The Maritime Museum of San Diego has a large collection of ship models.
While visiting the delightful museum recently I took a number of pictures of models of sailing ships that were in operation somewhere in the vicinity of the Pirate Age.
Also got a large number of shots of the life-size San Salvador and HMS Surprise reproductions. Will use all those photos in the future. Have just one at the top of this post.
At the moment, wanted to share the pix of the models.
Dutch warship of 1649
A Wikipedia article on List of ships of the line of the Dutch Republic does not list a Katarina.
Dutch ships from 1759 to 1682 have more than 14 guns. That article might exclude smaller ships such as Katarina.
Nevertheless, this gives a feel for what Dutch warships in and around the 1650s might look like.
Seven guns visible on starboard side tells me this is a 14 gun ship.
Closer view of the deck.
Privateer of 1813
Prince of Neufchatel was issued Letter of Marque in October 1813, which means it was a private vessel allowed to hunt and capture British shipping.
Comments at museum (see second previous photo) say the Prince of Neufchatel was attacked by a 40-gun British ship. The attacker was driven off with loss of 33 killed, 37 wounded, and 30 captured of the 111 man crew. The American ship suffered 6 killed and 24 wounded of the 33 man crew.
By my math, that left 11 unharmed British crewmen (of 111) and 3 unharmed Americans (of 33).
Spanish Manila Galleon, late 16th / early 17th centuries
Silver laden Manila Galleons were a favorite target of pirates.
This model represents the early versions of the galleons, used in roughly the late 1500s and early 1600s.
Later galleons would be far larger, possibly carrying up to 1,000 passengers.
This model only has five gun ports I can identify on the starboard side, making this a 10-gun ship. Doesn’t seem that is quite enough to fend off a determined pirate.
British warship of 1779
This model is of the H.M.S. Pandora, the 24 gun ship dispatched by the British to capture the mutineers of the H.M.S. Bounty.
I can count 10 gun ports on the main deck level and two more on the quarter deck. Twelve guns on starboard side means it is a 24-gun ship.
Built in 1779, a ship of this specific class would have been a bit late to take on pirates. However, given the slow rate of change in naval design, I will guess this is a good representation of the ships that would have been used to chase and subdue pirates in the Americas.
