HMS Colossus (1787)
HMS Colossus was a 74-gun Carnatic Class third-rateship of the line ordered on the 13th of December 1781. She was built by M/ shipwright William Cleverley, and was launched at Gravesend on the 4th of April, 1787.
Great Britain Name: HMS Colossus Ordered: 13 December 1781 Builder: Clevely, Gravesend Laid down: October 1782 Launched: 4 April 1787 Fate: Wrecked, 10 December 1798 Notes: ·Participated in:
·Battle of Groix
·Battle of Cape St Vincent
Class and type: Carnatic-classship of the line
Tons burthen: 1703 bm Length: 172 ft 3 in (52.50 m) (gundeck) Beam: 47 ft 9 in (14.55 m) Depth of hold: 20 ft 9 1⁄2 in (6.3 m) Propulsion: Sails Sail plan: Full rigged ship Armament: ·74 guns:
·Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs
·Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs
·Quarterdeck: 14 × 9 pdrs
·Forecastle: 4 × 9 pdrs
Early history.
Colossus was commissioned in the June of 1787 under Captain Hugh Christian, and acted as a guardship at Portsmouth under Captain Henry Harvey until the September of 1791.
Refitted at Portsmouth, she was recommissioned in the February of 1793 under Captain Charles Pole she sailed for the Med in the April of that year.On the 6th of June, in the Bay of Biscay, she captured Vanneau, a tiny vessel with an armament of just six guns on the 6th of June, which the Royal Navy took into service. Then only a month later accompanied by HMS Leviathan she captured the Privateer Le Vrai Patriot. Still in the same year, Colossus was part of a large fleet of 51 warships of numerous types, including a Spanish squadron, but commanded overall by Vice Admiral Lord Samuel Hood.
The Siege of Toulon.
The Fleet arrived off Toulon on the 26th of August, 1793, with Lord Hood aboard HMS Victory. The objective was to keep the French Fleet in check. Berthed In Toulon's port were 58 French warships, and Lord Hood was determined not to allow such a potent and dangerous fleet to be taken over by French revolutionary forces. The Bourbons, the Royalists of France, had thus far managed to maintain control of Toulon, a vital Mediterranean port. Upon the arrival of the British Fleet, the Bourbons duly surrendered the town and ships to Hood.
Sailors and Royal Marines began to land at Toulon from the ships of the Fleet, with the objective of taking possession of the key forts, which they succeeded in doing. The French Republican forces were quickly mobilized, and began a siege of Toulon on the 7th of September. By the 15th, the British and Spanish were forced to withdraw as the heights overlooking the anchorage had been taken by the Republicans and a battery of siege guns established there. In the retreat the British took with them over15,000 Royalists, as well as destroying the dockyards, and also a large number of the French warships. The Royal Navy lost 10 ships to artillery fire after the French capture of the heights. Colossus then returned to Portsmouth for a refit which took until the April of 1794.
June saw her joining Montague's squadron, and taking part in the Battle of Groix on the 23rd of June,1795.Colossus was once again embroiled in a large fleet action. 25 ships commanded by Admiral Lord Bridport on his flagship, Royal George, fought a French fleet of 23 warships under the command of Rear-Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse. The battle was immense and chaotic, and raged across a vast area, yet it came to an indecisive end, when Bridport ordered his Fleet to cease fighting at 7.15am, just four hours after the initial fighting had started. This decision allowed nine important French warships to escape. Colossus received damage, suffering three killed and thirty wounded. In total, British losses were 31 killed and 113 wounded. French losses are not known; it is estimated over 670 French sailors were killed or wounded, during skirmishes that resulted in the capture of three French warships.
Colossus at the Battle of Groix.
Though Colossus was involved in much bitter fighting, her Scots captain, John Monkton, ordered his kilt-wearing piper to proceed to the maintop mast staysail netting and play the pipes throughout the battle, no doubt to the bemusement of the French sailors who witnessed it.
Colossusnow returned to Plymouth to make repairs which took until the July of 1796 when she came under the command of Captain Richard Grindall until the end of that year.
Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
In the February of 1797, Colossus, now commanded by Captain George Murray, as part of Parker's reinforcements to Admiral John Jervis, joined his fleet and was involved in yet another large-scale clash of fleets in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent on the 14th of February. She was part of a 21-ship strong fleet (including 7 smaller craft) under the command of Jervis in his flagship HMS Victory, against a Spanish Fleet of 27 ships commanded by Lieutenant-General Don José de Córdoba y Ramos. Colossus sustained serious damage, her sails being virtually shot away. It looked inevitable that she would be raked by Spanish warships, until Orion closed up on Colossus and covered her.
The battle was a major victory for the Royal Navy. Despite being outnumbered, it captured four Spanish ships of the Line and crippled seven more, including the largest warship afloat at that time - the Santísima Trinidad. The British lost approximately 300 killed or wounded; the Spanish lost 1,092 killed or wounded, and 2,300 taken as prisoners.
Other action.
As the fleet repaired at Naples Colossus was immediately sent "on a cruise off Malta". She then went to Gibraltar before returning to the now repaired fleet in Naples. In the summer, William Bolton (later Captain) was promoted to Lieutenant on the Colossus, and the ship on the obverse of the 1797 medal featuring William Bolton may represent Colossus. Colossus was not cannibalized; Captain Murray did, however, hand over to Nelson three of his guns and one bower anchor. This was done as Colossus had been ordered home to England, whereas the Vanguard was staying within the war zone. Loaded with Greek vases and wounded men from the battle of the Nile, Colossus set off for home. She stopped at Algiers and at Lisbon on the way. At Lisbon she joined a larger convoy that was "bound for Ireland and other northern ports". The convoy dispersed in the English Channel as planned.
Shipwreck.
Approximate position of the wreck.
Amidst the bad winter weather Colossus sighted the Isles of Scilly first and came to anchor in St Mary's Roads on 7 December. For three days she intended to ride out the storm, only for it to increase. On the night of 10 December an anchor cable parted and the ship ran aground on a submerged ledge of rock off Samson Island. Only one life was lost, that of Quartermaster Richard King who drowned when he fell overboard while trying to sound the lead. Boats were immediately put out from the island, and all of the other crew were transported to safety by the morning. On 11 December the ship settled on her side, the starboard beam ends touching the waves. Attempts to re-board her were thwarted by continued high seas.
On 15 December Colossus' mainmast and bowsprit broke away and it became clear she could no longer be re-floated. A naval brig, Fearless, was able to put alongside the shipwrecked vessel on 29 December and bring away a quantity of stores and the body of Admiral Molyneux Shuldam which had been transported aboard Colossus for reburial in England. No further salvage proved possible and the vessel sank entirely in early January 1799.
For more information on the wreck see here:-
http://scillydivers.blogspot.com/p/wreck-of-hms-colossus.html
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