1812 Bomb Ship

A bomb ship is a purpose-built siege ship, armed with mortars on its gun deck instead of cannons.  Bomb ships did have cannons on the upper deck for defense, of course, but they mostly relied on frigate escorts for protection from enemy ships.  Early bomb ships were built as ketches with unusually wide hulls, as they were so small that the foremast had to be removed in order to accomodate the mortar.  By the 19th century, however, warships had gotten large enough that the only difference between a full-rigged frigate and a bomb ship was the distance between the masts.  Bomb ships also lacked staysails on the courses, as the rigging got in the way.  Furthermore, the stays were usually made of chain, rather than rope, to keep them from catching on fire.  I have decided to call this model the "1812 bomb ship" because it uses the same hull as my 1812 frigate.  On an interesting note, bomb ships were historically classified as "sloops of war" because most of them carried too few guns (<20) to be rated.  This one, however, has 46 total gunports (!), and thus does not qualify.  Then again, rating systems varied by navy, and this ship is not specific to any nation.

The 1/700 scale model comes with a pair of separate mortars on a sprue, which can be positioned however you please.  The 1/1000 scale model has the mortars fixed in place, pointing in opposite directions oblique to the ship's hull.

If you are interested in purchasing the file for this model and printing it yourself, you can find it here:
https://www.wargaming3d.com/product/1812-bomb-ship/