Mary Rose 20cm

Mary Rose was a Tudor warship marking the transition between Elizabethan galleons and the mighty "ships of the line". Built between 1509 and 1511, her carvel (smooth-planked) construction of oak and elm was advanced and strong for the time and permitted the cutting of cannon ports in the hull sides, so that she was one of the first ships able to fire a "broadside" - a considerable factor in her success as a fighting ship. She had served for 34 years when, during an engagement with a French invasion in 1545, she heeled to an unexpected gust and started filling through her cannon ports. Mary Rose sank, within half a mile of the shore, together with most of her crew (who could not swim). She then lay on the seabed for over 400 years until her discovery, buried in Solent mud, by Alexander McKee in the late 1960s. As the site was excavated, it emerged that half the hull and much of the decking was relatively intact - and almost certainly the best preserved example of her type ever found. These remains were raised and are now on display to the public at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Our models have been extensively researched from drawings, diagrams and the remaining timbers, and have been approved by the Mary Rose Trust.

Model: 7500