History Main / WoodenShipsAndIronMen

* The above-mentioned Cochrane - Lord Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald - bears particular mention. Dubbed [[RedBaron 'The Sea Wolf']] by ''Napoleon himself'', he was the RealLife inspiration for Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey, and twice as mad as both put together. After a dishonourable discharge from the Royal Navy after a somewhat dubious conviction for Stock Exchange fraud in 1814, one widely thought to be potentially politically motivated, stripping him of his knighthood, he was expelled from Parliament and then promptly re-elected[[note]]Yes, he sat in the House of Commons, for 2 reasons: (1) His father, the 9th Earl, was still alive then, meaning he was not even the slightest bit a Peer; and (2) the family earldom is in the Peerage of Scotland and never entitled the holder to a seat in the post-1707 House of Lords anyway. [[/note]] unopposed (his sentence of an honour's pillory - in the stocks - was commuted for fear it would start a riot), he was that popular. He then apparently got bored and spent most of the next decade or so as a mercenary Admiral. He started in the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWarsOfIndependence, becoming Vice-Admiral of the Chilean Navy under the vague command of UsefulNotes/JoseDeSanMartin and Bernardo O'Higgins. His wily tactics secured both Chilean and Peruvian independence, capturing the seven forts of Valdivia with just three hundred men, leading him to be dubbed 'El Metálico Lord', the Metallic Lord (while this sounds badass, it was meant more in the spirit of 'Count of Cash', an accusation that Cochrane was mostly motivated by money), and then left service after being caught up in rumours of a plot to liberate Napoleon and gift him a South American Empire (while ''Literature/SharpesDevil'' runs with this theory, the evidence suggests he probably wasn't involved. Probably). His paranoid personality didn't help. Several Chilean ships since have been named after him. He then went to Brazil in 1823, heavily contributed to its independence from Portugal within a year thanks to tactical skill and use of the BavarianFireDrill. After helping to crush a rebellion, cue more paranoia and squabbles over prize money, so he promptly ran off with a significant chunk of the provincial treasury, sacked several merchant ships, captured a Brazilian frigate and sailed back to Britain in 1825, presumably with both fingers raised firmly behind him. After being hired by the Greeks in their war of independence, which he was less successful in, he finally returned to Britain, campaigned to have his conviction overturned (which it was), inherited his Earldom in 1831, was reinstated to the Naval List... and promptly refused to take a command until his knighthood was restored (which it was, in 1847 by UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria), while steadily receiving a series of mildly farcical promotions. He didn't command any further, as it was thought that, despite being nearly ''80'' at the start of the Crimean War, if he was given a combat command he would do something characteristically insane with it. Given that he kept agitating for a command, was a prolific inventor and innovator who had been an enthusiastic proponent of saturation bombing since the Napoleonic Wars, had also decided that fire ships were insufficient so outfitted them with explosives instead, and spent forty-odd years proposing what would prefigure chemical warfare, this was not surprising.

* The above-mentioned Cochrane - Lord Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald - bears particular mention. Dubbed [[RedBaron 'The Sea Wolf']] by ''Napoleon himself'', he was the RealLife inspiration for Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey, and twice as mad as both put together. After a dishonourable discharge from the Royal Navy after a somewhat dubious conviction for Stock Exchange fraud in 1814, one widely thought to be potentially politically motivated, stripping him of his knighthood, he was expelled from Parliament and then promptly re-elected unopposed (his sentence of an honour's pillory - in the stocks - was commuted for fear it would start a riot), he was that popular. He then apparently got bored and spent most of the next decade or so as a mercenary Admiral. He started in the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWarsOfIndependence, becoming Vice-Admiral of the Chilean Navy under the vague command of UsefulNotes/JoseDeSanMartin and Bernardo O'Higgins. His wily tactics secured both Chilean and Peruvian independence, capturing the seven forts of Valdivia with just three hundred men, leading him to be dubbed 'El Metálico Lord', the Metallic Lord (while this sounds badass, it was meant more in the spirit of 'Count of Cash', an accusation that Cochrane was mostly motivated by money), and then left service after being caught up in rumours of a plot to liberate Napoleon and gift him a South American Empire (while ''Literature/SharpesDevil'' runs with this theory, the evidence suggests he probably wasn't involved. Probably). His paranoid personality didn't help. Several Chilean ships since have been named after him. He then went to Brazil in 1823, heavily contributed to its independence from Portugal within a year thanks to tactical skill and use of the BavarianFireDrill. After helping to crush a rebellion, cue more paranoia and squabbles over prize money, so he promptly ran off with a significant chunk of the provincial treasury, sacked several merchant ships, captured a Brazilian frigate and sailed back to Britain in 1825, presumably with both fingers raised firmly behind him. After being hired by the Greeks in their war of independence, which he was less successful in, he finally returned to Britain, campaigned to have his conviction overturned (which it was), inherited his Earldom in 1831, was reinstated to the Naval List... and promptly refused to take a command until his knighthood was restored (which it was, in 1847 by UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria), while steadily receiving a series of mildly farcical promotions. He didn't command any further, as it was thought that, despite being nearly ''80'' at the start of the Crimean War, if he was given a combat command he would do something characteristically insane with it. Given that he kept agitating for a command, was a prolific inventor and innovator who had been an enthusiastic proponent of saturation bombing since the Napoleonic Wars, had also decided that fire ships were insufficient so outfitted them with explosives instead, and spent forty-odd years proposing what would prefigure chemical warfare, this was not surprising.

* ''Theatre/HMSPinafore'' mocks the trope mercilessly. The parody begins already in the title, with a man-o'-war named after a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinafore garment for little girls]], and continues with a crew of completely sober sailors, a captain who doesn't swear and a First Sea Lord who insists on micromanaging everything in spite of never having been closer to the ocean than a [[IncrediblyLamePun partnership]] in a law firm. "A British Tar" presents the average sailor as being this trope, however.

** The ''Constitution'' earned her fame during the UsefulNotes/WarOf1812, when she went toe to toe with HMS ''Guerriere'', and won, and then against the ''Java'' with the same result. After the ''Java'' joined the ''Guerriere'' at the bottom of the ocean, the British Admiralty issued an order to "Not engage American Frigates in single combat" - in other words, don't engage American ships one on one while cruising (the main British ships of the line were more than a match in a major battle, but the lighter British frigates couldn't take on these heavier American ships). The ''Constitution''[='=]s success is mostly attributed to her construction (which made her both fast, and well protected), and her guns, which out-ranged those her closest competitors in the Royal Navy. Her construction mattered a great deal: her hull, made of Southern Live Oak, was so thick that when the ''Guerriere'' fired on her, some cannonballs just bounced off. One of ''Constitution''[='=]s gunners shouted, [[MadeOfIron "Huzzah! her sides are made of iron!"]], which gave her the nickname "Ol' Ironsides", which lasts to this day. It should be noted however that the Constitution purposefully sought out smaller/weaker British ships to engage, which contributed to her legend; people see that both ships were frigates and assume an even match, which was never the case. The one battle that WAS equal, the HMS Shannon vs the USS Chesepeake, was ferociously and mutually bloody until the eventual victory of the British ship; the American captain was killed and the British one wounded to such a degree he couldn't command anymore, though both agree both ships and crews acted with superb gallantry. After this battle, the American government joined the British in banning single combat actions.

** The ''Constitution'' earned her fame during the UsefulNotes/WarOf1812, when she went toe to toe with HMS ''Guerriere'', and won, and then against the ''Java'' with the same result. After the ''Java'' joined the ''Guerriere'' at the bottom of the ocean, the British Admiralty issued an order to "Not engage American Frigates in single combat" - in other words, don't engage American ships one on one while cruising (the main British ships of the line were still a match in a major battle, but the lighter British frigates couldn't take on these heavier American ships). The ''Constitution''[='=]s success is mostly attributed to her construction (which made her both fast, and well protected), and her guns, which out-ranged those her closest competitors in the Royal Navy. Her construction mattered a great deal: her hull, made of Southern Live Oak, was so thick that when the ''Guerriere'' fired on her, some cannonballs just bounced off. One of ''Constitution''[='=]s gunners shouted, [[MadeOfIron "Huzzah! her sides are made of iron!"]], which gave her the nickname "Ol' Ironsides", which lasts to this day.

* ''VideoGame/TreasurePlanetBattleAtProcyon'', just like the film it is a sequel to, it is this [[{{Recycled in Space}} IN SPACE!]]
* ''VideoGame/UltimateAdmiralAgeOfSail'' Replicating this period is rather the point of the whole game.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

-->'''Grandfather''': You kids have it too easy these days.
-->'''Grandfather''': I remember a time when boats were made of wood and men were made of steel…
-->'''Grandfather''': ([[FaceFramedInShadow aghast]]) The cyborgs destroyed our navy in minutes…

* The Creator/ChoiceOfGames web game ''Choice of Broadsides'' is set here. With the option, at the beginning of the game, to be about Wooden Ships And Iron ''[[RuleSixtyThree Women]]''.