, a later United States Navy sloop-of-war named after the original frigate.]] In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship (also known as one of the escort types) with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the very small gun-brigs and cutters. In technical terms, even the more specialised bomb vessels and fireships were classed as sloops-of-war, and in practice these were actually employed in the sloop role when not carrying out their specialized functions.

In later years the type evolved; in World War II sloops were specialized convoy-defence vessels, with anti-aircraft and anti-submarine capability.

Rigging

A sloop-of-war was quite different from a civilian or mercantile sloop, which was a general term for a single masted vessel rigged like what we would today call a gaff cutter (but usually without the square topsails then carried by cutter-rigged vessels), though some sloops of that type did serve in the 18th century British Royal Navy, particularly on the Great Lakes of North America.

In the first half of the 18th century, most naval sloops were two-masted vessels, usually carrying a ketch or a snow rig. A ketch had main and mizzen masts but no foremast, while a snow had a foremast and a main mast but no mizzen.

The first three-masted (i.e. "ship rigged") sloops appeared during the 1740s, and from the mid-1750s most new sloops were built with a three-masted (ship) rig.

Brig sloop

In the 1770s the two-masted sloop re-appeared in a new guise as the brig sloop. The successor to the former snow sloops, brig sloops had two masts while ship sloops continued to have three (since a brig is a two-masted, square-rigged vessel and a ship is a square-rigger with three or more masts, though invariably only three in that period).

In the Napoleonic period Britain built huge numbers of brig sloops of the Cruizer class (18 guns) and the Cherokee class (10 guns). The brig rig was economical of manpower (important given Britain's chronic shortfall in trained seamen relative to the demands of the wartime fleet) and when armed with carronades (32-pounders in the Cruizers, 18-pounders in the Cherokees) they had the highest ratio of firepower to tonnage of any ships in the Royal Navy (albeit within the short range of the carronade). Consequently the Cruizer class were often used as cheaper and more economical substitutes for frigates. A carronade-armed brig, however, would be at the mercy of a frigate armed with long guns, so long as the frigate manoeuvered to exploit its superiority of range. The other limitation of brig sloops vis-a-vis post ships and frigates was their relatively restricted stowage for water and provisions, which made them less suitable for long-range cruising. On the other hand, their shallower draught made them excellent raiders against coastal shipping and shore installations.

The Royal Navy also made extensive use of the Bermuda sloop, both as a cruiser against French privateers, slavers, and smugglers, and also as its standard advice vessels, carrying communications, vital persons and materials, and performing reconnaissance duties for the fleets.

Classification

A sloop-of-war was smaller than a sailing frigate and was (by virtue of having too few guns) outside the rating system. In general, a sloop-of-war would be under the command of a master and commander rather than a post captain, although in day-to-day use at sea the commanding officer of any naval vessels would be addressed as "captain". A ship sloop was generally the equivalent of the smaller corvette of the French Navy (although the French term also covered ships up to 24 guns, which were classed as Post ships within the Sixth Rate of the British Navy). The name corvette was subsequently also applied to British vessels, but not until the 1830s.

American usage, while similar to British terminology into the beginning of the 19th century, gradually diverged. By about 1825 the United States Navy used "sloop-of-war" to designate a flush-deck ship-rigged warship with all armament on the gundeck; these could be rated as high as 26 guns and thus overlapped "third-class frigates," the equivalent of British post-ships. The Americans also occasionally used the French term corvette.

History

In the second half of the 19th century, successive generations of naval guns became larger and with the advent of steam-powered sloops, both paddle and screw, by the 1880s even the most powerful warships had fewer than a dozen large calibre guns.

In the Royal Navy, the sloop evolved into an unrated vessel with a single gun deck and three masts, two square rigged and the aftermost fore-and-aft rigged (corvettes had three masts, all of which were square-rigged). Steam sloops had a transverse division of their lateral coal bunkers in order that the lower division could be emptied first, to maintain a level of protection afforded by the coal in the upper bunker division along the waterline. in 1896]]

Revival

During the First World War, the sloop rating was revived by the British Royal Navy for small warships not intended for fleet deployments. Examples include the Flower classes of "convoy sloops", those designed for convoy escort, and the Hunt classes of "minesweeping sloops", those intended for minesweeping duty.

The Royal Navy continued to build vessels rated as sloops during the interwar years. These sloops were small warships intended for colonial "gunboat diplomacy" deployments, surveying duties and to act during wartime as convoy escorts. As they were not intended to deploy with the fleet, sloops had a maximum speed of less than . A number of such sloops, for example the Grimsby and Kingfisher classes, were built in the interwar years. Fleet minesweepers such as the Algerine class were rated as "minesweeping sloops". The Royal Navy officially dropped the term "sloop" in 1937, although the term remained in widespread and general use.

, Launched 1934. Now Moored on the Thames.]]

World War II

During the Second World War, 37 ships of the Black Swan class were built for convoy escort duties. However, the warship-standards construction and sophisticated armaments of the sloop of that time did not lend themselves to mass production, and the sloop was supplanted by the corvette, and later the frigate, as the primary escort vessel of the Royal Navy. Built to mercantile standards and with (initially) simple armaments, these vessels, notably the Flower and River classes, were produced in large numbers for the Battle of the Atlantic. In 1948 the Royal Navy reclassified its remaining sloops and corvettes as frigates (even though the term sloop had been officially defunct for nine years).

Notable sloops

Perhaps the most famous sloop was HMS Resolution, in which Captain James Cook made his second and third Pacific voyages. Cook called the Resolution "the ship of my choice", and "the fittest for service of any I have seen."

USS Independence, a sloop of the Continental Navy which served on diplomatic missions to France. Independence was the first ship acquired by the Continental Congress for use during the American Revolutionary War. She captured two British prizes during her cruises to Europe.

HMS Beagle, a Cherokee-class brig-sloop re-rigged as a ship (i.e. with 3 masts), is famous as the ship Charles Darwin sailed around the world in between 1831 and 1836.

In 1804 Commodore Sir Samuel Hood, commissioned Diamond Rock, a small island south of Fort-de-France in Martinique, as HM Sloop-of-War Fort Diamond, following his establishment of a fortified garrison on the rock.

In 1805, HMS Pickle brought back news of the British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.

In 1805 Lord Cochrane commanded HMS Speedy, a brig-sloop of 14 guns, through a series of famous exploits in the Mediterranean. The Speedy served as the inspiration for the fictional Jack Aubrey's first command, the Sophie.

USS Eagle, a United States Navy sloop-of-war which was captured by the British in Canadian waters. Later she was liberated by the U.S. Navy at the Battle of Lake Champlain.

In 1813, HMS Racoon was dispatched to Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River during the War of 1812 to seize the post, which as it turned out had already been sold to the North-West Company; the fort was renamed by the ship's Captain Black as Fort George.

USS Wasp, a U.S. Navy sloop which served with distinction during the War of 1812. She is responsible for sinking or capturing at least four British warships and capturing several other merchant vessels. This within months of her commissioning and before her own sinking during a Caribbean storm in October 1814.

In 1826, Karteria, acting as a warship of the Navy of the 1st Hellenic Republic under the command of Capt Frank Abney Hastings, was the first steam warship to see action. At the time the European armadas had no steam-warships.

USS Portsmouth a U.S. Navy sloop-of-war which served during the Mexican-American War in the California Campaign. She participated in combat during the Second Opium War, specifically the Battle of the Pearl River Forts. Later she served in the American Civil War, at the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip.

USS Constellation, an 1854 sloop which is currently a museum ship.

In 1949, HMS Amethyst, a Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy became involved in an international incident when she became trapped in the Yangtze River by Communist Chinese shore batteries. She made a famous escape on 30 July 1949, later turned into a feature film Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst.

See also

Rating system of the Royal Navy

References

Notes

Bibliography

Rodger, N.A.M. The Command of the Ocean, a Naval History of Britain 1649-1815, London (2004). ISBN 0-713-99411-8

Bennett, G. The Battle of Trafalgar, Barnsley (2004). ISBN 1-84415-107-7

Lavery, Brian Nelson's Navy: Ships, Men and Organization, 1793-1815 Conway Maritime Press Ltd (31 Mar 1999). ISBN 0851775217

Winfield, Rif.

* British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1603-1714, Barnsley (2009) ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6

* British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1714-1792, Barnsley (2007) ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6

* British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1793-1817, (2nd edition) Barnsley (2008). ISBN 978-1-84415-717-4.

External links

Royal Navy Sloops from battleships-cruisers.co.uk - history and pictures from 1873 to 1943.

Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy

Category:Ship types

Name	Sid Meier
Birth date	February 24, 1954
Birth place	Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Game designer
Years active	1982—present
Employer	Firaxis Games
Known for	Civilization series
Spouse	Susan Meier
Children	Ryan Meier

Sidney K. "Sid" Meier (born February 24, 1954) is a Canadian programmer and designer of several popular computer strategy games, most notably Civilization. He has won accolades for his contributions to the computer games industry. Meier is a Director of Creative Development for computer game developer Firaxis Games, which he co-founded with Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds in 1996.

Biography

Meier was born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Meier founded MicroProse together with Bill Stealey in 1982. At MicroProse, Meier developed the game series for which he is most widely recognized, Civilization, although he designed only the first installment. Meier eventually left MicroProse and in 1996 founded Firaxis Games along with veteran designer and gaming executive Jeff Briggs. Today Firaxis makes strategy games, many of which are follow-ups to Meier titles, such as Civilization V and Pirates!. In 1996 he was awarded US Patent 5,496,962 for a "System for Real-Time Music Composition and Synthesis" used in a product called "CPU Bach".

In 1999, Meier became the second person to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame. The first to receive that honor was Shigeru Miyamoto from Nintendo.

Meier is not always the main designer on titles that carry his name. For instance, Brian Reynolds has been credited as the primary designer behind Sid Meier's Civilization II, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, and Sid Meier's Colonization, while Jeff Briggs designed Sid Meier's Civilization III, Soren Johnson led Sid Meier's Civilization IV and Jon Shafer Sid Meier's Civilization V. Currently Meier's role appears to be that of a creative director, simultaneously contributing to multiple projects.

Meier worked with a team on a dinosaur themed game starting early 2000, but announced in an online development diary on January 24, 2001 that the game had been shelved. Despite trying various approaches, including turn-based and real-time gameplay, he said he found no way to make the concept fun enough. In August 2005, Meier said, "We've been nonstop busy making other games over the past several years, so the dinosaur game remains on the shelf. However, I do love the idea of a dinosaur game and would like to revisit it when I have some time."

In January 2008, CMP Game Group announced that Meier would receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 Game Developer's Conference.

Meier currently lives in Hunt Valley, Maryland with his wife, Susan, and son, Ryan. He met his wife at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cockeysville, where they both sing in the choir.

Games

1980s

Spitfire Ace (1982) — The first project in which Sid played a major role in the game creation stage.

HellCat Ace (1982)

Floyd of the Jungle (1982)

NATO Commander (1984)

Solo Flight (1984)

Kennedy Approach (1985)

F-15 Strike Eagle (1985) — one of the first combat flight simulators

Silent Service (1985), a World War II submarine simulation game, and Meier's first foray out of flight sims.

Crusade in Europe (1985)

Decision in the Desert (1985)

Conflict in Vietnam (1986)

Gunship (1986)

Sid Meier's Pirates! (1987)

F-19 Stealth Fighter (1988)

F-15 Strike Eagle II (1989)

Sword of the Samurai (1989)

1990s

Covert Action (1990)

Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon (1990), a business simulation game that paints the early development of railroads in the United States and Europe, a time when competition between railroad companies was very fierce. With the release of Sid Meier's Railroads!, this series now has four installments.

Sid Meier's Civilization (1991), Meier's most successful game franchise to date. It has lived through several versions (see below) and sold over 6 million copies. This game is a turn-based strategy game.

Pirates! Gold (1993)

C.P.U. Bach (1993), 3DO Console exclusive interactive music-generating program.

Sid Meier's Colonization (1994), a turn-based strategy game themed on the early European colonization of the New World, starting in 1492 and lasting until the age of independence in 1850. To achieve victory in this game, the player must declare independence, and win in a revolutionary war against their mother country in Europe (France, England, Netherlands, or Spain).

Sid Meier's Civilization II (1996) Follow-up to Sid Meier's successful Civilization; Brian Reynolds was lead designer on the game.

(1997) This would be the last game that Sid Meier worked on for MicroProse.

Sid Meier's Gettysburg! (1997) Sid Meier's first real-time tactical game.

Sid Meier's Antietam! (1998) Sid Meier's Gettysburg and Antietam are part of his Civil War set.

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (1999) Brian Reynolds was lead designer on this adaptation of Civilization to an outer space theme. Alpha Centauri is set in a futuristic setting on an alien world, with ideological factions substituting for civilizations. This is a much more versatile version of Civilization, featuring economics and unique military customization, as well as diplomacy.

2000s

Sid Meier's Civilization III (2001), Jeff Briggs designed the third installment of the series, with more complex rules, graphics and gameplay. New features include expanded diplomacy (much like Alpha Centauri); the introduction of "culture" as a tool for domination; and "strategic resources" required for trade and to produce certain units. Sales of this installment made the Civilization series the best selling PC series to date.

Sid Meier's SimGolf (2002) A golfing simulation in which the player built their own golf course and played it, against computer players, co-created by Maxis. Not to be confused with Maxis' 1996 title SimGolf.

Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004), follow-up to the acclaimed Pirates! game from 1987, updating the graphics and featuring some entirely new gameplay elements and an all new ballroom dancing segment.

Sid Meier's Civilization IV, Designed by Soren Johnson and released October 25, 2005. A full 3D engine replaces the isometric maps of Civilization II and III. This installment makes "Religion" (present in earlier versions only as a means of population pacification and control) a tool of domination, alongside the Culture and Diplomacy elements from previous incarnations.

Sid Meier's Railroads!, released October 17, 2006. When Take 2 shut down PopTop Software and folded it into Firaxis, Meier once again became responsible for the Railroad Tycoon series, and this is billed as the sequel to Railroad Tycoon 3.

Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution, announced on June 28, 2007 and released on June 13, 2008. A seventh generation console edition of Civilization. This is the only Civilization title available for seventh generation consoles.

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: War of Two Cities. One of three Sid Meier properties to be launched by Oasys Mobile, this Sid Meier property takes the major civilizations and pits them against one another in a real time one on one battle to take over the opponent's major city. The game was developed by Floodgate Entertainment.

Sid Meier's Pirates! Mobile. The game was developed and published by Oasys Mobile and was led by one of the original programmers for Pirates! Gold.

Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon Mobile. Developed by Blue Heat and published by Oasys Mobile. This version is based on the Sid Meier classic game series; the mobile version allows players to build their own transportation empire.

, is a 2008 remake of the 1994 Colonization, and is a standalone game based on the Civilization IV engine.

2010s

Sid Meier's Civilization V, released on September 21, 2010 for North America and on September 24, 2010 for the rest of the world. Jon Shafer was the lead designer of the game. New features include Social Policy (which replaces "Civics" system), unit stacking change, City-States and fully animated leaders.

References

External links

Sid Meier's biography and his games history at Firaxis.com

"The Sid Meier Legacy" from GameSpot

Category:1954 births Category:Canadian Lutherans Category:Canadian video game designers Category:Canadian expatriates in the United States Category:Living people Category:MicroProse Category:People from Detroit, Michigan Category:People from Sarnia, Ontario Category:University of Michigan alumni Category:Video game producers Category:Video game programmers