Ok, I apologize if this is somewhere on the site and I just missed it during my searches. I was curious how many lieutenants and midshipmen were afforded to each class of ship? Thanks in advance.
Printable View
Ok, I apologize if this is somewhere on the site and I just missed it during my searches. I was curious how many lieutenants and midshipmen were afforded to each class of ship? Thanks in advance.
In the British service it was a bit of a movable feast Thomas, as they were often undermanned.
Rob.
Oh, I am sure they were under manned. I may be mistaken but I thought the Navy board set the numbers based on class? 1st rates were afforded 6 Lt's and so on. Whether or not those positions were filled is another story.
That's correct and I believe flagships had additional officers. Can't put my finger on an online source atm. Brian Lavery's "Nelson's Navy, Revised and Updated: The Ships, Men, and Organization, 1793-1815" has a lot of logistical information. I don't have it handy right now but I know he goes into great detail on the ships complement of a 74. A great reference about $40-50 on Amazon.
I have just come across this in Osprey's British Frigate vs French Frigate.
"A Frigate was run by four to six commissioned officers, and eight warrant officers. They were assisted by midshipmen- junior warrant officers who were officers in training. A frigate might carry as many as six midshipmen."
Presumably the size of frigate determined to some extent the number of Officers, hence the parameters given.
Rob.