ship-of-the-line-of-battle

Updated: May 23, 2025

In her own day the galleon was the 'great ship, 'capital ship, 'ship-of-the-line-of-battle, or 'battleship' on which the main fight turned. But just as our modern fleets require three principal kinds of vessels battleships, cruisers, and 'mosquito' craft so did the fleets of Henry and Elizabeth. The galleon did the same work as the old three-decker of Nelson's time or the battleship of to-day.

William Charles Henry Wood - Elizabethan Sea Dogs