hermoine

CLICK HERE TO:

SEE MORE PICTURES

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermione

" long x " Wide x " High
Requires over 350 hours to build from scratch (not from a model kit)
by a master artisan

Plank on bulkhead construction (a painstaking process where
each individual plank is added to the hull one at a time).

Built with rare, high quality woods such as light ebony,
rosewood and blackwood.

The model rests perfectly on a large, polished
base betweenfour arched dolphins.

Masterfully stitched canvas sails.
No plastic parts (metal anchors and machine turned brass cannons.
Significant detail.

To build this ship, extensive research was done using various sources
such as museums, drawings, copies of original plans

HISTORY

The Hermione, a 12-pounder frigate was built at Rochefort in 1748 as
an experiment and was the forerunner of all the 12-pounder frigates
launched in the 18th century.
The Hermione helped the USA win its War of Independence. In 1778
France, who had made an alliance with the United States, declared
war on England and on March 20, 1780, the French general, the
Marquis de La Fayette, embarked on the Hermione for one of the most
important French events of the 18th century: the landing of their
regiments at Newport in July to fight alongside the Americans. His
mission was to organize with General Washington the political and
military aspects of this landing. Following his disembarkation on May
2, 1780 the frigate went on to engage in combat against the armed
English frigate, the Iris and her escort on June 7 during which time
the ship fired 260 cannonballs. On May 4, 1781 a reception of the
American Congress was held on board during which there was
official announcement of the victory of Chesapeake of March 16,
1781. On July 21, the frigate was again engaged in battle, this time
against six English vessels at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, at which she is
recorded as having fired no less than 509 cannonballs. French sea-
power eventually played a crucial role in the surrender of the
British army at Yorktown in 1781. Although the thirteen states of the
American Union did not become sovereign until 1783 the Hermione’s
American adventures were over and she returned to Rochefort
arriving in the outer roads on February 25, 1782.
In 1997, The Hermione-La Fayette Association is currently in the
project of rebuilding the Hermione. The ship is scheduled to be
completed and sea-worth in 2007.