I am currently reading a lot of books by some wellknown and reckognized marine-historian. This guy is really thorough and have reached further down than anybody else in the national achieves of notes, drawings etc.
A recently found coloured drawing of a ship from 1601 and a comparison with a wellknown (copperpressed picture?), dated 1606 showing an unknown ship, made it possible for the archeologists to name, date and prove the earliest visual appearance of a danish naval ship.
I have no pic of the almost ruined drawing, but this is the copper-thingy:
<img src="http://www.milhist.dk/vaaben/vands/trekroner/trekro4.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
If you unite the details from the copperthingy with the colourization from the drawing, you get this:
<img src="http://www.milhist.dk/vaaben/vands/trekroner/trekroner3.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Tada! The 1601-built Tre Kroner (Three Crowns).
First of all, whats distinguishes the 1500´s ships from other centuries is the bowsprit topsail on TOP of the bowsprit. Hard to access and the fock most likely consuming most of the wind fore anyway, it was hardly ever in use. More for <i>show</i> than for <i>go</i>, so to speak...Also, notice the fourth mast called the counter mizzen, another 1500´s speciality.
Anyway, my point with this was to mention, it is now proved by this historian, how this ship (build by a scotsman called David Balfour) was copied by Phineas Pett, as he in 1610 built the Prince Royal, seen here in a painting of the Four Days Battle 1666:
<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Willem_van_de_Velde_(II)_-_De_verovering_van_het_Engelse_admiraalschip_de_'Royal_Prince'.jpg/300px-Willem_van_de_Velde_(II)_-_De_verovering_van_het_Engelse_admiraalschip_de_'Royal_Prince'.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
..The drawings of the Tre Kroner and Royal Prince are a perfect match, except for the decorations.
Just wanted to enlighten you a bit, with this break in the trivial threats...
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