Naval/Maritime History 18th of April - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 September 1954 – Japanese rail ferry Tōya Maru sinks during a typhoon in the Tsugaru Strait, Japan, killing 1,172.


Tōya Maru (洞爺丸) was a Japanese train ferry constructed by the Japanese National Railways which sank during a typhoon in the Tsugaru Strait between the Japanese islands of Hokkaidō and Honshū on September 26, 1954. The Japanese National Railways announced in September 1955 that 1,153 people aboard were killed in the accident. However, the exact number of fatalities remains unknown because there were victims who managed to obtain passage on the ship at the last minute, and others who cancelled their tickets just before the incident occurred.


Japanese ferry Toya Maru which was lost with 1,200 passengers and crew off Hokkaido, Japan on 26 September 1954.

Construction
Tōya Maru was launched on November 21, 1947. She was 118.7 m (389 ft) long and 15.85 m (52.0 ft) at her beam and she had a gross register tonnage of 3,898 t (3,836 long tons). She could accommodate 1,128 passengers and was operated by a crew of 120. She covered the distance from Aomori to Hakodate in 4 hours and 30 minutes.

As early as 1950, she was fitted with radar equipment, becoming one of the first Japanese sea liners to be so equipped. She was used by the Emperor the month before she sank. She was also famous as the flagship of the Tsugaru Strait.

Accident


The end of Tōya Maru

Typhoon Marie, which had previously blown through Honshū, was in the Sea of Japan at 12:00 on September 26, 1954, heading northeast with wind speeds of more than 100 km/h. It was predicted to reach the Tsugaru Strait at around 17:00.

At 11:00, Tōya Maru arrived at Hakodate after its first journey that day from Aomori. She was originally scheduled to return at 14:40, to arrive at Aomori just before Typhoon Marie. However, due to the expected storm, another ferry— Dai 11 Seikan Maru, a somewhat poorer quality vessel—could not depart on her scheduled journey to Hakodate. Therefore, passengers and vehicles were transferred to Tōya Maru, delaying her departure.

The captain of Tōya Maru decided to cancel its journey at 15:10.

At 17:00, following heavy rainfall in Hakodate, the weather cleared up and the outlook improved. The captain, presuming that the typhoon had now passed as predicted, decided to proceed with the journey to Aomori. However, by this time the typhoon had only slowed down and was predicted to remain over the strait for an entire day.

Atypically, the typhoon gained strength in the Sea of Japan. It was considered to have already become an extratropical cyclone when it reached Japan.

At 18:39, Tōya Maru departed from Hakodate with approximately 1,300 passengers aboard. Shortly thereafter, the wind picked up coming from a SSE direction.

At 19:01, Tōya Maru lowered its anchor near Hakodate Port to wait for the weather to clear up again. However, due to high winds, the anchor did not hold and Toya Maru was cast adrift. Water entered the engine room due to the poor design of the vehicle decks, causing its steam engine to stop and Tōya Maru to become uncontrollable. The captain decided to beach the sea liner onto Nanae Beach, on the outskirts of Hakodate.

At 22:26, Tōya Maru beached and an SOS call was made. However, the waves were so strong that the sea liner could no longer remain upright and at around 22:43, Tōya Maru capsized and sank at sea several hundred meters off the shore of Hakodate. Of the 1,309 on board, only 150 people survived, while 1,159 (1,041 passengers, 73 crew and 41 others) died.

Among those killed were 35 American soldiers from the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division Artillery who were traveling from Hokkaidō as an advance party to set up a new camp (Camp Younghans) at Higashine, Yamagata, near Sendai. One soldier survived when he was swept through a port hole. Another, 2nd Lt. George A. Vaillancourt, Battery C, 99th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, was posthumously awarded the Soldier's Medal, the highest non-combat medal at the time, for his courage during the tragedy. The football field at Camp Younghans was dedicated to Lt. Vaillancourt on September 24, 1955.

Four other ferries sank in the same typhoon, making a total loss of life of 1,430.

Aftermath

Memorial for the disaster

The sinking of Tōya Maru was one of the major factors behind the construction of the Seikan Tunnel between Hokkaidō and Honshū. However, ferry traffic still continues to operate in the strait.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tōya_Maru

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 September 2000 – The MS Express Samina sinks off Paros in the Aegean Sea killing 80 passengers.


MS Express Samina (Greek: Εξπρές Σαμίνα) was a French-built roll-on/roll-off (RORO) passenger ferry that collided with a reef off the coast of Paros island in the central Aegean Sea on 26 September 2000. The accident resulted in 81 deaths[3] and the loss of the ship. The cause of the accident was crew negligence, for which several members were found criminally liable.


The ferry Express Samina in Piraeus in July 2000.

Ship history
She was built as MS Corse in 1966 at Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St Nazaire, France for Compagnie Generale Transatlantique along with her sister ship MS Comte De Nice. In 1969 she was transferred to Compagnie Generale Transmediterraneenne. After six years service, the company changed its name again, to SNCM to which she was transferred. In 1982 she sailed from France for the last time as she was sold to a Greek company, Stability Maritime, to operate their Italy-Greece-Israel route under her new name MS Golden Vergina. In 1988 she was sold to the Agapitos Bros for service in the Aegean sea without name change under Agapitos Lines. In 1999 she was sold to Minoan Flying Dolphins, again for service in the Aegean, renamed Express Samina.

Disaster


Collision course of the MS Express Samina

On the evening of Tuesday 26 September 2000, MS Express Samina left the Port of Piraeus with 473 passengers and 61 crew members. At 22:12 local time (20:12 UTC), 2 nmioff the port of Parikia, Paros, the ship hit the reef of Portes islets at 18 knots. The wind at the time was 8 on the Beaufort scale. The ship sank close to the islets at 23:02, resulting in the deaths of 82 people from a total of 533 on board. The first responders to the distress call were fishing boats from the nearby port, followed by the port authorities and Royal Navy vessels, which were in the area carrying out a NATO exercise. The fact that some of the crew did not help the passengers evacuate the sinking ferry contributed to the death toll.

The crew had placed the ship on autopilot and there were no crew members watching the ship. Even with autopilot on, standard practice calls for one crew member to watch the controls, for example to avoid collisions with other vessels. The crew had deployed the fin stabilizers system to decrease the motions in bad weather; normally both stabilizer fins would deploy, but in this case the port stabilizer fin failed to extend, causing the ship to drift and therefore not travel in a straight line. A crew member discovered the problem and tried to steer the ship to port, but this action occurred too late and at 22:12 local time (20:12 UTC), the ship struck the east face of the taller Portes pinnacle. The rocks tore a six-meter long and one-meter wide hole above the water line. After the impact, the rocks bent the stabilizer fin backwards, and the fin cut through the side of the hull, below the waterline and next to the engine room. The water from the three-meter gash destroyed the main generators and cut off electrical power. The water spread beyond the engine room, and the operators could not remotely shut the doors due to a lack of electrical power.

Professor David Molyneaux, a ship safety expert[citation needed][vague], said that the damage sustained by the MS Express Samina should not normally sink such a ship. The ship sank because nine of its eleven watertight compartment doors were open even though safety laws require ship operators to close and lock the safety doors. Molyneaux described the open watertight doors as the most significant aspect of the sinking.

Chronology of the sinking

The Portes islets off the bay of Parikia which the ship collided with.

At 22:15 local time (20:15 UTC), three minutes after impact, the ship was listing by five degrees to starboard. By 22:25, the list had increased to fourteen degrees and water began to enter the ship through the six-meter gash. By 22:29, the ship was listing by twenty-three degrees, preventing the launching of additional lifeboats; only three of the eight lifeboats were deployed. At 22:32 the ship had listed by 33 degrees, and by 22:50 the ship lay on its side. The clock on the bridge stopped at 11:02, which the authorities took to be an indication of the time at which the ship sank. The degree of damage, the scenario, and the open vehicle deck space in RORO ferry design were all factors that led to the sinking.

Aftermath

Panoramic view over the bay of Parikia, with the Portes islets visible on the left.

The port-master of Parikia, Dimitris Malamas, died the same night from a heart attack due to the stress of the evacuation operations.

As a result of the sinking, ferries were retired after 30 years, instead of 35, under Greece's new laws precipitated by the disaster. These laws were eventually relaxed due to the aging Greek fleet, but ships over 30 years old must comply with strict safety standards, and regular inspections are carried out by authorities. Additionally, this hastened the adoption of voyage recorders, the equivalent of black boxes for ships; all passenger ferries are now required by law to contain voyage recorders.

On 29 November 2000, Pandelis Sfinias (Παντελής Σφηνιάς) the manager of the company Minoan Flying Dolphins committed suicide by jumping from his sixth floor office window.[8] He had been charged with criminal negligence in conjunction with this ferry disaster, and had been the focus of much media attention. A subsequent coroner's report revealed alcohol and antidepressants in his system at the time of his death. There was no note, but media reports hinted at a possible call made before he jumped. Several crew members, as well as representatives for the owners, were subsequently charged with different criminal charges, including manslaughter and negligence. The trial commenced in late July 2005.

First officer Tassos Psychoyios was sentenced to 19 years, while Captain Vassilis Giannakis received a 16-year sentence. Psychoyios had been watching a football match on television when the ship hit the rocks, according to witnesses. Three crew members were sentenced to between 15 months and 8 years 9 months for a series of misdemeanours that included abandoning ship without the captain’s permission.

The City of Seattle honoured 26-year-old Heidi Hart and 32-year-old Christine Shannon, two American passengers, for heroism during the disaster. The women had rescued two men.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Express_Samina

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 September 2002 – An overcrowded Senegalese ferry, MV Le Joola, capsizes off the coast of the Gambia killing more than 1,800 people


MV Le Joola was a Senegalese government-owned roll-on/roll-off ferry that capsized off the coast of the Gambia on 26 September 2002,[1] with 1,863 deaths and 64 survivors. It is thought to be the second-worst non-military disaster in maritime history.

The ship was plying the route from Ziguinchor in the Casamance region to the Senegalese capital, Dakar, when it ran into a violent storm, farther out to sea than it was licensed to sail. The estimated 2000 passengers aboard (about half of whom lacked tickets) would have amounted to at least three times the ship's design capacity. The large numbers sleeping on-deck (and thus above its center of buoyancy) added further instability. Rescue operations did not start for several hours.

A government inquiry principally blamed negligence, and accusations were levelled at both the Senegalese president and prime minister.


MV Le Joola at Ziguinchor in 1991

The ship
The ship was named Le Joola after the Jola people of southern Senegal. It was constructed in Germany and was put to sea in 1990. She was 79 m (259 ft 2 in) long and 12 m (39 ft 4 in) wide, had two motors, and was equipped with some of the latest safety equipment available at the time of the disaster. Le Joola usually traveled twice a week and often carried women who sold mangoes and palm oil in Dakar. At the time of the disaster, the ship had been out of service for almost a year undergoing repairs which included replacement of the port side engine.



Voyage and incident
At about 1:30 pm on 26 September 2002, Le Joola set sail from Ziguinchor in the Casamance region on one of its frequent trips between southern Senegal and Dakar. Although the ship was designed to carry a maximum of 580 passengers and crew, an estimated 1,863 passengers are believed to have been on board, including 185 people who boarded the ship from Carabane, an island where there was no formal port of entry or exit for passengers. The exact number of all passengers remains unknown (some Senegalese based organizations put the number at over 2,000), but there were 1,034 travelers with tickets. The rest of the passengers were either not required to hold tickets (children aged less than 5) or had been permitted to travel for free, as often happened.

The last call from the ferry staff was broadcast to a maritime security center in Dakar at 10 pm and reported good travel conditions. At around 11 pm, the ship sailed into a storm off the coast of Gambia. As a result of the rough seas and wind, the ferry capsized, throwing passengers and cargo into the sea, all within five minutes.

While many of the ship's passengers may have died during or immediately following the capsizing, a large number probably survived, only to drown while awaiting rescue. Government rescue teams did not arrive at the scene until the morning following the accident, although local fishermen rescued some survivors from the sea several hours before. Only 64 passengers survived. Of more than 600 women onboard, only one woman, Mariama Diouf, survived; she was pregnant at the time.

Some time before official rescue teams arrived, local fishermen with pirogues in the area of the tragedy started the first efforts to pull survivors out of the water. They were able to rescue a few people but also recovered several bodies that were floating around Le Joola. At 2 pm, they rescued a 15-year-old boy. The boy confirmed that there were still many people trapped alive inside the ship; there were reports of noises and screaming coming from within.

Le Joola remained capsized but afloat until around 3 pm, at which point it finally sank stern first taking with it those who were unable to get out of the ship.



Causes
The colossal loss of life caused by the tragedy was a great shock to many in Senegal and immediately led to calls from the press and public for an explanation of the disaster. The Senegalese government established an inquiry to investigate. The French courts also launched a probe into the disaster as several French nationals were among the dead. According to many sources, the accident was caused by a variety of factors, including possible negligence. While rough seas and wind were directly responsible for the capsizing, the ferry was built only to be sailed in coastal waters but was sailing beyond this coastal limit when it capsized. Overcrowding is one of the most commonly mentioned factors in the disaster, both for the capsizing and the high number of deaths. Due to the heat and claustrophobic conditions below deck, as many passengers as possible usually slept on the upper level, making the ship more unstable. The ship was only 12 years old and was built to be in service for at least 30 years but had suffered a number of technical problems in the years before it capsized. These problems are now attributed to poor maintenance by its owners and not to any design or manufacturing flaws.

Deaths
At least 1,863 people died, although the exact number will never be known due to a large number of unticketed passengers on board. Among the dead were 1,201 male victims (61.5%) and 682 female victims (34.9%). The gender of 70 victims could not be determined. The dead included passengers from at least 11 countries: Cameroon, Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, France, Spain, Norway, Belgium, Lebanon, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

On 28 September 2002, environmental activist Haïdar El Ali and his diving team explored the disaster area. They saw no survivors, but many bodies of men, women and children inside the ship. 300 corpses trapped inside were freed. Another 100 that were around the ship were also recovered. 551 dead bodies were recovered in total. Of that number, 93 were identifiable and given back to families. The remaining bodies were put to rest in specially-constructed cemeteries in Kabadiou, Kantene, Mbao, and on the Gambian coast. National funerals were held on 11 October 2002, at the Esplanade du Souvenir in Dakar.

The sinking of Le Joola is thought to be the second-worst non-military maritime disaster in number of lives lost. The first is considered to be MV Doña Paz in 1987 with an estimated number of over 4,000 dead. RMS Titanic, which sank in 1912 with 1,517 lives lost, would be third according to the World Almanac and the New York Times.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Le_Joola

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 26 September


1840 - Attack on Tortosa, Syria by boats of HMS Benbow (72), Cptn. Houston Stewart, HMS Carysfort (1936 - 26), Cptn. Byam Martin, and HMS Zebra (1815 - 18), Robert Stopford. The attack failed as the boats grounded on a reef and there were many casualties before they could be got off.

On 26 September 1840, Zebra joined Benbow and the sixth rate Carysfort to cover an attack on Tortosa. The boats carrying the landing party grounded on a reef while under fire. The boats of the landing party could not get off before the landing party had suffered eight killed and eighteen wounded. This attack too was essentially unsuccessful, with Zebra suffering three or four men wounded.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Zebra_(1815)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Carysfort_(1836)


1860 - The sloop-of-war, USS Constellation captures the American slaver barque Cora with 705 slaves on board off the Congo River. The newly freed slaves are taken to Monrovia, Liberia and released. The Navy impounded Cora and sold her at an auction.

As part of its efforts to end the Atlantic slave trade, the Navy awarded prize money for each slave ship captured, along with a $25 bounty for each slave that was freed; these prizes were divided between the crew based on rank.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constellation_(1854)


1863 - During the Civil War, the double-ender side-wheel steamer, USS Tioga captures Confederate steamer Herald near the Bahamas off the Florida Keys with cargo including cigars and sugar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Tioga_(1862)


1941 - British steam passenger liner SS Avoceta and norwegian cargo ship Varanberg were sunk by german U-203, with the death of 144 crew and passenger

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Avoceta


1969 – Launch of austrian „Niederösterreich“ (A604) - Remark Uwe: I was able to see her from my office



https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niederösterreich_(Boot)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 September 1588 – Spanish El Gran Grifón (38 guns), Flagship of Juan Gómez de Medina wrecked at Stroms Hellier, Fair Isle, Shetland Islands, Scotland.
Three hundred sailors spent six weeks on the island.


El Gran Grifón was the flagship of the Spanish Armada's supply squadron of Baltic hulks (built in and chartered from the City of Rostock, in modern-day Germany); see List of Ships of the Spanish Armada. She was shipwrecked on Fair Isle, Shetland, Scotland, on 27 September 1588.



The 650-ton 38-gun ship sailed under the command and section flag of Juan Gómez de Medina[2] and not – as often quoted – under the command of Don Alonso Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia, Admiral of Spain and commanding officer of the Armada.

She had been attacked by the Revenge and badly damaged right in the first meeting in the Channel, but managed somehow to escape into the open North Sea where she later met the rest of the beaten Armada. Because of leaks she had to run before the wind up the east coast of Britain. However, an unusually strong storm and the tides forced the ships to cross between Norway and the Northern Isles for about a week before they reached the Atlantic. Having the coast of Ireland nearly in sight, many ships were thrown back north by another storm. El Gran Grifón, the Barca de Amburgo (a hulk, chartered from the City of Hamburg) and the Trinidad Valencera (1,100-tons, one of the biggest ships of the Armada) were separated from the remaining fleet. The Barca de Amburgo foundered south west of the Fair Isle, but was able to split her crew between El Gran Grifon and the Trinidad Valencera (later wrecked in Irish waters). Thus El Gran Grifón carried 43 crew and 234 soldiers[4] – far more sailors and armed forces than standard.



When El Gran Grifón arrived at Fair Isle on 27 September 1588 trying to find a haven to effect repairs, she anchored in Swartz Geo, but the tide drove the ship ashore so that she wrecked on the rocks of Stroms Hellier. The crew and soldiers scrambled ashore, and were stranded on the isle for about two months before Andrew Umphray, the owner of Fair Isle, heard about the shipwrecked sailors and took Gomez de Medina to Quendale on the Shetland mainland where he stayed with Malcolm Sinclair of Quendale. Most of the Spanish sailors departed first for Orkney (where they are still remembered as the "Westray Dons"), and then to St Andrews and then to Edinburgh. 50 of the men died on Fair Isle either of their wounds or starvation or exposure and were buried in the "Spaniards' Grave". Half of the survivors were killed when their ship en route to Spain was attacked and sent aground by Dutch gunboats alerted by the English Navy (Queen Elizabeth had only promised that they would not be molested by English ships).



The wreck of El Gran Grifón was excavated by Colin Martin and Sydney Wignall in 1970. In 1984 a delegation from Spain planted an iron cross in the island's cemetery in remembrance of the sailors who had died there.


https://canmore.org.uk/site/3857/el...ir-isle-north-sea?display=image&images_page=1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Gran_Grifón
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_of_the_Spanish_Armada

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 September 1598 - Birth of Robert Blake, English admiral (d. 1657)


Robert Blake (27 September 1598 – 7 August 1657) was one of the most important military commanders of the Commonwealth of England and one of the most famous English admirals of the 17th century, whose successes have "never been excelled, not even by Nelson" according to one biographer. Blake is recognised as the chief founder of England's naval supremacy, a dominance subsequently inherited by the British Royal Navy[8] into the early 20th century. Despite this, due to deliberate attempts to expunge the Parliamentarians from history following the Restoration, Blake's achievements tend not to receive the full recognition that they deserve.


Robert Blake, General at Sea, 1599–1657 by Henry Perronet Briggs, painted 1829.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Blake_(admiral)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 September 1747 – French La Renommée (1744 - 30), a Sirene-class frigate captured by british HMS Dover, becoming HMS Renown


The story of La Renommée begins with the War of Austrian Succession that sprang out of multiple conflicts over colonies and trade around 1740. France had allied itself with Prussia while Great Britain supported the Austrians. The confusing state of allegiances and colonial boundary disputes had by 1743, brought France and Great Britain to war.



France needed faster warships for defense and to service its far-flung colonies. In response, the shipwrights in Brest, one of the major ship-building ports on the Atlantic coast, laid the keel of a frigate based on new specifications that made the vessel incredibly light and fast.

La Renommée’s construction began in early 1744 and was completed by December 19th of the same year. The courageous and illustrious Captain Guy-François de Coëtnempren de Kersaint took over as her first commander in January of 1745 and departed on a mission to Cape Breton in North America. He was to deliver communiques and assess the security of the great citadel of Louisbourg. France’s fortress there guarded the passages to Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, the St. Lawrence river, and the entrance to all of Canada. A squadron of warships from Brest was to meet up with Kersaint later near the Grand Banks. This would form a well-armed deterrent against the anticipated British blockade of Louisbourg.

Upon arrival ice hampered his approach to the port, and later he discovered New England colonial and British warships already blockading Louisbourg. After numerous engagements, the capture of a colonial snow and a merchant ship, and unable to enter the harbor or locate the French squadron, he departed for Brest to report his findings.




Scale 1:48. A body plan showing the stern board outline, sheer lines with some inboard detail, longitudinal half breadth for Renown (1747), a captured French Frigate prior to fitting as a 30-gun Sixth Rate Frigate. Reverse: Scale 1:48. A plan showing the body plan outlines, individual waterline plans, for comparing the underwater shape of Renown (1747) and 20-gun gunships. Note that the dimensions for the 20-gun ship relate to the 1745 Establishment 24-gun ship of 113 foot. NMM, Progress Book, volume 2, folio 294, states that Renomme arrived at Plymouth Dockyard on 12 November 1747 and was docked on 5 February 1748. She was undocked on 7 February and graved 23 March. She was undocked again on 4 April 1748, and sailed on 14 May 1748. Renomme was originally named 'Fame' by Admiralty Order on 23 November 1747, only to be renamed 'Renown' on 28 January 1748.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/82919.html#ikl5qaQXLLZix8Ls.99

Captain Kersaint discovered in France that he was to return to Cape Breton to break the citadel’s blockade with a much larger fleet under the command of Admiral De Salvert. In July of 1745 he again set sail and along the way captured a colonial mast ship. From the captive lieutenant-governor of the New York colony, they learned Louisbourg had already fallen to the English, thereby scuttling the fleet’s mission. La Renommée again set sail for home.

Versailles decided to recapture Louisbourg, and an enormous fleet departed in June of 1746 under Admiral d’Anville (d’Enville). La Renommée was once again to be the scout ship, ahead of the fleet to assess the strength of the British defenses. However, terrible storms either delayed, scattered, or destroyed the ships in the armada and this third attempt to reach the citadel failed after disease struck the expedition along with the sudden death of Admiral d’Anville. The season now too late for an attack, the crippled fleet headed back to France. On route, Captain Kersaint was seriously wounded during a long running battle with a squadron of enemy ships off the coast of France. This nearly destroyed la Renommée and Captain Kersaint considered surrendering, but Lieutenant la Motte-Picquet, taking command for Kersaint, finally put the frigate, greatly damaged and having lost many crewmen, into a safe harbor.

In 1747, Captain François Marie Aleno de Saint-Alouarn, Seigneur de Kersallic was in command of la Renommée,departing for Santo Domingo with their new governor. Encountering enemy warships along the French coast, the frigate was badly damaged in a fierce battle with the Amazon (the captured French Panthére, the la Renommée’ssister ship). The next day the Dover, a 44-gun commanded by Captain Washington Shirley, forced Saint-Alouarn to surrender the frigate after nearly sinking her. Taken to Plymouth, la Renommée was assessed, repaired, and commissioned into the British Royal Navy as a 6th Rate and renamed the Renown. The same Captain Shirley was the first to command the frigate now under the British flag in January of 1748, sailing for Port Royal, Jamaica in the West Indies.

......further reads about the histrory of the ship you can find on the interesting web-page of our member @Recusant from whom I borrowed the first part of the history

http://larenommeeship.com/




Further infos from Threedecks

The Renommée was first commanded by the illustrious Captain Guy Kersaint and was captured when commanded under the command of Francois de Saint-Alouarn. After capture in 1747 she as first named the Fame but before she put to sea she was renamed by the Admiralty as the Renown. Her first English captain was Washington Shirley, the captain who had captured her. She was laid up in ordinance at Hamoaze from 1750 until 1756. At the beginning of the Seven Years Wars she was first used to patrol the Channel and French coast and also sent to the West Indies usually stationed at Port Royal. In 1766 she was out of commission again but put back to sea duty in the West Indies the following year. The remaining years found her on patrol as previously until she was broken up at Woolwich in 1771. She had many captures and actions and the list of her commanders contains some of the finest captains at sea, both French and English, of that age.

The ship as
La Renommée (1744 - 30)
Nominal Guns 30
Keel Laid Down - 1.1744
Acquired - 19.12.1744
First Commissioned - 1.1745
Shipyard - Brest
Ship Class - Sirene Class
Designed by - Jacques-Luc Coulomb (1713-1791)
Constructor - François-Guillaume Clairin Deslauriers
Category - Fifth Rate
National Rate - Quatrième Rang
Ship Type - Frigate
Sailing Rig - Ship Rigged
Captured - 27.9.1747
Becomes - British Sixth Rate frigate 'Fame' (1747) (30)

Dimension - Measurement - Type - Metric Equivalent
Length of Gundeck - 118'French Feet (Pied du Roi) - 38.3384 (125′ 9″ Imperial)
Length of Keel - 100'French Feet (Pied du Roi) - 32.48 (106′ 6″ Imperial)
Breadth - 31' 8"French Feet (Pied du Roi) - 10.2853 (33′ 8″ Imperial)
Depth in Hold - 16'French Feet (Pied du Roi) - 5.2239 (17′ 1″ Imperial)
Burthen 500Ton

Armament
1.1745 Broadside Weight = 112 French Livre (120.8704 lbs 54.824 kg)
Upper Gun Deck - 26 French 8-Pounder
Quarterdeck - 4 French 4-Pounder


Scale: 1:48. A plan showing the body plan with stern board outline, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Renown' (1747), a captured French Frigate, as fitted as a 30-gun Fifth Rate Frigate.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/384025.html#wbJ8B0t3zDJIIvh9.99

The Ship as
British Sixth Rate frigate 'Fame' (1747 - 30) HMS Fame -> 1748 HMS Renown
First Commissioned - 27.1.1747/48

Dimension - Measurement - Type - Metric Equivalent
Length of Gundeck - 126' 2"Imperial Feet - 38.4068
Length of Keel - 103' 7"Imperial Feet - 31.4537
Breadth - 34' 10 ½"Imperial Feet - 10.3759
Depth in Hold - 11' 8"Imperial Feet - 3.556
Burthen - 669 53⁄94Tons BM

Armament
1.1748 Broadside Weight = 120 Imperial Pound ( 54.42 kg)
Upper Gun Deck - 24 British 9-Pounder
Quarterdeck - 4 British 4-Pounder
Forecastle - 2 British 4-Pounder


Scale 1:48. A body plan showing the stern board outline and sheer lines with some inboard detail, incomplete longitudinal half breadth (no waterline) for Renown, captured French Frigate before renaming, and fitted as a 30-gun, Fifth Rate Frigate. On reverse: Body plan with outlines and individual waterlines plans with termination points for comparing the underwater shape through the water on Renown (1747) and Ranger (1747) and the new 20-gun gunship. The dimensions for the 20-gun ship actually relate to the 1745 Establishment 24-gun ships of 113 feet and explanation of the plan. Both Ships at Plymouth from November 1747 to 5 March 1748 being fitted.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/82920.html#iosyKe2JLsW8ICsX.99

Service History in the british Navy
Date - Event
12.11.1747 - Arrived in Portsmouth
1.1748 - Began fitting at Plymouth Dockyard
28.1.1747/48 - Renamed Renown
14.5.1748 - Completed fitting at Plymouth Dockyard at a cost of £5103.16.7d
7.1748 - Sailed for the Leeward Islands
4.1751 - Paid off at Portsmouth Dockyard
1.6.1751 - Surveyed
7.1757 - Began great repair at Portsmouth Dockyard
5.1758 - Recommissioned
6.1758 - Operations against St Malo, Cherbourg and St Cas until September
29.6.1758 - Took the Sixth Rate Frigate La Guirlande (22) in the Channel
7.1758 - Completed great repair at Portsmouth Dockyard at a cost of £10754.14.3d
13.11.1758 - Sailed for the Leeward Islands
16.1.1759 - Attack on Martinique
20.1.1759 - Capture of Guadeloupe
1760 - At Jamaica
1761 - At Jamaica
1762 - Carrying troops to Oporto
6.3.1762 - Took the Privateer Le Saujon (8) off ScillyBG
8.3.1762 - Took the Privateer Le Comte d'Hérouville (16) off the LizardBG
18.3.1762 - Took the Privateer Le Sequier (12)
24.3.1762 - Took the Privateer Snow Le Domesville (8) 12 leagues S. W. from Scilly.BG
5.1764 - Completed small repair at Woolwich Dockyard at a cost of £1808.14.0d
27.8.1764 - Surveyed
9.1764 - Paid off
11.1764 - Began small repair at Woolwich Dockyard
16.4.1767 - Sailed for Jamaica
1768 - At Jamaica
7.1770 - Returned home to pay off
9.4.1771 - Surveyed
5.1771 - Broken up at Woolwich


Sirène class
(30-gun design of 1744 by Jacques-Luc Coulomb, with 26 x 8-pounder and 4 x 4-pounder guns).
Two ships of this class were build:
Sirène, (launched 24 September 1744 at Brest) – captured by British Navy 1760, but not added to RN.)
Renommée, (launched 19 December 1744 at Brest) – captured by British Navy 27 September 1747, becoming HMS Renown and broken up in 1771



Monographie in scale 1:48 by Jean Boudriot, published by ancre:

This monograph takes its place in a series of texts devoted to the most representative ships of the French Navy in the classical period. We have addressed the subject of frigates in two other monographs (the Vénus and the Belle-Poule) which are distinguishable by their battery of 8 and 12 pdr guns. The present monograph discusses an armed frigate bearing 8-pdrr guns. It is a unique ship because La Renommée was one of the first modern frigates to be built in 1744 according to Blaise Ollivier's concepts. This aspect is developed in another volume in our series which discusses the history of the frigate. The monograph on the Renommée was done using the same descriptive approach we adopt in the other monographs in the series. This full monograph is for scholars and above all for model builders. According to their skill and experience, they will be able to execute a full model of the timbers and the below-deck installations (the oblique inner planking of the hull will require great dexterity). The casks for wine and water are not represented, nor are the cables and warps. However it is possible to construct these elements using the information in volume II of The 74-gun Ship, but their placement will hide the timber work. We leave this choice to the builder at the appropriate moment. The hull may be fitted out with only the lower masts or rigged with furled or unfurled sails, allowing for full use of the monograph. The model may be built without attention to the timbers and accommodations, with or without rigging. This is entirely dependent upon the builder's taste and especially his or her experience. This monograph is intended a priori for model builders with considerable experience. Confirmed hands will be able to construct a model of rare quality, especially thanks to the beauty of this elegant frigate whose fine bottom and distinguished decoration do honor to French naval architecture.



The Monographie contents a rochure with 112 pages in format 24 x 31 as well as
32 drawings in scale 1:48 including all frames

https://ancre.fr/en/monograph/20-monographie-de-la-renommee-fregate-de-8-1744.html#/langue-anglais


Some comments about the kit of La Renommee from Euromodel in scale 1:70:
Euromodel is writing
There were two Renommee’s built in France, one in the 17 Century and this one in the 18 Century. Launched in 1744 at either Byrone or Brest, La Renommee was a one-off 40-gun ship designed by Antoine Groignard with 30 12-pounders and 10 8-pounder guns. She was captured by the British Navy (HMS Dover) 27 September, 1747 and converted into a 30-gun fifth-rate frigate as the HMS Renown and served until she was broken up in 1771.
However, this type of frigate is very important in the evolution of ships of the British Navy because it inspired the development of a series of fifth-rate frigates equipped with only thirty guns of large calibre, all placed on the second deck.
Details for this ship have relied on Chapman’s book, ‘Architectura Navalis Mercatoria’ Plan XXXI



=> The kit is representing "A" 40 gun frigate - but definitely not the La Renommee, due to the fact, that the Renommee, had every time only 30 guns and was never a 40 gun frigate - this mistake is coming obviously from a misswriting by Admiral Paris in his Souveniers de la Marine copying a drawing of a (maybe svedish) frigate from af Chapman from his Architectura Navalis.......


New POF Kit
Shortly ago a new kit was released, from the chinese manufacturer CAF as POF in scale 1:48 - see herefore the posts and topics in SOS
https://www.shipsofscale.com/sosfor...of-la-renommee-from-cafmodel-1-48-scale.2381/




A building log of a La Renommee deck section scratch in scale 1:24 from our member @YiFan you can find here:
https://www.shipsofscale.com/sosforums/index.php?threads/1-24-french-8-pdr-cannon-deck-section.2373/






https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=6154
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=6153
http://maquettes-marine.pagesperso-orange.fr/renommee/renommee.html
Fotos of the model from are taken from the ancre-page
https://ancre.fr/en/monograph/20-monographie-de-la-renommee-fregate-de-8-1744.html#/langue-anglais

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 September 1778 - HMS Experiment (1774 - 50) and HMS Unicorn (1776 - 26) captured Continental Navy frigate Raleigh (1776 - 32) off Boston


USS Raleigh was one of thirteen ships that the Continental Congress authorized for the Continental Navy in 1775. Following her capture in 1778, she served in the Royal Navy as HBMS Raleigh.


Model of the USS Raleigh in the U.S. Navy Museum

As USS Raleigh
Raleigh, a 32-gun frigate, was authorized by Continental Congress on 13 December 1775. Built by Messrs. James Hackett, Hill, and Paul under supervision of Thomas Thompson, the keel was laid on March 21, 1776 at the shipyard of John Langdon on what is now Badger's Island in Kittery, Maine. She was launched on May 21, 1776.

With a full-length figure of Sir Walter Raleigh as figurehead, Raleigh put to sea under Captain Thomas Thompson, who also supervised her construction, on August 12, 1777. Shortly thereafter, she joined Alfred and sailed for France. Three days out they captured a schooner carrying counterfeit Massachusetts money. Burning the schooner and her cargo, except for samples, the frigates continued their transatlantic passage. On September 2 they captured the British brig, Nancy, and from her they obtained the signals of the convoy which the brig had been escorting from the rear. Giving chase, the Americans closed with the convoy on September 4, 1777.




Scale 1:48. A plan showing the body plan, stern board with decoration detail, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, longitudinal half breadth for Raleigh (1778), a captured American Frigate, as taken off at Plymouth Dockyard in July 1779, prior to fitting as a 32-gun, Fifth Rate Frigate. Reverse: j6611. Scale 1:96: Quater deck and forecastle, upperdeck, lower deck, fore & aft platforms.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/82918.html#IpZhJ6fSrPTCgBco.99

Raleigh, making use of the captured signals, intercepted the convoy and engaged HMS Druid. In the ensuing battle she damaged Druid, but the approach of the remaining British escorts forced her to retire.

On December 29, 1777, Raleigh and Alfred, having taken on military stores, set sail from L'Orient, France, following a course that took them along the coast of Africa. After capturing a British vessel off Senegal, Raleighcrossed the Atlantic Ocean to the West Indies. On March 9, 1778, in the Lesser Antilles, Alfred, some distance from Raleigh, was captured by the British ships HMS Ariadne and HMS Ceres. Raleigh, unable to reach Alfred in time to assist her, continued north and returned to New England early in April 1778.

Accused of cowardice and dereliction of duty for not aiding Alfred, Captain Thompson was suspended soon after reaching port. On May 30, 1778 the Marine Committee appointed John Barry to replace him as captain.

Barry arrived in Boston to assume command on June 24 only to find his ship without crew or stores and the Navy Board not wholly in support of the manner of his appointment. His reputation and character, however neutralized the ill-will of the Marine Committee, drew enlistments, and helped to obtain the stores.

On September 25, Raleigh sailed for Portsmouth, New Hampshire with a brig and a sloop under convoy. Six hours later two strange sails were sighted. After identification of the ships as British the merchant vessels were ordered back to port. Raleigh drew off the enemy. Through that day and the next the enemy ships HMS Unicorn and HMS Experiment pursued Raleigh. In late afternoon on the 27th, the leading British ship closed with her. A 7-hour running battle followed, much of the time in close action. About midnight, the enemy hauled off and Barry prepared to conceal his ship among the islands of Penobscot Bay.

The enemy, however, again pressed the battle. As Raleigh opened fire, Barry ordered a course toward the land. Raleigh soon grounded on Wooden Ball Island, part of Matinicus. The British hauled off but continued the fight for a while, then anchored. Barry ordered the crew ashore to continue the fight and to burn Raleigh.

A large party, including Barry, made it to shore. One boat was ordered back to Raleigh to take off the remainder of the crew, and destroy her, however the British again fired on the ship, striking the Continental colors. The battle was over. All three ships had been damaged, Unicorn particularly so. Of the Americans ashore, a few were captured on the island, but the remainder, including Barry, made it back to Boston, Massachusetts, arriving on October 7.

As HBMS Raleigh
The British refloated Raleigh at high tide on the 28th, and after repairs, commissioned her into the Royal Navy as HBMS Raleigh. They admired her design, and applied it in their new ships. She continued to fight during the War for Independence as a British vessel and took part in the capture of Charleston, SC. In May 1780, she was decommissioned at Portsmouth, England, on June 10, 1781 and was sold in July 1783.

Legacy
Raleigh is depicted on the Seal of New Hampshire. Raleigh was the first U.S. Navy warship commissioned at the shipyard of Portsmouth merchant and statesman John Langdon on what is today Badger's Island. Only about two tenths of a mile (322 m) from the wharvesof Portsmouth, the island in the Piscataqua River was taken for granted as the seaport's shipbuilding annex, just as the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is today



HMS Experiment (1774) was a 50-gun fourth rate launched in 1774. The French 50-gun ship Sagittaire captured her off the North American coast in September 1779, during the American Revolutionary War, along with three merchantmen


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for building Experiment (1774), a 50-gun Fourth Rate, two-decker at Deptford by Messrs Adams & Barnard. Signed by John Williams [Surveyor of the Navy, 1765-1784].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81453.html#pJiqtD1HJIEqqOhD.99



HMS Unicorn (1776) was a 20-gun post ship launched in 1776. The French frigate Andromaque captured her on 4 October 1780 took her into service as La Licorne. HMS Resource recaptured her in April 1781. The Royal Navy took her back into service as Unicorn Prize; she was broken up at Deptford in 1787.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for building Perseus (1776) and Unicorn (1776), both 20-gun Sixth Rate Sloops at Rotherhithe by Messrs Randall. Signed by John WIlliams [Surveyor of the Navy, 1765-1784].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/83799.html#5dqLOTvgDGPqhsyA.99

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Raleigh_(1776)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 September 1803 – Birth of Samuel Francis Du Pont, American admiral (d. 1865)


Samuel Francis Du Pont (September 27, 1803 – June 23, 1865) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family. In the Mexican–American War, Du Pont captured San Diego, and was made commander of the California naval blockade. Through the 1850s, he promoted engineering studies at the United States Naval Academy, to enable more mobile and aggressive operations. In the American Civil War, he played a major role in making the Union blockade effective, but was controversially blamed for the failed attack on Charleston, South Carolina in April 1863.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Francis_Du_Pont

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 September 1806 - HMS Dispatch (1804 - 18), Edward Hawkins, captured French frigate Presidente / Président (1804 - 40)


HMS Dispatch (also Despatch) was a Royal Navy Cruizer-class brig-sloop built by Richard Symons & Co. at Falmouth and launched in 1804. Dispatch was instrumental in the capture of a 40-gun French frigate and was active at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1807. She also sailed on the Jamaica station. She was broken up relatively early, in 1811.

Initial service
She was commissioned in May 1804 under Commander Edward Hawkins for the Channel and cruising. She then joined a squadron under Captain Thomas Dundas in Naiad.

On 25 October, Hawkins sighted two strange vessels some five or six leagues off Pointe du Raz. Dispatch captured both, which proved to be the French gun-vessels No. 345 and No. 353. Each was armed with two brass guns, one a 32-pounder and the other a 6-pounder. Each had a crew of 20 soldiers. They had left Brest for Odierne (or Dandiorne) but the wind had blown them out to sea. Conquest arrived on the scene and then the British sighted two more gun-vessels. Dispatch captured one, No. 371, armed like the two already captured, but with a crew of 22. Hawkins thought it too dangerous to try to send the three gun-vessels to England so he sank them after having removed the guns.

At daylight 27 November 1804 while Naiad was off Brest, she saw some small vessels open musket fire on boats belonging to Aigle that were chasing them. (Aigle had two seamen wounded, one dangerously.) Naiadgave chase and captured French gun-vessels Nos. 361 and 369. They each mounted one long brass 4 pounder gun and one short 12-pounder and had on board a lieutenant from the 63rd infantry regiment, 36 privates and six seamen. They had sailed with fourteen others from Dandiorne to Brest. Captain Thomas Dundas of Naiad ordered Hawkins and Dispatch to take the gunboats and prisoners in to Plymouth.

On 28 April 1805 Dispatch capture the Spanish vessel of war, Nostra Senora del Anparo, alias Espadarte. Late in the year Dispatch captured a number of merchantmen: Desir de la Paix (30 September), Genevieve (7 October), Louise (15 October), and Spadron (31 October).


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for Ferret (1806), Swallow (1805), Musquito (1804), Scorpion (1803), Scout (1804), Dispatch (1804), Minorca (1805), Racehorse (1806), Rover (1808), Avon (1805), Surinam (1805), Amaranthe (1804), Calyspo (1805), Wolverine (1805), Weazle (1805), Espoir (1804), Moselle (1804), Leveret (1806), Bellette (1806), Mutine (1806), Emulous (1806), Alacrity (1806), Philomel (1806), Frolick (1806), Recruit (1806), Royalist (1807), Grasshopper (1806), Columbine (1806), Pandora (1806), Forester (1806), Foxhound (1806), Primrose (1807), Cephalus (1807), Procris (1806), Raleigh (1806), Carnation (1807), Redwing (1806), Ringdove (1806), Philomel (1806), Sappho (1806), Peacock (1806), Clio (1807), Pilot (1807), Magnet (1807), Derwent (1807), Eclypse (1807), Sparrowhawke (1807), Eclaire (1807), Nautilus (1807), Barracouta (1807), Zenobia (1807), Peruvian (1808), Pelorus (1808), Doterel/Dotterel (1808), Charybidis (1809), Hecate (1809), Rifleman (1809), Sophie (1809), Echo (1809), Arachne (1809), Castillian (1809), Persian (1809), Trinculo (1809), Crane (1809), Thracian (1809), Scylla (1809), and those built of fir, including Raven (1804), Saracen (1804), Beagle (1804), Harrier (1804), Elk (1804), and Reindeer (1804), all 18-gun Brig Sloops built in private yards. The plan includes alterations for when the ships were repaired dated September 1817.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/83931.html#t9vykx65tgKQFrqL.99

French frigate Président
On 27 September 1806 Dispatch was part of a squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Louis that included Canopus and Blanche. The squadron captured the French 40-gun French frigate Président, with Dispatch playing a critical role.

Louis's squadron had sailed to the Bay of Biscay to await the return of Admiral Willaumez from the Caribbean. On spotting the Président, the squadron gave chase but the ships of the line were not fast enough to catch her. However, Dispatch was able to get within firing range. Dispatch proceeded to harry Président with her forward guns, forcing Président to turn towards Blanche. Seeing Président turn, Louis ordered Canopus to fire, even though the range was extreme. Realizing that the rest of the British squadron would arrive shortly, Président struck, surrendering to Dispatch. Président had suffered only minor damage and neither side suffered any casualties. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS President. Hawkins had been made post-captain two days prior to the action.

A few weeks after this action, Dispatch captured two French merchantmen. One of the ships carried sardines and was of so little value that Dispatch promptly scuttled her. The larger ship carried brandy, coffee and some guns, so he sent her back to England with a prize crew.

Between 10 and 12 February 1807 Hawkins faced a court martial on board Gladiator at Portsmouth. The charges, which had "aroused an unusual degree of interest", stemmed from when he had commanded Dispatch. Thomas Thompson, who had been master of Dispatch, had written an initially anonymous letter charging Hawkins with having willfully murdered a seaman, William Davie. Davie had been ill and Thompson charged that Hawkins's negligence and inattention between 9 and 25 December 1805 had brought about Davie's death. Hawkins advanced evidence that Davie was a skulker and under a surgeon's treatment for venereal disease, while also resorting to quack medicines. Character witnesses attested that Hawkins's behaviour was "always marked with humanity and gentleness"; the court declared the charges to be "scandalous and malicious" and acquitted Hawkins.

Baltic and Copenhagen
In 1807 Dispatch sailed under Commander James Lillicrap for the North Sea, and was at Copenhagen in August. In the spring she convoyed a fleet of transports carrying two divisions of the King's German Legion from the Downs to the island of Rügen off the German Baltic coast where the French were besieging Stralsund, then the capital of Swedish Pomerania. She remained off the coast with a small squadron under Lillicrap to protect the troops. With the assistance of Rosamond, Dispatch covered the eventual evacuation of King Gustavus in a Swedish frigate.

While still on the station, Dispatch, her sister ship Mutine, and Censor fired broadsides at the French outposts near Greifswald. On 21 August Dispatch escorted the last troops to leave Rugen to Kioge Bay in Zealand to join the rest of the army, which had landed five days earlier to prepare for the attack on Copenhagen. When Dispatch joined Admiral James Gambier off Copenhagen, Lillicrap was ordered to mount four long 18-pounders to give Dispatch a greater capability to fight the Danish gunboats. Lillicrap was also to join the inshore squadron as the senior commander under Captain Puget. Dispatch found herself engaging Danish gunboats almost daily. In the general promotion that followed in the capture of the Danish fleet, 17 commanders junior to Lillicrap received promotion; Lillicrap, despite recommendations, did not.

Dispatch sailed for Jamaica on 29 February 1808. In June she recaptured Grinder, Ferguson, master. Grinder had been sailing from Jamaica to the Indian Coast when the French privateer Duguay Trouin had captured her on 7 June off Port Royal. Grinder was taken back to Jamaica.

On the night of 2 October, while off Nevis with a convoy of merchantmen, Dispatch captured the small 1-gun French privateer schooner Dorade, which had a crew of 20 men and mounted one brass gun. Dispatch later retook a captured British merchant ship.

While on the Jamaica station Lillicrap visited Haiti where he spent time with the two contending Haitian chiefs, Henri Christophe and Christophe’s co-conspirator and rival, Alexandre Pétion. Christophe would in 1811 become the King of Haiti, and with him Lillicrap visited the Citadelle Laferrière. Lillicrap was promoted to post-captain on 21 October 1810,[9] but did not receive official notification until March 1811, at which time he sailed for home in Naiad. He would then have to wait until January 1815 for his next command (Hyperion).

In November 1810 Dispatch was under Commander James Aberdouor. She left Negril on 20 May 1811 with a convoy for England and arrived at Portsmouth 24 July from Jamaica and St. George's Channel.

Fate
Dispatch was paid off in September 1811. She was broken up at Plymouth that same month.


Président was a 40-gun frigate of the Gloire class in the French Navy, built to an 1802 design by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait. She served with the French Navy from her completion in 1804 until late 1806 when the Royal Navy captured her. Thereafter, she served as HMS President. In 1815 the Navy renamed her Piemontaise, but then broke her up in December.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, stern board outline with some decoration detail, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for President (captured 1806), a captured French Frigate, as fitted as a 36-gun Frigate for service off the Cape of Good Hope. The plan illustrates the movement of the foremast further forward per Navy Board Order dated 4 September 1810. The plan was used as the basis for the 'Seringapatam' class of 1813. Signed by Joseph Tucker [Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1802-1813]



French service
Originally ordered under the name Minerve, the frigate was renamed as Président on 24 December 1803.

She took part in L'Hermite's expedition, which led to her capture. Before she was captured, on 6 January 1806 she helped capture the 16-gun sloop HMS Favourite.

Capture
In June 1806, Captain Thomas George Shortland took command of HMS Canopus. She was the flagship for a squadron under Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Louis. On 27 September, they fell in with Président, Capt. Gallier Labrosse, south of the Isles of Scilly, near Belle Île. Président had been sailing with the ship of the line Régulus, frigate Cybèle and corvette Surveillant, but had separated from them on 20 August.

Louis's squadron had sailed to the Bay of Biscay to await the return of Admiral Willaumez from the Caribbean Sea. On spotting Président, the squadron gave chase but the ships of the line were not fast enough to catch her. However, an 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop attached to the squadron, Dispatch, Captain Edward Hawkins, was able to get within firing range. Dispatch proceeded to harry Président with her forward guns, forcing Président to turn towards the nearest British frigate, HMS Blanche, under Captain Sir Thomas Lavie. Seeing Président turn, Louis ordered Canopus to fire, even though the range was extreme. Realizing that the rest of the British squadron would arrive shortly, Labrosse struck his colours to Dispatch. Président had suffered only minor damage and there were no casualties on either side in the action.

The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS President (dropping the accent over the 'e' in her name). The frigate's design was much admired and she served as the model for a number of later frigates, notably the Seringapatam class in the Royal Navy.


Scale: 1:96. Plan showing the quarterdeck and forecastle, upper deck, lower deck, and fore, middle and after platforms for President (captured 1806), a captured French Frigate, as fitted as a 36-gun Frigate for service off the Cape of Good Hope. The plan illustrates the movement of the foremast further forward per Navy Board Order dated 4 September 1810. Signed by Joseph Tucker [Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1802-1813]
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/87568.html#MRq7ZVpwCz3lAhVr.99

Cruising
In December 1807, she was commissioned under the command of Captain Adam Mackenzie, sailing for South America on 7 May 1808 after completion conversion for British service at Plymouth. Mackenzie commanded her until 1810, apart from a brief period in 1809, when Captain Charles Schomberg temporarily commanded her off Brazil while Mackenzie temporarily commanded Bedford.

In 1810 Captain Samuel Warren took command and on 31 December sailed her for the Cape of Good Hope and thence to the East Indies. In the East Indies she took part in the operations in Java and the rest of the Dutch East Indies. In 1811, President was attached to the squadron of Admiral Robert Stopford that captured Java. On 31 August the frigates Nisus, President, Phoebe, and Hesper were detached to take the seaport of Cheribon. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Java" to all remaining survivors of the campaign.

Returning to the UK in late 1812 or early 1813, President then served from May 1813 in the Irish Sea, first under Captain Francis Mason, then from April 1814 under Captain Archibald Duff.

On 21 March 1814, President was in company with the brig-sloop Bacchus and the gun-brig Constant off Finisterre as they escorted a fleet from Cork to Portugal.

Fate
In August 1815, the Royal Navy renamed her HMS Piedmontaise but broke her up in December of that same year.


The Gloire-class frigate was a type of 18-pounder 40-gun frigate, designed by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait in 1802. They were built on the specifications of the Seine-class frigate Pensée (sometimes also called Junon class)

Ships in class

• Gloire

Launched: 20 July 1803
Fate: captured by the British Navy 1806, becoming HMS Gloire.

• Président

Launched: 4 June 1804
Fate: captured by the British Navy 1806, becoming HMS President.

• Topaze

Launched: 1 March 1805
Fate: captured by the British Navy 1809, becoming HMS Alcmene.

• Vénus

Launched: 5 April 1806
Fate: captured by the British Navy 1810, becoming HMS Nereide.

• Junon

Launched: 16 August 1806
Fate: captured by the British Navy 1809, becoming HMS Junon.

• Calypso

Launched: 9 January 1807
Fate: severely damaged 1809, sold 1813 or 1814.

• Amazone

Launched: 20 July 1807
Fate: burnt by the Royal Navy 1811.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dispatch_(1804)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Président

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 September 1813 - HMS Bold Sloop (1812 - 14), John Skekel, wrecked on Prince Edward's Island.


HMS Bold was a 14-gun Bold-class gun-brig built by Tyson & Blake at Bursledon. She was launched in 1812 and wrecked off Prince Edward's Island on 27 September 1813.

Design and construction
The Bold class were a revival of Sir William Rule's Confounder-class gun-brig design of 1804. They were armed with ten 18-pounder carronades and two 6-pounder bow chasers. Built at Bursledon by Tyson & Blake, Bold was launched on 26 June 1812 and commissioned in July 1812 under Commander John Skekel, who sailed for North America in her on 17 April 1813.

Service
On 18 or 26 May 1813 (records differ), while in the company of the Halifax privateer Sir John Sherbrooke, the two vessels recaptured Duck, which the American privateer General Plummer had taken shortly before. Duck had been traveling from Waterford to Newfoundland.

Fate
On the morning of 27 September 1813, Bold grounded on the north end of Prince Edward's Island between 3 and 4am. Some accounts emphasize that this occurred during a strong NE gale. However the court martial account does not mention this. Despite efforts to lighten her, Bold remained stuck and ultimately had to be abandoned. In the morning it was clear that she was a cable-length (i.e., a little more than an eight of a mile) from shore. The crew established a line to the shore through the surf and this enabled a boat to go back and forth between vessel and shore. The result was that her entire crew of 67 officers and men were saved.

A small party went overland to Charlottetown to seek help while the remainder of the crew attempted to salvage what it could. Lieutenant Governor C. D. Smith sent the transport Agnes, which had recently arrived at Charlestown, with ordnance stores for the garrison, to assist Bold and recover stores. Agnes took Bold's crew to Halifax.

The subsequent court martial reprimanded Skekel and the master for having neglected to instruct the watch to take frequent depth soundings. It also fined the local pilot for not having warned Skekel about the currents in the area. John Skekel went on to another command and in time became an admiral.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Bold_(1812)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 September 1840 - Sidon captured by HMS Thunderer (1831 - 84) and squadron – the last fleet action conducted purely by wooden ships of the line under sail.



The print depicts a joint British and Austrian naval attack on Sidon, Syria, which took place on 27th September 1840. The Citadel is clearly shown on a promontory above the settlement and naval marines are climbing the slopes. Mountains are visible in the distance. The Turkish army can be seen crossing a bridge. Eight vessels are shown, one is Turkish, one is Austrian and several are steamers; all are named below the image. Key beneath the image: (from left to right) H.M. Steamer Cyclops; H.M. Steamer Gorgon (advancing to attack on the north side); H.M. Hydra; Turkish Division Crossing the Bridge; H.M.S. Thunderer, 64 guns; Turkish 20 gun Corvette; Austrian Frigate Guerriera (H.I.H. Archduke Frederic of Austria); (Citadel); British & Austrian Marines advancing (to attack on the south side); H.M. Brig (Wasp 16 guns); H.M. Steamer Strombolt
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/148134.html#pJEz8Y2waiIHCjap.99


HMS Thunderer was a two-deck 84-gun second rate ship of the line, a modified version of the Canopus/Formidable-class launched on 22 September 1831 at Woolwich Dockyard.


H.M.S. Thunderer 84 guns, launched at Woolwich on Septr 22 1831 (with inset view of the New Basin) (PAH0845)
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/140792.html#AotIjkbObjE0s6L1.99


Scale 1:48. A plan showing the body plan, sheer lines (with alterations dated December 1825), and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Thunderer' (1831), 84-gun, Second Rate, two-decker. Signed by Henry Peake [Surveyor of the Navy, 1806-1822] and Joseph Tucker [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1831].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/80202.html#ZkOxtmIVQQyEY6qA.99



She was constructed with diagonal framing and improved underwater lines on the principles of Sir William Symonds, Surveyor of the Navy. In 1840, HMS Thunderer fought in the Syria campaign, taking part in the battle of Sidon, which was the last fleet action conducted purely by wooden ships of the line under sail. In the same year she acted as flagship at the bombardment and capture of the fortress at St. Jean d'Acre, which was the first action at which steam vessels were present, albeit as support vessels rather than fighting ships. She was fitted with iron-clad plate in 1863 for trials of new armour-piercing guns.

She was hulked in 1863 as a target ship at Portsmouth. Thunderer was renamed twice in quick succession: first in 1869 to Comet, and again in 1870 to Nettle. HMS Nettle was sold in December 1901 to Messrs. King & co, of Garston, to be broken up.


Scale: 1:16. A sectional model depicting the circular stern for Canopus Class second rate vessels. The model is made entirely of wood, with the outboard painted black and the traditional yellow buff stripes along the gun decks, which carry on round the stern and onto the galleries. The lower part of the stern is painted brown to indicate copper sheaving. There are twelve gun ports, all of which are painted red internally. The upper and lower stern galleries all run into one with the quarter galleries and comprise of a series of dummy as well as framed glass panels, and individual sliding sash doors, some of which are working. On the lower stern galleries moulded columns are painted on raised pillars between each stern gallery window. The stern post is fitted together with two small brass eyes to take the rudder, which unfortunately is missing. Internally the model comprises of three decks supported by deck beams and shelves, all of which are painted a light brown colour. The underside of the decks and beams are painted white. The lower of the decks is fitted to a solid waterline base, with the interior hull and ceiling planking painted the same colour as the decks. The poop deck is fitted with a raise taffrail and bulwark rail complete with ports for guns and access. On the starboard stern quarter at the upper gun deck the model inscribed "Canopus Class" and on the lower deck "Original After-Port" is hand painted. There is an accompanying original metal display plaque painted black and inscribed "CIRCULAR STERN, of ships of "Canopus" class. 84 GUNS, built by Sir Robert Sepping, between 1821-1832. S.K.No550 CL1 DIV. E.".
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/68230.html#qJK27JtZfKMcluTr.99


HMS Thunderer, 84 guns (PAH0848)
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/140795.html#xPrPXkWiHjDf2kVv.99

The Canopus-class ships of the line were a class of nine 84-gun two-deck second rates of the Royal Navy. Their design was based on an enlarged version of the lines of the captured French ship Franklin, since commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Canopus, although this ship herself was not included as a member of the class. The earlier ships were initially ordered as 80-gun third rates, but this classification was altered by changes in the rating system in February 1817. This class of ships is sometimes referred to as the Formidable class.

Second rates of 84 guns (two-deckers)

• Formidable class (Seppings) – lines of the Canopus (ex-French Franklin, captured at the Battle of the Nile in 1798), but structurally different; although Canopus was not considered a member of the class, the class are often known as the 'Canopus class'.
  • Formidable 84 (1825) – sold 1906
• Modified Formidable class built in teak in India
  • Ganges 84 (1821) – sold 1929
  • Asia 84 (1824) – flagship at the Battle of Navarino, 1827, sold 1908
  • Bombay 84 (1828) – converted to screw 1861, destroyed by accidental fire 1864[6]
• Further modified Formidable class built in India
  • Calcutta 84 (1831) – sold 1908
• Modified Formidable class
  • Monarch 84 (1832) – broken up 1862–66
  • Vengeance 84 (1824) – sold 1897
  • Thunderer 84 (1831) – sold 1901
  • Powerful 84 (1826) – broken up 1860–64
  • Clarence 84 (1827) – ex-Goliath, accidentally burnt in the Mersey in 1884

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Thunderer_(1831)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...2;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=T;start=0
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-354103;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=T

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 September 1840 - HMS Imogene (1831 - 28) burnt while in ordinary in the covered South Dock at Plymouth. The fire started in HMS Talavera (74) and spread through the dockyard sheds and stacked timber. The fire also reached HMS Minden (74), but she was saved, and the Adelaide Gallery, where many important relics and trophies were lost.


HMS Imogene was a Conway-class sixth rate of the Royal Navy, built by Pembroke Dockyard and launched on 24 June 1831. She served in the East Indies, China and South America, but was accidentally burnt while out of commission on 27 September 1840.


Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with some framing detail, and longitudinal half breadth for building Imogene (1831), a 28-gun, Sixth Rate ship building at Pembroke Dockyard. The half breadth has been modified to include the additional breadth. Signed Robert Seppings (Surveyor of the Navy). Annotation in top: "14th August 1828. The Alterations in the Dimensions and Half Breadth as here shown, and in the Quater galleries agreeably to the sketch sent in Feb 1827 are to be conformed to. R.S" [Robert Seppings, Surveyors of the Navy]
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/83067.html#l04UOKKBUZgrjIqK.99

Design and construction
Designed by Sir Robert Seppings in 1828, the Conway class were a broader version of HMS Tyne of 1826. They were intended as sixth rates, which placed them in a category of ships with more than 24 but less than 36 guns, and commanded by an officer of the rank of captain.


Scale 3/8. Plan showing the elevation profile and sections of the main keel, illustrating the curved heel, cants, and cross pieces for Tyne (1826), Imogen (1831), Conway (1832), and Alarm (cancelled 1832), all 28-gun Sixth Rate vessels. Annotation in top right: "A Copy sent to Woolwich July 27th [1825] for a Model"
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/83049.html#BPxbCj8XXLbzJV1b.99


Scale 1:24. Plan showing the section plan for Tyne (1826), Imogene (1831), Conway (1832), Alarm (cancelled 1832), all 28-gun, Sixth Rate vessel. Signed Robert Seppings (Surveyor of the Navy)
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/83068.html#Y7jHsXGPdUdiPxKf.99

These ships were constructed of wood in traditional shipbuilding fashion, although iron braces and trussed were used for increased longitudinal strength. They were armed with a traditional arrangement of broadside, smoothbore muzzle-loading guns, and in common with contemporary Royal Navy practice for small ships, these guns were carronades (with the exception of a pair of small long guns on the focsle as chasers). Twenty 32-pounder carronades were mounted on the upper deck and a further six 18-pounder carronades were placed on the quarterdeck. The sail plan was an entirely conventional ship rig, and they were complemented with 175 men and boys.


Scale 1:48. Plan showing the stern view and stern quater deck profile illustrating the stern framing arrangement for Imogene (1831) and Alarm (cancelled 1832), both 28-gun, Sixth Rate ship building at Pembroke Dockyard. Signed Robert Seppings (Surveyor of the Navy). Annotation in top left: "Recieved at Pembroke Yard 3rd June 1830. T.R" [Thomas Roberts, Master Shipwright]
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/83073.html#VYOHC5WIXyRjVoCz.99


Scale 1:24. Plan showing the plan and profile of the circular stern for Imogene (1831), Alarm (cancelled 1832), both 28-gun, Sixth Rate ship building at Pembroke Dockyard. Signed Robert Seppings (Surveyor of the Navy). Annotation in top left: "Pembroke Yard 3 June} Recieved this day T.R" [Thomas Roberts, Master Shipwright]
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/83074.html#mDy5FqSLYbKYpObw.99


Scale: Unknown. A model of the starboard side of the circular stern of HMS Imogen (1831) made entirely in wood and painted in realistic colours. The hull is painted black with the stern gallery hightlighted in off-white. The section faces and stylised poop are painted a light brown. One gunport on the gundeck is shown together with four gunports on the upperdeck. All gunports are shown open without lids, the voids painted green. Four complete windows are shown in the stern gallery all with sixteen lights, and interspersed with three decorative panels.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/68209.html#QAatW15rY0LjLuyi.99

Operational service
After commissioning on 1 October 1831 for the East Indies, she sailed via the Cape of Good Hope for Calcutta. In October 1832 she sailed from Madras for a cruise to New South Wales, visiting the Swan River, Hobart and Sydney, and arriving back in India on 11 October 1833. Between November 1833 and August 1834 she visited Ceylon, Mauritius, Malacca and Singapore before being sent to China.[2] Under the command of Captain Price Blackwood she was in action against the Bogue forts at the mouth of the Pearl River on 7 September 1834 in company with Andromache and Louisa. Although five ports, including Canton, had been opened to foreigners earlier the same year, local Chinese forces tried to prevent the passage of the Royal Navy ships. After a couple of days of intermittent action the Chinese forts were silenced at the cost of 2 killed and 7 wounded, and after local officials had disavowed the military action, the ships proceeded to Whampoa.

Returning to England via Manilla and the Cape of Good Hope in 1834 and 1835, she was recommissioned at Portsmouth on 11 June 1836.[2] From June 1836 until December 1839 she served on the south-east coast of America under the command of Captain (later Admiral) Henry William Bruce.[4] She was out of commission at Plymouth from January 1840.

Fate
Imogene was accidentally burnt at Plymouth on 27 September 1840 while in ordinary.


Scale 1:48. Plan showing the starboard copper sheathing expansion plan, illustrating Vivians [Possibly Andrew Vivian who owned a tin and copper mine in Cornwall and topped with Tiscothes steam engine.] experimental copper sheathing as fitted on Imogene (1831), a 28-gun, Sixth Rate vessel. Signed by Thomas Roberts (Master Shipwright)
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/83076.html#msp184tKMUpVZUCB.99



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Imogene_(1831)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-320392;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=I

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 September 1854 – The steamship SS Arctic sinks with 300 people on board


The paddle steamer SS Arctic, owned by the Collins Line of New York, sank on September 27, 1854, after a collision with SS Vesta, a much smaller vessel, 50 miles (80 km) off the coast of Newfoundland. Passenger and crew lists indicate that there were probably more than 400 on board; of these, only 88 survived, most of whom were members of the crew. All the women and children on board perished.


SS Arctic, after her launching in 1850

Arctic was the largest and most celebrated of the four Collins steamers that had operated a regular transatlantic passenger and mail carrying service since 1850. After the collision Arctic's captain, James Luce, first attempted to assist the stricken Vesta, which he believed was in imminent danger of sinking. When he discovered that his own ship had been seriously holed below the waterline, he decided to run her towards the nearest land, in the hopes of reaching safety. His plan failed; the engines stopped when the ship was still a considerable distance from land. Arctic's lifeboat capacity was sufficient for less than half of those on board; when Luce ordered these launched, a breakdown in order and discipline meant that most places in the boats were taken by members of the crew or the more able-bodied male passengers. The rest struggled to build makeshift rafts, but most were unable to leave the ship, and went down with her when she sank, four hours after the collision. Vesta, which initially appeared to have sustained mortal damage, was kept afloat by her watertight bulkheads, and managed to limp into harbor at St. John's, Newfoundland.

Two of the six lifeboats that left Arctic reached the Newfoundland shore safely, and another was picked up by a passing steamer, which also rescued a few survivors from improvised rafts. Among those saved was Captain Luce, who had regained the surface after initially going down with the ship. The other three lifeboats disappeared without a trace. The limited telegraph facilities of the time meant that news of Arctic's loss did not reach New York until two weeks after the sinking. Initial public sorrow at the ship's loss quickly turned to anger at the perceived cowardice of the crew. Despite press calls for a full investigation into the disaster, none took place, and nobody was held legally responsible. Demands for the introduction of further safety measures on passenger-carrying vessels were likewise sidestepped. Luce, who was generally exonerated from blame by the public, retired from the sea; some of the surviving crew chose not to return to the U.S. The Collins Line continued its transatlantic service, until further maritime losses and insolvency led to its closure in 1858.


A depiction of the scene shortly before Arctic's sinking, showing the makeshift raft, several smaller improvised rafts, and an escaping lifeboat

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Arctic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Arctic_disaster

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 September 1875 – The merchant sailing ship Ellen Southard is wrecked in a storm at Liverpool - for rescue activities the United States Congress moved to award the newly instituted Lifesaving Medal to the lifeboat men



Ellen Southard was an American full-rigged merchant ship from Bath, Maine that was built in 1863 by prominent shipbuilder T.J. Southard. She plied international trade routes for twelve years, calling at ports as far away as Sydney.


Wreck of the 'Ellen Southard' lying on Crosby Sands, 11 October 1875

On 27 September 1875, the ship wrecked in the mouth of the Mersey River at Liverpool during a hurricane-strength storm. Shore-based lifeboats crewed mainly by volunteers set out from several lifeboat stations to the aid of the distressed ship after it foundered on a sandbank. One of the lifeboats capsized in heavy seas after picking up the ship's crew, resulting in nine people from the ship as well as three rescuers losing their lives.


An 1863 tubular lifeboat from New Brighton

Following the advice of the US consul at Liverpool, the United States Congress recognised the acts of bravery by issuing 27 Gold Lifesaving Medals to the lifeboat men who attempted to save her crew, after a two-year delay during which US law first had to be changed to allow the newly instituted medals to be awarded to non-US citizens. Debate about lifeboat designs continued for many years until a self-righting design was eventually adopted.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Southard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifesaving_Medal

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 September 1938 – The ocean liner Queen Elizabeth is launched in Glasgow.


The RMS Queen Elizabeth was an ocean liner operated by Cunard Line. With Queen Mary she provided weekly luxury liner service between Southampton in the United Kingdom and New York City in the United States, via Cherbourg in France.

While being constructed in the mid-1930s by John Brown and Company at Clydebank, Scotland, the build was known as Hull 552.[5] Launched on 27 September 1938, she was named in honour of Queen Elizabeth, then Queen Consort to King George VI, who became the Queen Mother in 1952. With a design that improved upon that of Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth was a slightly larger ship, the largest passenger liner ever built at that time and for 56 years thereafter. She also has the distinction of being the largest-ever riveted ship by gross tonnage. She first entered service in February 1940 as a troopship in World War II, and it was not until October 1946 that she served in her intended role as an ocean liner.


RMS Queen Elizabeth in Cherbourg (Normandy, France) in 1966.

With the decline in the popularity of the transatlantic route, both ships were replaced by the smaller, more economical Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1969. Queen Mary was retired from service on 9 December 1967, and was sold to the city of Long Beach, California. Queen Elizabeth was sold to a succession of buyers, most of whom had unsuccessful plans for her. Finally Queen Elizabeth was sold to Hong Kong businessman Tung Chao Yung, who intended to convert her into a floating university cruise ship called Seawise University. In 1972, while undergoing refurbishment in Hong Kong harbour, fire broke out aboard under unexplained circumstances and the ship was capsized by the water used to fight the fire. In 1973, the wreck was deemed an obstruction to shipping in the area, and so was partially scrapped where she lay.


Queen Elizabeth in New York after World War II

Building and design
On the day RMS Queen Mary sailed on her maiden voyage, Cunard's chairman, Sir Percy Bates, informed his ship designers that it was time to start designing the planned second ship. The official contract between Cunard and government financiers was signed on 6 October 1936.

The new ship improved upon the design of Queen Mary with sufficient changes, including a reduction in the number of boilers to twelve instead of Queen Mary's twenty-four, that the designers could discard one funnel and increase deck, cargo and passenger space. The two funnels were self-supporting and braced internally to give a cleaner looking appearance. With the forward well deck omitted, a more refined hull shape was achieved, and a sharper, raked bow was added for a third bow-anchor point. She was to be eleven feet longer and of 4,000 tons greater displacement than her older sister ship, Queen Mary.


Hull 552 (Queen Elizabeth), growing on the stocks

Queen Elizabeth was built on slipway four at John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland, Great Britain. During her construction she was more commonly known by her shipyard number, Hull 552. The interiors were designed by a team of artists headed by the architect George Grey Wornum. Cunard's plan was for the ship to be launched in September 1938, with fitting out intended to be complete for the ship to enter service in the spring of 1940. The Queen herself performed the launching ceremony on 27 September 1938. Supposedly, the liner started to slide into the water before Elizabeth could officially launch her, and acting sharply, she managed to smash a bottle of Australian red over the liner's bow just before it slid out of reach. The ship was then sent for fitting out. It was announced that on 23 August 1939 the King and Queen were to visit the ship and tour the engine room and that 24 April 1940 was to be the proposed date of her maiden voyage. Due to the outbreak of World War II, these two events were postponed and Cunard's plans were shattered.

Queen Elizabeth sat at the fitting-out dock at the shipyard in her Cunard colours until 2 November 1939, when the Ministry of Shipping issued special licences to declare her seaworthy. On 29 December her engines were tested for the first time, running from 0900 to 1600 with the propellers disconnected to monitor her oil and steam operating temperatures and pressures. Two months later Cunard received a letter from Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, ordering the ship to leave Clydeside as soon as possible and "to keep away from the British Isles as long as the order was in force".


1972: The wreck of Seawise University, the former Queen Elizabeth, in Hong Kong Victoria Harbour


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Elizabeth

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 September 1941 – The SS Patrick Henry is launched, becoming the first of more than 2,700 Liberty ships
27 September 1941 – Liberty Fleet Day


SS Patrick Henry was the first Liberty ship launched. It was built by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at their Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland, and launched on 27 September 1941


SS Patrick Henry in September 1941.

Background
Liberty ships initially had a poor public image and to try to assuage public opinion, September 27, 1941 was designated Liberty Fleet Day, and the first 14 "Emergency" vessels were launched that day. The first of these (with MC hull number 14) was Patrick Henry, launched by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Other "Emergency" vessels launched that day, in various yards around the country included: SS John C. Fremont, SS Louise Lykes, SS Ocean Venture, SS Ocean Voice, SS Star of Oregon, and SS Steel Artisan.

Launching
In the speech delivered at the launching, Roosevelt referred to Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" speech of 23 March 1775. Roosevelt said that this new class of ships would bring liberty to Europe, which gave rise to the name "Liberty ship". Patrick Henry was sponsored by Ilo Browne Wallace, wife of Vice President Henry A. Wallace, with Mrs. Robert H. Jackson, wife of the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and Madame Bruggmann, wife of the Minister of Switzerland Karl Bruggmann and sister of the vice president. Ilo Wallace christened the ship. The ship's fitting was completed on December 30, 1941.

Service history
Her maiden voyage was to the Middle East. During World War II she made 12 voyages to ports including Murmansk (as part of Convoy PQ 18), Trinidad, Cape Town, Naples, and Dakar.

She survived the war, but was seriously damaged when she went aground on a reef off the coast of Florida in July 1946. The ship was laid up at Mobile, Alabama, and was scrapped at Baltimore in 1958.


Liberty Fleet Day was first observed on 27 September 1941, the day that 14 merchant ships were launched in shipyards across the United States under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. Among the ships launched was the first Liberty ship, SS Patrick Henry. Some of the merchant ships were subsequently converted to other purposes, including as troop transports and a Royal Navy aircraft carrier. In addition to the merchant ships launched, the US Navy launched two destroyers at the Boston Navy Yard.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched the first liberty ship, SS Patrick Henry, at the yards of Bethlehem Steel, Baltimore, Maryland, giving a speech as he did so. 27 September became known as Victory Fleet Day during the United States' participation in World War II.

The ships

• SS Adabelle Lykes (Pusey and Jones – Wilmington, Delaware)
• SS African Planet (Ingalls Shipbuilding – Pascagoula, Mississippi)
• SS Alcoa Polaris (Consolidated Steel Corporation – Los Angeles, California)
• SS James McKay (Bethlehem Steel Sparrows Point – Baltimore, Maryland)
• SS John C. Fremont (California Shipbuilding Corporation – Los Angeles, California)
• SS Fredrick Funston (Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation – Seattle, Washington)
• SS Louise Lykes (Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company – Kearny, New Jersey)
• SS Ocean Venture (Todd-California Shipbuilding – Richmond, California)
• SS Ocean Voice (Todd-California Shipbuilding – Richmond, California)
• SS Patrick Henry (Bethlehem Steel Fairfield – Baltimore, Maryland)
• SS Star of Oregon (Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation – Portland, Oregon)
• SS Sinclair Superflame (Bethlehem Steel Fore River – Quincy, Massachusetts)
• SS Steel Artisan (later known as USS Barnes (CVE-7) and HMS Attacker (D02)) (Western Pipe and Steel Company – San Francisco, California)
• SS Surprise (Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. - Chester, Pennsylvania)

Warships

• USS Cowie (DD-632) (Boston Navy Yard - Boston, Massachusetts)
• USS Knight (DD-633) (Boston Navy Yard - Boston, Massachusetts)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Patrick_Henry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Fleet_Day

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 27 September


1767 – Launch of French Brisson – 22 gun frigate

Brisson was built as a fluyt for the Mississippi Company. She became property of the Crown on 8 December 1769 with the liquidation of the Company, and commissioned as a light frigate. She was sold to the commerce circa September 1771.
She returned to the service of the Crown when the French requisitioned in July 1778 for the defence of Pondicherry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Brisson_(1767)


1803 Calais bombarded by HMS Autumn, Samuel Jackson, and consorts.


1810 Batteries stormed and carried at Pointe du Che by British.


1811 Buonaparte establishes a maritime conscription in the Hanseatic Towns.


1836 – Launch of French Erigone, a Héliopolis class (46-gun type, 1830 design by Jean-Baptiste Hubert, with 26 x 18-pounder guns, 16 x 30-pounder carronades and 4 x 30-pounder shell guns) at Saint-Servan) – deleted 31 December 1864.


1840 – Birth of Alfred Thayer Mahan, American captain and historian (d. 1914)

Alfred Thayer Mahan ([məˈhæn]; September 27, 1840 – December 1, 1914) was a United States naval officer and historian, whom John Keegan called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His book The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783 (1890) won immediate recognition, especially in Europe, and with its successor, The Influence of Sea Power Upon the French Revolution and Empire, 1793–1812 (1892), made him world-famous and perhaps the most influential American author of the nineteenth century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Thayer_Mahan


1863 - During the Civil War, the steamer USS Clyde seizes the Confederate schooner Amaranth near the Florida Keys.


1941 Operation Halberd

Operation Halberd was a British naval operation that took place on 27 September 1941, during the Second World War. The British were attempting to deliver a convoy from Gibraltar to Malta. The convoy was escorted by several battleships and an aircraft carrier, to deter interference from the Italian surface fleet, while a close escort of cruisers and destroyers provided an anti-aircraft screen.

The Italian fleet sortied after the convoy was detected, but turned back after learning the strength of the escorting force. Air attacks by Italian bombers and fighters damaged several ships, and forced one of the merchant vessels to be scuttled. The rest of the convoy arrived at Malta and discharged their cargo.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Halberd


1941 – Fighter catapult ship HMS Springbank torpedoed and sunk

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
28 September 1652 - English fleet of 68 ships,under Robert Blake, defeats Dutch fleet of 62 ships, under Vice-Admiral Witte de With, at the Battle of Kentish Knock, off the mouth of the Thames.


The Battle of the Kentish Knock (or the Battle of the Zealand Approaches) was a naval battle between the fleets of the Dutch Republic and England, fought on 28 September 1652 (8 October Gregorian calendar), during the First Anglo-Dutch War near the shoal called the Kentish Knock in the North Sea about thirty kilometres east of the mouth of the river Thames. The Dutch fleet, internally divided on political, regional and personal grounds, proved incapable of making a determined effort and was soon forced to withdraw, losing two ships and many casualties. In Dutch the action is called the Slag bij de Hoofden.


In the first half of the 17th century conflicts of trade interests between England and the Netherlands increased. This intensified the likelihood of armed conflict and matters came to a head with Cromwell's Navigation Act of 1651, which directly threatened Dutch primacy as 'the carriers of Europe' by restricting English trade to English ships. The first of the three resultant sea wars between England and the Dutch United Provinces broke out in 1652, lasting to 1654. In this painting the action between Dutch and English ships is believed to show one of the earliest exchanges. On the left and centre of the painting three English ships are shown. On the far right a Dutch ship is engaged in exchanging fire with two out of three English ships. The ship on the far left flies a distinctive red Commonwealth ensign at the main with the St George's cross in the corner and various motifs of thistle, lions and harp in a laurel wreath. These emblems are repeated on the stern of the ship. The land in the distance on the left may represent the coast of Kent and, if this is the case, the action may represent the Battle of the Kentish Knock, which took place off this well-known sand bar off the mouth of the Thames on 28 September 1652. The Dutch picked the fight in retaliation for a British attack made shortly before on the Dutch herring fleet, which was poaching in British waters. In the action the Dutch under Admiral Cornelisz de With were defeated by the English Admirals William Penn and John Bourne. Although the two fleets were similar in size, the Dutch recognized that they were at a disadvantage because their ships were too small and too lightly armed. This resulted in a two-stage building programme that eventually resulted in 60 new capital ships, with Admiral Maarten Tromp being restored to command their fleet. The artist was born and died in Utrecht and was one of the sons of Adam Willarts (1577-1664). He and his younger brother, Isaac, took up their father's profession and became marine painters. Abraham worked in Paris under Simon Vouet and then went into service of Prince Maurits in Holland.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/12315.html#G4C96VQQvdyTxxTZ.99

Backgrounds
Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp had been suspended by the States-General of the Netherlands after his failure to bring the English to battle off the Shetland Islands in August, and replaced as supreme commander of the confederate Dutch fleet by the Hollandic Vice-Admiral Witte de With of the Admiralty of the Maze. This caused an immediate rift between the provinces of Holland and Zealand as De With was the personal enemy of the commander of the Zealandic fleet, Vice-Admiral Johan Evertsen, who himself had quit service because of a conflict with the States-General. Earlier tensions had been moderated by the fact that both Tromp and Evertsen were staunch Orangists, but De With was a loyal servant of the States regime that had dominated Dutch politics since the death of stadtholder William II of Orange.

De With, having for months advocated a more aggressive naval policy aimed at destroying the enemy fleet instead of passively defending the merchant convoys against English attack, now saw an opportunity to concentrate his forces and gain control of the seas. He set out to attack the English fleet at anchor at The Downs near Dover, departing from the Schooneveld on 25 September 1652, and joined the squadron of Vice-Commodore Michiel de Ruyter. The fleet was immediately hit by a storm damaging many vessels. De With also had to protect the trade routes and discovered that nine of De Ruyter's ships, that had been on sea for two months, had to return to port for repairs. De Ruyter suggested that under the circumstances it was better to simply keep luring away the English from merchant fleets while declining to really fight, but De With insisted on delivering a decisive battle, stating: "I shall lustily lead the fleet to the enemy; the devil may bring it back again!".

Battle
When the fleets finally met on 28 September, the United Provinces had 62 ships and about 1,900 cannon and 7,000 men; the Commonwealth of England 68 ships under General at Sea Robert Blake with about 2,400 cannon and 10,000 men. The van of the Dutch fleet was to be commanded by Michiel de Ruyter, the centre by De With himself and the rear by temporary Rear-Admiral Gideon de Wildt of the Admiralty of Amsterdam.

On the morning of 28 September the Dutch fleet, approaching from the east, had the previous evening been again scattered by a gale and was still dispersed when around noon it saw Blake coming out in force from the south. Having the weather gauge because of a south-south-western breeze, Blake intended to exploit this excellent opportunity for a direct attack on the disordered Dutch.

Having hurriedly assembled his force around 14:30, with the exception of five vessels that had drifted too far to the north, De With now wanted to transfer his flag from the smaller Prinses Louise to the Brederode, Tromp's former flagship and the most powerful vessel of the Dutch fleet. However, to his mortification, Tromp's crew refused to let him on board, addressing De With the invective 'green cheese' and even threatening to fire a salvo on his boat if he did not stop waving around his commission papers from the States-General: he had a very bad reputation among common sailors — indeed hundreds had already deserted when it became known he would be supreme commander. Zealandic Commodore Cornelis Evertsen the Elder, the brother of Johan Evertsen, was called in to negotiate but to no avail. When the enemy fleet was within half a mile distance, De With was forced to hoist his flag on the large but slow VOC-ship Prins Willem where he found the majority of its officers drunk and the crew to be consisting of untrained men.


Die so genannte Morgan-Zeichnung von Willem van de Velde dem Älteren von der Sovereign of the Seas (1637)


Pett and Sovereign of the Seas showing her gilded stern carvings depicting King Edgar as the perceived founder of English naval strength and dominion


Stern of Sovereign of the Seas

Action was joined at about 17:00 when Blake, himself moving his flag from the too large Sovereign to the more manoeuvrable Resolution (former HMS Prince Royal), engaged the Dutch. Blake intended to break the Dutch line, but on the approach of the English fleet the mass of Dutch ships began to give way to the east. At the same time the wind slackened considerably. As a result, both fleets slowly passed each other in opposite tack. This was very unfavourable for the Dutch; normally being in a leeward position would have given them a longer range, but with such gentle winds this advantage was absent while the English ships were larger and better armed than their opponents, inflicting severe damage. Nevertheless, some English ships at first got into trouble: the Sovereign and James ran aground on the Kentish Knock sandbank and only with much difficulty worked themselves free; the Resolution and the Dolphin, venturing too far forward, became isolated and surrounded but were saved by the encroachment by the other English vessels. The Prins Willem was disabled, meaning that De With was greatly hampered in his efforts to lead his forces. But soon, by 19:00, the fighting stopped due to the onset of darkness, the fleets just having finished this single manoeuvre. At this moment one Dutch ship, the Maria, had been captured while another captured ship, the Gorcum, was abandoned by the English in a sinking condition but re-occupied and saved by the Dutch. The Burgh van Alkmaar blew up. Several Dutch ships, their morale shaken by the devastating English fire, left their formation.


The stern of replica Prins Willem in 2005

The next day, early in the morning, about ten Dutch ships, mostly commanded by captains from Zealand who resented the domination of Holland and severely disliked De With, had broken off the engagement and simply sailed home. This is usually attributed to the fact that De With in the battle council in the morning of the second day had called all Zealandic captains cowards and had warned them that in Holland there was still sufficient wood left to erect gallows for any of them. The situation had become hopeless for the Dutch who now had 49 ships left in their fleet while the English fleet had during the night been reinforced to 84, yet De With still wanted to make a last effort.


The Prince Royal arriving at Flushing in 1613

On his directions the Dutch fleet, now positioned to the southeast of the English force, sailed farther south in the hope of gaining the weather gauge. This design failed however: first some ships, with difficulty beating up the wind, coursed too far to the west and were badly mauled by the fire of the English rear; and hardly had the Dutch fleet moved to its intended position when it all proved to have been in vain because the wind turned to the northeast, giving the English the weather gauge again. Michiel de Ruyter and Cornelis Evertsen now managed to convince De With to accept the inevitable and the Dutch fleet late in the afternoon withdrew to the east followed by Blake; as De With angrily described it: "like a herd of sheep fleeing the wolves". Assisted by a westerly De With and De Ruyter nicely covered the retreat with a dozen ships and the Dutch would not lose any more vessels.

The English fleet halted its pursuit when the Flemish shoals were reached; De With now decided to quickly repair the fleet at sea in the Wielingen basin and then make another attempt at defeating the enemy. This order was met with utter disbelief by his fellow flag officers. De Ruyter tactfully pointed out: "Such courage is too perilous". Understanding he was alone in his opinion De With at last agreed to withdraw the fleet to Hellevoetsluis, where it arrived on 2 October (12 October).

Aftermath
The Dutch recognized after their defeat that they needed larger ships to take on the English, and instituted a major building program of sixty ships that would only be completed some years after the conflict, first fighting the English in the opening stages of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. According to De With this, besides a lack of a sufficient number of fireships, had been the main cause of the Dutch failure; he pointed out that many a light English frigate could outshoot the average Dutch warship. However, according to public opinion there was only one to blame for the defeat: De With himself. As one of the more polite pamphlets put it, a week after the battle:

From this disorder and unwillingness to fight it can be seen and noticed what difference it makes whether one has or appoints a Head of a fleet who is judicious, polite and popular — or whether one imposes on the men a Head who is unloved, despised by the men and unsavoury to them. Vice-Admiral De Witt is, we all know this, an excellent soldier and bold Sailor, who fears no danger, nor even death itself. Likewise Commodore de Ruyter is an audacious and fearless Hero, who would not hesitate to engage the worst of enemies, heeding no danger. Notwithstanding all of this, we also know that Admiral Tromp possesses all these same qualities; and besides these uncommon virtues: of being an extraordinary careful, Godfearing and virtuous man who does not call his men dogs, devils, or devil's brood; but children, friends, comrades and similar loving and endearing words to address them with. By which he so much endears those serving under him that they, as they say, would go through fire for him and risk their lives, yes, by manner of speech, would not hesitate to fight the devil. If such a loved and respected Head is then kept from the fleet and replaced by those who displease the men, now it is shown what calamity and disaster this brings with it.
The same evening of the 12th the States-General learned of the defeat, they sent a letter to both Tromp and Johan Evertsen, asking them to return.

The English believed that the Dutch had been all but defeated, and sent twenty ships away to the Mediterranean, a mistake that led to a defeat at the Battle of Dungeness but didn't prevent the defeat of the not yet reinforced English Mediterranean fleet at the Battle of Leghorn. In the former battle the Dutch were led again by Tromp; De With had suffered a mental breakdown and would be officially replaced as supreme commander in May 1653.

Ship lists
No complete lists exist and especially the order of battle of the English fleet is poorly known. The Dutch list differs in detail from particular lists of ships from late September 1652 from Witte de With's journal and other archival sources. Known ships include:



Dutch Republic (Witte Corneliszoon de With)



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Kentish_Knock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witte_Corneliszoon_de_With
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Blake_(admiral)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Sovereign_of_the_Seas

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
28 September 1728 - Relaunch of HMS Royal Sovereign


HMS Royal Sovereign was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard and launched in July 1701. She had been built using some of the salvageable timbers from the previous Royal Sovereign, which had been destroyed by fire in 1697.



The English Ship 'Royal Sovereign' With a Royal Yacht in a Light Air

She was Admiral George Rooke's flagship in the War of the Spanish Succession.

Royal Sovereign formed the basis for the dimensions for 100-gun ships in the 1719 Establishment, being a generally well-regarded vessel. In practice, only Royal Sovereign herself was affected by this Establishment, being the only first rate ship either built or rebuilt to the Establishment in its original form, but the Royal William and Britannia had been rebuilt to the same dimensions (approximately) when both were re-launched in 1719. She underwent her rebuild to the 1719 Establishment at Chatham after an order of 18 February 1724, being relaunched on 28 September 1728.


One of a group of four drawings of the ‘Royal Sovereign’, First Rate, 100 guns, shown at her launching at Woolwich in 1701. The drawing is rapid and accurate. The ship is depicted from before the starboard beam, showing a jack at a staff on her stern, flags on staffs forward and amidships, but not aft, and an ensign at the stern. The ‘Royal Sovereign’ is the subject of the fine late painting by the younger van de Velde in the NMM’s collection (BHC3614) which is dated 1703.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/144969.html#Kz38CVkGYs4iDcCs.99

The rebuilt Royal Sovereign remained in service until she was broken up in 1768, ending her career with a total of 67 years' service in the Royal Navy.

In Popular Culture
In the 2013 video game Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, HMS Royal Sovereign, partnered with HMS Fearless, appears as one of the legendary ships which the protagonist Edward Kenway could encounter and sink in Caribbean sea. As the two ships sail and fight together, either Royal Sovereign and Fearless are both sunk in battle with the Jackdaw, or neither of them are.


Figurehead of the ‘Royal Sovereign’ showing Britannia bearing an orb and staff in a chariot, with Neptune and other figures grouped above, and a unicorn below (the lion being implied on the starboard side). The port side of the elaborate figurehead of the ‘Royal Sovereign’ is signed, inscribed and dated in brown ink ‘W.V.V.J.’ and ‘Roijal soverijn 1701’. The work started as a faint offset, rubbed on the back, from a bold drawing, and has been strengthened with just enough pen-work to make the elaborate carving identifiable. There is a similar offset of the ship’s quarter gallery in the Ingram Collection of van de Velde drawings (PAF7036).
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/144970.html#CYQSQdmhukBgqttw.99


The bow of the ‘Royal Sovereign’, 100-gun first-rate, built 1701, broken up 1768. This is probably drawn, from right ahead, from a model. The paper has been folded and the starboard side is an offset from the port by rubbing on the back with a blunt instrument. See also PAG6272.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/136219.html#T4o3TAYwhyZ05eDM.99



1701
Dimension - Measurement - Type - Metric Equivalent
Length of Gundeck - 174' 6"Imperial Feet - 53.0373
Length of Keel - 141' 7"Imperial Feet - 42.9811
Breadth - 50' 3 ½"Imperial Feet - 15.2527
Depth in Hold - 19' 1"Imperial Feet - 5.794
Burthen - 1,882 71⁄94Tons BM

Armament​

1.1702 Broadside Weight = 874 Imperial Pound ( 396.359 kg)
Lower Gun Deck - 28 British 32-Pounder
Middle Gun Deck - 28 British 18-Pounder
Upper Gun Deck - 28 British 9-Pounder
Quarterdeck - 12 British 6-Pounder
Forecastle - 4 British 6-Pounder

1703 Broadside Weight = 874 Imperial Pound ( 396.359 kg)
Lower Gun Deck - 28 British Demi-Cannon
Middle Gun Deck - 28 British Culverin
Upper Gun Deck - 28 British Demi-Culverin
Quarterdeck - 12 British 6-Pounder
Forecastle - 4 British 6-Pounder

1728
Dimension - Measurement - Type - Metric Equivalent
Length of Gundeck - 175' 0"Imperial Feet - 53.34
Length of Keel - 140' 0"Imperial Feet - 42.672
Breadth - 50' 3 ½"Imperial Feet - 15.2527
Depth in Hold - 20' 1"Imperial Feet - 6.1214
Burthen - 1,883 46⁄94Tons BM

Armament​

2.1741 Broadside Weight = 1140 Imperial Pound ( 516.99 kg)
Lower Gun Deck - 28 British 42-Pounder
Middle Gun Deck - 28 British 24-Pounder
Upper Gun Deck - 28 British 12-Pounder
Quarterdeck - 12 British 6-Pounder
Forecastle - 4 British 6-Pounder


HMS Royal Sovereign in 1722



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Royal_Sovereign_(1728)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Royal_Sovereign_(1701)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...2;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=R;start=0
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=12
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=6088