3rd Rate ships of the Royal Navy. 1793 to 1815.

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HMS Ajax (1809)




HMS Ajax was a 74-gun, Armada Class, third rate ship of the line, built at the Admiralty’s instigation as a joint venture by the two ship designers Peake and Rule to incorporate the best features taken from both men’s designs. Ordered on the 1st of July, 1807 the ship was laid down in the following month, the shipbuilders being Perry, Wells, and Green of Blackwall Yard. She was launched there on the 2nd of May, 1809, and her fitting out was completed at Woolwich on the 15th of June.

History
Great Britain
Name:	HMS Ajax
Ordered:	1 July 1807
Builder:	Perry, Blackwall Yard
Laid down:	August 1807
Launched:	2 May 1809
Fate:	Broken up, 1864
General characteristics
Class and type:	Armada Class ship of the line
Tons burthen:	1761 bm
Length:	176 ft (54 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	47 ft 9.5 in (14.48 m)
Depth of hold:	21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	·Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns ·Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pounder guns ·QD: 4 × 12-pounder guns, 10 × 32-pounder carronades ·Fc: 2 × 12-pounder guns + 2 × 32-pounder carronades ·PD: 6 × 18-pounder carronades

Service.

HMS Ajax was commissioned in the June of 1809 under Captain Robert Otway, who commanded her until 1811. On the 4th of October,1809 she sailed for the Med, and by the 20th of July, 1810 had become a member of Blackwood’s squadron operating off Toulon. On the 11th of September in that year, Ajax took part in a ship action off Elba, in which action Charles Benyon aged 22, a Lieutenant on the ship, was killed attempting to board a French vessel. He was the third son of Richard Benyon of Englefield House, Berks, where the Benyon family still live.

On the 13th of December, 350 sailors and 250 marines from Ajax, and two other third rates, the Cambrian and Kent attacked Palamós whilst the sloops Sparrowhawk and Minstrel covered the landings. The landing party succeeded in destroying six of eight merchant vessels conveying supplies intended for the French army at Barcelona, as well as the ships escorting them. These comprised a national ketch of 14 guns and 60 men and two xebecs of three guns and thirty men each. The vessels were lying inside the mole under the protection of 250 French troops, a battery of two 24-pounders, and a 13" mortar in a battery on a commanding height. Although the attack was successful, the withdrawal was not. The British lost 33 men killed, 89 wounded, and 86 taken prisoner, plus one seaman who took the opportunity to desert.

On the 31st of March, 1811, Ajax and HMS Unite encountered a French squadron comprising the frigates Adrienne and Amélie, and the armed transport French corvette, Dromadaire.which was armed en flute, Ajax captured Dromadaire, while the frigates managed to escape to Portoferraio. Captain Otway reported that Dromadaire was frigate-built and sailed remarkably well. Her cargo consisted of 15,000 shot and shells of various sizes and 90 tons of gunpowder. Apparently Napoleon Bonaparte intended them as a present for Hammuda ibn Ali, the Bey of Tunis. Admiral Sir Charles Cotton, commander in chief of the British Mediterranean Fleet, decided to buy her and her stores for the Royal Navy.
The following month command passed to Captain James Brisbane, and then in the October of that year to Captain Sir Robert Lawrie, who commanded her in the Med until 1812.
Ajax then returned to Plymouth for defects to be repaired between the April and July of 1813. During this period of inactivity Captain Otway was reinstated as her Captain in the May of that year. By the 8th of September she was at San Sebastian, and on the 17th of March 1814, Ajax captured the French 16-gun brig L’Alcyon near the Lizard. The Frenchman was armed with sixteen 24-pounder Carronades, and was crewed by 120 men. She was provisioned for a four-month cruise, but was only 24 hours out from Saint-Malo when Ajax took her. Ajax then proceeded to North America transporting troops, but had returned to the Med, now under Captain George Mundy by the October of that year.

Post-war.

She returned to Portsmouth and was paid off in the July of 1816. She went in for a major which cost £67.758 and then between the October of 1820 and the June of 1829 Ajax was converted to a blockship with screw propulsion under Admiralty Orders. The rebuild was carried out by White’s of Cowes between the November of 1845 and the September of 1846. £15.908 being paid to White for the work to convert her for coastal defence (also called 'steam-guard-ships'. The conversion process had involved removing her copper, ballast and some of the bulkheads, and cutting her down in the shape of a blockship.

From 1846 until 1853 she was stationed as a guardship in Queenstown, now Cobh. She took part in the Crimean War 1853-1856. In 1854 she was involved in the Bombardment of Bomarsund, Finland. In 1858 she resumed guardship duties, this time in Kingstown, now Dún Laoghaire.



Ajax as guardship at Kingstown

Captain John McNeil Boyd R.N. was master of the Ajax while she was in Dún Laoghaire. On the 8th of February,1861 there occurred the worst storm in living memory. 29 ships were lost between Wicklow Head and Howth Head, all close to Dún Laoghaire. Boyd organised rescues, but he and five of his crew were lost in the attempt. Fifteen surviving members of the Ajax crew were decorated for bravery and most were promoted.

Fate.

On the 3rd of December,1863, Ajax was driven ashore at Kingstown. Although she was successfully refloated, It was announced in the February of 1864 that the Royal George would replace her as the Coast-guard ship at Devonport.
She was broken up in 1864.

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HMS Berwick (1809)





Berwick



HMS Berwick was an Armada Class, 74 gun third rate ship of the line, ordered on the 1st of July 1807, and built to the design of Peake and Rule by Perry, Wells and Green at Blackwall She was laid down in the October of that same year, and launched on the 11th of September,1809. She was fitted for ordinary at Woolwich, and completed on the 14th of July 1810.
.

History
GREAT BRITAIN
Name:	HMS Berwick
Ordered:	1 July 1807
Builder:	Perry, Blackwall
Laid down:	October 1807
Launched:	11 September 1809
Fate:	Broken up, 1821
General characteristics
Class and type:	Armada Class ship of the line
Tons burthen:	1761 (bm)
Length:	176 ft (54 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	47 ft 9.5 in (14.49 m)
Depth of hold:	21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	·Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns ·Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pounder guns ·QD: 4 × 12-pounder guns + 10 × 32-pounder carronades ·Fc: 2 × 12-pounder guns + 2 × 32-pounder carronades ·Poop deck: 6 × 18-pounder guns carronades

Service.


HMS Berwick was commissioned under Captain James Macnamara in the March of 1810.
In an action on the 24th of March 1811, Berwick under Captain Macnamara ran down the 40 gun French frigate L‘Amazone off Barfleur Normandy close to the Phare de Gatteville lighthouse. To avoid being captured the French ship was burnt to the waterline, with only one sailor being killed during the engagement.


In the October of that year now under Captain Edward Brace, who was to command her until 1815, Berwick sailed for the Med. On the 16th of May, 1813, her ships boats accompanied with those from HMS Euryalus took the 10 gun xebec La Fortune.
Before the fall of Genoa in April 1814, the boats of Berwick and Rainbow, together with two Sicilian gunboats, attacked French posts near the pass of Rona on 8 and 10 April to assist the British army in its advance. The British drove off the French defenders, who left behind two 24-pounder guns and two mortars. The British lost two men killed and five wounded.


In the period from 1815 to 1816 Berwick was placed under the command of Captain J. Nash, and under him was laid up at Plymouth in the July of 1816.


Fate.


Because it was discovered that Berwick was in need of Major repairs, it was decided that she be broken up in the March of 1821.

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HMS Rodney (1809)



HMS Rodney



HMS Rodney was a 74-gun third rate Armada Class ship of the line, ordered on the 13th of July 1807, and built at Deptford by Mrs. Francis Barnard, to the specifications laid down by Peake and Rule. She was laid down in the March of 1808 and launched on the 8th of December, 1809. She was fitted out at Deptford and completed at on the Woolwich on the10th of April, 1810.

History
GREAT BRITAIN
Name:	HMS Rodney
Ordered:	13 July 1807
Builder:	Barnard, Deptford
Laid down:	March 1808
Launched:	8 December 1809
Fate:	Sold, 1836
General characteristics
Class and type:	Armada class ship of the line
Tons burthen:	1754 (bm)
Length:	176 ft 5 in (54.1 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	47 ft 7.5 in (14.48 m)
Depth of hold:	21 ft .75 in (6.4 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	·74 guns: ·Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs ·Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs ·Quarterdeck: 4 × 12 pdrs, 10 × 32 pdr carronades ·Forecastle: 2 × 12 pdrs, 2 × 32 pdr carronades ·Poop deck: 6 × 18 pdr carronades

Service.


HMS Rodney was commissioned under Captain George Burlton in the February of 1810, and sailed for the Med on the 2nd of June of that year.In the September of 1811 she came under the command of Captain Edward Durnford King and then in 1812 Captain John Duff Markland still in the Med. In 1813, on her return to England, she went into ordinary at Portsmouth where a small repair was carried out between the May of that year and the January of 1814. Recommissioning having commenced in the December of 1813 under Captain Charles Inglis, she then became the Flagship of Vice Admiral Sir George Martin.

She was paid off in the August of that year as her condition was becoming concerning. At the time that Rodney was under construction the Dockyard had been suffering from a shortage of seasoned timber. As a consequence of this, the hull was built from unseasoned material which quickly shrank as it dried out, thus opening up the caulking and allowing seepage and ingress of seawater. This in turn caused the timbers to rot. Due to this, after only just over three years at sea all the hull fastenings had also corroded or become loose and unsafe, consequently Rodney had to be returned to Deptford for decommissioning.


Fate.


In 1827 Renamed Greenwich, by Admiralty Orders she was cut down to a fourth rate Frigate of 50-guns.
However, the conversion was never completed, and at Portsmouth in the September of 1836 she was sold out of the Navy for £5,310.


In commercial service, on the 11th of October 1846 Greenwich was in collision with the British Paddle Steamer the Thames at Havana in Cuba, destroying her Pinnace, and was then driven ashore.

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HMS Poictiers (1809)




Poictiers

HMS Poictiers was yet another Peake and Rule Armada Class 74 gun ship of the line, ordered on the 1st of October,1806. Built by John King at Upnor, she was laid down in the August of 1807, and was launched on the 9th of December,1809. Fitting out at Chatham was completed on the 4th of May,1810.

History
GREAT BRITAIN
Name:	HMS Poictiers
Ordered:	1 October 1806
Builder:	King, Upnor
Laid down:	August 1807
Launched:	9 December 1809
Fate:	Broken up, 1857
General characteristics
Class and type:	Armada class ship of the line
Tons burthen:	1764​3⁄94 (bm)
Length:	·Overall:176 ft 3 in (53.7 m) ·Keel:145 ft 2 3⁄8 in (44.3 m)
Beam:	47 ft 9 1⁄2 in (14.6 m)
Depth of hold:	21 ft 1 in (6.4 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Complement:	590
Armament:	·Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns ·Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pounder guns ·QD: 4 × 12-pounder guns + 10 × 32-pounder carronades ·Fc: 2 × 12-pounder guns + 2 × 32-pounder carronades ·Poop deck: 6 × 18-pounder carronades

Service.


HMS Poictiers was commissioned by Captain John Poo Beresford for service in the Channel in the January of 1810 whilst she was fitting out at Chatham.On the 28th of July, Poictiers together with Seine and Shannon participated in the recapture of the Starling. Then on the 22nd of October in that same year she sailed for Portugal.


On the 10th of January,1811, she was involved in the pursuit of Allemande’s squadron off Ushant. In March she came under the command of Captain Richard Jones in an acting capacity. Whilst under his command, on the 22nd of April, Poictiers, Caledonia and the hired armedcutterNimrod captured the French vessel Auguste. They first removed her cargo of casks of wine, and then destroyed the ship.


Command of Poictiers changed again to another acting captain in 1812. This time it was to be Captain Samuel Jackson who had the ship from the January until the July of that year off the Texel. On the 24th of March, Poictiers was in company with Tonnant, Hogue, Colossus and Bulwark when they captured Emilie.


After Jackson left the ship in July, the ship was ordered to sail for America. Consequently, on the 14th of August, Poictiers now back under the command of Captain Beresford, accompanied Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, who was sailing to Halifax, Nova Scotia, on San Domingo, together with Sophie, Magnet, and Mackerel. Unfortunately Magnet was lost during the voyage, and it was presumed that she had foundered with all hands.


On the 18th of October, Poictiers participated in an action where she rescued Frolic by capturing USS Wasp, commanded by Jacob Jones. Four hours after Wasp had captured Frolic, Captain Beresford hove in sight capturing Wasp and recapturing the Frolic. He then accompanied both ships to Bermuda. Frolic returned to duty and Wasp became HMS Loup Cervier. In November 1818 the proceeds of the sales of ordnance stores and head-money for the men captured on board the Wasp, also for ordnance stores recaptured on board Frolic was paid.

Thereafter, Poictiers captured a number of merchant vessels, alone or with other ships.

On the 29th of October: the brig Little William, of the Isle of Mayo and sailing to Philadelphia; 3rd of November: the brig Logan, from Boston, sailing to Baltimore., 25th of November: the ship Rebecca, from Philadelphia sailing for Madeira;11th of December: schooner Betsy, from Providence (Rhode Island), sailing to Norfolk.In December, the ship Pekin, from Boston sailing to Alexandria (Poictiers was at this time in company with Acasta).

One of these may or may not have been a ship from Brazil carrying a cargo of hides and tallow that USS Argus had captured. Poictiers recaptured the ship off the Virginia Capes in mid-December and sent her into Bermuda.


On the 28th of December Poictiers and Acasta captured the American privateer Herald, of 18 guns (10 mounted), and 50 men, as Herald was sailing from Bordeaux to Baltimore. More captures followed.


In early January 1813, the warships of the squadron blockading New York, of which Poictiers was one, captured a number of vessels. These comprised, the Schooners Syren and Tropic, sailing from New York to Charleston. the Sloop Almira, from New York to Fredericksburg. Thee Brig Industry, voyaging from Rhode Island to Virginia, and the Brig Caroline,on her way from Charleston to New York.



The British armed the Syren with a single gun and a crew of 40 men. She then captured the American Eagle, Herlitz, master, which had been sailing from Cadiz to New York. The next captures were on the 17th of January 1813 of the ship Lydia, from Rhode Islands sailing to Norfolk (Poictiers in company with Acasta and Maidstone); and also in January the schooner Rhoda (Poictiers and Acasta).
On the 24th of February, American brigs Gustavus and Staunch and the American brig Hannah, which Poictiers shared with six other British ships. on the 13th of March 1813 a Swedish brig, from Martinique. On the 29th of March, the American ship Montesquieu (Poictiers in company with Belvidera and the actual captor, the schooner Paz).On the 17th of April a Portuguese schooner, Alliance, sailing from Philadelphia to Jamaica with a cargo of flour, and sent in to Bermuda.Then on the 8th of April, English schooner Bermuda recaptured while sailing from Bermuda to Philadelphia, and used as a tender to Poictiers. The 1st of May saw the capture of American sloop Providence, sailing from Philadelphia to Boston with a cargo of flour and corn, and also dispatched to Bermuda.On the10th of May came the American sloop, Factor, sailing from Philadelphia to Boston with a cargo of cotton, cargo, which having been removed, the vessel was set adrift. On the 13th and 14th of March Poictiers was part of a squadron of 12 ships that shared in the capture of the Christina and Massatoit.




Poictiers fired a few ineffectual shots.
The position of the channel made it necessary for Yankee to pass close to Poictiers

On the 4th or or 5th of July, 1813, the American smack Yankee captured the brig Eagle, which was serving as a tender to Poictiers. The Americans put 40 militiamen on board Yankee and sailed her where Eagle was known to be patrolling. The militiamen concealed themselves while on Yankee's deck there were three men dressed as fishermen, and a calf, a goose, and a sheep were tethered. When Yankee encountered Eagle, Eagle fell for the bait of fresh meat and came alongside. The Americans, under Sailing-Master Percival, came out of hiding and fired their small arms. Although Eagle carried a brass 32-pounder howitzer loaded with canister, she was unable to get off a shot. The Americans then took Eagle into New York. Eagle had two men killed, including her commander Master's Mate H. Morris, and Midshipman W. Price mortally wounded. The remaining eight seamen were taken prisoner.

Poictiers in company with Maidstone and Nimrod captured several vessels. On the13th of August, 1813, brig Anna, of 125 tons, Diego Martinez, master, sailing from Newhaven to Laguira. on the18th of August the ship Manchester. which Poictiers captured alone. On the 29th of August, the brig Mariner; and then on the 3rd of September, the brig Watson.

In addition to these commercial prizes, Poictiers took three American armed vessels. The first, on the 25th of December, was the brig Herald, a 10-gun Privateer pierced for 16 guns and with a crew of 50 men. She had been sailing from Bordeaux to Baltimore. Poictiers was again in company with Acasta and Maidstone. Herald, prior to herself being captured, had taken a ship, a brig, and a schooner. The cargo of the ship Friendship alone had an estimated value of US$400,000.

Next, Poictiers took the American schooner Highflyer, of five guns and 72 men, on the 9th of January,1813. She was on her return from the West Indies, where she had made several captures. Under the command of Captain Jeremiah Grant, Highflyer, of Baltimore, had captured two ships, four brigs, one schooner and one sloop; three of these vessels had been armed. The Royal Navy took Highflyer into service under her existing name.

The third privateer was Yorktown, of 20 guns and 140 men. The actual captor of York Town was Maidstone, with Poictiers and Nimrod in company. Yorktown, under Captain T. W. Story, had taken 11 prizes, including Manchester before Maidstone captured her on the17th of July,1813, after a four-hour chase. The British sent Yorktown and her crew into Halifax. These incidents aside, Poictiers had an uneventful war, though there is a record of one humorous incident. The exhibit center of the town of Lewes, Delaware, has a framed copy of a handwritten letter from Captain Beresford to the town's chief magistrate. Dated the 16th of March, 1813, the letter says:

Sir,
As soon as you receive this, I request you will send 20 live bullocks with a proportionate quantity of vegetables and hay to the Poictiers for the use of Britannic Majesty's squadron now at this anchorage, which will be immediately paid for at the Philadelphia prices. If you refuse to comply with this request I shall be under necessity of destroying your town. I have the honor to be, sir, your very obedient servant,
J. P. Beresford.



Commodore and commander of the British Squadron in the Mouth of the Delaware.



Col. Samuel Boyer Davis, commander of American troops in Lewes, refused the demand, so on the 6th and 7th of April Beresford shelled the town, killing a chicken and wounding a pig. There is a cannonball from Poictiers lodged in the stone foundation of Lewes's Marine Museum.

In the November of 1813, Poictiers was at Halifax, Nova Scotia preparing to escort a convoy of merchant vessels to England when a gale hit the city. It destroyed or damaged many vessels, though Poictiers was able to ride out the gale.

Poictiers returned to Chatham in 1814 for a large repair which took place between the April of1815 and the September of 1817 at a cost of £51,601.

Fate.


She was fitted at Sheerness as a guard ship between the March of 1836 and the September of 1837. She remained in that role at Chatham until March 1848 when she became a depot ship until 1850. In 1857 she was sold out of service and broken up, the breaking up being completed on the 23rd of March, 1857.

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HMS Minden (1810)


HMS Minden was a 74-gun Later Ganges Class third rate ship of the line, ordered in 1801. Investigation on the feasibility of having her built at Bombay was not confirmed until the 5th of June, 1803. She was then built by the East India Company, and bore the name of the German town of Minden and the battle which took place there in 1759. Built of Teak by Jamsetjee Bomanjee Wadia of the Wadia Group at the Duncan Docks, she was not laid down until 1807, and launched on the 19th of June, 1810.






Jamsetjee Bomanjee Wadia, the master shipbuilder. The Minden is shown under construction beyond the window.

History
GREAT BRITAIN
Name:	HMS Minden
Ordered:	5th June 1803
Builder:	Bombay Dockyard, India
Launched:	19 June 1810
Honours and awards:	·Naval General Service Medal (1847) ·"30 July Boat Service 1811" ·"Algiers"
Fate:	Hulked, 1842 Sold for breaking up, 1861
General characteristics
Class and type:	Later Ganges Class ship of the line
Tons burthen:	1721 (bm)
Length:	171ft 4.5 in (51.67 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	47 ft 11in (14.6 m)
Depth of hold:	20 ft 3 in (6.17 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

Service.


Minden sailed from Bombay on 8 February 1811 on her first cruise, under the command of Edward Wallis Hoare, and manned by the crew of the Russell. In March she sailed from Madras to take part in the invasion of Java. On 29 July two of her boats, under the command of Lieutenant Edmund Lyons, with only 35 officers and men aboard, attacked and captured the fort covering the harbour of Marrack, to the westward of Batavia. The Naval General Service Medal with the clasp "30 July Boat Service 1811" was issued to survivors of this action in 1848. The Dutch and French forces in Java surrendered in September. Minden then sailed for the UK and escorted convoys to the East Indies, the Cape of Good Hope, South America, and the coast of Africa.


In 1812 she came under the command of Captain Alexander Skene, who sailed her back to India to join the fleet of. Rear Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, the cousin of Viscount Bridport, Hood himself, along with his Captain of the Fleet William Webley, did not set out from Portsmouth until the end of September aboard the 36 gun Owen Glendower. The voyage out to the East Indies was such a difficult one that concerns were expressed for the Owen Glendower’s survival, yet she eventually arrived at Madras, where Hood took the Illustrious 74 from Commodore William Broughton as his flagship, much to the annoyance of that officer. He moved with Captain Webley to the Minden once she was brought out from Portsmouth by Captain Alexander Skene in the summer of 1813. After Webley returned home she was later commanded by Captains Joseph Prior in 1813, and thereafter Captain George Henderson, still with Hood.


Minden next saw service during the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake Bay. Some accounts state that Francis Scott Key was aboard Minden when he wrote the poem "Defense of Fort M'Henry", which became the lyrics for "The Star-Spangled Banner".
Francis Scott Key was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Georgetown. During the War of 1812, Key, accompanied the British Prisoner Exchange Agent Colonel John Stuart Skinner on board the HMS Minden. Skinner and Key were there to negotiate the release of prisoners. They were, however, not allowed to return to their own sloop because they now knew about the British intent to attack Baltimore. Key was unable to do anything but watch the bombarding of the American forces at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore on the night between the 13th and 14th of September, 1814.


In the January of 1815 she came under the command of Captain Donald Mackay and on her return to England in 1816 she was paid off at Portsmouth where defects were made good..
In the late July of 1816, under Captain William Patterson who was to command her until 1820, Minden sailed from Plymouth Sound, as part of an Anglo-Dutch fleet that made an attack on Algiers on the 27th of August. In which action she lost 7 killed and 27 wounded. The Naval General Service Medal with the clasp "Algiers" was issued to survivors of this battle in 1848.




The Bombardment of Algiers, 27 August 1816, by George Chambers (1836), portrays the HMS Minden

Minden served as the Flagship of Sir Richard King from 1817, and sailed for the East Indies, being reported as being at Trincomalee in 1819.
Returning to England in the October of 1820 she was paid off and went into ordinary. Between the April of 1821 and the August of 1823 she underwent repairs at Plymouth and was housed over from her main mast forrard.

In July 1830 Minden was still at Plymouth and she was re-commissioned there on the 19th of March, 1836 for Particular service, and sailed for the Tagus joining the British squadron at Lisbon until 1838. She then sailed into the Med. In 1839 she was at Malta, returning to Plymouth in early 1840.


She was back at Devonport dockyard when it suffered severe damage in a large scale fire on the 25th of September,1840 It had started in the North Dock on HMS Talavera, which was completely gutted, spread to the Minden, whose fire was successfully put out, and then spread to nearby buildings and equipment.





Fate.


A typhoon destroyed the shore-based Royal Naval Hospital at Hong Kong on the 22nd of July, 1841, and Minden was commissioned at Plymouth in the December of that year to serve as a hospital ship there. She was stationed at Hong Kong as a hospital ship from 1842 until she was replaced by HMS Alligator in 1846. Minden then served there as stores ship until sold for scrapping on the 4th of July 1861.

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HMS Hannibal (1810)



Hannibal


HMS Hannibal was a Revived Hero Class 74-gun third rate ship of the line, ordered on the 24th of January 1805 and built by Henry Adams at Bucklers Hard. She was laid down in the December of that year and not finally launched until the May of 1810. She was completed at Portsmouth on the 7th of September of that year.

History
GREAT BRITAIN
Name:	HMS Hannibal
Ordered:	24 January 1805
Builder:	Adams, Bucklers Hard
Launched:	May 1810
Fate:	Broken up, December 1833 to Jan 1834.
General characteristics
Class and type:		Revived Hero Class ship of the line
Tons burthen:		1748 (bm)
Length:		176 ft (53.3 m) (gundeck)
Beam:		47 ft 7 in (14.49 m)
Depth of hold:		20 ft 6 in (6.25 m)
Propulsion:		Sails
Sail plan:		Full rigged ship
Armament:		·74 guns: ·Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs ·Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs ·Quarterdeck: 4 × 12 pdrs, 10 × 32 pdr carronades ·Forecastle: 4 × 12 pdrs, 2 × 32 pdr carronades ·Poop deck: 6 × 18 pdr carronades

Service.


HMS Hannibal was commissioned under Captain Thomas Searle in the July of 1810 as the Flagship of Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Williams for service at the Scheldt. She then sailed for Portugal on the 6th of October in that same year.


In 1811 under Captain Andrew King she served as Flagship to Rear Admiral Philip Durham in the Baltic. By the December of that year she had changed captains to Captain Thomas Brown. During 1812, now serving in the Channel she came under Captain Michael Seymour who remained in command until 1814. On the 26th of March, Hannibal, Hebrus, and Sparrow encountered the French 40 gun frigates Sultane and Etoile, off Cherbourg whilst they were returning from the Cape Verde Islands and a cruise of commerce raiding. Hannibal set off after Sultane and sent Hebrus and Sparrow after Etoile. Both French vessels were captured the next day. Hannibal captured Sultane without a fight. Hebrus captured Étoile, but only after severe fighting at the ensuing Battle of Jobourg.


Later in the year she sailed with a convoy to the West Indies, and on her return in the August of that year went into ordinary at Plymouth.


Fate.


She was fitted as a lazarette between the July and August of 1825 and was used for harbour service from that date until 1826, when she was moved to Pembroke. Hannibal was broken up there between the December of 1833 and the January of 1834.

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HMS Vigo (1810)



HMS Vigo was another Peake and Rule designed Armada Class, 74-gun third rate ship of the line ordered on the 20th of October 1806, and built by Charles Ross at Rochester. She was laid down in the April of 1807, and launched on the 21st of February, 1810. She was completed for ordinary on the 20th of April, 1810, and for sea duty at Chatham by the 18th of March, 1811.



Vigo

History
GREAT BRITAIN
Name:	HMS Vigo
Ordered:	20 October 1806
Builder:	Ross, Rochester
Laid down:	April 1807
Launched:	21 February 1810
Fate:	Broken up, 1865
General characteristics
Class and type:	Armada Class third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen:	1786 (bm)
Length:	176 ft 9 in (54.25 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	48 ft 6 in (15.2 m)
Depth of hold:	20 ft 11.5 in (6.4 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
	·74 guns: ·Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs ·Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs ·Quarterdeck: 4 × 12 pdrs, 10 × 32 pdr carronades ·Forecastle: 2 × 12 pdrs, 2 × 32 pdr carronades ·Poop deck: 6 × 18 pdr carronades

Service.


HMS Vigo was commissioned under Captain Richard Jones in the January of 1811, and in the June of that year came under the command of Captain Manley Hall Dixon as the Flagship of Rear Admiral Sir Manley Hall Dixon in the Baltic.


In 1812 Captain Henry Ommanney took command of Vigo when she became the Flagship of Rear Admiral James Nicoll Morris, and then in 1813 under Captain Thomas White as Flagship to Rear Admiral Graham Moore. During this period nothing eventful took place, and she was paid off in the December of that year at Portsmouth. After a small repair between the March and September of 1815 she was laid up.


In the November of 1819, whilst still residing at Portsmouth, she was recommissioned and fitted for sea once again. This time her Captain was Thomas Browne, and she sailed for the Cape of Good Hope as the Flagship of Rear Admiral Robert Lambert, and was at St. Helena from 1820 to 1821. She then returned to Portsmouth to become the flagship of Admiral Sir James Whitshed from 1822 to 1823.


Fate.


She was fitted as a receiving ship at Plymouth between the December of 1826 and the July of 1827, and was broken up by Marshall of Plymouth between the May and August of 1865.