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The San Felipe Tall Ship Background

There are some interesting stories about the San Felipe Ship and some are more interesting than others.

What really makes the ship famous it that it is treasured by ship model builders? And for good reason the San Felipe is indeed a beauty and as a model ship she makes the perfect decorative display for an office lobby or restaurant.

Some of the stories say she was only built as a model ship and a lot of doubts about the ships authenticity exist.

Many articles are written about the San Felipe but no real information on whether she existed or not.

Real or only just a model she is a real beauty. The common consensus is very likely she never existed.

The story told about the San Felipe that is most repeated but most likely is made up for the models being sold. The story does a good job describing her beauty rather than the facts.

As the story goes the “San Felipe” was launched around 1690. It was said she was one of Spain’s most majestic fighting ships of the 17th century.

She was to have displaced around one thousand tons and said to be armed with 108 cannons. They built her to engage with success any of the capable ships British and French Navies.

She was said to have had a slim profile and impressive wide spread of sails. This combination gave her agility and maneuverability second to none.

Enhancing the overall beauty of this ship was the beautiful sculptures to grace her stem transom. As the story goes the San Felipe was suppose to be an integral part of the great Spanish Fleet.

When the Spanish Fleet was engaged in perennial wars with Britain and France over territory dominance in the Caribbean and South America a battle broke out.

Sometime around 1705 this battle took place and being one of 12 Spanish ships against 35 English ships. The horrific battle went on for over 24 long hours and The San Felipe was said to be captured by the English ship “Revenge”.

With the San Felipe being damaged badly ended up sinking with several tons of gold and other treasures still on board. Or so the story goes!

More of the story of the invented life of this beautiful ship is The San Felipe real birth may have come from a Barcelona model ship builder from around the middle of the twentieth century. It is believed that he created the design based on illustration of Spanish, English and French ship of the 18th century.

The plans were republished many times by a number of different companies. This fact is believed to be what makes the San Felipe one of the most famous Spanish ships of all. Ship history even the false ships make for some very interesting stories.

The Marine Museum of Barcelona has done some extensive searches and has come to the conclusion that the “San Felipe” is and invented boat.

Even the story about the naval engagement between the English was made up.

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The battle does resemble the story that goes with the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718 when a Spanish ship with the name “Real San Felipe” was captured and exploded while being towed.

As a model she is indeed a Beauty and makes a great conversation piece. After all was she a real ship or just a model?

Back in 1758 the Royal Navy ordered a new first-rate new ship from the commissioner of the Chatham Dockyard. This seemed strange at the time because the Royal Navy went for smaller faster ships that were very maneuverable.

The ships plans were based on the HMS Royal George and were presented in June 1759. The George was launched from the Woolwich Dockyard in 1756. Sir Thomas Slade was appointed Surveyor of the Navy and chosen to build the new ships. The new ship was to carry 100 guns and after her launching in practice she carried 104 to 106 guns and carronades.

The name was chosen in October 1760 to commemorate Annus Mirbilis (Year of Victories) or 1759. It was though that Victory was not a good name because the first Victory of 1744 was lost with all hands. The Seven Years War was won at Quebec, Minden and other naval battles of Lagos and Quiberon Bay all contributed to the year of victories.

The frame of the ship was built and then left for almost three years and work did not restart on her until autumn of 1763. This added to the ships longevity allowing the frame to season. The ship was finally completed May 7th of 1765, 90% of oak with some elm, pine and fir and they also used a small amount of Lignum Vitae to complete construction.

The Victory had no reason to be used at the time so she was moored in the Medway River for 13 years dismasted and roofed over and placed under general maintenance. She remained there until France joined the American War of Independence.

John Lindsay appointed as her first captain ended up transferred to the HMS Prince George in May of 1778. The Honorable Augustus Keppel Admiral raised his flag in Victory. The HMS Victory was finally commissioned under the command of Rear Admiral John Campbell and Captain Jonathan Faulknor under the flag of Admiral Keppel.

The HMS Victory’s armaments consisted of smooth bore cannons. She started out with thirty 42 pounders on the lower deck, 28 24 pounder on the mid deck and thirty 12 pounder on the upper deck. The quarterdeck and forecastle held twelve 6 pound guns. Later on some of the sizes were changed out and 2 carronade guns were added that would fire 68 lb shot.

The Victory was stationed at Chatham if February 1798 under the command of Lieutenant J. Rickman. Declared unfit for service as a warship in December she was ordered converted to a hospital ship. The idea was to treat French and Spanish prisoners of war.

After the loss of the HMS Impregnable off Chichester the on the way back from Portsmouth the Admiralty planed the recondition the Victory which turned out to a costly undertaking and extensive reconstruction.

They replaced her figurehead and paint scheme from red to black and yellow. The pattern was called the (Nelson Chequer) adopted by Royal Navy ships after the Battle of Trafalgar. With new masts and paint scheme completed April 11th 1803 under her new captain Samuel Sutton she left for Portsmouth.

HMS Victory The Oldest Commissioned Warship

The HMS Victory is due to undergo complete restoration to the tune of $25 mil. Britain’s maritime power legacy centers around this awesome battleship built 246 years ago. The Victory will undergo the most extensive restoration she has ever had. The last extensive restoration was after the Battle of Trafalgar due to her extensive damage.

BAE Systems was awarded a five year contract to rebuild the HMS Victory. The major construction contract has a unique option to extend for a second five years if needed. The project manager John O’Sullivan thinks the ship is really always a “work-in-progress”. No matter how intensive the restoration a ship of this class needs continuous work to keep it from wasting away so restoration work must continue forever.

No much of the original ship that stands at Portsmouth is from the original ship. The ship was and still is a work of art built 246 years ago that make the experts of today marvel at the workmanship. Even O’Sullivan believes the ship is a true work of art.

Mr. O’Sullivan says that shipwrights would struggle duplicating the craftsmanship today of the HMS Victory. The restoration will require re-planking the entire outside hull. The masts will be repaired and considerable work will be carried out on the interior. Since the battle of Trafalgar the Victory has only undergone maintenance no complete refit of this magnitude has ever been carried out.

The real exciting part is that the restoration will be performed by specialist that still has the skills of doing the work by hand. The very best work can only be carried out by hand when it comes to shaping and carving wood. One goal that O’Sullivan has is to train new apprentices. The art of old tall ship restoration are skills that the world does not want to lose.

The HMS Victory was in service for 30 years, commissioned back in 1778. This great warship is the only one that survived the American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic wars.

This is one amazing looking ship and would make a great addition to any collection. She is one well armed lady!

USS Yorktown (CV/CVA/CVS-10)

One of the distinguished Essex-class aircraft carries the USS Yorktown was built during the II World War for the U.S. Navy. The USS Yorktown is the forth ship to carry the name for the United States Navy. While under construction her planned name was to be Bon Homme Richard. But it was agreed to re-name her Yorktown after the USS Yorktown (CV-5) that was lost during the battle of Midway.

USS Yorktown CV-10 Commissioned April 1943

Her distinguished years of service include; eleven battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation. The Yorktown was involved in several campaigns in the Pacific.

Not too long after the end of World War II the Yorktown was decommissioned. She was re-commissioned and modernized in the early 1950s CVA or as an attack aircraft carrier. Not long after her designation became CVS or anti-submarine aircraft carrier. Her commission came a little late for the Korean War. After the Korean War she served for many years in the Pacific. During the Vietnam War the Yorktown earn 5 battle stars.

She most likely is most remembered for her service as a recovery ship for the Apollo 6 mission. The USS Yorktown was also used in the movie Tora! Tora! Tora! That recreated the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.

USS Yorktown Construction

The construction of the Yorktown began on the first of December 1941 by Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia. Her sponsor was Eleanor Roosevelt and she was launched in January of 1943. At command of the USS Yorktown Captain Joseph J. Clark received her commission in April of 1943.

USS Yorktown Awards

The Yorktown received a total of 16 battle stars during her distinguished service. Eleven from World War II along with the Presidential Citation and five more battle stars for service during Vietnam.

In June of 1970 the USS Yorktown was berthed with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet the Philadelphia Group. After about three years the USS Yorktown was struck from the naval ship registry. The Yorktown was donated to Patriot’s Point Development Authority in Charleston, South Carolina in 1974. On the 200th anniversary of the Navy she was dedicated as a memorial in October 1975.

As of 1986 the Yorktown was declared as a National Historic Landmark. She was decommissioned in 1970 and by 1975 became a museum ship Patriot’s Point, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

Late in 2009 the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum was notified by the U.S. Navy to make repairs to the great ship or dispose of her. The final outcome of the Yorktown still in question because disposing of the ship costs much more than repairing her.

The famous and historic name Enterprise dates back to the Revolutionary War. The 7 Naval predecessors have carried the famous name to date. To date the most decorated of the 7 is the aircraft carrier nick named “The Big E”. During all the battles and damage she received in World War II she never became inoperative during her 4 years in the Pacific. The Big E was the only ship in U.S. Naval history to ever receive both the Navy and Presidential Unit Citations.

The Big E served as the flag ship for Admiral W.F. Halsey one of the many heroes of World War II. The aircraft carrier earned 20 battle stars out of a possible 22 during World War II.

The very first ship to carry the famous name Enterprise went to a sloop-of-war. The ship was captured from the British in 1775 and refitted for service in Lake Champlain. She was commanded by Captain Dickenson attached to General Benedict Arnold’s squadron. She joined in the engagement with the British in October of 1776 on Lake Champlain where the American forces were defeated. In this Battle the British destroyed or captured 10 American ships. The Enterprise managed to escape.

The second ship the carried the name Enterprise was a 135 ton schooner. This ship was known as “The Lucky Enterprise”. She carried 70 men and 12 guns built in Baltimore, Maryland in 1979. Sometime later she was refit and converted to a brig of 165 tons. The rebuilt ship then carried 90 men and 14 guns. On one of cruises at sea that lasted 8 months in the war with France she had 5 battle actions and captured 19 vessels. The only small cruiser retained by the Navy after the French War. She was rebuilt again and protected our coast from 1811 through 1814. Serving up through July of 1823 when she was lost Little Curacao.

The third ship to carry the name Enterprise was a 194 ton schooner with 10 guns and built in New York in 1831. She cruised on Brazil station from 1832 to 1833 and Brazil and East India stations from 1834 to 1844. In 1845 she was sold in Boston.

The forth ship carrying the name Enterprise was a 10 gun schooner that served the Navy from 1831 through 1845. Her primary duty was suppressing the African slave trade.

The fifth ship carrying the name Enterprise was a formidable ship of 1,375 tons with 14 guns. She was built for the U.S. Navy in Portsmouth Navy Yard by John H. Griffith. After taking 2 years to build her she was launched in June of 1874. The ship did not receive her commissioned until March of 1877. In 1891 after many years of service she was detached to become a cadet training ship. Turned over to Massachusetts as a school ship in Boston until 1909 when she was returned to the Navy and stricken from the Naval register and sold later in October.

The sixth ship to carry the name Enterprise was a 16 ton motor patrol boat bought in 1917. She had a one pound gun and a machine gun mounted on her deck. She carried a crew of eight men. She served as a patrol ship in the Second Naval District for two years until being sold to the Bureau of Fisheries in 1919.

The seventh ship The Big E CV-6 successfully serving through World War II was placed out of commission and in reserve in 1947. She was stricken from the Naval Registry in 1956. The eight and her successor The Big E CVN-65 was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier also built by Newport News.