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This detail from Willem van de Velde the Elder's painting of the Battle of Scheveningen (10 August 1653) shows the Dutch fireship Fortuijn attacking the British warship Andrew. Note the much smaller size of the fireship when compared to even the 56 gun Andrew. This fireship attack ended in failure, although Rear Admiral Thomas Graves was killed before the fire was put out.
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]
