Let's look at historical data:
- Queen Anne's Revenge was a converted frigate, a good quality type of warship that had a lot of versatility. Some of the space inside was set aside for additional cargo by it's previous captain. She had forty cannons, TOTAL, not forty per side (which would have made her a first or second-rate ship of the line, rather than a frigate).
Even if we allow for flamethrowers (a damned dangerous weapon to have on board a wooden ship), she would be a vessel that was more suited for battle than piracy. Pirates grab the goods and run. Sinking the prey is counterproductive, inefficient and pretty much useless for getting extra crewmembers to replace those lost in battle.
The movie ship is a 38 gun vessel with the two greek-fire guns likely replacing two of the previous main-guns, or converted to fire such.
- The Flying Dutchman is thought to be a man-of-war type vessel, predating the ship-of-the-line design by several decades. Slower than a frigate and certainly not as maneuverable, the Dutchman would, at least, have a higher gun-count than all the other ships, save perhaps the movie-Endeavor. In the movie, she is portrayed as a three-gun-deck ship, which would likely make her a 60-gun man-of-war (She has, in fact, 46 6-pounder main guns (23 per side) and her two triple-barrel chase guns). Definitely not suitable as a pirate ship, but a lethal close-range opponent.
- Solely following historical records, the HMS Endeavor, better known as the HMS Bark Endeavor, was a research ship captained by James Cook. She had just TEN 4-pounder cannons and 12 swivel guns. Certainly not a match for any of these monster warships, but ironically, an excellent combination of weapons for a pirate vessel. Swivel guns are small, deckrail-mounted cannons that are used to fire grapeshot (basically big shotguins) across the decks of an opposing ship, which can play havok with crews and leave horrible wounds.
Going by the movies, the HMS Endeavor portrayed is a much, much bigger ship, designed from beam to mast to kill other ships with a lethal barrage of cannonfire. She has 108 guns, 54 per side, and a large, disciplined crew. Being a private warship, operated by the East India Trading Company rather than the Royal Navy, her crew is likely a mixture of ex-navy seamen and private individuals looking to make a good wage while working hard. Solely on guns, she's unbeatable, but she sadly has an inexperienced captain in Lord Cutler Beckett. Under Commodore Norrington's command, she would have likely made a better fighting ship.
- The Black Pearl is a converted East India Merchantman, based on the galleon design, with just 32 guns total (16 per side). Not counting swivel guns, she's a heavy-gunned ship for piracy, but not as over-the-top as the Queen Anne's Revenge. Historically, galleons were slow and lumbering beasts, but going solely by the movies, she is likely the fastest ship in the Caribbean. She also has a shallow draft (when lightly loaded) compared to all the other vessels, so capable of crossing shallow waters and leaving her pursuers run aground, or even tacking around and attacking at leisure.
Under the command of Jack Sparrow, the Pearl is a capable enough ship, although not likely to stick around for such unpirate-like things as a 'fair fight'. With Barbossa as captain, however, she becomes a tenacious combatant, Barbossa seeming to have a much better understanding of the limitations and strengths of the ship than Sparrow.
As an additional comment, only the HMS Endeavor EVER has her sails in good order. All of the other vessels make sail with ragged, holed canvas, making them inefficient at catching wind and more susceptible to tearing in high winds. On board any ship, especially a pirate vessel, the sails are the most important part of the vessel. Bad sails can make the difference between merely following a prey and catching them. A captain that allows such lax maintenance of a ship is not long destined to be a captain. At least the Pearl seems to get some of the holes patched as the movie series progresses (There are far more holes in her sails in CotBP than there are in the later movies).
Based on
historical records only, it's a slaughter, with the
Queen Anne's Revenge likely only having to out sail the Flying Dutchman in order to deliver withering broadsides. Sparrow wouldn't stick around to fight with a frigate, which would make that encounter a technical win for the Revenge, but a partial victory for the Pearl as well. THe Endeavor wouldn't even put up a fight against any of the ships, unless Captain James Cook drags them to the South Pole with him.
If you take the
movie versions of the ships, discounting any supernatural aid rendered, the
HMS Endeavor is a monster of the seas. She can deliver twice as much damage per broadside as any other two vessels combined. Built to be endurable, she can take a blistering amount of damage and still remain sailing. With Beckett in command, she's a tough enough opponent to deal with, Cutler likely allowing his first officer to make most tactical commands, but still ready to add his own imagination. Under Norrington, she would have been a lethal dose of violent and untimely death for any ship in the seven seas, having more guns than any other ship afloat at the time.
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