On this day 12 July - the HMS Superb and the Second Battle of Algeciras

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The following recounts the HMS Superb's engagement with the Spanish and French fleets on the night of the 12th of July 1801, and is taken directly from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Algeciras. The HMS Superb was under the command of Captain Richard Goodwin Keats, and Keats was following the orders of Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez to pursue the retreating combined fleet.


At 20:00, Saumarez led his ships into the Gut after the combined squadron, but in the gathering dusk Moreno's squadron was already out of sight and the British admiral realised that his ships were too slow to catch the French and Spanish ships in their current formation before they reached the comparative safety of the open ocean. At 20:40, with the wind picking up, he therefore instructed the squadron to break formation and attack the rear of the combined squadron, directing his orders at Keats in Superb, whose ship was the fastest. Keats immediately set all sail and by 22:00 had regained sight of the combined squadron's rearguard, which consisted of the 112-gun ships and the Saint Antoine. Behind, all Keats could see was Caesar and Venerable in the distance, and by 23:00 only Caesar was still in sight, more than 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) behind Superb. Although he was now facing considerable odds, Keats steered Superb to within 350 yards (320 m) of the Real Carlos at 23:20, coming under fire from all three vessels of the Franco-Spanish rearguard, although evading much of it by the simple tactic of not illuminating his ship so that the ships of the combined squadron fired on one another more than on their British opponent. Linois had also ordered his ships to extinguish their lights, but this only added to the confusion of the Spanish ships in the squadron. The moon had set, and the night was extremely dark, a factor that contributed considerably to the ineffectiveness of the Spanish gunnery, Real Carlos fired randomly at the British ship but failed to strike it once during the brief engagement. Keats' ship was much more accurate however, firing three broadsides before Superb was carried beyond Real Carlos and towards Saint Antoine. The British broadsides caused severe damage, knocking away the foretopmast and causing a fire to break out on the Spanish ship's deck following the third broadside. The fire grew rapidly and soon was so fierce that it could be plainly seen by observers at Gibraltar.
With Real Carlos disabled, Keats pushed on into combat with Saint Antoine, the combined French and Spanish crew engaging the British vessel as it approached. At 23:50, Keats laid his ship close alongside the new French ship, beginning a close and heated action as the ships of the line exchanged broadsides with one another in pitch darkness and with an increasing wind. for 30 minutes the battle continued until, with the ships off Cape Spartel in North Africa, a wounded Le Ray decided that his ship was no longer able to contest the action and hailed Superb to announce that he had surrendered. The halyards that held up his pennant had however become tangled in the rigging, giving the appearance that the ship was still in French hands: this later led it to be attacked repeatedly by other British ships as they came up during the night. Formidable was also to the rear of the combined squadron, escaping attack by feigning British signal lights until it had safely passed the battle between Superb and Saint Antoine. Keats remained with his prize, awaiting the arrival of the rest of the squadron: Caesar, Venerable, Spencer and Thames arrived after midnight, all firing on Saint Antoine as they passed before continuing westwards in search of the remainder of Moreno's squadron. Superb was later joined by Carlotta and the small ships HMS Calpe and Louisa, which remained on hand during the night.
To the east of the combat between Superb and Saint Antoine, the fire on Real Carlos blazed out of control, spreading throughout the ship. In the darkness, the blazing vessel stood out and was mistaken by the crew of San Hermengildo for a British ship. Despite specific orders from Moreno for his captains to be sure of their targets, San Hermengildo closed with the burning ship and fired several broadsides into Real Carlos. The attack prompted a response and the two huge warships began a close exchange of fire that was only brought to a close when Real Carlos drifted into San Hermengildo, the flames spreading from the former's sails to the latter. Saumarez, on witnessing the sight, excitedly exclaimed to Brenton "My God sir, look there! The day is ours!" Within minutes both ships were tangled together, fire spreading unchecked throughout the vessels. The fire was too dangerous for British ships to make any rescue attempts, and although several hundred men managed to escape the wrecks on small boats, there were still more than 1,700 sailors on board when first the Real Carlos at 00:15 and then the San Hermengildo at 01:00 exploded as the flames reached their central magazines, killing both crews. 262 survivors in boats were taken aboard the captured Saint Antoine and 38 on Superb, while a handful managed to reach the rest of the Franco-Spanish squadron, but the enormous loss of life in this incident was one of the worst maritime disasters to that time.

Richard Goodwin Keats:



HMS Superb sailing away with the Hermenegildo and Real Carlos in the background: