reduced, and the ship was made lighter overall.
Eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries[edit]
[edit]
In theRoyal Navy,the razee operation was typically performed on a smaller two-deckship of the line,resulting in a largefrigate.The rationale for this apparent reduction in gun power was that the smaller ships-of-the-line could no longer be used safely in fleet actions as the overall size and armament of opposing ships increased. The resulting razeed ship was classed as a frigate; it was stronger than the usual run of purpose-built frigates.
In similar fashion, three-decked ships of the line were sometimes razeed, either to becomeflush-decked(with the quarterdeck and forecastle removed) or cut down to become two-deckers.
HMSNamur(1756)was a 90-gun second rate launched in 1756. She was razeed as a 74-gunthird ratein 1805.
Three 64-gun ships were cut down (razeed) in 1794 into 44-gun frigates. The most successful was HMSIndefatigablewhich was commanded by SirEdward Pellew.
Towards the close of the Napoleonic Wars, three elderly 74-gun ships were razeed into 58-gun fourth rates (not losing a complete deck, so remaining a two-decker, but having the quarterdeck removed). Two more followed immediately post-war, although the second never completed conversion.
- HMSGoliathof 1781(razeed 1813)[citation needed]
- HMSMajesticof 1785(razeed 1813)
- HMSSaturnof 1786(razeed 1813)
- HMSElephantof 1786(razeed 1817-18)
- HMSExcellentof 1787(began razee 1825)
Another eleven more-recent 74s were razeed in 1826-1845, in this case being fully reduced to 50-gun heavy frigates; three others were scheduled for similar conversion, but this was never completed.
- HMSBarhamof 1811(razeed 1826)
- HMSDublinof 1812(razeed 1826)
- HMSAsiaof 1811(renamed HMSAlfred1819 and razeed 1826-28)
- HMSCornwallof 1812(razeed 1827-30)
- HMSAmericaof 1810(razeed 1827-28)
- HMSConquestadorof 1810(razeed 1827-31)
- HMSRodneyof 1809(renamed HMSGreenwich1826 and began razee conversion 1827, but never completed it)
- HMSClarenceof 1812(renamed HMSCenturion1826 and began razee conversion 1827, but never completed it)
- HMSCressyof 1810(began razee conversion 1827, but never completed it)
- HMSVindictiveof 1813(razeed 1828-32)
- HMSEagleof 1804(razeed 1830-31)
- HMSGloucesterof 1812(razeed 1831)
- HMSWarspiteof 1807(razeed 1837-40)
- HMSTremendousof 1784(renamed HMSGrampus1845 on completing razee conversion)
French razée warships (Revolutionary War conversions)[edit]
In the French navy, a number of 74-gun two-deckers were similarly razeed into 54-gun ships:
- Diadème(renamedBrutusin September 1792 and razeed between December 1793 and May 1794)
- Herculeof 1778(razeed between February and June 1794, then renamedHydrein May 1795)
- Argonauteof 1781(razeed between December 1793 and March 1794, then renamedFlibustierin June 1794)
- Illustreof 1781(razeed between August 1793 and February 1794, renamedMucius Scevolain January 1794, name shortened toScevolain February 1794)
- Braveof 1781(razeed between April 1793 and January 1794, without change of name)
- Boréeof 1785(renamedÇa Irain April 1794, then againAgricolain June 1794 and razeed between April and July 1794)
- Agamemnonof 1812
United States razee warship[edit]
Late nineteenth century[edit]
In theUnited States Navy,several of the final generation of sailing frigates launched in the 1840s were cut down to become largesloops-of-war.Advances inmetallurgyandartilleryin the 1850s allowed the casting ofgunsthat fired substantially heaviershotthan had previously been in use, as well asexploding shells.Thus, when the decision was made to rearm these frigates with heavier but fewer guns, the reduction increwsize allowed the ships to be razeed. Theirsail planand size made them superb sailers. Although these ships carried a heavier broadside as 20 gun sloops-of-war than they did as 40 gun frigates, they were rerated as nominally smaller sloops-of-war because they mounted fewer guns. Such ships includeUSSMacedonianandUSSCumberland.
References[edit]
- ^OED
- ^Razeeat Dictionary.com
- ^A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates,Charles Johnson, 1724. (Modern paperback by The Lyons Press, 2002,ISBN1-58574-558-8)