Scale: 1: 48. A full hull and partially planked model of the ‘Grenado’ (1742), a bomb ketch fitted with two 12-inch mortars. The model has been designed to lift apart to reveal the internal construction and layout of an 18th-century bomb vessel. The hull is almost entirely built from boxwood but the mortars have been turned in ebony and painted to represent bronze. It is complete with a wealth of removable parts allowing a visual deconstruction.

The model illustrates how the mortars were operated and where the shells were stowed down below, and it is also has a set of large sweeps or oars as a backup should the wind drop and minor re-positioning be required. Such is the high standard of modelmaking, it was awarded the gold medal in the National Maritime Museum’s First International Ship Model Competition held in Greenwich in 1975.

Vessels of this type were one of many of the ketch-rigged vessels built in the merchant yards. The ketch rig enabled the positioning of two sea mortars amidships and provided a stable platform from which to operate. The ‘bombs’, as they were known, were anchored off shore and employed in bombarding enemy coastal fortifications.

The ‘Grenado’ measured 91 feet along the maindeck by 26 feet in the beam and was 279 tons burden. It had an eventful career and was present at the attack on Martinique in 1759, the capture of Guadeloupe in 1759, the capture of Martinique and the Havana expedition in 1762. It was eventually sold the following year.