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This detail from a painting by Willem van de Velde the Younger shows the moment the Dutch fireship Vrede hit the English flagship Royal James during the battle of Sole Bay (June 1672), in one of the most successful of all fireship attacks.
Picture reproduced with the kind permission of Seaforth Publishing
Fireship: The Terror Weapon of the Age of Sail, Peter Kirsch. A lavishly illustrated look at one of the most feared weapons of the age of sail. This is a very impressive piece of work – well written and researched, wide ranging in scope and with detailed accounts of most of the key fireship attacks from the sixteenth century wars against Spain to the Greek War of Independence. An essential read for anyone interested in naval warfare in the age of sail. [see more]
