Arming the Royal Navy, 1793 1815 (Electronic book text)

The Office of Ordnance has been ill-served by previous accounts of its role during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. Misunderstood and often misnamed, the Ordnance has been seen as inefficient and fatally flawed. By examining the Ordnance alongside other government bodies the Admiralty, the War Office and the Home Office Cole offers an account of how and why the Royal Navy was equipped as it was. It is shown that the Office of Ordnance was much more proactive, modernizing and efficient during this period than was previously thought."