List of ships of the line of the Order of Saint John
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Malta was ruled by the Order of Saint John as a vassal state of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1530 to 1798. The islands of Malta and Gozo, as well as the city of Tripoli in modern Libya, were granted to the order by Spanish Emperor Charles V in 1530, following the loss of Rhodes. The Ottoman Empire managed to capture Tripoli from the Order in 1551, but an attempt to take Malta in 1565 failed.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Grande_caraque.jpg/220px-Grande_caraque.jpg)
The Maltese navy was small but competent and was constantly involved in naval warfare since its inception. Their greatest achievement came during the Great Siege of Malta of 1565. Their independence (and fleet) lasted until 12 June 1798, when Napoleon Bonaparte, during his campaign against the Ottoman Empire, captured Malta with little bloodshed, along with the entire remaining Maltese navy. All remaining Maltese ships were added to the French Navy. Some of these ships were later captured by the Royal Navy when they recaptured Malta in 1800, bringing an end to the history of the Maltese navy.
Ship list
editShip name | Year constructed | Year of decommissioning |
---|---|---|
Santa Anna | 1522 | Decommissioned in 1540 |
Beneghem | Some time before 1654 | Some time after 1700 |
San Giovanni | 1703 | Some time after 1703 |
San Giacomo | 1703 | Some time after 1703 |
Santa Croce | Some time before 1706 | Some time after 1706 |
Half Moon | Some time before 1713 | Some time after 1713 |
San Giovanni | 1718 | Broken up in 1753 |
San Giorgio | 1719 | Some time after 1719 |
San Vicenzo | 1720 | Some time after 1720 |
San Antonio di Padova | 1727 | Broken up in 1765 |
San Vicenzo | 1755 | Some time after 1720 |
San Giovanni | 1720 | Broken up in 1765 |
San Salvatore | Some time before 1760 | Some time after 1762 |
San Zaccaria | 1765 | Broken up in 1803 |
San Giovanni | 1768 | Some time after 1784 |
San Giocomo | 1769 | Some time after 1784 |
San Giovanni | 1796 | Wrecked, 1803[1] |
Citations
edit- ^ Winfield & Roberts, p. 82
Bibliography
edit- Winfield, Rif & Roberts, Stephen S. (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2