Sovereign
of the Seas was world’s first three-decked ship.
With a length of 215 feet, and tonnage 1,522 tons,
she was far and away the largest and most powerful
ship in the world.
Charles I
of England gave the order to build her in 1634. Her
completion took the labors of over a thousand
craftsmen for three years. Two other large vessels,
Greyhound and Roebuch, were built of the waste from
the building of her.
Sovereign
of the Seas sailed with a crew of 800 men! She
fired a broadside of two tons of metal and was known
by the name "Golden Devil." In her first naval
engagement in 1652, she sank a large Dutch warship
with a single broadside!
In 1695
Sovereign of the Seas was almost 60 years old and
the admiralty considered having her scrapped.
However, during the night of January 27th of 1696
when the ship was anchored in the port of Chatham, a
cook forgot to blow out a candle burning in his
quarters. The candle fell over and a short time
later Sovereign of the Seas was engulfed in flames
from stern to stern. The hull burned down to the
water line and what was left sank down to the harbor
floor.
For 60
years she ruled the seas, unmatched.
This
Sovereign of the Seas ship model features: