Warships of the Ancient World - from ancient Egypt to Viking ships. The oldest operating ship of the Russian Navy

IN archaic period(XII-VIII centuries BC) the most common types of Greek warships were triacontor And pentecontor(respectively, “thirty oars” and “fifty oars”). The triacontor was very close in design to Cretan ships (see) and does not deserve special attention.

The pentecontor was a single-tier rowing vessel driven by five dozen oars - 25 on each side. Based on the fact that the distance between the rowers cannot be less than 1 m, the length of the rowing section should be estimated at 25 m. To this it also makes sense to add approximately 3 m each to the bow and stern sections. Thus, the total length of the pentecontor can be estimated at 28-33 m. The width of the pentecontor is approximately 4 m, the maximum speed is approx. 9.5 knots (17.5 km/h).

Pentecontories were mostly undecked (Greek. afrakta), open ships. However, sometimes deck ones were also built (Greek. cataphract) pentecontories. The presence of a deck protected the rowers from the sun and from enemy missiles and, in addition, increased the cargo and passenger capacity of the ship. The deck could carry supplies, horses, war chariots and additional warriors, including archers and slingers, who could help in battle with an enemy ship.

Initially, the pentecontor was intended mainly for the “self-transportation” of troops. On the oars sat the same warriors who later, having gone ashore, fought the war for which they sailed to Troad or Crete (see “Iliad”, “Odyssey”, “Argonautics”). In other words, the pentecontor was not a ship specifically designed to destroy other ships, but rather a fast troop transport. (Just like drakars Vikings and boats Slavs, on the oars of which ordinary warriors sat.)

The appearance of a ram on pentecontores means that at a certain moment the opposing city-states and coalitions of the Aegean basin come to the idea that it would be good to sink enemy ships along with their troops before they land on the shore and begin to ravage their native fields.

For warships designed to conduct naval battles using a ram as the main anti-ship weapon, the following factors are critical:

- maneuverability, on which depends the quick exit on board an enemy ship and rapid escape from a retaliatory strike;

– maximum speed, on which the kinetic energy of the ship and, accordingly, the power of the ramming strike depend;

– protection from enemy ramming attacks.

To increase speed, you need to increase the number of rowers and improve the hydrodynamics of the vessel. However, on a single-tier ship, such as the pentecontor, an increase in the number of oarsmen by 2 (one on each side) leads to the fact that the length of the ship increases by 1 m. Each extra meter of length in the absence of high-quality materials leads to a sharp increase in the probability that the ship will break on the waves. Thus, according to calculations, a length of 35 m is very critical for ships built using the technologies that Mediterranean civilizations of the 12th-7th centuries could afford. BC.

Thus, by lengthening the ship, it is necessary to strengthen its structure with more and more new elements, which makes it heavier and thereby negates the benefits of placing additional rowers. On the other hand, the longer the ship, the larger the radius of its circulation, that is, the lower the maneuverability. And, finally, on the third side, the longer the ship in general, the longer, in particular, its underwater part, which is the most vulnerable place to be hit by enemy rams.

Greek and Phoenician shipbuilders made an elegant decision in such conditions. If the ship cannot be lengthened, then it must be make it higher and place a second tier of rowers above the first. Thanks to this, the number of rowers was doubled without significantly increasing the length of the vessel. This is how it appeared bireme.

Birema

Rice. 2. Early Greek bireme

A side effect of adding a second tier of oarsmen was to increase the ship's security. To ram the bireme, the enemy ship's bow had to overcome resistance twice as large more cheerful than before.

Doubling the number of rowers has led to increased demands on the synchronization of oar movements. Each rower had to be able to very clearly maintain the rhythm of rowing, so that the bireme would not turn into a centipede, entangled in its own oar legs. That is why in Antiquity almost Not the notorious "galley slaves" were used. All oarsmen were civilians and, by the way, during the war they earned the same amount as professional soldiers - hoplites.

Only in the 3rd century. BC, when the Romans had a shortage of oarsmen during the Punic Wars due to high losses, they used slaves and criminals sentenced for debt (but not criminals!) on their large ships. However, firstly, they were used only after preliminary training. And, secondly, the Romans promised freedom to all slave rowers and honestly fulfilled their promise after the end of hostilities. By the way, there could be no talk of any whips or scourges at all.

We actually owe the appearance of the image of “galley slaves” to the Venetian, Genoese and Swedish galleys of the 15th-18th centuries. They had a different design, which made it possible to use only 12-15% of professional rowers in the team, and recruit the rest from convicts. But the Venetian galley technologies “a scalocio” and “a terzaruola” will be discussed later in another article.

The appearance of the first biremes among the Phoenicians is usually dated to the beginning, and among the Greeks - to the end of the 8th century. BC. Birems were built in both decked and undecked versions.

Birema can be considered the first ship specifically designed and built to destroy enemy naval targets. The bireme rowers were almost never professional warriors (like hoplites), but they were quite professional sailors. In addition, during a boarding battle on board their ship, the rowers of the upper row could take part in the battle, while the rowers of the lower row had the opportunity to continue maneuvering.

It is easy to imagine that the meeting of the bireme of the 8th century. (with 12-20 hoplites, 10-12 sailors and a hundred oarsmen on board) with a pentecontor from the Trojan War (with 50 hoplite oarsmen) would be disastrous for the latter. Despite the fact that the pentecontor had 50 warriors on board versus 12-20, his crew in most cases would not be able to use their numerical superiority. The higher side of the bireme would have prevented boarding combat, and the ramming blow of the bireme -> pentecontor was 1.5-3 times more effective in terms of damaging effect than the blow of the pentecontor -> bireme.

In addition, if the pentecontor maneuvers with the aim of boarding the bireme, then it should be assumed that all his hoplites are busy at the oars. While at least 12-20 bireme hoplites can shower the enemy with projectiles.

Due to its obvious advantages, the bireme quickly became a very common type of ship in the Mediterranean and for many centuries firmly occupied the position of a light cruiser in all major fleets (although at the time of its appearance, the bireme was simply a super-dreadnought). Well, two centuries later it will occupy the niche of a heavy cruiser trireme– the most massive, most typical ship of classical Antiquity.

Trier

Since the first, fundamentally important step from monera (single-tier) to polyreme (multi-tier) had already been made during the transition from pentecontor to bireme, the transition from bireme to trireme turned out to be much easier.

According to Thucydides, the first trireme was built around 650 BC. In particular, we find from him: “The Hellenes began to build ships and turned to navigation. According to legend, the Corinthians were the first to begin building ships in a way very similar to the modern one, and the first triremes in Hellas were built in Corinth. The Corinthian shipbuilder Aminocles, who arrived to the Samians about three hundred years before the end of this war [meaning the Peloponnesian, 431-404 BC - A.Z.], he built four ships for them, as we know, and took place among the Corinthians. with the Corcyraeans (and from this battle to the same time about two hundred and sixty years passed)..."

The triere is a further development of the idea of ​​a multi-tiered rowing ship, has three tiers of oars and is up to 42 m long.

A length of 35-40 meters is quite critical even for advanced narrow wooden structures that lack a powerful longitudinal set (stringers). However, the logic of the arms race is to reach the most extreme, most dangerous values ​​of all technological parameters of military equipment. Therefore, the length of the trireme approached 40 m and fluctuated around this mark throughout its long history.

A typical Greek trireme had 27+32+31=90 (i.e., 180 in total) oarsmen, 12-30 warriors, and 10-12 sailors on each side. Managed the rowers and sailors celeist, the trireme as a whole was in command trierarch.

The rowers who were on the lowest tier of the trireme, that is, closest to the water, were called Thalamites. There were usually 27 on each side. The ports cut into the sides for their oars were very close to the water and even with a slight swell they were overwhelmed by the waves. In this case, the thalamites pulled the oars inward, and the ports were sealed with leather plasters (Greek: ascoma).

The rowers of the second tier were called zygits(32 on each side). And finally, the third tier - tranites. The oars of the zygits and tranites passed through the ports in parados- a special box-shaped extension of the hull above the waterline, which hung over the water. The rhythm of the rowers was set by a flute player, and not a drummer, as on the larger ships of the Roman fleet.

Contrary to appearances, the oars of all three tiers were the same length. The fact is that if we consider the vertical section of the trireme, it turns out that the thalamites, zygits and tranites are located not on the same vertical, but on a curve formed by the side of the trireme. Thus, the blades of the oars of all tiers reached the water, although they entered it at different angles.

The Trireme was a very narrow ship. At the waterline level, it had a width of about 5 m, which with a length of 35 m gives a length to width ratio of 7:1, and with a length of 40 m - 8:1. However, if you measure it by the width of the deck, or even more so by the width of the trireme together with the parados, that is, by the maximum size with the oars retracted, then this ratio drops to 5.5-6:1.

These ships were built without frames, using external templates, with the skin fastened with dowels. The Greeks began to use round dowels, both ends of which were sawed off. Small wooden wedges made from acacia, plum or thorn were driven into such a cut. The dowels were then inserted so that the wedges were positioned across the grain. Thus, the sheathing boards were closely fitted to each other.

The length of the oars is estimated at 4-4.5 m. (Which, for comparison, is 1.5-2 m shorter than the sarissas of the sixth rank of the Macedonian phalanx.) Regarding the speed of the trireme, there are the most different opinions. Skeptics call 7-8 knots maximum. Optimists say that a well-built trireme with excellent oarsmen could maintain a cruising speed of 9 knots for 24 hours. (On the assumption, apparently, that every eight hours the rowers of one tier rest while the other two row.) Science fiction writers invent incredible speeds at 18-20 knots, which is the ultimate dream for a battleship from the Russian-Japanese War (1904-1905, 14-19 knots).

The modern reconstruction of the trireme ("Olympia") has not yet been able to squeeze out more than 7 knots, which is what the skeptics' arguments are based on. I really think that re a design is not yet a design. The fact that modern Englishmen worked with an electric hammer and cyberchisel for their own pleasure is not at all the same as what the Greeks did a thousand times for the sake of the prosperity of the Athenian Arche. I’m ready to admit that a trireme with Piraeus serial number 1001 could achieve 10 knots with the active assistance of Neptune, and with the favor of all the Olympians and the non-interference of the malicious Hera, reach the divine 12.

One way or another, experiments with the Olympia showed: despite the low speed, the trireme was a fairly power-equipped ship. From a stationary state, it reaches half the maximum speed in 8 seconds, and the full maximum in 30. The same battleship of 1905 could breed pairs for 3-6 hours. And this is just to get moving!

Like later Roman ships, Greek triremes were equipped with a buffer ram-proembolon and a combat ram in the shape of a trident or a boar's head.

Triremes did not have fixed masts, but almost all were equipped with one or two (according to some sources, sometimes three) removable masts. With a fair wind, they were quickly installed by the efforts of the sailors. The central mast was installed vertically and stretched with cables for stability. Bow, designed for a small sail (Greek. artemon), was installed obliquely, supported on an acrotable. The third mast, as short as the bow one, also carried a small sail and was located at the very end of the deck in the stern.

Sometimes triremes were optimized not for naval battles, but for transport. Such triremes were called hoplitagagos(for infantry) and Hippagagos(for horses). Fundamentally, they were no different from ordinary ones, but had a reinforced deck and, in the case of the Hippagagos, a higher bulwark and additional wide gangways for horses.

Birems and triremes became the main and only universal ships of the classical period (IV-V centuries BC). Alone and as part of small squadrons, they could perform cruising functions, that is, conduct reconnaissance, intercept enemy merchant and transport ships, deliver especially important embassies and ravage the enemy coast. And in major battles of the main forces of the fleet (Salamin, Egospotami), triremes and biremes acted as battleships, that is, they were used in linear formations (2-4 lines of 15-100 ships each) and fought against targets of similar class.

It was the biremes and triremes that played the main role in the Hellenes’ victory over the huge Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis.

Messenger

“They obeyed the order as expected.
Dinner was prepared, and by the oarlocks
Each rower hurried to adjust the oars.
Then when last sun the beam went out
And the night came, all the rowers and warriors
With weapons, as one, they boarded the ships,
And the ships, having lined up, called to each other.
And so, adhering to the order that was indicated,
Goes out to sea and sleeplessly swims
The ship's people perform their service regularly.
And the night passed. But they didn’t do it anywhere
Attempts by the Greeks to secretly bypass the barrier.
When will the earth be white again?
The luminary of the day filled with bright radiance,
A jubilant noise was heard in the camp of the Greeks,
Similar to a song. And they answered him
With the thundering echo of the island rock,
And immediately the fear of the confused barbarians
It failed. The Greeks did not think about escape,
Singing a solemn song,
And they went to battle with selfless courage,
And the roar of the trumpet set hearts on fire with courage.
The salty abyss was foamed together
The consonant strokes of the Greek oars,
And soon we saw everyone with our own eyes;
Went ahead, in excellent formation, right
Wing, and then proudly followed
The entire fleet. And from everywhere at the same time
A mighty cry rang out: “Children of the Hellenes,
To fight for the freedom of the motherland! Children and wives
Free your native gods at home too,
And great-grandfathers' graves! The fight is on for everything!"
Our Persian speech is a monotonous hum
He answered the call. There was no time to hesitate here,
The ship's copper-clad bow immediately
It hit the ship. The Greeks began the attack,
Having broken the stern of the Phoenician with a ram,
And then the ships attacked each other.
At first the Persians managed to hold back
Pressure When in a narrow place there are many
The ships have accumulated, no one can help
I couldn’t and my copper beaks pointed,
Their own in their own, the oars and rowers are destroyed.
And the Greeks used ships, as they planned,
We were surrounded. The sea was not visible
Because of the wreckage, because of the overturned
Ships and lifeless bodies and corpses
The shallows and the coast were completely covered.
Find salvation in a disorderly flight
The entire surviving barbarian fleet tried,
But the Greeks of the Persians are like tuna fishermen,
Anything, boards, debris
The ships and oars were beaten. Screams of horror
And the screams filled the salty distance,
Until the eye of night hid us.
All troubles, even if I lead ten days in a row
The story is sad, I can’t list it, no.
I'll tell you one thing: never before
So many people on earth have never died in one day."

Aeschylus, "Persians"

At the same time, single-tier galleys (unirems), the heirs of the archaic triacontor and pentecontor, continued to be used as auxiliary ships, advice ships (messenger ships) and raiders.

Rice. 5. Late Greek pentecontor

The largest ship built in Antiquity is considered to be the semi-mythical tesseracontera (sometimes simply “tessera”), which was created in Egypt by order of Ptolemy Philopator. Allegedly, it reached 122 m in length and 15 m in width, and carried 4,000 oarsmen and 3,000 warriors. Some researchers believe that it was most likely a huge double-hulled catamaran, between the hulls of which a grandiose platform was built for throwing machines and warriors. As for the rowers, then, most likely, there were 10 people for each grandiose oar of this floating fortress.

Publication:
XLegio © 1999, 2001

The history of ancient shipbuilding has its roots in the distant past. The beginnings of navigation date back to the most ancient times, about which we have only vague ideas. The first means of transportation on water was probably a raft, tied from sheaves of reeds or from tree trunks, driven by poles. It was equipped with a rough beam that acted as a rudder, and a small hut of the most primitive type.

The next stage in the development of shipbuilding was the shuttle - a hollowed out tree trunk, driven by oars or a simple sail. These were already ships, the manufacture of which required the use of famous instruments. Then boats appear, knocked together from individual boards and equipped with oars and sails; such vessels could only appear with the significant development of various crafts and the ability to process metals.

The impetus for the first attempts at navigation was probably given by fishing, followed by the exchange of goods, that is, maritime trade; Along with this, in the vastness of the sea that did not belong to anyone, piracy developed in early times. According to the concepts of the ancients, every foreigner was considered an enemy who could be killed or enslaved with impunity, therefore sea robbery was not considered either criminal or shameful and was carried out completely openly. All seafaring peoples robbed the sea, hunted people and engaged in the slave trade.

Navigation techniques were the most primitive due to the lack of maps, sailing directions, lighthouses, signs, compass and other devices of this kind. The only seafaring tool that the ancients had was the lot. Sailors determined their location by familiar shores or by approximate calculation of the distance traveled, and at night on the open sea - by the stars. The course plotting was also very inaccurate. When orienting and determining the direction of the wind, four points were initially distinguished: east, west, north and south. By the time of the first Olympics (776 BC), four directions were added to these directions, corresponding to the points of sunrise and sunset on the days of the solstice. This division of the horizon into eight parts was maintained until 400 BC, when four more points were added, spaced 30° on either side of the north and south; that is, the horizon was divided into twelve equal parts of 30° each.

Ancient shipping was considered coastal, i.e., coastal; the Greeks mainly focused on the near shore, since long sea voyages on the open sea were very dangerous, and only a few daredevils dared to go on long trips. This is quite well illustrated by the ancient “periplus”. The word “periplus” goes back to the ancient Greek word περίπλους - swimming near the shore, description of the shore. Such voyages were determined by the instability of ships in a stormy sea, the need for quick shelter in some bay off the coast in case of sudden bad weather or the need to replenish food supplies and fresh water [Lazarov 1978. P. 49].

In the Ancient era, there were mainly two types of ships - military, which had elongated proportions, a removable mast, oars as the main means of transportation, called "long" by the Greeks, and trade - shorter and wider, moving mainly with the help of sails - "round". Basically, the epithets "long" and "round" were used to distinguish the elongated warship from the merchant ship. In addition to large ones, the Greeks created various small vessels that they used for fishing, for short journeys from one island to another, for pirate raids, etc.

The smallest type of rowing vessel was the light boat. There were small fast ships that were used by pirates. It can be assumed that small ships of this type had five rowers on each side, i.e. ten in total. There are references to epactrides in the sources (the word ἐπακτρίς comes from the verb έπάγειν - to find a means of salvation from something), apparently this ship was boarded by a larger ship. Aristophanes mentions this in the comedy “The Horsemen”:

And hold the hooks, and the hooks, and the dolphins, and
rescue boat on ropes.

(Aristophanes. Horsemen. 762-763. Translated by A.I. Piotrovsky)

Very little is known about the structure and size of merchant ships of the Ancient era. The surviving information relates to a greater extent to military courts, since military events, which played an important role in the life of the Greek city-states, always attracted the interest of Greek writers and craftsmen. Ships without rams became widespread in archaic times. This period was characterized by the rise of the material and cultural life of the Greek world. The widespread development of trade relations led to the creation of a special merchant ship. In the VII-VI centuries. BC. ships appear that combine the useful qualities of military and merchant ships. They were deep-set, with stubby noses, maneuverable, fast and could carry large loads [Peters 1986. pp. 11-12].

Numerous merchant ships differed primarily by geography, that is, depending on the region in which they were built. It was this factor that determined the design features of the hull, the type of sailing and oar device and the materials from which the ship was made. The size of the vessel was determined by the tasks that the sailors set for themselves: the range of the routes, their distance from the coast, the volume of transportation and the nature of the cargo. Thus, based on geography, we can divide ancient ships into Phoenician, Carian, Samian, Phocian, etc. But whatever changes were made to merchant sailing ships, they remained small, with a single mast and a square sail made of skins sewn together. These ships moved along the coast, sometimes going out to the open sea, and were not very resistant to storms.

By 500 B.C. there were already a sufficiently large number of sailing ships to improve the trade infrastructure. Most cargo ships were single-deck and had an average carrying capacity of up to 80 tons. The ratio of length to width of the hull was 5: 3. The wide, high-raised stern gave the vessel additional windage, which made it possible to achieve maximum speed in tailwinds. Most often, the ship was equipped with two steering oars located on the sides, which were attached with leather straps to beams running across the hull. The presence of two rudders gave the ship stability on course and increased its maneuverability. Merchant ships were largely, and the largest - exclusively, dependent on the wind. Ships without keels and with little windage could not sail steeply against the wind; they were very strongly blown away during the gulfwind (wind blowing strictly perpendicular to the side), although ancient sailors tried to fight the drift using oars. This explains the fact that quite often the ships drifted in the other direction; Such helplessness in bad weather limited the time of navigation to the summer months, i.e., the period from mid-March to the end of October, when the weather was good.

The construction of warships has reached a more significant development than commercial ones. In the first half of the 1st millennium BC. The most common type of vessel was the pentecontera - a 50-oared ship - so named for the number of oarsmen, 25 on each side. This ship was primarily used for piracy and coastal raids, but was also suitable for longer voyages in unknown waters where the crew was strong enough to protect the ship from local threats. Penteconters were widely used in the period before the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC, and remained the main type of warship for many policies. In the 5th century BC. these ships are becoming more rare, giving way to more advanced ships, “the inhabitants of Phocea were the first among the Hellenes to embark on long sea voyages. They sailed not on “round” merchant ships, but on 50-oared ships” (Herodotus. I. 163, 166. Translated by G. A. Stratanovsky). An important invention was the addition of a bronze ram attached to the bow of the pentecontera. Herodotus mentions the ram in connection with the defeat of the Phocians at the Battle of Alalia (Corsica) in 535 BC. The use of a ram required an increase in the strength of the main structures of the ship and the speed at which the ship moved. It has not yet been established exactly who first invented the ram - the Greeks or the Phoenicians. Many scientists believe that the devices equipped with ships, depicted on geometric vases of the 8th century. BC, served to protect their bow when pulled ashore, and not to sink enemy ships. The real ram appeared, in their opinion, no earlier than the first half of the 7th century. BC. The use of rams forced the construction of ships with a more massive and durable bow.

The shipbuilding techniques of that time allowed the Greeks to create ships no more than 35 m in length and 8 m in width. It was dangerous to build a wooden ship longer, since the middle part could not withstand the pressure on the sides, because it was not as strongly strengthened as the bow and stern, which were more resistant to waves, so even with a slight rough sea the ship could break in half. A solution to this issue was found by the Phoenicians, and they began to build ships with rams and two rows of oars to increase the speed of movement while maintaining the strength of the vessel. On a ship of this kind, the rowers were located in two rows, one above the other, operating the oars. Then this one new type The ship also spread to Greece. This is how a faster and more maneuverable ship appeared; apparently, a little later the Greeks used the same technique to build a trireme. The Greek word "diera" was not found in literary sources up to the Roman period, translated it means “two-row”. The development of ships with two rows of oars is reconstructed from images dating from 700 to 480 BC. It is possible that before the appearance of multi-row ships in the Hellenistic period, ships received their names by the number of rows of oars, and not by the number of rowers.

The poet Homer narrated the events of 500 years ago. His descriptions of the ships correspond mainly to that time, although some details may relate to an earlier era. He never mentions the ram, a characteristic feature of 8th-century warships. BC, however, in his work there is a reference to pentecontera:

Philoctetes is the leader of these tribes, an excellent archer,
Led on seven ships; fifty sat on each
Strong rowers and skillful arrows to fight fiercely...

(Homer. Iliad. II. 718-720. Translated by N. I. Gnedich)

Homer's long ships were deckless; there were small deck superstructures only at the stern, where the captain was located, and at the bow, where there was an observation deck. The rowers sat on benches; they had no place to sleep on the ship, so they tried to moor at night and pull the ship ashore. The hull of the ships was very narrow, low and light, it was covered with resin, which is why all Homeric ships are “black”:

In the camp, at the black courts,
Swift-footed Achilles reclined...

(Homer. Iliad. II. 688. Translated by N. I. Gnedich)

Similar descriptions are found in archaic poets who follow the creator of the Iliad in the use of epithets. Archilochus and Solon speak of ships as "swift", while Alcaeus uses the Homeric definition in a passage from the hymn to the Dioscuri:

You, plucking at the ship’s strong beak,
Sliding along the rigging to the top of the mast.
In an evil night, shine with the desired light
To the black ship...

(Alkey. 9-12. Translated by M. L. Gasparov)

The oars were secured in oarlocks, rotated on pins and additionally held in place by leather straps. Aeschylus says about this:

Dinner was served,—
The rower adjusted the oar to the rowlock.

(Aeschylus. Persians. 372-773. Translated by Vyach. V. Ivanov)

Homer mentions one steering oar - apparently characteristic feature Mycenaean era, although contemporary images usually show two steering oars. Archaic poets give quite a lot of references to oars; an example is an excerpt from one of Alcaeus’s works:

So why are we hesitating to venture into the sea,
As if hibernating in winter?
Let's get up quickly, oars in hand,
We'll put a strong pressure on the pole
And let's push off into the open sea
Having set the sail, the yard straightened,—
And the heart will become more cheerful:
Instead of drinking, the hand is in action...

(Alkey. 5-12. Translated by M. L. Gasparov)

The main structure of ancient ships is the keel beam and frames. The keel had a longitudinal section where the edge of the outer skin was attached. The cross-sectional dimensions of the keel beam, as well as the frames, varied depending on the size of the vessel. The frames were usually located very tightly - at a distance of 10-20 cm, sometimes reaching 50 cm. The sheathing consisted of thick boards and was usually double. The individual parts were connected using bronze plates and nails, which were less susceptible to corrosion. In addition to bronze nails, wooden nails, overlays, tenons and strips were widely used for fastening. The sealing of cracks (caulking), which made it possible to prevent water seepage, was of great importance. Very little is known about the superstructures of ancient ships. The deck apparently contained quarters for the helmsman, captain, and shelter for the crew. Archilochus left an interesting testimony in one of his elegies, where he mentions the flooring on which wine was stored:

With a cup in your hands you walked along the deck of a fast boat,
Remove the lid from the dugout barrel with a deft hand,
Scoop out the red wine until the sediment is thick!..

(Archiloch. Elegies. 5. 5-8. Translated by V. V. Veresaev)

The mast, spars and sails can be represented on the basis of various images of ancient Greek ships, and Alcaeus gives us quite detailed descriptions in a fragment of one of his hymns:

We are lost in the collision of sea waves!
Then on the right the rolling shaft will crash into the side,
That on the left, and between this and that
Our black ship is rushing about -
And we suffer without strength under the storm,
The water splashes under the mast itself,
The sail is torn and in rags
They hung in large clumps from the yardarm;
The ropes are cracking...

(Alkey. 9. 1-9. Translated by M. L. Gasparov)

However, from the surviving drawings it is difficult to detect a significant difference between the sailing weapons of military and merchant ships. The images show that the ships were single-masted, the removable mast was located almost in the middle of the ship, but closer to the bow, and was not higher in height than the length of the ship. At the top of the mast there was a block for lifting the heavy yard, and there was also something like a small platform through which the halyard passed. Such sites were used as observation posts. The mast was secured with ropes at the bow and stern. A transverse yard was strengthened on the mast, and with the help of additional rigging (halyards) it was raised to the top of the mast, where it was secured with bayfoots. To hold it in a certain position, the yard was equipped with ropes (topenants) at the ends, passing from it to the top of the mast, which went down the mast through a block for lifting weights. However, the topenants only held the yard in a strictly fixed position, and did not allow its ends to be raised or lowered in a vertical plane. The vertical position of the yard was fixed using braces. The sails of ancient Greek ships had a quadrangular shape, their dimensions depended on the size of the ship and the height of the mast. They were sewn together from separate pieces in a horizontal direction. A rounded cutout was left at the bottom of the sail, through which the helmsman could look towards the bow of the ship and see everything ahead. When raising the sail, sheets were used, and it was retracted using gypsum. The sails, usually white, could be painted in a variety of colors, including black, like the Phoenician ones [Nazarov 1978. pp. 50-51].

1. Bow
2. stem
3. Superstructure in the bow
4. Ram
5. Anchor (the image is conditional, while the ship is moving, the anchor is selected)
6. Aft
7. Sternpost
8. The upper, inwardly curved part of the sternpost
9. Superstructure at the stern
10. Steering oars
11. Frame
12. Side part
13. Bottom
14. Oaring ports
15. Rowing oars
16. Oarlocks
17. Mast
18. Mast base - spur
19. Top of the mast - top
20. Side ropes to hold the mast
21. Sail
22. Topenants

On penteconters, rowers sat on wooden benches (banks), which were supported by vertical posts (pillers). One or more longitudinal bars ran along the sides; between the side and the bars, vertical pegs were located at equal distances, to which the oars were attached. In the bow there was a stem, which in the underwater part turned into a ram. The rams were made of wood and covered with copper sheathing on top. Although penteconters could engage in ramming and boarding combat, ramming was the mainstay of offensive tactics in naval battles of this period.

The ships were steered by two large reinforced rudders. The masts on penteconters were removable and in bad weather, during battles or stops, they were removed and laid along the side [Peters 1968. P. 10]. By appearance The pentecontera was a long and rather narrow boat, in the bow of which a ram, made in the shape of an animal’s head, protruded far forward. Above the ram, behind the stem, there was a small platform for soldiers. The stern was high, smoothly rounded, and its end was sometimes made in the shape of a dolphin's tail. Steering oars were attached to the stern and a ladder was tied. Such ships could already make long voyages. Pentecontera had a complete, elegant form and was not only a technically perfect vessel for its time, but was a genuine work of ancient construction art.

The first literary evidence of the appearance of the trireme is considered to be the satirical poem of Hipponactus, usually dated to 540 BC. e. The author uses the epithet “multi-bench” ship, which most researchers recognize as a reference to a trireme:

Artist! What are you holding on your mind, sly one?
You painted the sides of the ship. What
We see? The snake crawls towards the stern from the bow.
You will bewitch the swimmers, sorcerer, grief,
You are marking the ship with a cursed sign!
It’s a disaster if the pilot is wounded in the heel by a snake!

(Hipponact. 6. 1-6. Translated by Vyach. V. Ivanova)

By the middle of the 6th century. BC. triremes became quite common and famous. Mentions of this type of ship in the literature indicate that a person not associated with the sea and shipbuilding knew this ship quite well. There is still a debate in the scientific community about whether penteconters could be directly transformed into triremes without significant changes in design or whether this was a certain technical breakthrough. We should not forget that there were diers (double-row ships), which helped solve the problem of doubling the crew. The diera was a transitional link from ships with one row of oars - pentekonter to later ships - triremes with three rows of oars.

The transformation from direme to trireme was not simply the addition of another row of oars, some lengthening of the hull and an increase in the number of oarsmen to 170 people, but was a complex technical decision; it is not for nothing that modern scientists do not know exactly how the oars were located on a three-row ship. Indeed, the invention of such a vessel, where the crew included rowers, officers, sailors, soldiers in the amount of about 200 people, where the rowers were located very close to each other, was a real miracle and an indicator of the technical progress achieved by the Greeks in the archaic period.

There are only a few references to the appearance of triremes in literary sources. The Greek historian Herodotus, in his work, first speaks of triremes in connection with the canal of Pharaoh Necho, leading from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea: “This canal was four days’ journey long and was dug to such a width that two triremes could sail side by side” (Herodotus. II. 158. Translated by G. A. Stratanovsky). He credits this pharaoh with the construction of shipyards for the production of ships: “Necho ordered the construction of triremes both in the North Sea and in the Arabian Gulf for the Red Sea. Their shipyards can still be seen there today. In case of need, the king always used these ships” (Herodotus. II. 159. Translated by G. A. Stratanovsky). However, it seems unlikely that the new type of vessel was invented in Egypt. At this time, contacts between the Greeks and the Egyptians intensified, Hellenic mercenaries were actively recruited to serve the pharaohs, and the colony of Naucratis, founded by several Greek city-states, appeared in Egypt itself. It is possible that, by attracting a sufficiently large number of Greeks, the Egyptian rulers could borrow some technical innovations, including new types of warships. The Greek historian Thucydides, when dealing with the period of ancient history from 700 to 480 BC, mentions the Corinthian shipbuilder Aminocles, who built four ships for the Samians (Thucydides. I. 13). Many scientists, following Thucydides, admit that triremes were invented in Corinth.

The trireme was a more advanced vessel compared to the pentecontera; it had various military devices for conducting effective ramming combat. Above the lower ram of the trireme there were two horizontal beams protruding forward, which served to break the oars on enemy ships and to protect the bow during a ramming strike. The bow of the ship hanging over the ram in the form of a sled made it possible, during a ramming strike, to crawl onto the side of the enemy ship, crush it under itself with its own weight, sinking the broken part of the ship. The oar ports were located at a small height above the waterline and were covered with special leather linings. When the sea was rough, the oars of the lower row were pulled into the ship, and the ports were sealed with leather hatches [Peters 1986. P. 76]. Since there was very little space on the trireme, the ship usually moored at some shore for the night. In antiquity, blockading an enemy port was quite difficult, since the blockaders had to have their own base nearby where they could take their ships to rest, otherwise the blockade would simply be useless.

The trireme's maximum speed was 7-8 knots at 30 strokes per minute, although it usually sailed at a speed of 2 knots (a knot is 1853 m/h). The ship was easy to control and was very obedient to the rudder. The turn was first carried out by the steering oars, then all the other oars began to row, and the side from which the turn took place began to row, that is, row in the other direction. With a full turn, the diameter of the circle occupied a distance of two and a half times the length of the ship itself. This was a quick turn method where a 180° turn took several minutes.

All triremes can be divided into three categories: warships, troop transports and horse transports. The trireme had a wooden keel at its base, to which parts of the ship's frame were attached, covered on the outside with boards. The keel in the bow turned into a stem with one or more rams, the latter varying in size and design. In Attic triremes they were located closer to the surface of the water, and often such rams struck above the waterline. The Syracusan triremes had a shorter and stronger ram, located lower than that of the Attic triremes; a blow with such a ram always made a hole in the side of the enemy ship below the waterline. In addition to the lower ram, there was also an upper ram. The trireme could conduct ramming and boarding battles. At the stern, the keel merged into a rounded sternpost.

One of the improvements to the trireme was a solid deck, under which there was a hold used for storing various supplies. Aeschylus in Agamemnon says that Clytemnestra accused her husband of sharing the deck with her when he took Cassandra away from Troy:

The last one lies with him
Of the gentle captives - a witch, a spirit seer,
And in death an inseparable concubine,
Like at sea, on a hard deck bed.

(Aeschylus. Agamemnon. 1440-1443. Translated by Vyach. V. Ivanov)

Later, a light upper deck appeared on the triremes, which protected the rowers of the upper row from arrows and darts and served to accommodate soldiers on it.

The main propulsion mechanism of the trireme was three rows of oars located one above the other along each side. At the ends of a special protrusion running along the sides, there were rowlocks of the longest oars of the top row. These oars were the heaviest and were each controlled by one oarsman - a tranite. The middle row of oars passed through holes in the sides; the oars of this row were controlled by zygits, each with one oar. The oars of the lower row were controlled by thalamits. During moorings, the oars were pulled tightly by straps to the oarlocks. The rowers sat on banks, on which special pillows were often placed for comfort. To prevent one row of oars from touching another when rowing, the holes for them in the sides were located along an inclined line. All three rows of oars worked together only during battle; usually the oarsmen were divided into watches. There are indications that, if necessary, the trireme could move stern forward with the help of oars, which was important after a ramming attack [Peters 1968. p. 15].

In the 4th century. BC. the triremes had 200 oars: 62 oars were used by tranites, 54 by zygits, 54 by thalamites, and the remaining 30 oars were apparently spare or additional. We know the length of such an oar - approximately 4.16 or 4.40 m [Peters 1986. P. 79]. It is known that the oars at the bow and stern were shorter than those located in the center of the ship.

The rowers sat strictly one after another in a straight line from stern to bow, and the oarlocks, on the contrary, were located along a smooth line coinciding with the side line. All oars were located at the same distance from the side of the ship so that their ends created one line, correspondingly bending along the bend of the side. The oars had different lengths, depending on what place the rower occupied and at what distance from the waterline, but the difference in length was several tens of centimeters. The oar blades entered the water at intervals of 20 cm. On triremes, only one person rowed each oar; the oar system on penteres was similar, but only three people controlled one oar. Some scientists suggest that new system oars were introduced in order to compensate for the lack of skill of rowers, since the days when one well-trained person was required for one oar are gone.

For turning while moving, the trireme had on the stern on each side one reinforced rudder in the form of a large oar; it is possible that these oars rotated around their axis and were connected by a bar that moved in the horizontal direction. When the steering oar was moved to the left, the ship turned to the right; The rudder blade also works on modern ships. It is known that the steering oars were removed from the ship when it was pulled ashore.

The trireme's mast resembled that of a penteconter, but attention should be paid to some features unique to triremes. The trireme had two masts: the mainmast and the foremast, which appeared on the ship towards the end of the 5th - beginning of the 4th century. BC. In the 5th century BC. triremes generally had one sail, but already in the 4th century. BC e. Xenophon also mentions the second sail: “Already at the very departure, he [Iphicrates] left large sails on the shore, meaning that he was going into battle; He also hardly used acacias, even when the wind was fair (Xenophon. Greek history. VI. 27. Translated by M.I. Maksimov). Apparently both the foremast and the yard took their name from the small vessel. Literary sources mention two types of sails: light and heavy. Scientists suggest that light sails were more valuable than heavy ones because they increased the speed of the ship.

With the rather complex sailing rigs used on Greek ships, there were a large number of different ropes designed for a specific purpose. Literary and epigraphic sources mention different kinds ropes: straps, ropes, ends, braces and moorings. Homer also spoke about sheets attached to the lower corner of the sail, and braces attached to the end of the yard.

Each ship had four anchor ropes, one for each anchor and two spares, as well as two to four stern ropes. Anchor ropes were important, as they were used both for mooring in coastal waters and for pulling the ship onto land. The ship usually had two anchors located at the bow of the ship, in rare cases at the stern. Anchors were metal or wooden-metal structures; sometimes stones were used as anchors, but this was already a rarity, at least in the 4th century. BC. [Lazarov 1978. P. 82]. The crew of the sailing ship hung the anchor from special bars protruding from both sides of the bow and serving to repel the blow of the enemy ship and to secure the anchor.

After the anchor was raised, the captain poured libations, probably at the stern, and prayed to the gods to make the journey quick and the return safe. The process of pulling out the anchor and the traditional departure to sea, accompanied by corresponding ritual actions, are described by Pindar:

And Pug, who divines by birds and by lots,
He commanded the army to board the ship for the good.
And when the anchor hung over the cutwater,—
That's the leader at the stern,
With a golden cup in hand,
Called to the father of the celestials Zeus<...>
The soothsayer shouted to the oars,
Having spoken to them of joyful hope;
And the insatiable oars moved
In quick hands...

(Pindar. Pythian Odes. IV. 190-196, 200-205. Translated by M. L. Gasparov)

The Greeks made the bow of the ship in the form of an animal with eyes and ears. Apparently, these ear-shaped beams were specially created on both sides of the nose to protect against ramming impacts. The trireme had two ladders located at the stern. To push one ship away from another or to push off from the shore, they used repellers: there were always two or three of them on the trireme.

Oak and pine forests were used to build the ships, cypress and cedar were also used, and hemp, canvas and resin were used for putty. The underwater parts of the ship could be sheathed with lead sheets; lead was also used for counterweights of oars and for the manufacture of anchors. During the construction of the ship, bronze and iron nails and fasteners, as well as copper tips for rams, were widely used. The anchor ropes and all the rigging were made of hemp, the sails were made of canvas [Peters 1968. P. 14].

Northern Black Sea region, III century. BC.

During the Hellenistic era in the ancient world, new vast states emerged, armed forces increased, the navy reached enormous proportions for those times, the volume of maritime trade increased, and geographical horizons expanded. The struggle for dominance on sea routes is intensifying between new states. Science and technology are widely developed, which contributes to the flourishing of shipbuilding, new stage which was marked by the construction of large ships with oars. The equipment and combat power of ships are constantly being improved, but no fundamental innovations are taking place in shipbuilding. The engineering thought of the Hellenistic era creates multi-deck ships. The military-technical competition of the heirs of Alexander the Great led to the creation of a number of giant ships (Plutarch. Comparative biographies. Demetrius. 31-32, 43). The construction of these ships was aimed at psychological pressure on the enemy rather than practical use. Many of these giants were never able to take part in sea battles, which cannot be said about the tetrares and penters (ships with four and five rows of oars, respectively). However, earlier types of ships were still widely used during this period. There were two reasons for this. On the one hand, the construction of large multi-tiered ships was extremely complex and expensive, requiring an established structure of shipyards and qualified builders. All this resulted in huge financial costs that only rich states and policies could afford. On the other hand, a ship of ancient times could serve for 40-50 years; there are cases when ships were operated 80 years after their construction (Titus Livy. XXXV. 26). The long service life of the ships made it possible for a long time to use obsolete ships as a military, transport or auxiliary fleet [Peters 1982. P. 77].

The system of manning a warship, described in detail in the decree of Themistocles, remained almost unchanged since the 5th century. BC. The captain of the ship was the trierarch. In Athens, the trierarch received a ship by lot, he drew up a list of the necessary gear, which he received from the warehouse and for which he was personally responsible, he could also purchase them at his own expense, the policy provided payment and provisions. The trierarch was responsible for maintaining the ship at sea and was obliged to pay the necessary expenses himself if the money was not provided to him by the commander of the fleet. The crew was divided into three parts: warriors on deck (epibats), officers and assistants to the trierarchs, and rowers. The functions of warriors were secondary in battle, since the ram was the main offensive weapon, but they sometimes entered into battle on land or engaged in boarding combat. Their main function was to maintain discipline, that is, to support the authority of the trierarch. These warriors had the highest status on the ship after the trierarch; it was they who helped the trierarchs pour libations during the ceremonial departure of the Sicilian expedition (Thucydides. VI. 32). The officers on board the ship were supposed to assist the trierarch and protect the helmsman. The total number of rowers on a trireme of classical times was 170 people; in the subsequent era, this number increased depending on the class of the ship. The Greeks paid a lot of attention to training for rowers, since a rower on a trireme in the V-IV centuries. BC. had to be sufficiently qualified. Only in exceptional circumstances were oarsmen used to conduct military operations on land. The art of oar control was the subject of hard training and constant practice. Sailors learned to row from the moment they boarded a ship and perfected the skill throughout their lives. The sources also mention the helmsman, the boatswain or commander of the rowers, the chief of the rowers who was at the bow of the ship, the ship's carpenter, and the flutist who set the tempo with his playing. Naturally, the helmsman was an important person, he stood on a par with the trierarch and the epibates, his competence included steering the ship under oars and sails. Initially, the necessary experience in steering a ship was gained on small ships, then helmsmen were assigned to triremes.

When talking about ancient shipbuilding, one cannot fail to mention port facilities. The most famous in Greece were the boathouses (ship sheds) in Piraeus. Evidence of these boathouses from the 4th century has been preserved. BC. And we can assume that the Athenians used the foundations of buildings dating back to the 5th century. BC. and destroyed after the defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. [Peters 1968. p. 8]. The boathouses were finally destroyed by Sulla in 86 BC. together with the famous naval arsenal of Philo. Plutarch mentions this arsenal: “a little later, Sulla took Piraeus and burned most of its buildings, including the amazing structure - the arsenal of Philo” (Plutarch. Comparative biographies. Sulla. 14. Translated by S.P. Kondakov).

Our knowledge of these boathouses is mainly based on archaeological excavations in Piraeus in the second half of the 19th century. . The stone slips were about 3 m wide and on average 37 m long in the dry part. Naturally, they went under water, but the underwater part cannot be calculated, although some scientists admit that the slips went under water by about 1 meter. There were two boathouses under one roof, and the ridge of this removable roof sank towards the sea. Columns made of local stone, placed at a sufficiently large distance from each other, supported the ridge and canopy of the roof and formed partitions between the individual boathouses. Scientists have made the assumption that the boathouses were divided into groups that ended with strong walls for greater reliability and protection from fires [Peters 1986. P. 78]. Open partitions with columns inside each group provided ventilation that had great importance for the safety of ships. Access to ships was severely restricted, although not to the same extent as in Hellenistic Rhodes, where illegal entry into the docks was considered a crime.

Triers could simply be pulled by hand onto slips, but could use winches, blocks and rollers. The wooden rigging of the ships was stored in the boathouse, while the tackle and other rigging were stored in a warehouse at the dock. Wooden rigging was brought on board before launching, but the ships were manned and received the rest of the equipment and provisions later, in Piraeus harbor or at the pier.

Groups of boathouses have been found both in Apollonia, the harbor of Cyrene, and in Acarnania. At Cape Sunii there are two slipways designed to store ships slightly smaller than triremes. These are only the remains of the boathouses that have come down to us; it can be assumed that many Greek boathouses had a standard width, and those that were somewhat narrower were built for smaller ships. Another famous harbor - in Carthage - consisted of 220 boathouses, which were among the most impressive in antiquity and occupied almost the entire coastline of the harbor. Each of these boathouses had an upper floor where the ship's rigging was stored. They were destroyed after 146 BC, and the Romans built an embankment on the surviving foundations. Some remains of boathouses have been found in the harbor of Syracuse. Here their number was somewhat larger - 310 for two harbors. Even from the few surviving remains, it can be assumed that all Greek city-states that had warships erected boathouses in their harbors.

Saint Petersburg. Hermitage

Along with boathouses, shipyards were also built. The shipyards were not as numerous as the boathouses, this was due to the fact that the Greeks did not build each ship individually, but manufactured individual parts and, if urgent construction of the ship was necessary, they assembled it quickly enough. In addition to permanent anchorages in harbors and ports, there were also temporary ones; these were places on the coast convenient for pulling a ship ashore.

As a maritime power, the Roman state appeared on the waters at the end of the 3rd century. BC. The Romans did not invent anything fundamentally new in shipbuilding (Polybius. 1.20 (15), when creating their navy, they relied on the experience of Greek and Phoenician shipbuilders. In its structure, the Roman fleet resembled the Greek, just like the Greeks, the Romans had a division of ships for “long” military (naves longae) and “round” merchant ships (naves rotundae), for ships with and without a deck. One of the significant differences in the Roman fleet was that the ships were larger and heavier than similar Greek or Phoenician models. This is due to the fact that the Romans used onboard artillery much more actively and greatly increased the number of soldiers on board the ship. Roman ships, compared to Greek ones, were less navigable, inferior in speed and maneuverability. In many cases, they were armored with bronze plates and were almost always hung in front. fighting with cowhide soaked in water to protect against incendiary shells.

The crew of the ship, like a unit of the Roman land army, was called a century. There were two main officials on the ship - centurions, one was responsible for sailing and navigation itself, the second, responsible for combat operations, led several dozen soldiers. The fleet was initially commanded by two “naval duumvirs” (duoviri navales). Subsequently, prefects (praefecti) of the fleet appeared, roughly equivalent in status to modern admirals. Contrary to popular belief, during the Republican period (5th-1st centuries BC) all crew members of Roman ships, including rowers, were civilians. War was exclusively a matter for citizens, so slaves were not allowed on the ship at all as oarsmen.

The Romans built both large warships for conducting large-scale military operations at sea, and small light ships for reconnaissance and patrolling; moneri (moneris) - ships with one row of oars - were used for such purposes. Double-row ships (biremis) were represented by the Liburnians; judging by the name, this type of ship was borrowed from the Illyrian tribe of the Liburnians (Appian. Illyrian History. 3), but apparently went back to the Greek model. Taking this type of ship as a model, the Romans created their own ships, strengthening the design, but keeping the name. Liburns, like Moners, were used for reconnaissance and patrolling, but if necessary they could participate in combat operations in shallow waters or deliver troops to the enemy shore. Liburns were also effectively used against merchant and combat single-row ships (usually pirates), compared to which they were much better armed and protected. Along with seaworthy liburns, the Romans built many different types of river liburns, which were used in combat and when patrolling the Rhine, Danube, and Nile.

The most common ship was still the trireme, the Roman variant of the trireme. Roman triremes were heavier and more massive than Greek ships; they were capable of carrying on board throwing machines and a sufficient contingent of soldiers to conduct boarding combat. The trireme was a multifunctional vessel of the ancient fleet. For this reason, triremes were built in the hundreds and were the most common type of general-purpose warship in the Mediterranean. Quadriremes and larger warships were also represented in the Roman fleet, but they were built en masse only directly during major military campaigns, mainly during the Punic, Syrian and Macedonian wars, i.e. in the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC. Actually, the first quadri- and quinqueremes were improved copies of Carthaginian ships of similar types, first encountered by the Romans during the First Punic War. These ships were not fast and difficult to maneuver, but, being armed with throwing engines (up to 8 on board) and staffed by large detachments of marines (up to 300 people), they served as a kind of floating fortresses, which were very difficult for the Carthaginians to cope with.

The tactics of naval combat over the centuries, naturally, did not remain unchanged. The main weapon of Greek ships of the 6th-5th centuries. BC. was a ram, the main tactical technique was a ramming strike. Since ship hulls at that time did not have waterproof bulkheads, even a small hole was enough for the ship to quickly fill with water and sink. The second tactical method was boarding combat. During combat operations, each trireme carried on board a number of hoplites - heavily armed infantry, archers and slingers. However, their number was very modest; in the classical period it did not exceed 15-20 people. For example, during the Battle of Salamis, there were 8 hoplites and 4 archers on board each trireme. With such small military forces it was quite difficult to capture an enemy ship, and using oarsmen as warriors was inappropriate, since the loss of each qualified oarsman affected the combat effectiveness of the entire ship, so they were taken care of, trying, if possible, not to bring the battle to boarding.

First of all, the attacking ship sought to strike at full speed at the side of the enemy ship and quickly reverse. Such a maneuver was especially successful if the attacking ship was at least as large as the enemy ship, and even better, larger than it. Otherwise, there was a risk that the attacking ship would not have enough kinetic energy, and the strength of its hull in the bow would be insufficient. The attacking ship (let's say a pentekonter) itself risked becoming a victim of an attack on a large ship (for example, a trireme), since it could receive more damage than the one being attacked, could get stuck in the debris of the oars and, thus, lose speed, and its crew would be effectively hit various throwing darts from the high side of the enemy ship. But it was not so easy for the attacking ship to reach the ramming position, because the attacked ship did not stand still and tried to evade, so in order to make it easier for itself to choose an advantageous attack angle and deprive the enemy of the opportunity to evade the ramming strike, the attacking ship had to break its oars, so how, with the loss of oars on one side, the ship became uncontrollable and was open to attack. To do this, it was necessary to move not at an angle close to 90° relative to the longitudinal axis of the enemy ship, but, on the contrary, to deliver a glancing counter strike, moving at an angle close to 180° relative to the enemy’s course. Moreover, while passing along the side of the enemy, the rowers of the attacking ship had to retract their oars on command. Then the oars of the attacked ship along one side would be broken, but the oars of the attacking ship would survive. After this, the attacking ship went into circulation and delivered a ramming blow to the side of the immobilized enemy ship. Such a tactical maneuver in the Greek fleet was called a “breakthrough” (Polybius. XVI. 2-7). A tactical situation called “bypassing” arose if, for one reason or another, the ships passed too far from each other and at the same time the crew of the enemy ship was sufficiently prepared to quickly respond to the attack. Then both ships went into circulation, each trying to turn around faster and have time to board the enemy. With equal maneuverability and training of the crews, the matter could have ended in a head-on collision. In any case, the outcome of combat operations at sea was decided primarily by the level of individual training of the crews - rowers, helmsmen, sailing crew and marines.

During the transition, the fleet usually followed the flagship in wake formation. The reorganization of the front line was carried out in anticipation of a collision with the enemy. At the same time, they tried to line up the ships not in one, but in two or three rows with a mutual displacement of half a position. This was done in order, firstly, to make it difficult for the enemy to carry out a breakthrough maneuver. Even having broken the oars of one of the ships of the first row and beginning to describe the circulation, the enemy ship inevitably exposed its side to the ramming blow of the ships of the second row. And, secondly, such a formation prevented some of the enemy ships from reaching the rear of their fleet, which would have threatened to create a local two- or even three-fold numerical superiority of the enemy in battles between individual ships and groups of ships. Finally, there was a special circular formation that provided blind defense. It was called “hedgehog” and was used in cases where it was necessary to protect weak ships with valuable cargo or to evade a linear battle with a numerically superior enemy.

In the Hellenistic and especially Roman periods, the widespread use of throwing weapons began. For this purpose, catapults were installed in the bow of the ship. There are references to towers built on ships that probably served as cover for the naval infantry. The role of boarding attacks during naval battles is increasing. For this attack, special bridges were used, thrown on board the enemy ship. The widespread use of boarding combat became an addition to the ramming strike. The invention of a special boarding bridge, called the "raven" (Polybius. I. 22), is attributed to the Romans during the First Punic War. Being inexperienced in naval battles, they came up with this simple device to effectively couple ships after a ramming strike and turn a naval battle into hand-to-hand combat. “Raven” was a specially designed assault ladder, 10 m long and about 1.8 m wide. It was named “Raven” because of the characteristic beak-shaped shape of the large iron hook located on the lower surface of the assault ladder. Having rammed an enemy ship or simply broken its oars in a glancing blow, the Roman ship sharply lowered the “raven”, which pierced the deck with its steel hook and became firmly stuck in it.

The main weapons of the Roman ship were the marines (manipularii). They were distinguished by excellent fighting qualities. The Carthaginians, who relied on the speed and maneuverability of their ships, had more skilled sailors, but did not use them in naval battle soldier. The Romans always sought to bring the battle to a boarding battle, since their infantry had practically no equal among the warriors of other states.

Eliminated to the beginning new era All of their main rivals in the Mediterranean basin, the Romans equipped squadrons with light and maneuverable liburines. With the change in the strategic tasks of naval formations, the tactics of the fleet also change radically. Its main task is to support the actions of ground forces from the sea, reconnaissance (Vegetius. IV. 37), landing troops, fighting pirates, and protecting merchant ships.

Maritime science in Ancient Greece went through a complex, centuries-long development path from the construction of primitive boats to the grandiose ships of the Hellenistic period, where navigation reached such a scale and perfection that remained unsurpassed for a long time. The Romans became worthy successors of the Greeks, preserving the traditions of shipbuilding, which were subsequently used by the states that arose from the ruins of the Roman Empire.

Look at the globe. Water spaces occupy more than two thirds of the surface globe. And from the most distant, distant times, man has strived to overcome water barriers. Scientists have determined the age of the oldest marine find - a canoe found in Scotland - to be about 8 thousand years old.
And such ships sailed along the ancient Nile.

It is impossible to say for sure in which country shipbuilding originated. Most likely this happened in Egypt. Archaeological finds confirm this. The first ships (papyrus boats) were propelled by oars, or they were pulled by people or animals walking along the banks of rivers and canals. No one knows exactly when man first set a sail. Sails first appeared on the Nile, only when the wind was fair the ships moved using a narrow rectangular sail.. The oldest image of a Nile sailing boat is on a vase dating back to approximately 3200 BC. e. In Ancient Egypt there were few trees suitable for building ships, so the first boats there were made from papyrus stalks, which were bundled and impregnated with resin. This probably explains why later wooden Egyptian boats were painted in all shades of green. In addition to green, yellow and blue colors were also often used.
Seaworthy merchant ship of Egypt.

Back in 2300 BC. The ancient Egyptians made long voyages to the fabulous country of Punt. The primacy in equipping sea expeditions belongs to a woman - the Egyptian queen Hatshepsut. The Egyptians brought ebony wood, myrrh wood, various incense, including incense, from the country of Punt. black paint for eyes, ivory, tame monkeys, gold, slaves and exotic animal skins.

Egyptian warships were similar to merchant ships, but had a ram. Egyptian ships, as a rule, had the following dimensions: length - about 15 m, width - 5 m and height - 1.5 m, with a mast 10 m high. To steer the ship, steering oars were used, the location of which is visible in the pictures.

Great merits in the further development of shipbuilding belong to the Phoenicians. They were the first to use keels and frames in the construction of ships, which increased the strength of the ship's hull. Thanks to these improvements in shipbuilding, Crete became the first maritime power in the Mediterranean. And the Phoenician sailors were recognized as the best sailors.
Phoenician trading ship.

Gradually, other peoples began to develop shipbuilding - the Etruscans, Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans began to challenge the Phoenicians for their dominant position in
shipbuilding.
Greek bireme.

Greek merchant ship.

Etruscan ship.

The Byzantine state, which arose after the collapse of the Roman Empire (IV century), also had a strong fleet, which consisted mainly of dromons - ships with two tiers of oars, two masts and armed with a catapult. At first they carried quadrangular (straight) sails, and later - lateen sails.

Hooray! People have invented a new sail!
The invention of the sail greatly improved the maneuverability of ships and made it possible to cover long distances without much expense. First sailing equipment At first it consisted of a straight rack sail, which could only be used with a fair wind.
It took a long time for man to invent sails that made it possible to move against the wind. Around the 8th-9th centuries, the lateen (triangular) sail came into use in the Mediterranean region.
Mediterranean ship.

Dear Masters! So we made our first journey through the ancient Mediterranean.

On our way we encountered only a small, but in my opinion, the most interesting part of the ships and vessels of antiquity.

And what can we say about the sailors, when they bravely went out to the open sea on such simple boats and made their first long voyages...

Well, now let's get to work... Here are nine drawings of sailing ships, but if you seriously think about it, you can make a simple model and a work of art based on them. I think it's very tempting to have a collection of sailing ships on your desk or wall, at home or at school. During my life I have made many such models, but unfortunately the collection did not work out.

We'll have to do it together with you.

And so... I invite you to look, think and... create... After all, you are such MASTERS!!!

After a while I will offer you my version of transforming these drawings into....

You can show your work on the website in the section.

And please tell us your wishes, suggestions or advice. How is the theoretical material? Are you satisfied or not? Can you give more details? But I think that it’s quite enough for our crafts, and for those who are seriously interested in the history of shipbuilding, I’ll tell you where to find more details.

During the lesson we looked at postcards from the series “The History of the Ship” by V. Dygalo and M. Averyanov.

How many years do ships last? The exact answer to this question most likely will not be found in textbooks on maritime affairs. Then you can try to find the oldest operating ship in the fleet.
The Russian Black Sea Fleet, which is based in Sevastopol, includes the oldest vessel of the Russian Navy - the rescue catamaran ship "Kommuna", which has been in service for 99 years.

1. The rescue catamaran ship “Kommuna” is the oldest ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. November 12, 2012 will mark the 100th anniversary of the ship's keel.

2. The project of the first specialized double-hull submarine rescue vessel in the country was developed back in 1911 by order of the Naval General Staff. The German rescue catamaran Vulcan was used as a prototype. The original name of the court was “Volkhov”, and the name “Commune” was received in 1922.

3. “Commune” has a displacement of 3100 tons, its length is 81 m, its width is 13.2 m, and its draft is 3.7 m.
The full speed is 8.5 knots, and the cruising range is 4000 miles.
There are no weapons. Specialist. equipment: ship lifting equipment – ​​left hull for 80 tons, right hull for 30 tons. Crew: 23 people.
It is worth noting that the ship’s hull is made of Putilov steel and is, of course, not in perfect, but in quite working condition. The vessel is constantly exposed current repairs, because, of course, even by human standards, he is no longer even at pre-retirement age, but at deep retirement age.

4. Let’s go up the stairs to the “Commune” to get to know the veteran better.

5. Sign with a short history ship..

6. There is another sign in the wardroom. It was minted in the year the ship was launched - in 1915.
It is interesting that (and this is noticeable from the plaque) the coat of arms of the Putilov plant was changed much later.

7. “Commune” is a catamaran-type vessel, with a movable platform with a descent module moving between its sides.
It is driven by four cable drives located in pairs on the sides of the vessel in the front and rear parts.

8. View of the platform from the upper truss

9. Huge drums with cables allow the descent vehicle to be immersed to a depth of up to 1 kilometer

10. Drive cables for the platform of the descent underwater vehicle

11. The main object of the “Commune” is a working remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle RTNPA. Allows you to work at depths of up to 1 km (limited by the length of the cable). Designed for searching and detecting underwater objects using sonars, lifting loads up to 150 kg, cutting cables, etc.

12. RTNPA is equipped with 4 video cameras, as well as a pair of manipulators. Replaceable manipulators are designed for various purposes - capturing an object, installing a radio beacon, grabbing a cable, biting or cutting.
The device is equipped with 10 engines, allowing for exceptional maneuverability of the device.

13. A manipulator with a cutting disc, allowing cutting of metal and cables at depths of up to 1 km

14. Yellow capsules contain all electronic systems. When diving, all the air is forcibly pumped out of there. This ensures complete sealing of the capsules due to compression by water pressure

15. Control bridge of the descent underwater vehicle. Equipment and equipment manufactured in Norway

16. The ship's navigation bridge.

17. The steering wheel and some elements have been preserved since the date the ship was launched - since 1915

20. The ship “Kommuna” is based in Streletskaya Bay of Sevastopol on leased berths of the Ukrainian Navy. Here the warships of Russia and Ukraine stand side by side

21. Spotlight on the upper bridge

23. Spare screws

24. Anchor chain length indicators

25. The chain goes into the sea...

26. Engine room. Two six-cylinder diesel engines from the Riga plant "Felzer" with a power of 600 hp each were initially installed as the main engines on the "Commune". (310 rpm). Subsequently, they were replaced by diesel engines with similar characteristics from the Kolomna Plant.

27. Emergency sound system in case of emergency

29. There is also F...

30. Galley sign

31. The team will have lunch soon

32. Piano in the officer's wardroom. It was installed during the construction of the ship. Currently it is not possible to remove it due to the difference in dimensions and doorways

33. Heading indicator

34. In some places on the “Commune” there are still pre-revolutionary signs

35. Voltmeters

36. Storm ladder

37. On Russian Fleet Day, which will be celebrated on July 29, 2012, the ship will perform the task of escorting Neptune. In this regard, the team is painting lifeboats for the parade in honor of the holiday

38. The rescue vessel was first used for its intended purpose in the summer of 1917, when the AG-15 submarine sank with its hatch open in the Åland skerries during a training dive. Despite the fact that the rescue work was hampered by a strong storm, on June 16 (29) at 00:50, the boat was raised by the Volkhov guineas. The crew of the “rescuer” repaired the boat within a month, and it was put back into operation. On September 24 (October 7), 1917, the Volkhov rescue ship successfully raised the Unicorn submarine, which sank during a navigation accident, from a depth of 13.5 meters.

39. From May 15 to September 13, 1928, “Commune” carried out work to raise the English submarine L-55, sunk on June 4, 1919 in the Koporskaya Bay of the Gulf of Finland. The boat was raised to the surface from a depth of 62 meters using a stepwise method on July 21, 1928. And again everyday work: raising the sunken marine border guard boat and tugboat KP-7, ensuring testing of new submarines and repairing the ships of the Baltic Fleet. “Commune” raised the submarines “Bolshevik”, M-90, a torpedo boat and a crashed plane from the depths...

40. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War The rescue ship "Kommuna" is based in Leningrad. Since March 1942, 32 Commune divers have been working on the Ladoga Road of Life. Part of the crew participated in landing operations on the Neva (and this was with a 40% shortage). During this time, the sailors of the “Commune” raised four KV tanks, two tractors and 31 cars from the bottom. "Kommunartsy" trained 159 light divers for the fleet, repaired six M-type submarines. Despite the difficult situation at the front, rescuers raised the sunken ones from the water: submarine Shch-411, tug "Austra", schooners "Trud", "Vodoley-2", the floating base of the OVR "TsO "Pravda", two "pike" and several "small hunters" were docked...

41. In 1944, “Commune” raised 14 sunken objects with a total displacement of 11,767 tons, and provided assistance to 34 emergency ships and vessels. The entire crew of the ship was awarded medals “For the Defense of Leningrad.”
Only in 1954 was the veteran ship able to undergo a major overhaul, during which the main diesel engines were replaced with Dutch-made engines. At the end of November 1956, the catamaran again took up combat duty: the M-200 submarine, rammed by a destroyer, was lifted from a depth of 45 meters. In October 1957, the submarine M-256 was raised from a depth of 73 meters, and in August 1959, a torpedo boat that sank at a depth of 22 meters was raised. In total, during its service, the Commune provided assistance to more than a hundred ships and submarines.

42. In 1967, the veteran ship successfully made an inter-base transition from the Baltic to the Black Sea, arriving safely in Sevastopol, circumnavigating Europe. In Sevastopol, at the Sevmorzavod, the Kommuna was converted into a carrier vessel for deep-sea vehicles. The re-equipment project was completed by the end of 1969 at the Sevastopol Central Design Bureau "Chernomorets". By the time work at the SMZ was completed (April 27, 1973), the cost of work to re-equip the vessel amounted to about 11 million rubles

At the moment, the rescue ship "Komunna" has undergone dock repairs, and, despite its age, is actively participating in various activities of the fleet's emergency rescue service with access to the sea.

Greece is a country of seas. The inhabitants of this state have at all times been famous for their knowledge and skills in the field of shipbuilding and shipping. Since ancient times, Greek sailors have preserved all the best traditions. The ships of these navigators were rightfully considered and are considered the best in the world.

Capital and others big cities Greece were major trading points. The fleet in every settlement adjacent to the sea was and is quite strong and powerful. To this day, researchers agree that the most famous, maneuverable and strong ship of the Greeks was the trireme. They talked about her, she was feared by her enemies, who more than once came face to face with her. The trireme's ram was superior in strength to all available enemy ships. There were other military and merchant ships that more than once surprised and captured the imagination of the conquerors who tried to penetrate the land of the Greeks.

Sail, oars and other achievements of shipbuilding

Scientists who examined ancient documents and drawings of Greek shipbuilders came to the conclusion that the invention of the sail belonged to the Greeks. But first they learned to drag their boats with the skin of buffaloes and cows, and they came up with oars.

Some researchers associate the invention of the sail with the story of the rescue of Daedalus (the myth of Daedalus and Icarus). Daedalus managed to escape from the island of Crete thanks to the sail he had. Allegedly, it was he who first piled this important element onto his ship.

For quite a long time, Greek ships moved only with the help of oars. For this they used slave labor. It was possible to raise the sail if the wind was favorable. The mainland Greeks adopted some experience in shipbuilding and warfare on water from the sailors of Phenicia and Aegean island Greece. It is no secret that the representatives of the sea country used the fleet more for the purposes of war, aggressive campaigns and defensive purposes. Less Greek ships went to other countries for trade. The main distinguishing feature of the Greek fleet from all others is the huge difference between military and merchant ships. The first ones were quite resilient, they could maneuver as much as they wanted, while the merchant ones took on board tons of cargo and at the same time remained reliable until the very finish.

What were Greek ships like? Basic principles of construction

The hull of the vessel was necessarily equipped with a keel and sheathed. The Greeks were the first to make paired seams for greater reliability. The thickest areas of the planking were under the keel and at deck level. For greater reliability, the fastenings were made not only of wood, but also of bronze. Huge metal pins tightly nailed the skin to the ship's hull.

The necessary protection from waves was also provided. For this purpose, a bulwark made of canvas was laid. The ship's hull was always kept clean, painted and refinished as needed. A mandatory procedure was rubbing the casing with fat. Above the waterline, the hull was further strengthened by tarring and covering it with sheets of lead.

The Greeks never skimped on the raw materials from which ships were built. They selected the best types of wood, made perfectly strong ropes and cords, and the material for the sail was the most reliable.

The keel was made of oak, acacia was used for the frames, and the spars were made of pine. The variety of wood species was complemented by beech paneling. The sails were originally rectangular, but later Greek shipbuilders realized that it was much more practical to use a trapezoid shape to create sails.

The very first boats were very light. Their length was only 35-40 meters. In the middle of the hull the sides were lower than in the rest of the ship. The oars were supported by special beams. A control device resembling a rudder was made from oars mounted on the stern.

There were single-tier and double-tier ships. The lightweight unirema was about 15 meters long, and it could accommodate 25 rowers. It was these ships that made up the Greek fleet during the siege of Troy. Each ship was equipped with a ram made of metal in the form of a huge 8-10 meter spear.

Types of ships of the ancient Greeks

Pentecontories. These ships were invented and popular between the 12th and 8th centuries. BC. The vessel was approximately 30-35 meters long, about 5 meters wide, with oars, and had 1 tier. The ship's speed reached a maximum of 10 knots.

Pentecontories were not deckless at all times. In a later period they were retrofitted. The deck protected the slaves well from direct sunlight and enemy shells. All necessary provisions were placed on deck, drinking water, they even drove horses along with chariots to fight, if necessary, on land. Archers and other warriors were easily accommodated on the Pentecontor.

More often, Pentecontors were used to move warriors from the scene of one event to another battle site. They actually became warships later, when the Greeks decided not only to deliver soldiers, but also to use Pentecontors to sink enemy ships by ramming them. Over time, these ships changed and became taller. Greek shipbuilders added another tier to accommodate more warriors. But such a ship began to be called differently.

Birema. This is a modified Pentecontora. Birema was better protected from enemy attacks during a naval battle. But at the same time, the number of rowers was increased, who were previously trained in synchronized actions during the trip. Slave labor was not used in this matter, since the outcome of the battle often depended on well-trained rowers. Only professional sailors were hired for such work. They received their salaries on the same basis as soldiers.

But later they began to use slave labor again, after first teaching them the skills of rowing. Often the team had only a small part of professional rowers. The rest were complete laymen in this matter.

The bireme was intended specifically for combat on water. The rowers of the lower level maneuvered on the oars under the commands of the ship's captain, and the upper tier (warriors) fought under the leadership of the commander. This was very profitable, since everyone had enough to do, and everyone did their job.

Trier. This is the strongest and most powerful ship of the Ancient Greeks. The invention of this type of vessel is attributed to the Phoenicians, but it is believed that they borrowed the drawings from the Romans. But they called their ship a trireme. The name, apparently, was the only difference. The Greeks had entire flotillas consisting of triremes and biremes. Thanks to such strength, the Greeks began to dominate the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.

The Trireme is a huge ship designed for 200 people. Most of them are rowers, the rest are archers. The ship's crew consisted of only 15-20 sailors and several assistants.

The oars on the ship were distributed proportionally into 3 tiers:

1. Upper.
2. Average.
3. Lower.

The Trireme was a very fast ship. In addition, she maneuvered exquisitely and easily rammed. Triremes were equipped with sails, but the Greeks preferred to fight when the ship was rowing. Huge Triers on oars accelerated to 8 knots, which could not be achieved with only a sail. Devices for ramming enemy ships were located both under water and above it. The Greeks gave the one on top a curved shape or made it in the form of a huge monster’s head. Underwater, the ram was created in the form of a standard sharpened copper spear. The warriors pinned their greatest hopes on the underwater ram during the battle.

The main goal is to break through the hull of the enemy ship so that it sinks to the bottom. The Greeks did this skillfully, and most of the conquering ships sank. The combat technique on Trier was as follows:

1. Try to attack from the rear while other ships take up a distracting position.
2. Before the collision itself, dodge, remove the oars and damage the side of the enemy ship.
3. Turn around as quickly as possible and completely ram the enemy.
4. Attack other enemy ships.

At the end of the 20th century, several scientists, representatives different countries world, recreated Trier according to ancient drawings and descriptions. Enthusiastic shipbuilders set sail on this ship. The journey helped researchers understand how movement took place on the waves, battles were fought, etc. Nowadays this ship is in the museum of Greece, near Piraeus.