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Here we see a painting by Willian van de Velde the Elder of a fireship attack during the battle of Scheveningen (10 August 1653). The relatively small Andrew is being attacked by the Dutch fireship Fortuijn. Although Rear Admiral Thomas Graves was killed in the attack the Andrew was eventually saved. Note the burnt out fireship hull to the right of the picture.
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]
