Description

Two-deckers in general

Two-deckers were sail warships widely used in the 18th and 19th centuries. They carried their guns (70-90 cannons) on two fully armed decks and their crew consisted of 500-700 men.
They were also called ships of the line (french. vaisseau de ligne)  from the line formation during battle, where the two columns of opposing warships maneuvered to fire with their cannons along their broadside. 

The two-decker Asia

HMS Asia was built at the Royal Navy Bombay dockyards in 1824 from teak wood. Teak was a very popular material in shipbuilding thanks to its endurance and waterproof properties. Asia had an innovative circular stern and her figurehead was a Rajah with a turban. HMS Asia took part in several Royal Navy campaigns until late 19th century.

During the Battle of Navarino,  20th October 1827, Asia was Vice Admiral Codrington’s flagship. She anchored between the Ottoman (Kuh-I-Revan) και την Egyptian (Guierrere) flagships, and proceeded to destroy both shortly afterwards.

Bibliography

Codrington, Edward, and Bourchier, Lady. Memoir of the Life of Admiral Sir Edward Codrington : With Selections from His Public and Private Correspondence / Edited by His Daughter, Lady Bourchier, 1873

Winnfield Rif, British Warships in the age of Sail 1817-1863. Design, construction, careers and fates. Seaford Publishing, Barnsley 2014

Woodhouse Christopher, The Battle of Navarino, Hodder & Stoughton, London 1965

Μ.Simpsas, ΝΑVΑRΙΝΟΝ, Athens 1974 (in Greek)

G. Kremos, The Battle of Navarino, Special 160 year anniversary edition 1827 – 1987, EMEIS pubisher. Athens 1987 (in Greek)

Original ship plans

ΖΑΖ0438 (J2318): body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breath for ‘Asia’ (1824) © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London