Philip K. Allan - Author

Published Worldwide Today - Clay and the Sublime Porte

Book 12 in the Alexander Clay series

Available on Amazon as a paperback or ebook

#AmReading #AlexanderClay #RoyalNavy

Ship at night by Marek Rużyk

#RoyalNavy #Sea #Ageofsail

Named after a later French capture. The RN sometimes adopted foreign names of ships that had fought particularly well

French ship of the line Foudroyant by Auguste Mayer.

Early 18th century ships may have been cumbersome, un-weatherly and struggled to operate in winter, but they did look magnificent.

#FrenchNavy #LouisXIV #Ageofsail

HMS Warrior by David Bell

She was an Alfred-class 74-gun ship of the line, launched in 1781 at Portsmouth

#RoyalNavy #NapoleonicWars #Ageofsail

‘A huge stone cannon ball, sir,’ reported Taylor returning from the bow. ‘It hit one of the anchors and shattered. The forecastle looks like Deal beach, and poor Mr Hutchinson is quite covered in dust.’

Clay and the Sublime Porte – coming soon

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The Ij by 20th century Dutch painter Peter J. Sterkenburg

The Ij is the name of the bay that once served as an anchorage for Amsterdam.

#DutchNavy #DutchEastIndiaCompany #Tallships

Fight of the Wagram by Auguste Mayer

Wagram was a French first rate built in 1810. The picture shows a clash between French ships and the British Mediterranean Fleet in 1813 during which she helped her out-numbered squadron escape destruction.

#FrenchNavy #NapoleonicWar #RoyalNavy

He’s a great artist- I send him a passage from the book and he brings it to life

Yes it is. The novel is set in the Dardanelles campaign of that year.

Colin Baxter has produced another superb picture for the cover of my latest Clay novel.

It shows a scene from the book when two 74s attack a Turkish shore battery.

Clay and the Sublime Porte – coming soon

#AmReading #AlexanderClay #RoyalNavy

Summer morning by British marine artist Montague Dawson

#Sea #Ships #RoyalNavy

USS Philadelphia on fire in the port of Tripoli, by Edward Moran

She was a 36-gun frigate that was captured during the First Barbary War in 1803 after she ran aground. A few months later she was destroyed in a daring US Navy raid.

#BarbaryPirates #FirstFrigates #USNavy

It's by 19th century artist Thomas Whitcombe.

‘The wind is shifting, Sir John,’ said Clay. ‘And we are here on the shores of the Aegean, where history was born. The ancients would take it as an omen that the Gods favour us. I say we force our way through to Constantinople.’

Clay and the Sublime Porte – coming soon

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Just in Time by 19th century British artist Thomas Rose Miles

#Rescue #Sea #Lifeboat

Another Clay…

…is on its way

I’ve just sent the completed manuscript for book 12 in the Alexander Clay series, Clay and the Sublime Porte, to my editor.

#AmReading #AlexanderClay #RoyalNavy

Thank you to all my readers and followers for their support in 2025.

Hope you have a lovely Christmas with those who mean most to you.

#Xmas #tallships #Amreading

The Pig Must be caught by Danish artist Christian Mølsted

Turkeys are so much easier…

#Baltic #Tallships #Danishnavy

Attack on HMS Dictator by Christian Mølsted

After the surrender and internment of the Danish battle fleet by the Royal Navy in 1807, Denmark continued the war using swarms of gunboats during calm weather, when they could outmanoeuvre their larger opponents.

#Baltic #RoyalNavy #Danishnavy

No, they’re historic fiction.

The Adieu by Edmund Blair Leighton

#sea #tallships #royalnavy

Winter Quarterdeck 2025 - Globe Pequot In this Winter edition of Quarterdeck you’ll enjoy a By George column on Malcom Darch; a Three Sheets to the Wind column by Cynthia Barrett; a feature called Christmas at Sea by Julian Stockwin; an in...

The latest issue of Quarterdeck is out - with a nice article from my fellow author Alaric Bond, writer of the Fighting Sails series of Nautical fiction.

#amreading #navalfiction #royalnavy

The Fortune of War by British artist Geoff Hunt

This was the artwork used for the novel of the same title by Patrick O’Brian

#AubreyMaturin #RoyalNavy #Ageofsail

USS Iowa (BB61) passing through the Panama Canal after her return to service in the 1980s.

Iowa class battleships were designed with a beam that would (just) fit through the canal’s locks.

#USNavy #WW2 #Panama #Battleships

The Captain's Wife by 19th century Norwegian artist Carl Sundt-Hansen

#MerchantNavy #Sea #Womenatsea #sailors

HMS Easton in drydock after ramming and sinking U458 in 1943

While effective as a tactic, ramming was discouraged by the Admiralty because the escort ship was then taken out of service for a considerable period.

#RoyalNavy #GermanNavy #WW2

Good point, they do get overlooked. Cutters and topsail schooners (like Pickle) were vital for communications and scouting, thanks to their speed.

220 years ago today – Admiral Collingwood’s despatches with news of victory at Trafalgar and the death of Nelson, arrived in London, brought by HMS Pickle

The picture is HMS Pickle, Bringer of News, by British marine artist Richard Grenville

#RoyalNavy #OnThisDay #Trafalgar

Savannah by British Marine artist John Stobart.

Stobart is best known for his 19th century harbour scenes, many of American ports at night.

#MaritimeArt #Tallships #Ageofsail