(aka "Great Harry") , Edward) Carrack (4m).
L/B:
ca. 175-200 main deck (125-135 keel) × 50 (53-61m/38-41m × 15m). Tons:
1,500 bm. Hull:
wood. Comp:
700 (1536). Arm:
43 heavy guns, 141 light guns. Built:
Woolwich Dockyard, Eng.; 1514.
One of Henry VIII's more enduring achievements was his promotion of England's navy. His ambitious shipbuilding program saw the construction of, among others,
Mary Rose (1505), Henry Grace à Dieu (often known simply as "Great Harry"), and
Great Galley (1513). One distinguishing characteristic of these ships was that they were built for war rather than as merchant ships that could be converted for martial purposes. The tonnage of the Great Harry is given variously as 1,500 tons and 1,000 tons; her linear dimensions have been inferred from these figures, the larger one yielding the approximate dimensions given above. Her armament consisted mainly of smaller-caliber brass and iron guns, but the large guns were mounted in the waist of the ship, which not only increased the ship's stability, but made the guns more effective against other ships, which could be more easily hulled at or below the waterline. The smaller-caliber guns were designed mainly for use against masts, rigging, and people, and were most effective mounted in the forecastle, which rose four decks high, and the sterncastle, which had two decks.
Although Henry Grace à Dieu was born of the continual wars between England and France, the period following her building was one of comparative peace, and she saw no action until 1545. During the French attack on Portsmouth in July of that year (during which the
Mary Rose sank) she was engaged by Admiral Claude d'Annebault's more maneuverable galleys. Upon the accession of Edward VI in 1547, she was renamed for that monarch. She remained in peacetime service until August 23, 1553 (the year of Edward's death), when she was destroyed by fire at Woolwich.
Laughton, "Report: The Henry Grace à Dieu." Robinson, "The Great Harry."
