Heart of Oak ⚓️

Ladies and gentlemen, I am thrilled to share with you the third issue of Heart of Oak magazine! What to expect: -over 70 pages of naval history -4 exclusive in-depth features: Australia's first naval victory, Beagle's first voyage, the Mary Rose, Greenwich Royal Naval Hospital…

The First Sea Fight of the Revolutionary Wars: The Battle between Citoyenne Française and HMS Iris on 13 May 1793, by Thomas Luny HMS Iris was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate of 688 tons (BM), launched in 1783 on the Thames River. On 13 May 1793, during the opening stages of the war…

Let's try with a silhouette... which class is depicted here?

"Over an hour later, at 8:40 a.m., the battlecruisers caught sight of each other. Hipper, completely surprised by the British presence, immediately turned for home." -O. Goossens, The First Clash of Battlecruisers: The Battle of Dogger Bank (1915) heart-of-oak.org/2025/02/12/the…

Currently busy again with the War of the Spanish Succession—writing a piece about Wager's Action in June 1708, which led to the sinking of one of the most affluent and sought-after treasure ships in history. Hope to have it ready for you over the course of next week. Cheers!

The Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916. Painting by Charles Dixon (1872–1934), 1916. Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery (ID: 243)

"This often-overlooked arm, largely comprised of commandeered merchant vessels, formed the silent lifeline that sustained the Allied war effort" -Hangar 401, The Silent Lifeline- heart-of-oak.org/2025/04/07/the…

Eclipse-class protected cruiser HMS Dido, launched in 1896, scrapped in 1926. Painting by Alma Claude Burlton Cull (1880-1931), 1900. Maritime Originals

I am pleased to share with you my latest article on one of my favorite figures from British naval history: Edward Hawke. It was, in fact, his triumph in Quiberon Bay in 1759 which became the first maritime subject I thoroughly researched some 8 years ago. Bold and proud, Edward…

"Admiral King repaired aboard the hulk where he beheld a shocking tableau of bloodied and burned timbers, distorted lifeless limbs, and wreckage ... lying under her pendant and the web of her rigging." -R. Hiscocks, The Tragic loss of the Amphion heart-of-oak.org/2025/05/04/the…

"The total weight of firepower Victory unleashed at Trafalgar exceeded the entire artillery strength available to Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815." -O. Goossens, The Birth of a Legend: The Construction of HMS Victory heart-of-oak.org/2025/04/20/the…