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Thread: First and Second Rate Ships of the 18th Century

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    Default First and Second Rate Ships of the 18th Century

    Having produced a series of short profiles on the ships at the Battle of the Basque Roads, I wondered if it would be of interest if I did the same for other ships of the era?
    So here goes. I will start with the three deckers of the British Navy.

    FIRST RATERS.


    HMS Royal George (1756)


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    HMS Royal George,, shown fictitiously
    at the launch of HMS Cambridge in 1755
    by John Cleveley the Elder (1757)

    HMS Royal George was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard and launched on 18 February 1756. The largest warship in the world at the time of launching,

    History
    Great Britain
    Name: HMS Royal George
    Ordered: 29 August 1746
    Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
    Laid down: 8 January 1747
    Launched: 18 February 1756
    Commissioned: October 1755 (before launch)
    Fate: Foundered, 29 August 1782, at Spithead
    Notes:
    General characteristics
    Class and type: 1745 Establishment 100-gun first-rate ship of the line
    Tons burthen: 2047 bm
    Length:
    • 178 ft (54.3 m) (gundeck)
    • 143 ft 5.5 in (43.7 m) (keel)
    Beam: 51 ft 9.5 in (15.8 m)
    Depth of hold: 21 ft 6 in (6.6 m)
    Propulsion: Sails
    Sail plan: Full rigged ship
    Armament:
    • 100 guns:
    • Gundeck: 28 × 42 pdrs
    • Middle gundeck: 28 × 24 pdrs
    • Upper gundeck: 28 × 12 pdrs
    • Quarterdeck: 12 × 6 pdrs
    • Forecastle: 4 × 6 pdrs
    She saw service during the Seven Years' War including being Admiral Sir Edward Hawke's flagship at the Battle of Quiberon Bay and later taking part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent. She sank undergoing routine maintenance work whilst anchored off Portsmouth on 29 August 1782 with the loss of more than 800 lives, one of the most serious maritime losses to occur in British waters.

    Several attempts were made to raise the vessel, both for salvage and because she was a major hazard to navigation. In 1782, Charles Spalding recovered six iron 12-pounder guns and nine brass 12-pounders using a diving bell of his design. From 1834–1836, Charles and John Deane recovered more guns using the surface-air supplied diving helmet which they had invented, and in 1839 Major-General Charles Pasley, at the time a colonel of the Royal Engineers, commenced operations to break up the wreck using barrels of gunpowder.

    Pasley's team recovered more guns and other items between 1839 and 1842. In 1840, the remaining structure of the wreck was destroyed by the Royal Engineers in an explosion that shattered windows as far away as Portsmouth and Gosport.

    Service.

    Ordered on 29 August 1746, she was laid down at Woolwich Dockyard in 1746 as Royal Anne, and built to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment. She was renamed Royal George during building and launched on 18 February 1756. At the time of her launch in 1756, she was the largest warship in the world at more than 2,000 tons, and is considered the "eighteenth-century equivalent of a weapon of mass destruction". She served in the Seven Years' War, commissioning under her first commander, Captain Richard Dorrill in October 1755, and after being completed, joined the Western Squadron or Channel Fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Hawke in May 1756.

    Dorrill was succeeded by Captain John Campbell in July 1756, who was in turn succeeded by Captain Matthew Buckle in early 1757. Royal George was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Edward Boscawen at this time, and flew his flag in the Raid on Rochefort in September that year.[4] Captain Piercy Brett took command in 1758, during which time Royal George became the flagship of Admiral Lord George Anson. Brett was succeeded by Captain Alexander Hood in November 1758, though Royal George's former captain, Richard Dorrill, was back in command the following year, until being invalided out of the ship in June. Dorrill's replacement was another former captain, John Campbell, who commanded her in the blockade of the French fleet at Brest. She became Sir Edward Hawke's flagship in early November of that year, when his previous flagship, Ramillies, went into dock for repairs. Hawke commanded the fleet from Royal George at the Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759, where she sank the French ship Superbe.

    Royal George was commanded by Captain William Bennett from March 1760, and she was present at the fleet review at Spithead in July that year.[John Campbell returned to command his old ship in August 1760, though Bennett was captain again by December. Royal George joined Admiral Charles Hardy’s fleet in the Autumn of 1762, and was then paid off on 18 December that year. She was laid up at the conclusion of the Seven Years' War, undergoing a large repair at Plymouth between 1765 and 1768. The outbreak of the American War of Independence generated a need for more ships and Royal George was fitted at Portsmouth for service in the Channel between May 1778 and April 1779.

    She recommissioned under her first new commander, Captain Thomas Hallum, in July 1778, with command passing to Captain John Colpoys in November that year. Royal George was at this time the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Harland, with the Western Squadron.[4] Harland struck his flag, and in his place Vice-Admiral George Darby briefly raised his in June 1779, though from August 1779 until December 1781 she was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir John Lockhart Ross. Meanwhile, Captain Colpoys was replaced by Captain John Bourmaster in December 1779, and she joined Admiral Sir George Rodney's fleet in their mission to relieve Gibraltar. Under Bourmaster, and flying Ross's flag, Royal George took part in the attack on the Caracas convoy on 8 January 1780, and the Battle of Cape St. Vincent on 16 January 1780, before going on to successfully relieve Gibraltar three days later.

    Royal George returned to Britain with the rest of the fleet, and had her hull coppered in April 1780. She returned to service that summer, serving with the Channel Fleet under Admiral Francis Geary, and then George Darby from the Autumn.[4] Both captain and admiral changed in late 1781, Bourmaster being replaced by Captain Henry Cromwell, and Ross striking his flag for Royal George to become the flagship of Rear-Admiral Richard Kempenfelt. She served as part of Samuel Barrington's squadron from April 1782, with Cromwell replaced by Captain Martin Waghorn in May. Royal George then joined the fleet under Richard Howe.

    Loss.

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    A contemporary illustration of Royal George resting at the bottom of the Solent with her masts sticking up from the surface


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    1783 medallion commemorating the sinking of Royal George


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    Loss of the Royal George (painting by John Christian Schetky)


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    Memorial at Ryde, Isle of Wight, commemorating the loss



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    A section of the ship's 24-inch anchor cable, recovered from the wreck and now in the Science Museum store at Blythe House

    On 28 August 1782 Royal George was preparing to sail with Admiral Howe's fleet to relieve Gibraltar. The ships were anchored at Spithead to take on supplies. Most of her complement were aboard ship, as were a large number of workmen to speed the repairs. There were also an estimated 200–300 relatives visiting the officers and men, 100–200 "ladies from the Point [at Portsmouth], who, though seeking neither husbands or fathers, yet visit our newly arrived ships of war", and a number of merchants and traders come to sell their wares to the seamen.

    The reason most of her complement were aboard was because of fear of desertion: all shore leave had been canceled. Accordingly, every crew member then assigned to the vessel was aboard it when it sank, except for a detachment of sixty marines sent ashore that morning. The exact number of the total crew on board is unknown, but is estimated to be around 1,200.
    At seven o'clock on the morning of 29 August work on the hull was carried out and Royal George was heeled over by rolling the ship's starboard guns into the centreline of the ship. This caused the ship to tilt over in the water to port. Further, the loading of a large number of casks of rum on the now-low port side created additional and, it turned out, unstable weight. The ship was heeled over too far, passing her centre of gravity. Realising that the ship was settling in the water, the ship's carpenter informed the lieutenant of the watch, Monin Hollingbery, and asked him to beat the drum to signal to the men to right the ship. The officer refused. As the situation worsened, the carpenter implored the officer a second time. A second time he was refused. The carpenter then took his concern directly to the ship's captain, who agreed with him and gave the order to move the guns back into position. By this time, however, the ship had already taken on too much water through its port-side gun ports, and the drum was never sounded. The ship tilted heavily to port, causing a sudden inrush of water and a burst of air out the starboard side. The barge along the port side which had been unloading the rum was caught in the masts as the ship turned, briefly delaying the sinking, but losing most of her crew. Royal George quickly filled up with water and sank, taking with her around 900 people, including up to 300 women and 60 children who were visiting the ship in harbour. 255 people were saved, including eleven women and one child. Some escaped by running up the rigging, while others were picked up by boats from other vessels. Kempenfelt was writing in his cabin when the ship sank; the cabin doors had jammed because of the ship's heeling and he perished. Waghorn was injured and thrown into the water, but he was rescued. The carpenter survived the sinking, but died less than a day later, never having regained consciousness. Hollingbery also survived.
    Many of the victims were washed ashore at Ryde, Isle of Wight where they were buried in a mass grave that stretched along the beach. This land was reclaimed in the development of a Victorian esplanade and is now occupied by the streets and properties of Ryde Esplanade and The Strand. In April 2009, Isle of Wight Council placed a new memorial plaque in the newly restored Ashley Gardens on Ryde Esplanade in memory of Royal George. It is a copy of the original plaque unveiled in 1965 by Earl Mountbatten of Burma, which was moved in 2006 to the Royal George Memorial Garden, also on the Esplanade.

    A court-martial failed to correctly attribute blame for the tragedy and acquitted the officers and crew (many of whom had perished), blaming the accident on the "general state of decay of her timbers" and suggesting that the most likely cause of the sinking was that part of the frame of the ship gave way under the stress of the heel. The officer of the watch at the time of the sinking was, in fact, most responsible. Naval historian Nicholas Tracy stated that this officer had allowed water to accumulate on the gundeck. The resulting free surface effect eventually compromised the ship's stability. Tracy concluded that an "alert officer of the watch would have prevented the tragedy ..."

    A fund was established by Lloyd's Coffee House to help the widows and children of the sailors lost in the sinking, which was the start of what eventually became the Lloyd's Patriotic Fund. The accident was commemorated in verse by the poet William Cowper:

    Toll for the brave
    The Brave that are no more,
    All sunk beneath the wave,
    Fast by their native shore.
    — The Loss of the Royal George, William Cowper
    Last edited by Bligh; 10-09-2019 at 02:55.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    HMS Royal Sovereign (1786).


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    . . HMS Royal Sovereign was ordered by the British government on February 3rd, 1786 and constructed by Plymouth Dockyard in Plymouth, her keel being laid down on January 7th, 1774. She was officially put out to sea on September 11th, 1786.

    As built, HMS Royal Sovereign was given a running length of 183 feet, 10.5 inches with a beam measuring 52 feet and a draught of 22 feet, 2.5 inches. She was a three-masted, fully-rigged vessel with each mast carrying a name for quick identification purposes - the first in line being the foremast, the central perch becoming the mainmast and the aft post the mizzenmast. To this were added individual names to each sail fitting, from the moonmast and staysail, the royal and topgallant and, finally, to the topsail and forecourse. Forward sail spans (those running from the foremast to the jibboom - the post protruding from the bow over the figurehead at the "beak" of the ship) were identified as the flying jib, outer jib, inner jib and fore topmast staysail. At the stern there resided the "spunker", also recognized as the "driver". Wind powered ships of the period making use of an underwater rudder critical in maneuvering. The captain's cabin was situated at the upper stern of the ship with crew quarters, gundecks and stores about the hull of the ship. Various lines and netting were affixed from the masts to the deck to allow the crew to climb the rigging and masts as well as management of the sails in general.


    History
    UK
    Name: HMS Royal Sovereign
    Ordered: 3 February 1786
    Builder: Plymouth Dockyard
    Laid down: 7 January 1774
    Launched: 11 September 1786
    Renamed: HMS Captain, 17 August 1825
    Honours and
    awards:
    Participated in:

    Fate: Broken up, 1841
    Notes: Harbour service from 1826
    General characteristics
    Class and type: 100-gun first rate ship of the line
    Tons burthen: 2175 (bm)
    Length: 183 ft 10 12 in (56.0 m) (gundeck)
    Beam: 52 ft 1 in (15.88 m)
    Depth of hold: 22 ft 2 12 in (6.8 m)
    Propulsion: Sails
    Sail plan: Full rigged ship
    Armament:
    • Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns
    • Middle gundeck: 28 × 24-pounder guns
    • Upper gundeck: 30 × 12-pounder guns
    • QD: 10 × 12-pounder guns
    • Fc: 4 × 12-pounder guns



    HMS Royal Sovereign served the British Royal Navy during the latter portion of the 18th Century and the early portion of the 19th Century and is famously remembered for her participation (alongisde Horatio Nelson's HMS Victory) in the Battle of Trafalgar- a decisive British naval victory over the combined French-Spanish fleet.


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    The day after Trafalgar, the Victory under canvas endeavouring to clear the land, the Royal Sovereign disabled and in tow by the Euryalus, in the collection of the National Maritime Museum; Nicholas Pocock; 19th century



    The vessel was termed a "100-gun first-rate, ship-of-the-line" which not only identified her armament but also her fighting qualities within the British fleet. First rate ships typically were fielded with 100 guns or more and these were then followed by second-, third- and forth-rate ships with fewer guns. A well-experienced naval tactician would then use his fleet by observing enemy maneuvers and positioning his warships as required to deliver lethal broadsides. As all armament was set to fire from the port and starboard sides of the warship, broadsides were the attack of choice, essentially one ship moving into parallel position with his target and firing all guns.


    Not the fastest or most mobile of the fleet, the Royal Sovereign none-the-less packed a punch. At its core, the vessel was a fighting ship and, as such, granted a collection of 100 guns across three main decks (identified along her sides by numerous gunports. There was the primary gundeck armed with 28 x 32-pounder cannon, the middle gundeck with 28 x 24-pounder cannon and the upper gundeck with 30 x 12-pounder cannon. 10 x 12-pounders were added to the quarterdeck while the forecastle carried an additional 4 x 12-pounders.


    One of Royal Sovereign's first notable actions occurred on June 1st, 1794 when the British fleet under Lord Howe faced off against the French and Villaret-Joyeuse. The Royal Navy met with 25 ships-of-the-line versus France's 26. The battle became known as the "Glorious First of June" and the "Third Battle of Ushant" and occurred during the French Revolution, which included several wars fought from 1792 into 1802.The battle took place west of the French hold of Ushant in the Atlantic and ended in a British tactical victory while also representing a French strategic victory. Casualties included 1,200 Royal Navy personnel against 4,000 French of which a further 3,000 were taken prisoner. The French Navy also lost as many as seven warships. The Royal Sovereign lost 14 souls and saw a further 41 wounded.

    Royal Sovereign's next notable action occurred during the span of June 16th-17th, 1795 in what was termed "Cornwallis's Retreat". This engagement was also undertaken during the French Revolutionary War period and consisted of a defending action on the part of the British, five ships-of-the-line staring across at twelve enemy ships-of-the-line along with eleven frigate type vessels (the French commanded by Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse). The combat took place off the coast of Brittany in the Atlantic ocean with the French ultimately failing to break the British defense under Vice-Admiral William Cornwallis. French-British engagements did not end there for they only set the stage of the most famous Royal Navy sea battle of them all - the Battle of Trafalgar.

    The Battle of Trafalgar took place on October 21st, 1805 off the coast of Cape Trafalgar, Spain (near the Strait of Gibraltar) the vessel fell under the command of Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood while Admiral Horatio Nelson headed HMS Victory. They faced off against a combined French-Spanish force led by Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve and Admiral Federico Gravina repectively. Numbers included 33 Royal Navy ships versus 41 of the enemy fleet. The British managed 27 ships-of-the-line versus 18 fielded by the French Navy and 15 by the Spanish.

    By this time, French leader Napoleon Bonaparte had amassed an army at Boulogne designed to invade Britain proper. However, his troop barges were unarmed and would be ripe for the taking under the guns of the vaunted British fleet. As such, he commissioned Admiral Villeneuve to form the French fleet and destroy the British warships. A contingent of Spanish would also assist. Villeneuve formed approximately 50% of available French naval power to meet Napoleon's deadline and rendezvoused with the Spanish off the coast of Cadiz before sailing out to meet the British on October 19th, 1805.


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    Royal Sovereign - First Through The Line By Richard Grenville, Battle of Trafalgar


    Under Nelson's orders and going by a well-planned attack route, the British plunged into the action to limit the French-Spanish response. HMS Royal Sovereign engaged the Spanish ship Santa Ana to which the vessels both took on damage in the fray as lines of ships delivered broadsides in passing. Royal Sovereign lost her mainmasts, mizzen and rigging, losing much control and ordered towed away from the action (by this time Nelson had been reported injured to Collingwood). Coming under attack during the rescue, tow lines to HMS Royal Sovereign from HMS Euralus - a 36-gun frigate - were severed. Royal Sovereign was saved for the interim by a collection of British ships rallying together near her to help fight off the incoming enemy. Saved, though barely afloat, the Royal Sovereign was barely able to respond and of little tactical use. A second rescue action on the British ship was moot and Collingwood then boarded the arriving Euryalus who had, once again, been attempting to run lines to the Royal Sovereign.

    The battle was now over with the enemy fleet in defeat, Nelson lay dead (killed by a sniper during the commotion) and Collingwood assuming command. Royal Sovereign casualties numbered 141 while the vessel itself was recovered and salvaged. With the battle over, the British claimed a decisive victory at sea at the total expense of 458 dead and 1,208 wounded. The enemy fleet suffered 13,781 casualties including 2,218 Frenchmen dead and 1,025 Spaniards. 10 French ships were captured along with 11 Spanish vessels with, amazingly, no loss of ships dealt to the British (only five of the enemy ships would ever be put into action again). Additionally, 4,000 persons were taken prisoner while some 3,000 drowned after the battle had ended. Villeneuve was taken prisoner by the British while Gravina, though escaping the barrel wounded, died a few months later. The battle became one of Britain's most revered naval engagements and made Horatio Nelson a household name.

    Key to the victory was Nelson's use of a two-column approach against a numerically larger foe. Doctrine of the day called for a single-line pattern approach to make the most of the broadsides and keep the chain of communications open during the confusion. Nelson's direction allowed for his outnumbered fleet to handle the French Navy one of its worst losses and keep British supremacy of the sea intact, this through combining confusion and limited maneuverability of the enemy while falling to the guns of British firepower. The battle lasted for approximately 4.5 hours, having begun at 12PM and ended around 4:30PM.


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    Stuart Bolton, Century , H. Royal Sovereign emerging from her refit and lying in the Hamoaze, Plymouth Sound

    HMS Royal Sovereign was docked for an extended period while undergoing repairs. She was set out to sea once more in 1806 and this time toured the Mediterranean Sea. She participated in the naval blockade action of Toulon against France where she stayed on station into November of 1811. After this period, she was called back to England and joined the Channel Fleet in defense of the English Channel. The Channel Fleet held a long-running history, formed in 1690 and managed to defend the critical English waterway until 1909 with ships based out of Plymouth, Falmouth and Torbay.

    Once her fighting days were deemed behind her, HMS Royal Sovereign underwent a period of modification which saw her begin life anew on August 17th, 1825 as a harbor service craft named HMS Captain. Her tenure as the Captain did not last long for, in June of 1926, the vessel was pulled from service and broken up for scrap at the Plymouth shipyard with only four cannon claimed as memorial showpieces (the Collingwood Memorial, Tynemouth). This process would last until August of 1841 before history brought an end to the long-lasting career of HMS Royal Sovereign.

    Collingwood, now Admiral, died on March 7th, 1810 at the age of 61 aboard HMS Ville de Paris while on duty (as Commander-in-Chief) in the Mediterranean Sea. He was sailing home due to poor health. Collingwood is buried alongside Nelson at St Paul's Cathedral in London.

    From 1826 onwards, the Royal Sovereign was relegated to a period of harbor service before being broken up in 1841, bringing an end to her long-lasting carrier on the high seas.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    HMS Britannia.


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    The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 Oct 1805; engraving, wood. Ships (right to left): Britannia, La Hogue (uncertain), Santisima Trinidad, Victory.

    HMS Britannia, also known as Old Ironsides, was a 100-gun
    first-rateship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was ordered on 25 April 1751 from Portsmouth Dockyard to the draught specified in the 1745 Establishment. Her keel was laid down on 1 July 1751 and she was launched on 19 October 1762. The cost of building and fitting totalled £45,844/2s/8d. Her main gundeck armament of twenty-eight 42-pounder guns was later replaced by 32-pounders. In the 1790s ten of her quarterdeck guns and two of her forecastle guns were replaced by the same number of 32-pounder carronades.




    History
    Great Britain
    Name:
    HMS Britannia
    Ordered:
    25 April 1751
    Builder:
    Portsmouth Dockyard
    Cost:
    £45,844/2s/8d
    Laid down:
    1 July 1751
    Launched:
    19 October 1762
    Renamed:
    • HMS Princess Royal – 6 January 1810
    • HMS St. George – 18 January 1812
    • HMS Barfleur – 2 June 1819
    Fate:
    Broken up, 1825
    Notes:
    General characteristics
    Class and type:
    1745 Establishment 100-gun first rateship of the line
    Tons burthen:
    2116
    Length:
    178 ft (54.3 m) (gundeck)
    Beam:
    51 ft (15.5 m)
    Depth of hold:
    21 ft 6 in (6.6 m)
    Propulsion:
    Sails
    Sail plan:
    Full rigged ship
    Complement:
    850 officers and men
    Armament:
    • 100 guns:
    • Gundeck: 28 × 42 pdrs
    • Middle gundeck: 28 × 24 pdrs
    • Upper gundeck: 28 × 12 pdrs
    • Quarterdeck: 12 × 6 pdrs
    • Forecastle: 4 × 6 pdrs


    Britannia was first
    commissioned in September 1778, and saw service during the War of American Independence. From 1793–1795 she was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Hotham. She fought at the Battle of Cape St Vincent and at the Battle of Trafalgar, where she carried the flag of Rear-Admiral of the White William Carnegie, Earl of Northesk. She lost 10 men killed and 42 wounded at Trafalgar, and following that battle she was laid up in ordinary in the Hamoaze at Plymouth in 1806.

    The ship was renamed on 6 January 1810 as HMS Princess Royal, then on 18 January 1812 as HMS St George and once more on 2 June 1819 as HMS Barfleur.

    She was third of seven ships to bear the name
    Britannia, and was broken up at Plymouth in February 1825.
    She was known as Old Ironsides long before
    USS Constitution.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    HMS Queen Charlotte (1790)


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    Lord Howe's action, or the Glorious First of June by Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg, painted 1795, shows the two flagships engaged on 1 June 1794. Queen Charlotte is to the left and Montagne to the right.


    HMS Queen Charlotte was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 15 April 1790 at Chatham. She was built to the draught of Royal George designed by Sir Edward Hunt, though with a modified armament.


    History
    Great Britain
    Name: HMS Queen Charlotte
    Ordered: 12 December 1782
    Builder: Chatham Dockyard
    Laid down: 1 September 1785
    Launched: 15 April 1790
    Completed: 7 July 1790
    Fate: Blown up by accident, 17 March 1800
    General characteristics
    Class and type: 100-gun first-rate ship of the line
    Tons burthen: 2,286
    Length: 190 ft (58 m) (gundeck)
    Beam: 52 ft 5.5 in (15.989 m)
    Depth of hold: 22 ft 4 in (6.81 m)
    Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
    Armament:
    • 100 guns:
    • Gundeck: 30 × 32-pounder guns
    • Middle gundeck: 28 × 24-pounder guns
    • Upper gundeck: 30 × 18-pounder guns
    • QD: 10 × 12-pounder guns
    • Fc: 2 × 12-pounder guns


    In 1794 Queen Charlotte was the flagship of Admiral Lord Howe at the Battle of the Glorious First of June, and in 1795 she took part in the Battle of Groix.

    Fate.

    At about 6am on 17 March 1800, whilst operating as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Lord Keith, Queen Charlotte was reconnoitering the island of Capraia, in the Tuscan Archipelago, when she caught fire. Keith was not aboard at the time and observed the disaster from the shore.

    The fire was believed to have resulted from someone having accidentally thrown loose hay on a match tub. Two or three American vessels lying at anchor off Leghorn were able to render assistance, losing several men in the effort as the vessel's guns exploded in the heat. Captain A. Todd wrote several accounts of the disaster that he gave to sailors to give to the Admiralty should they survive. He himself perished with his ship. The crew was unable to extinguish the flames and at about 11am the ship blew up with the loss of 673 officers and men.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    HMS Ville de Paris.

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    The Ship Ville de Paris under Full Sail, a painting of Thomas Buttersworth

    HMS Ville de Paris was a 110-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 17 July 1795 at Chatham Dockyard. She was designed by Sir John Henslow, and was the only ship built to her draught.

    History
    UK
    Name: HMS Ville de Paris
    Ordered: 25 May 1788
    Builder: Chatham Dockyard
    Laid down: 1 July 1789
    Launched: 17 July 1795
    Fate: Broken up, 1845
    General characteristics
    Class and type: 110-gun first rate ship of the line
    Tons burthen: 2351 (bm)
    Length: 190 ft (58 m) (gundeck)
    Beam: 53 ft (16 m)
    Depth of hold: 22 ft 4 in (6.81 m)
    Propulsion: Sails
    Sail plan: Full rigged ship
    Armament: ·110 guns:
    ·Gundeck: 30 × 32-pounder guns
    ·Middle gundeck: 30 × 24-pounder guns
    ·Upper gundeck: 32 × 18-pounder guns
    ·QD: 14 × 12-pounder guns
    ·Fc: 4 × 12-pounder guns


    HMS Ville de Paris
    was named after the French ship of the line Ville de Paris, flagship of François Joseph Paul de Grasse during the American Revolutionary War. That ship had been captured by the Royal Navy at the Battle of the Saintes in April 1782, but on the voyage to England, as a prize, she sank in a hurricane in September 1782.


    She served as the flagship of John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, with the Channel Fleet.

    On 17 August 1803, the boats of Ville de Paris captured the French privateer Messager from among the rocks off Ushant. Lloyd's Patriotic Fund awarded Lieutenant Watts, of Ville de Paris, with an honour sword worth £50 for his role in the cutting out expedition. Messager was pierced for eight guns but had six mounted, and had her owner and 40 men aboard when Watts arrived with his pinnace and 18 men. The British captured her before the other boats from Ville de Paris could arrive. The French put up a minimal resistance and only suffered a few men lightly wounded; the British suffered no casualties. The action occurred in sight of the hired armed cutter Nimrod. In January 1805 head and prize money from the proceeds of the French privateer Messager was due to be paid.

    On 18 January 1808, following the Battle of Corunna, Ville de Paris (Captain John Surman Carden) evacuated twenty-three officers of the 50th, three of the 43rd, four of the 26th, three of the 18th, one of the 76th, two of the 52nd, two of the 36th, four Royal Engineers, and two Royal Artillery - a total of 44 officers, including General Sir David Baird, his ADC Captain Hon Alexander Gordon, Sir John Colborne and Lieutenant Henry Percy. Ville de Paris also embarked several thousand soldiers.

    Later, Admiral Collingwood died aboard her of cancer while on service in the Mediterranean, off Port Mahón, on 7 March 1810.

    On 22 July 1814, at the conclusion of the Peninsula War, Ville de Paris arrived off Portsmouth carrying the 43rd Light Infantry Battalion along with the 2nd Rifles.
    Ville de Paris was placed on harbour service in 1824, and she was broken up in 1845.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    HMS Hibernia (1804)


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    HMS Hibernia was a 110-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Plymouth dockyard on 17 November 1804, and was the only ship built to her draught, designed by Sir John Henslow.

    History
    United Kingdom
    Name: HMS Hibernia
    Ordered: 9 December 1790
    Builder: Plymouth dockyard
    Laid down: November 1797
    Launched: 17 November 1804
    Fate: Sold 1902
    General characteristics
    Class and type: 110-gun first-rate ship of the line
    Tons burthen: 2,530 (bm)
    Length: 201 ft 2 in (61.32 m) (gundeck)
    Beam: 53 ft 1 in (16.18 m)
    Depth of hold: 22 ft 4 in (6.81 m)
    Propulsion: Sails
    Sail plan: Full rigged ship
    Armament:
    • 110 guns:
    • Gundeck: 32 × 32-pounder guns
    • Middle gundeck: 32 × 24-pounder guns
    • Upper gundeck: 34 × 18-pounder guns
    • QD: 12 × 32-pounder carronades
    • Fc: 4 × 32-pounder carronades + 2 × 18-pounder guns


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    Between 1807 and 1808, Hibernia, under the command of Sir William Sidney Smith, led the British escort of the Portuguese Royal Family during the transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil.

    Hibernia was flagship of the British Mediterranean Fleet from 1816 until 1855, when she became the flagship for the Royal Navy's base at Malta and stationed in Grand Harbour She remained in this role until she was sold in 1902.

    After the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815, HMS Hibernia was used in the service of the British Empire in other ways, such as to transport convicts to the colony of New South Wales. In 1818-1819, for example, the ship carried 160 male convicts to Sydney from Portsmouth sailing on 20 November and arriving 18 June. Also on board as passengers were the first Minister of St James' Church, Sydney, Richard Hill and his wife.

    The ten-day court-martial of the surviving officers and crewmen of the battleship HMS Victoria for the loss of their ship in a 22 June 1893 collision with the battleship HMS Camperdown was held on Hibernia's deck. The proceedings began on 17 July 1893.

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    Hibernia in Grand Harbour Valletta.

    Hibernia was sold in 1902 and broken up. Her timber ended up being used to fire bakeries in Malta, leading to an outbreak of lead poisoning on the island. A statue of the Virgin Mary, in her mantle as Queen of Heaven, was carved from a section of the ship's main mast and can be seen in the Collegiate Parish Church of St Paul's Shipwreck in Valletta.

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    Figurehead of HMS Hibernia.


    Her figurehead is now displayed at the Malta Maritime Museum, which is housed in the former Royal Naval Bakery building in Birgu, Malta.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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