On This Day - 7th March 1810, 1941

[David Manley]

On this day in 1810, Vice Admiral Lord Collingwood died at sea on board HMS Ville de Paris whilst on his way home to Great Britain on sick leave. He had been appointed Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet after Trafalgar. He had requested to be relieved due to ill health, but was kept on station due to his skill and experience.

[Anav]

Also today:
1778 - Continental Navy frigate Randolph (32 guns) engages HMS Yarmouth (64). Randolph explodes and sinks with the loss of all but four men.

[Blackrose]

Ouchie

Also today:
1778 - Continental Navy frigate Randolph (32 guns) engages HMS Yarmouth (64). Randolph explodes and sinks with the loss of all but four men.

[rrrreubanks]

Hmmm...sometimes sheer audacity is NOT the best tactic.

[csadn]

Hmmm...sometimes sheer audacity is NOT the best tactic.

Since there were only four survivors, there's no way of knowing for sure what happened to _Randolph_ -- I've seen theories ranging from "stray spark from a US gun getting into the powder mag" to "British heated-shot entering the mag". There's reports saying _Randolph_ was beating _Yarmouth_ (most say the 64 had lost at least two topmasts and a sizeable amount of rigging) when the US ship exploded.

[David Manley]

I'd go for the stray shot/spark into the magazine. Heated shot at sea was an extreme rarity due to the hazard it posed and the time taken to get the shot up to temperature. There was a long discussion about this when "Trafalgar" first came out as it gave the French the option to use it regularly, whereas there was no historical evidence for this being the case.

There's reports saying _Randolph_ was beating _Yarmouth_

I recall Mark Barker put this myth to bed a few months back?

[csadn]

I recall Mark Barker put this myth to bed a few months back?

Maybe -- the part about _Yarmouth_ being down in the rigging department seems remarkably consistent across the reports; and if one's masts are shot off, it doesn't matter how many guns one has, as they can't be brought to bear (IMSMC, _Belleisle_ had to bow out of Aboukir Bay after losing all its masts).