The Chronicle includes one of its most unusual entries for 896: a description of Alfred design of new warships, built larger and swifter than Danish or Frisian longships, with sixty or more oars on each side. Some were built to his own design. The ships were deployed off the Solent and south coast. Though the first engagement was costly — several English ships were wrecked on the shallow coast — the programme established a naval tradition. Alfred is traditionally considered the founder of the English navy.
Alfred new fleet of large longships
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