Naval/Maritime History 27th of August - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1804 – Launch of HMS Kingfisher (or King's Fisher or Kingsfisher), a Royal Navy 18-gun ship sloop, built by John King


HMS Kingfisher
(or King's Fisher or Kingsfisher) was a Royal Navy 18-gun ship sloop, built by John King and launched in 1804 at Dover. She served during the Napoleonic Wars, first in the Caribbean and then in the Mediterranean before being broken up in 1816.

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Caribbean
Kingfisher was commissioned under Commander Richard William Cribb in April 1804. He sailed her to the Leeward Islands and initially she operated from Barbados.

In January King's Fisher captured the French privateer schooner Deux Amis. She was pierced for eight guns but only had two on board at the time of her capture, having thrown the others overboard as she tried to escape her pursuers. She had a crew of 39 men, under the command of Francis Dutrique. She was ten days out of Guadeloupe and had captured nothing. Cribb credited His Majesty's schooner Grenada with having chased Deux Amis into his hands. Furthermore, when Grenada's commander saw that Kingfisher would capture Deux Amis, he chased and recaptured the sloop Hero.

On 11 April 1805, her boats cut out the Spanish privateer Damas from an anchorage under Cape St. Juan. She was pierced for four guns but only mounted one 8-pounder. She also carried 40 muskets for her crew of 57 men. Damas had left Cumaná, Venezuela, ten days earlier for a cruise off Demerara on what was her first cruise, but had captured nothing. She put up a little resistance and there was fire from the shore, but Kingsfisher suffered no casualties. In April 1826 head money for the capture of the Deux Amisand the Damas was finally paid.

On 27 June, when about 180 miles to north-east of Barbuda, Kingfisher, Captain Richard William Cribb, and Osprey, Captain Timothy Clinch, found themselves being chased by French frigates. While making sail to escape, the two sloops hoisted signals and fired guns, as if signaling to a fleet ahead. Their pursuers immediately gave up the chase, which gave Kingfisher and Osprey the opportunity to catch up with a group of 15 French merchant vessels with cargoes of rum, sugar and coffee. The two British sloops left all 15 merchantmen in flames.

Cribb died in June 1805. From July Kingfisher was under the command of Commander Nathaniel Day Cochrane.

On 16 December Kingfisher captured the French privateer Elisabeth, out of Guadaloupe after a 12-hour chase. Elizabeth was armed with ten 6-pounder guns and four 9-pounder carronades. She had a crew of 102, but 11 men were away in the Cambrian, which Elizabeth had captured after Cambrian had left a convoy on 28 October. Cambrian had been carrying a cargo of coal from Cork to Jamaica; HMS Melville recaptured Cambrian. Cochrane noted that Elizabeth was a fine vessel, well worth taking into the Royal Navy, which advice the Navy took, commissioning her as HMS Elizabeth.

Also that day Kingfisher and Hyaena captured a Spanish polacca sailing to Vera Cruz with merchandise. On 28 December Kingsfisher and Heureux captured the Spanish merchant brig Solidad, which was carrying brandy and wine from Cadiz to Vera Cruz.

In 1806, Kingfisher was attached to the British squadron under Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth. On 1 February she brought intelligence that a French squadron of three sail of the line had been seen steering towards the city of Santo Domingo. Duckworth gathered his squadron and on 6 February met the French in the Battle of San Domingo. Kingfisher was highly commended for her services in the aftermath of the action, with Cochrane being promoted to Post-captain. In 1807 Kingfisher shared with the rest of Duckworth's squadron in the prize money for the capture of the Alexander, Jupiter and Brave. In 1847 the Admiralty would issue to any surviving crew members that claimed it the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "St. Domingo".

George Francis Seymour, who had been severely wounded while serving in Northumberland in the battle of San Domingo, succeeded Cochrane. Kingfisher then sailed for the Channel.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plans, sheer lines with alterations to the forecastle, and longitudinal half-breadth for Wolf (1804), Martin (1805), Brisk (1805), Star (1805), Kangaroo (1805), Cygnet (1804), Ariel (1806), Helena (1804), Albacore (1804), Fly (1804), Kingfisher (1804), Otter (1805), Rose (1805), and Halifax (1806), all 16-gun Ship Sloops with quarterdeck and forecastles. These ships were to be built similar to the Merlin (1796) and the Pheasant (1798).

European theatre
On 14 May Kingfisher towed Pallas after Pallas had rammed Minerve in the Basque Roads.

In July, Seymour was posted into Aurora and Commander William Hepenstall took command of Kingfisher. On 27 September she was with Admiral Sir Thomas Louis's squadron when the 40-gun French frigate President surrendered to the 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop Dispatch, assisted by the 74-gun third rate Canopus and the frigate Blanche.

In October, Hepenstall sailed Kingsfisher to the Mediterranean. Here, she was operating off the Turkish coast near Karaman, when on 27 June 1808 she captured the French letter of marque Hercule after a six-hour chase and an hour-long fight. Hercule, under Gerome Cavassa (a member of the Legion of Honour), was carrying a cargo of cotton from Aleppo and Cyprus to Marseilles or Genoa. She was armed with 12 guns, ranging in size from 8-pounders to 18-pounders. Her crew numbered 57 men, of whom one was killed and two were wounded. Kingfisher suffered extensive damage to her rigging but had only one man slightly wounded.

In 1809, under Commander Ewell Tritton, on 12 March she was in company with the 38-gun fifth-rate frigate Topaze when Topaze engaged in an inconclusive action in the Adriatic with the 40-gun Flore and the 44-gun Danaé. Topaze sustained no casualties or meaningful damage.

On 1 October Kingfisher joined a squadron off Zante. On 3 October the British captured the port.

In 1810, a midshipman from Kingfisher, together with a corporal of marines and four boys, captured a trabaccolo that turned out to have some 100 French soldiers aboard. Kingfisher conveyed them to Malta.

In 1811, Kingfisher was in the Adriatic, participating indirectly in the Action of 29 November 1811 when Active captured Pomone. Kingsfisher came up after the fighting was over and took Pomone in tow. Later, Kingfisher shared in the prize money.

On 29 January 1813 Kingfisher was in company with Cerberus when they captured the Madona della Grazia. Prize money was paid in April 1838.

2 February 1813, after a five-hour chase, her boats captured one trabaccolo and ran nine ashore at St. Catherine's, Corfu, of which five were destroyed. Kingfisher lost two men killed and seven severely wounded.

On 27 May 1813, Kingsfisher was at Port Slano (Croatia). There she destroyed three vessels and took six, laden with grain and wine for Ragussa.

Fate
Between 1814 and 1816, Kingfisher was placed in ordinary at Portsmouth. She was broken up in October 1816

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1814 – Launch of HMS Conway as the lead ship of her class.


HMS Conway
was launched in 1814 as the lead ship of her class. The Navy sold her in 1825 and she became the merchantman Toward Castle, and then a whaler. She was lost in 1838 off Baja California while well into her third whaling voyage.

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Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines and longitudinal half breadth proposed and approved, for Fowey / Towey (1814), Mersey (1814), Conway (1814), Eden (1814), Tyne (1814), Tanmar (1814), Tees (1817), Menai (1814), Wye (1814), Dee (1814), all 26/28-gun Sloops to be built by contract in private yards. Note alterations to back stay, main channel, fore channel and hawse pipes for Tamar in 1817. Annotation at top: "Chatham Officers were directed to fit the fore backstay stool further aft and Mizzien backstay stool 3ft further aft, on board the Tamar, and to fit her with Trysail Mast Pr Warrant dated 26 February 17."


The Conway class sailing sixth rates were a series of ten Royal Navy post ships built to an 1812 design by Sir William Rule. All ten were ordered on 18 January 1812, and nine of these were launched during 1814, at the end of the Napoleonic War; the last (Tees) was delayed and was launched in 1817.

These ships were originally designated as "sloops", but were nominally rated as sixth rates of 20 guns when built, as their 12-pounder carronades were not included in the official rating. When this changed in February 1817, they were rated at 28 guns.

Ships in class
  • HMS Mersey
  • HMS Eden
    • Builder: William Courtney, Chester
    • Laid down: March 1813
    • Launched: 19 May 1814
    • Completed: 20 June 1814
    • Fate: Broken up at Portsmouth in 1833.
  • HMS Conway
    • Builder: John Pelham, Frindsbury
    • Laid down: May 1813
    • Launched: 10 March 1814
    • Completed: 7 November 1814
    • Fate: Sold in 1825; became the merchantman and whaler Toward Castle and was wrecked in 1838
  • HMS Tamar
    • Builder: Josiah & Thomas Brindley, Frindsbury
    • Laid down: May 1813
    • Launched: 23 March 1814
    • Completed: 5 November 1814
    • Fate: Sold in 1837.
  • HMS Dee
    • Builder: Jabez Bailey, Ipswich
    • Laid down: May 1813
    • Launched: 5 May 1814
    • Completed: 29 October 1814
    • Fate: Sold in 1819.
  • HMS Towey
    • Builder: Balthazar Adams, Bucklers Hard
    • Laid down: May 1813
    • Launched: 6 May 1814
    • Completed: 6 December 1814
    • Fate: Broken up at Plymouth in 1822.
  • HMS Menai
    • Builder: Josiah & Thomas Brindley, Frindsbury
    • Laid down: June 1813
    • Launched: 5 April 1814
    • Completed: 8 December 1814
    • Fate: Broken up in 1853.
  • HMS Tyne
    • Builder: Robert Davy, Topsham, Exeter
    • Laid down: August 1813
    • Launched: 20 May 1814
    • Completed: 9 November 1814
    • Fate: Sold in 1825.
  • HMS Wye
    • Builder: Benjamin Hobbs & George Hellyer, Redbridge, Southampton
    • Laid down: September 1813
    • Launched: 17 August 1814
    • Completed: 10 July 1815
    • Fate: Broken up at Deptford in 1852.
  • HMS Tees
    • Builder: William Taylor, Bideford
    • Laid down: October 1813
    • Launched: 17 May 1817
    • Completed: 30 May 1818
    • Fate: Sold in 1872.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Conway_(1814)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway-class_post_ship
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1868 – Launch of HNLMS Buffel is a 19th-century ironclad ram ship.


HNLMS
Buffel is a 19th-century ironclad ram ship. She was one of the main attractions of the Maritime Museum Rotterdam, also known as the Prince Hendrik Museum, named after its founder, Prince Henry (Hendrik) "The Navigator", who had a naval career and established the basis of the museum back in 1874. In October 2013 the ship moved to Hellevoetsluis and is again open for public.

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HNLMS Buffel in 2008

Construction and design
Built in 1868 by Robert Napier and Sons in Glasgow, Scotland, HNLMS Buffel was the first ship of the Royal Netherlands Navywithout sails but with a steam engine and two propellers, that gave her a maximum speed of almost 13 knots (24 km/h). Her radius of action at 6 knots (11 km/h) was about 2,150 nautical miles (3,980 km). Her main task as an armor-clad ram ship was to play a role in the Dutch coastal defense together with two sister ships and two so-called monitor ships.

Her armament was first of all the ram on her bow, mainly against wooden ships, and originally two 300-pound (140 kg), 23 cm (9 in) Armstrong guns, with a total weight of 25 metric tons, in one turret. These were later replaced by a single 28 cm (11 in) gun, and the armament was enhanced by a couple of smaller guns; two 7.5 cm (3 in), four 3.7 cm (1.5 in), and two Hotchkiss revolving cannons.

The crew consisted of 150 men, officers, petty-officers, and sailors.

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Service record
The ship's only ocean voyage took place on her maiden trip in 1868 from Glasgow to Den Helder. During the voyage, the vessel rolled very much and took on a lot of water. From that day on Buffel remained in the North Sea (in accordance with her role) and her only foreign port of call was Antwerp, Belgium in 1871.

Buffel participated in many national exercises with the Royal Netherlands Army until 1894 when she was retired from active duty. This was followed by a short, two-year period as a training ship for and from 1896 she acted as a lodging or accommodation ship. She was berthed in several naval establishments in the Netherlands, the last 25 years mainly in Amsterdam. She had the (NATO) pennant number A 884 on her bow, A for Auxiliary and 8 as the first cipher for all Royal Netherlands naval ships.

In 1973 Buffel was decommissioned. In 1974, the vessel was sold to the city of Rotterdam to be modified into a museum ship. From 1979 she was opened for visitors. The ship was moved to Hellevoetsluis in 2013 in order to cut costs. Buffel arrived in Hellevoetsluis on 5 October and was moored temporarily in the brick-built Jan Blanken dry dock. This was all done on a three-year lease. On 7 February 2015 she arrived at her final berthing place at the Koningskade 2, in Het Groote Dock in Hellevoetsluis where a historic naval quarter has been developed. Positioned here are: Buffel, Bernisse, an old minesweeper, and Noord Hinder a former lightship on the North Sea. The ship is now operated by volunteers from Stichting Museumschip de Buffel.

In October 2016 Stichting Museumschip de Buffel decided not to renew the three year lease. The group of volunteers then took up the idea to try to save the historical value of the ship for the future. In co-operation with the municipal councils of Rotterdam and Hellevoetsluis, this will be tried out in the coming year 2017.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HNLMS_Buffel
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1880 – Launch of HMS Ajax, the name ship of her class of ironclad battleships built for the Royal Navy during the 1870s


HMS Ajax
was the name ship of her class of ironclad battleships built for the Royal Navy during the 1870s. Completed in 1883, she was immediately placed in reserve until 1885 when the ship was commissioned for the first time. Later that year, Ajax was assigned as a coast guard ship in Scotland and remained there for the next six years. She was reduced to reserve again in 1891 and was taken out of service a decade later. The ship was sold for scrap in 1904 and subsequently broken up.

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Right elevation and plan from Brassey's Naval Annual, 1886

Design and description
The Ajax class was designed as a shallow-draught version of the preceding Inflexible that was also smaller and cheaper; unfortunately the need, imposed by budgetary constraints, to produce a smaller ship produced a vessel with all of the shortcomings of Inflexible but with none of her virtues. The ships had a length between perpendiculars of 280 feet (85.3 m) and were 300 feet 9 inches (91.7 m) long overall, some 44 feet (13.4 m) shorter than Inflexible. They had a beam of 66 feet (20.1 m), and a draught of 23 feet 6 inches (7.2 m) and displaced 8,510 long tons (8,650 t). Their crew consisted of 345 officers and ratings, over 3,000 long tons (3,048 t) less than Inflexible. The Ajax-class ships were bad seaboats and steered very erratically, especially at high speed. More deadwood was added to their sterns in 1886 in a partially successful attempt to rectify the problem.

The Ajax class was powered by a pair of inverted, vertical, compound-expansion steam engines. These were built by John Penn and Sons and each drove a single propeller using steam provided by 10 cylindrical boilers. The engines were designed to produce a total of 6,000 indicated horsepower (4,500 kW) for a speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph). The ships carried a maximum of 970 long tons (986 t) of coal, enough to steam 2,100 nautical miles (3,900 km; 2,400 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph).

They copied the main armament layout of Inflexible with their turrets arranged en echelon so that both turrets could fire directly ahead and to each side, although this was more theoretical than practical due to damage from muzzle blast. Each turret mounted a pair of rifled muzzle-loading RML 12.5-inch (318 mm) guns. Their shells weighed 809 pounds (367.0 kg) while the gun itself weighed 38 long tons (39 t). The guns had a muzzle velocity of 1,575 ft/s (480 m/s) and were credited with the ability to penetrate a nominal 18.4 inches (470 mm) of wrought iron armour at the muzzle. To attack the unarmoured portion of their opponents, the Ajax class was fitted with a pair of rifled breech-loading BL 6-inch (152 mm), 80-pounder guns. For defence against torpedo boats, they carried six quick-firing QF 6-pdr 2.2 in (57 mm) Nordenfelt guns. The ships also mounted a pair of above-water 14-inch (356 mm) torpedo launchers and could carry a 60-foot (18.3 m) torpedo boat.

The Ajax class copied Inflexible's armour scheme of a heavily armoured citadel with unamoured ends and sides, but unlike their predecessor, they lacked enough buoyancy to remain afloat if their ends were flooded. The citadel was 104 feet (31.7 m) long and the armour was composed of wrought iron plates 10 and 8 inches (254 and 203 mm) thick, separated and backed by 10 inches of teak at the waterline, reducing above and below the waterline to an armoured thickness of 15 inches (381.0 mm) in a similar sandwich. The citadel was closed off by fore and aft transverse bulkheads that were 16.5 inches (419 mm) thick above water and 13.5 inches (343 mm) below. The armoured deck was 3 inches (76 mm) thick from bow to stern. The turrets were protected by compound armour plates 16 to 14 inches (406 to 356 mm) thick and 12-inch (305 mm) plates defended the conning tower.

Construction and career
Ajax, the fourth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy,[9] was named for the mythological hero.[10] The ship was laid down on 21 March 1876 in No. 4 Slipway, Pembroke Dockyard, Wales, and was launched on 10 March 1880 by Mrs. George Parkin, wife of the dockyard's Captain-Superintendent. She was completed on 30 March 1883 at a cost of £548,393.

Ajax was not commissioned until 30 April 1885 and was assigned to the Particular Service Squadron commanded by Admiral Geoffrey Hornby. That summer, the squadron evaluated the weapons and defences of a fortified harbour, Berehaven (now Castletownbere), Ireland, against torpedo boats and other threats. In August 1885, when tensions with Russia had subsided, she was posted as guard ship at Greenock. Ajax accidentally collided with the turret ship Devastation in 1887 off Portland. The latter had one compartment below water holed, but Ajax only received two holes in her bow. The ship participated in the annual manoeuvres in August 1889 and a shell exploded in one of her 12.5-inch gun barrels on 2 September, wounding one man. The ship was reduced to reserve at Chatham Dockyard in 1891. Her BL six-inch, 80-pounder guns were replaced by QF six-inch guns in 1897. She was further reduced to Dockyard Reserve in November 1901, and was sold to Castles for scrap in March 1904 and subsequently broken up at Charlton.


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Launch of HMS Agamemnon in 1879 from the Illustrated London News

The Ajax class of ironclad battleships consisted of two ships, HMS Ajax and HMS Agamemnon, serving in the Victorian era Royal Navy. They were armed with turret-mounted main armament.

Design
The Board of Admiralty have a historical tradition of attempting to follow a successful ship with a smaller and cheaper version. This policy, based on financial considerations, has seldom if ever been successful. Just as HMS Warrior was followed by HMS Defence, and as HMS Queen Elizabeth was followed by HMS Revenge, so was HMS Inflexible followed by Ajax and Agamemnon.

These two ships were built to the same concept as Inflexible - a heavily armoured citadel carrying four heavy guns mounted 'en echelon' in turrets to achieve all-round fire - but were required to be of lighter draught, and to displace 3,000 tons less. It was therefore necessary to arm them with guns of 12.5 inch calibre, as against 16 inch in Inflexible, and to accept a maximum speed of nearly two knots less. Also, unlike the Inflexible, these ships were dependent upon the integrity of their unarmoured ends to maintain buoyancy; should the ends have been damaged enough to become waterlogged, the ships would have sunk.

This class were the last ships in the Royal Navy to be armed with muzzle-loading rifles, and the first to carry any form of secondary armament. They were designed from the start not to carry any form of sailing rig.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ajax_(1880)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajax-class_ironclad
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1895 – Launch of Russian Standart, an Imperial Russian yacht serving Emperor Nicholas II and his family, being in her time (late 19th/early 20th century) the largest Imperial Yacht afloat.


The Standart was an Imperial Russian yacht serving Emperor Nicholas II and his family, being in her time (late 19th/early 20th century) the largest Imperial Yacht afloat. After the Russian Revolution the ship was placed in drydock until 1936, when she was converted to a minelayer. During World War II, she participated in the defence of Leningrad.

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Standart arriving at Yalta, The Crimea

History
Imperial Yacht

The Imperial Yacht Standart (Штандартъ) was built by order of Emperor Alexander III of Russia, and constructed at the Danish shipyard of Burmeister & Wain, beginning in 1893. She was launched on 21 March 1895 and came into service early September 1896.

Standart was fitted out with ornate fixtures, including mahogany paneling, crystal chandeliers, and other amenities that made the vessel a suitable floating palace for the Russian Imperial Family. The ship was manned and operated by a crew from the Russian Imperial Navy. During the reign of Nicholas II, Standart was commanded by a naval Captain, although the official commander was a Rear Admiral. Her commander in 1914 was Nikolai Pavlovich Sablin.

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"Standart" in 1909

In 1907, Standart ran aground on an uncharted rock off the Finnish coast. Although damaged, the ship did not sink and was repaired and soon returned to service. The Russian Imperial Family was vacationing on the Standart during the summer of 1914, when they received the news of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo. With the outbreak of World War I, Standart was placed in drydock.

Soviet minelayer Marti

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Minelayer Marti in 1942

After the fall of the Romanov Dynasty, Standart was stripped down and pressed into naval service. The ship was renamed 18 marta (18 March), and later Marti. In 1932-1936, Martiwas converted into a minelayer by the Marti yard in Leningrad. During the Second World War, Marti served in the Baltic, laying mines and bombarding shore positions along the coast. On 23 September 1941, Marti was damaged in an air attack at Kronstadt, but later repaired and continued service until the end of the war. A mine laid off Hanko by Marti sunk the German submarine chaser UJ.117/Gustav Kroner on 1 October 1941.

After the war, Marti was converted into a training ship and renamed Oka in 1957. She continued serving in that role until she was scrapped at Tallinn, Estonia, in 1963.



 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1917 – German auxiliary cruiser SMS Möwe sinks New Zealand freighter Otaki but is seriously damaged


The Action of 10 March 1917 was a single-ship action during the First World War fought between the Imperial German Navy merchant raider SMS Möwe, and the armed New Zealand Shipping Company cargo ship SS Otaki. Although Otaki was sunk, Möwe was badly damaged.

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The sinking of SS Otaki by SMS Möwe

Background
SMS Möwe was already famous. Her commander, Korvettenkapitän Count Nikolaus zu Dohna-Schlodien, had taken Möwe around the world in 1915 and early 1916, sinking several vessels and fighting one engagement on 16 January with the British. With a veteran crew and ship, Kapitän Dohna-Schlodien ran the British blockade of Germany in December 1916 and headed for the mid-Atlantic, taking several vessels along the way.

Action
On 10 March 1917, after months at sea and now returning to Germany, Möwe was in open ocean. At about 02:00, she encountered the 4,491-ton Pacific Steam Navigation Company vessel SS Esmerelda, which was sailing west to Baltimore. Esmerelda was stopped, her crew was taken off and then she was scuttled with explosives.

Just then, a second merchant ship, SS Otaki, appeared on the horizon. She was a 7,420-gross-ton refrigerated cargo ship of the New Zealand Shipping Company sailing from London to New York. Her defence was a single 4.7 inch gun mounted aft with a Royal Navy commander and gun crew of two.

Otaki carried a wireless and could have alerted the British to Möwe's position. In heavy seas and squalls Dohna-Schlodien immediately gave chase, and when she drew near, Dohna-Schlodien signalled Otaki to stop. Her master, Archibald Bisset Smith, refused to surrender his ship. The Germans fired warning shots and were answered with heavy fire from Otaki's stern 120-millimeter gun.

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Möwe in 1916 during her first cruise

Shot after shot pounded Möwe at a range of 2,000 yd (1,800 m); the New Zealand ship's crew badly damaged the raider before the Germans were capable of firing a shot in return. When Möwe began counter firing, her 150-millimeter shells were accurately directed. Several shells struck Otaki, and after a battle that lasted around 20 minutes, she capsized and sank. The British colours were never struck; Lieutenant Smith directed his crew to abandon ship, but he stayed behind. By the end of the action, the German auxiliary cruiser was on fire, so her crew had to extinguish the flames as a matter of priority. Five crewmen and Smith went down with Otaki; the survivors were quickly rescued by the Germans. One of the dead was a 14-year-old midshipman; a memorial at Auchindoir Old Kirk in Aberdeenshire commemorates his falling in action. Well over 200 prisoners were taken from Esmerelda and Otaki. Möwe suffered heavily as well, most of Otaki's rounds striking topside; five men were killed, another ten were wounded.

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Model of the SMS Möwe

Aftermath
The damage caused by Otaki started fires in Möwe's coal bunkers, which burned for two days and nearly reached the ship's magazine. She had already suffered serious flooding after being holed by Otaki's shells; this had required counter-flooding to correct the list, and more was let in to quench the fires. Due to the damage his ship sustained, Dohna-Schlodien was forced to consider returning to Germany. Within a month the raider was back in friendly waters after running the British blockade a fourth and final time. Once again Dohna-Schlodien was rewarded accordingly. The survivors of Otaki and the crew of Esmerelda were taken to Brandenburg, where they remained prisoners for the rest of war. Möwe spent the remainder of the war serving with the German fleet in the Baltic Sea as a minelayer.

Archibald Smith's actions were not fully recognized until after the end of the war. For "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty", he was given a posthumous promotion to temporary Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve so that he could be awarded the Victoria Cross, which as a civilian he was otherwise ineligible for.




 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1936 – Launch of HMS Southampton, a member of the first group of five ships of the Town class of light cruisers.


HMS
Southampton
was a member of the first group of five ships of the Town class of light cruisers. She was built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland and launched on 10 March 1936.

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HMS Southampton in 1937

Service history
Southampton saw service in World War II, and initially served as the flagship of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron with the Home Fleet. On 5 September 1939 she intercepted the German merchant Johannes Molkenbuhr off Stadtlandet, Norway, but her crew scuttled the ship before she could be captured. The crew was taken off by the destroyer Jervis, and Johannes Molkenbuhr was then finished off by destroyer Jersey.

Southampton was later damaged on 16 October 1939 whilst lying at anchor off Rosyth, Scotland, when she was struck by a 500 kg bomb in a German air raid. The bomb was released from only 150 metres (490 ft) height by a Ju 88 of I/KG.30, and hit the corner of the pom-pom magazine, passed through three decks at an angle and exited the hull, detonating in the water. There was minor structural damage and temporary failure of electrical systems. She was repaired and at the end of the year she was one of the ships involved in the hunt for the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau after the sinking of the armed merchant cruiserRawalpindi. She then served with the Humber Force until February 1940, and then went to the 18th Cruiser squadron at Scapa Flow. On 9 April 1940, Southampton was operating off the Norwegian coast when she sustained splinter damage in a German air attack. The main battery director was temporarily knocked out. After being repaired, she had anti-invasion duties on the south-coast of England until she returned to Scapa Flow in October.

On 15 November Southampton sailed for the Mediterranean. She participated in the action off Cape Spartivento on 27 November. In December the cruiser was moved to the Red Sea to escort troop convoys, and at the same time took part in the bombardment of Kismayu during the campaign in Italian East Africa. On 1 January 1941 she joined the 3rd Cruiser Squadron and took part in Operation Excess. In the early afternoon of 11 January, both she and fellow cruiser Gloucester came under attack from 12 Stukadive bombers of II Staffeln, Sturzkampfgeschwader 2, Luftwaffe. She was hit by at least two bombs south-east of Malta and caught fire; the resulting blaze spread from stem to stern and trapped a number of men below decks. 81 men were killed with the survivors being picked up by Gloucester and the destroyer Diamond. Heavily damaged and without power, Southampton was sunk by one torpedo from Gloucester and four from the cruiser Orion.

A week after the sinking Admiral Cunningham, Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, wrote a private letter to the First Sea Lord, Sir Dudley Pound, "I don't like these 'Southampton' class. They are fine ships but that great hangar structure seems to provide a good point of aim, they are always being hit there."



The Town class was a 10-ship class of light cruisers of the Royal Navy. The Towns were designed to the constraints imposed by the London Naval Treaty of 1930. The ships were built in three distinct sub-classes, the Southampton, Gloucester and Edinburgh classes respectively, each sub-class adding on further weaponry.

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museum ship HMS Belfast moored by Tower Bridge - Town class


 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 10 March


1626 - When Richelieu decided to renew the French Royal Navy in 1625, he began by ordering a number of warships to be built in Holland, as the French shipbuilding industry was not at that date capable of constructing them in sufficient quentity. However, in the interim, before these new ships could be built, he arranged to fill the gap by leasing or hiring a number of Dutch and English ships. In June 1625 he procured twenty Dutch warships, of which one was lost in action on 16 July and another on 17 September; the remaining eighteen ships were returned to the Dutch on 10 March 1626.


1741 – Launch of HMS Hawk was an eight-gun snow-rigged sloop of the Royal Navy, the second of three Drake class sloops constructed during the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hawk_(1741)


1754 – Launch of Spanish Aquilón (San Dámaso) 68 (launched 10 March 1754 at Ferrol) - Captured by Britain 11 August 1762, retaining same name, later renamed HMS Moro, BU 1770

Eolo class all ordered 1752 at Ferrol (Esteiro Dyd), 68 guns

Eolo (San Juan de Dios) 68 (launched 1753 at Ferrol) - Stricken 20 March 1864
Oriente (San Diego de Alcala) 68 (launched 15 August 1753 at Ferrol) - Stricken 27 September 1806
Aquilón (San Dámaso) 68 (launched 10 March 1754 at Ferrol) - Captured by Britain 11 August 1762, retaining same name, later renamed HMS Moro, BU 1770
Neptuno (San Justo) 68 (launched 6 July 1754 at Ferrol) - Scuttled 11 August 1762
Magnánimo (San Pastor) 68 (launched 30 November 1754 at Ferrol) - Wrecked 12 July 1794
Gallardo (San Juan de Sahagún) 68 (launched 18 October 1754 at Ferrol) - Scuttled 16 February 1797
Brillante (San Dionisio) 68 (launched 20 August 1754 at Ferrol) - Burnt 10 October 1790
Vencedor (San Julian) 68 (launched 11 June 1755 at Ferrol) - transferred to France 1806, renamed Argonaute, captured by Spain 1808, renamed Vencedor, wrecked 1810
Glorioso (San Francisco Javier) 74 (launched 29 January 1755 at Ferrol) - stricken 5 May 1818 to BU
Guerrero (San Raimundo) 68 (launched 27 March 1755 at Ferrol) - BU 1844
Soberano (San Gregorio) 68 (launched 9 August 1755 at Ferrol) - Captured by Britain 11 August 1762, retaining same name, BU 1770
Héctor (San Bernardo) 68 (launched 22 September 1755 at Ferrol) - stricken 11 June 1768 and BU 1790


1785 – Launch of HMS Regulus was a 44-gun fifth rate ship of the Royal Navy launched in 1781



1785 – Launch of HMS Chichester

The Adventure-class ship was a class of eight 44-gun sailing two-decker warships of the Royal Navy, classed as a fifth rate like a frigate, but carrying two complete decks of guns, a lower battery of 18-pounders and an upper battery of 12-pounders. This enabled the vessel to deliver a broadside of 318 pounds.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure-class_ship


1796 – Launch of Henry Addington was an East Indiaman in the service of the British East India Company (EIC).

Henry Addington was an East Indiaman in the service of the British East India Company (EIC). She made one voyage for the EIC and was only five days into her second when she wrecked in 1798 at the Isle of Wight.

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East Indiaman Henry Addington with a jury rudder (Drawing) (PAD8974)



1805 – Private ship of war Kitty captures the Spanish private ship of war Felicity

Kitty was a sailing ship that began her career as a West Indiaman. She then served the Royal Navy from 17 May 1804 to 17 January 1805 as a hired armed ship. Next she became a privateer. On her return from privateering she returned to mercantile service, particularly later trading with Russia. She underwent repairs in 1830 and a change in ownership to emerge as a whaler. After four whaling voyages between 1830 and 1846 she returned to mercantile service and was last listed in 1852.



1860 – Launch of The French ironclad Normandie was the third and last of the three wooden-hulled Gloire-class ironclads built for the French Navy in 1858–62.

The French ironclad Normandie was the third and last of the three wooden-hulled Gloire-class ironclads built for the French Navyin 1858–62. The ships of the Gloire class were classified as armoured frigates because they only had a single gun deck and their traditional disposition of guns arrayed along the length of the hull also meant that they were broadside ironclads. Normandie was the first ironclad to cross the Atlantic in support of the French intervention in Mexico in 1862. Although the ship was active during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, she saw no action. The unseasoned timber of her hull rotted quickly; she was condemned in 1871 and subsequently scrapped.

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


1868 – Launch of French ironclad Reine Blanche was a wooden-hulled armored corvette built for the French Navy in the late 1860s as an improvement over the armored corvette Belliqueuse.

The French ironclad Reine Blanche was a wooden-hulled armored corvette built for the French Navy in the late 1860s as an improvement over the armored corvette Belliqueuse. She played a minor role in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and was accidentally rammed by one of her sisters in 1877. The ship bombarded the port of Sfax during the French occupation of Tunisia in 1881 before being sent to the Pacific in 1884. She quickly returned to port with worn-out boilers and was condemned later that year.

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Model of Reine Blanche's sister, Jeanne d'Arc, on display at the Musée de la Marine in Paris, before the rear barbettes were removed.



1887 – Launch of HMS Serpent, was an Archer-class torpedo cruiser of the Royal Navy.

HMS Serpent
, was an Archer-class torpedo cruiser of the Royal Navy. Serpent was built at Devonport Dockyard, entering service in 1888. She was lost when she ran aground off Cape Vilan in northwest Spain with the loss of all but three of her crew.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Serpent_(1887)


1887 – Launch of HMS Galatea was one of seven Orlando-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1880s.

HMS Galatea
was one of seven Orlando-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1880s. She was sold for scrap on 5 April 1905.

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1919 The first flight from a battleship platform is made by Lt. Cmdr. Edward O. McDonnell in a Sopwith Camel from turret No. 2 of USS Texas (BB 35) while anchored at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

USS Texas (BB-35), the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the U.S. state of Texas, is a New York-classbattleship. The ship was launched on 18 May 1912 and commissioned on 12 March 1914.

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USS Texas (BB-35), off New York City, c. 1919.

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Texas seen at sunrise at the end of 2007; the obelisk in the background is the San Jacinto Monument.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Texas_(BB-35)


1943 - March 10–11 Convoy HX 228 - 5 ships and 2 U-boats sunk in North Atlantic

HX 228
was a North Atlantic convoy of the HX series which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It was one of a series of four convoy battles that occurred during the crisis month of March 1943 and is notable for the loss of the Escort Group leader Commander AA "Harry" Tait.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convoy_HX_228


1943 - USS Savannah (CL 42) and USS Eberle (DD 430) intercept German blockade runner Karin in the South Atlantic. After boarding the ship, a timed explosion goes off, killing 11 of Eberles boarding party.

Kota Tjandi, a former Dutch ship called Karin by her Kriegsmarine crew, was brought to a halt by shots fired across her bow by the two American warships. Just as a boarding party from Eberle arrived alongside, powerful time bombs, planted just before Karin's lifeboats got underway, exploded. Eleven sailors of the boarding party were killed, but one of Savannah's boat rescued three men from the water. Savannah took 72 German sailors on board, and quartered them below decks as prisoners-of-war.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Savannah_(CL-42)


1945 - The Navy and civilian nurses interned at Los Banos, Philippines as prisoners of war since early January 1942 are flown back to U.S. The Navy nurses are later awarded the Bronze Star for their time in captivity.


1953 - Steamship Princess Victoria was a luxury passenger ship built in 1902 sank


 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 March 1635 – Launch of Leopard, a 34-gun third-rate ship of the line of the English Navy, built by Peter Pett I at Woolwich


Leopard was a 34-gun third-rate ship of the line of the English Navy, built by Peter Pett I at Woolwich and launched in 1635.

During the First Anglo-Dutch War, Leopard was captured by the Eendracht of the Dutch Republic at the Battle of Leghorn on 3 March 1653, with the loss of 70 men killed and 54 wounded. In Dutch service she was renamed Luipaard.

81758
An interpretation of an action during the First Dutch War, 1652-54. The increasing conflict of trade interests between England and the Netherlands in the first half of the 17th century made armed conflict likely and inevitable after Cromwell's Navigation Act of 1651. All three Anglo-Dutch wars which followed were solely maritime conflicts. By early in 1653 the English forces were split and their position in the Mediterranean became critical. Captain Badiley was trapped with four men-of-war at Porto Longone in Elba, and Captain Appleton with the 'Leopard', 50 guns and five hired merchantmen, was similarly placed at Leghorn, where the Dutch fleet was also hovering. To make matters worse, the British had incurred the displeasure of the Grand Duke of Tuscany when they violated the neutrality of this port by recapturing the 'Phoenix', 40 guns. This hardened the Duke's opinion against the English and by the beginning of March 1653 Appleton was ordered to leave Leghorn. Furthermore, the news of the Dutch victory off Dungeness convinced the Grand Duke that the Dutch might win the war. When the Dutch massed all of their ships off Leghorn, it enabled Badiley to leave Elba and attempt to join Appleton. Unfortunately, when Badiley appeared heading towards Leghorn, Appleton sailed from port prematurely and attacked the Dutch before Badiley arrived to join him. Only one of Appleton's squadron, the merchantman 'Mary', fought her way through to join Badiley, who, seeing the hopelessness of the situation, initially retreated to Elba and then returned to Britain. 150 men out of 200 were killed or wounded before Appleton surrendered his ship. As a consequence of the battle, the Dutch were left in command of the Mediterranean. In this depiction of the action, Leghorn is visible in the background to the left. In the foreground Appleton, in the 'Leopard', is fighting a losing battle between two Dutchmen. The ship on the left is the Dutch 'Zon', 40 guns, which was subsequently sunk. It has the emblem of the sun carved on its stern. To the right, the rest of the ships are depicted in action. Van Galen, the Dutch commander, is in the foreground firing at a ship already on fire, while another two English ships have sunk or are sinking on the left. The artist Reinier Nooms, also known as Zeeman, was born and died in Amsterdam. This pseudonym reflects the artist's early life spent at sea. He painted in the Dutch realist style with a lively palette. The artist has signed 'R Zeeman' on the flag at the stern of the 'Zon'. The painting is known to have been in the Landrat Loeb-Caldenhof Collection near Hamm, Westphalia, which was formed in the first years of the 19th century when church property was secularized on Napoleon's orders. It was among many paintings sold about 1930, being acquired by the Galerie Julius Stern in Dusseldorf and subsequently sold to Sir James Caird for the Museum collection in 1933, through the Galerie Matthiessen, Berlin.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_ship_Leopard_(1635)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 March 1727 - The Action of 11 March 1727 was a minor naval engagement of the Anglo-Spanish War.


The Action of 11 March 1727 was a minor naval engagement of the Anglo-Spanish War.

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On 11 March the brand new Spanish 46-gun fifth-rate warship Nuestra Senora Del Rosario was out on sea trials after just being fully completed. The ship was on a journey bound from Santander to Cadiz. Meanwhile, HMS Royal Oak detached on a cruise with HMS Canterbury from the main body of a Royal Naval squadron reinforcing Gibraltar from a Spanish siege.

They sighted the Spanish frigate near the port of Cadiz and gave chase. Soon Royal Oak caught up, and after a few broadsides the Spanish warship soon surrendered. Canterbury was not able to get up till just as the Spanish surrendered. The prize was carried with the rest of the squadron, which managed to slip past the besieging Spanish forces to relieve Gibraltar on the 13 March.


81763
Medium includes graphite. On the left, a near starboard quarter view of the ‘Royal Oak’ at anchor. Her main topmasthead is not shown, but there is the tail of a pendant shown in the top left corner. Several other ships are in the background. It is inscribed ‘rooijal oock 1674’. This drawing is by the Younger, signed ‘W.V.VJ’ in pencil. The work is in pen, brown ink and grey wash over slight preliminary pencil work. Some of the wash may have been added by a later hand.

HMS Royal Oak was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Jonas Shish at Deptford and launched in 1674. She was one of only three Royal Navy ships to be equipped with the Rupertinoe naval gun. Life aboard her when cruising in the Mediterranean in 1679 is described in the diary of Henry Teonge.

She was rebuilt at Chatham Dockyard in 1690 as a 70-gun third rate.

On 24 August 1704, Royal Oak participated in the Battle of Vélez-Málaga, in the centre division of the combined English-Dutch fleet under Admiral George Rooke.

She was rebuilt a second time at Woolwich Dockyard, relaunching on 14 May 1713 as a 70-gun third rate built to the 1706 Establishment.[3] She fought off Forbin's squadron during the Action of 2 May 1707, and was also present in the Battle at The Lizard.

Under the command of Captain Thomas Kempthorne, Royal Oak took part in the Battle of Cape Passaro on 11 August 1718 as part of Admiral Sir George Byng's fleet.

On 8 March 1737 she was ordered to be taken to pieces at Plymouth, and rebuilt as a 70-gun ship according to the 1733 proposalsof the 1719 Establishment. She was relaunched on 29 August 1741. Captain Philip Vincent took command and the ship was assigned to the Mediterranean with Rear Admiral Richard Lestock's squadron. Vincent was succeeded by Captain Edmund Willams, Captain Charles Long and finally Captain James Hodsall.

Royal Oak was converted to serve as a prison ship at Plymouth in 1756. The ship was the scene of an incident in January 1759 in which a French prisoner, Jean Manaux, told the warden that his fellow prisoners were forging passes. His fellow prisoners discovered this and, on 25 January, dragged him to a remote part of the ship, gave him approximately 60 strokes with a large iron thimble tied to a rope, then beat him to death after he struggled from his bonds. They dismembered his body in an attempt to dispose of it. At an inquest ashore the next day, one of the prisoners provided information on the murder, which resulted in the hanging of Charles Darras, Louis Bourdec, Fleurant Termineu, Pierre Pitroll and Pierre Lagnal on April 25 at Exeter.

Royal Oak was broken up in 1763



 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 March 1756 - HMS Warwick, a 60-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, captured by three french ships


HMS Warwick
was a 60-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built to the 1719 Establishment at Plymouth by P. Lock.[2] The keel was laid down on 1 April 1730, and the ship was launched on 25 October 1733, and completed on 24 August 1734.

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Service history
Warwick was commissioned under the command of Captain Edmund Brooke. She proved to be an inferior design; top-heavy and with a tendency to heel over in strong winds. In 1735 she was with the fleet of Admiral John Norris in the Tagus. In October 1736 she returned to England and was paid off.

She was recommissioned in June 1739 under the command of Captain John Toller, and served with Admiral Nicholas Haddock's fleet in the Mediterranean. Command had passed to Captain Temple West by 1743, under whom she was present at the Battle of Toulon on 11 February 1744.

She was recommissioned in January 1746 under the command of Captain Robert Erskine. On 14 July 1747, Warwick was off the Azores in company with the 40-gun Lark, Captain John Crookshanks, when she encountered the Spanish 74 Glorioso, sailing from the Spanish Main with 3 million dollars in treasure. Warwick attacked but, left unsupported, was beaten to a standstill, and the Glorioso escaped. Crookshanks, who was the senior officer, was cashiered.

In 1748, under the command of Captain Thomas Innes, Warwick was part of the squadron under Sir Charles Knowles in the Caribbean, and took part on the attacks on Fort Saint Louis de Sud and Santiago de Cuba in March and April, and in the Battle of Havana on 12 October 1748.

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Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, stern board outline, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for Warwick (1733), a 1719 Establishment 60-gun Fourth Rate, two-decker as built at Plymouth Dockyard.

Capture by France
She was recommissioned in March 1755 under the command of Captain Molyneux Shuldham and sailed for the Leeward Islands. On 21 December 1755 Warwick was detached by Commodore Thomas Frankland to cruise in the neighbourhood of Martinique. At daybreak on 11 March 1756, three French ships were sighted, and Warwick attempted to escape. The ships were the 74-gun Prudent, Captain d'Aubigny, and frigates Atalante and Zéphyr. In the heavy seas Warwick was unable to bring her lower deck guns into action, and also her crew had been depleted by illness, with less than 300 from her crew of 400 fit. Atalante (34), Captain Du Chaffault, came up on her quarter, and kept up a steady fire, cutting up her rigging. The Prudent then also drew in close and opened fire. Shuldham ordered his guns to fire on the larger ship, firing at Atalante with small-arms only. After half an hour, in a hopeless position, Warwick surrendered. Shuldham was held as a prisoner of war for two years. On his return to England he was court-martialled for the loss of his ship, but found to have "done his duty."

Recapture by Great Britain
On 20 January 1761 Warwick sailed from Rochefort, mounting only 34 guns, and loaded with provisions, ammunition, stores, and a detachment of troops bound for the Isle de France (now Mauritius). On the 24th she was recaptured by HMS Minerva, under the command of Captain Alexander Hood, in the Bay of Biscay.[7] She proved unfit for further service and was broken up later that year.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, stern board outline with some decoration detail, sheer lines with some inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for Warwick (1733), a 1719 Establishment 60-gun Fourth Rate, two-decker. Signed by Peirson Lock [Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1726-1742]


 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 March 1758 – Launch of HMS Venus (renamed HMS Heroine in 1809), the name ship of the 36-gun Venus-class fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy.


HMS Venus
(renamed HMS Heroine in 1809) was the name ship of the 36-gun Venus-class fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1758 and served for more than half a century until 1809. She was reduced from 36 guns to 32 guns in 1792. She was sold in 1822.

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Career
On 18 May 1759, Venus, HMS Thames, and HMS Chatham, were in company when Venus intercepted the French frigate Arethusenear Audierne Bay (Baie d'Audierne (in French)). After a two-hour chase, Arethuse lost her top masts and was overtaken. Thames and Venus engaged her with heavy fire, causing 60 casualties before she surrendered. Arethuse subsequently had a lengthy career as HMS Arethusa.

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Action between HMS Venus (left) and French frigate La Sémillante, 27 May 1793.

French Revolutionary Wars
On 27 May 1793, Venus, Captain Jonathon Faulkner, encountered the French frigate La Sémillante south-west of Cape Finisterre which resulted in close action. "The sails, rigging and spars of the British frigate had taken the brunt of the enemy fire and were extremely cut up so that a further engagement was inadvisable. Indeed she was lucky to escape an encounter with a fresh opponent."

On 17 July 1801, Tromp, Circe, and Venus left Portsmouth with a convoy to the West Indies.

Napoleonic Wars
On the morning of 10 July 1805, Venus encountered the French privateer brig Hirondelle. After a chase of 65 miles, during which Hirondelle threw two of her 6-pounder guns overboard, Venus succeeded in capturing her quarry. Hirondelle, of Dunkirk, was armed with four 6-pounder guns and twelve 3-pounder guns, and had a crew of 90 men. She left Gigeon, Spain, on 27 June, but had not captured anything. However, on prior cruise, she had captured several vessels, most notably the Falmouth packet Queen Charlotte, which had resisted for some two hours before striking her colours.

On 18 January 1807 Venus captured the French privateer brig Determinée of Guadeloupe, one hundred leagues east of Barbados after a chase of 16 hours. Determinée had a crew of 108 men and was pierced for 20 guns but carried only 14. The British took her into service as Netley.

Venus was paid-off and put into Ordinary in July 1807 at Woolwich. On 14 July 1807 she was renamed Heroine after the capture of the Danish vessel Venus.

Between March and May 1809 she was fitted for Baltic service. Captain Hood Hanway Christian recommissioned Heroine in March and commanded her until November 1809. Heroine participated in the reduction of Flushing in 1809 during the Walcheren Campaign. In this engagement Heroine was part of a squadron of ten frigates under the command of Captain Lord William Stuart. On 11 August 1809 this squadron sailed up the western Scheldt under a light wind, suffering minor damage from the shore batteries of Flushing and Cadzand. Two men were wounded on Heroine.

Fate
Heroine was paid off and laid up at Sheerness between November 1809 and December 1823. Between 1817 and 1820 she served as a receiving ship. Then between December 1823 and June 1824 she underwent fitting at Woolwich to serve as a temporary convict ship. The "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy offered "Heroine, of 32 guns and 722 tons", lying at Deptford, for sale on 22 September 1828. She was sold on that date to John Small Sedger for £1,170.

sistership Brilliant
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Lines & Profile (ZAZ2625)

The Venus-class frigates were three 36-gun sailing frigates of the fifth rate produced for the Royal Navy. They were designed in 1756 by Sir Thomas Slade, and were enlarged from his design for the 32-gun Southampton-class frigates, which had been approved four months earlier.

The 36-gun frigates, of which this was to be the only British design in the era of the 12-pounder frigate, carried the same battery of twenty-six 12-pounders as the 32-gun predecessors; the only difference lay in the secondary armament on the quarter deck, which was here doubled to eight 6-pounders. Slade's 36-gun design was approved on 13 July 1756, on which date two ships were approved to be built by contract to these plans. A third ship was ordered about two weeks later, to be built in a royal dockyard.

The Venus-class were faster than their Southampton-class predecessors, making up to 13 knots ahead of strong winds and ten knots while close-hauled compared with Southampton-class speeds of 12 and 8 knots respectively. Both Venus- and Southampton-class frigates were highly maneuverable and capable of withstanding heavy weather, in comparison with their French counterparts during the Seven Years' War.

Ships in class
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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 March 1774 – Launch of french 64 gun ship of the line Superbe, which was sold in 1779 to Austria.


Sévère class
, built by François Caro for commercial operators, to the design of Antoine Groignard's Indien Class. Purchased in 1778-79 by the French Navy. A third sister-ship - the Superbe (launched 11 March 1774) was sold in 1779 to Austria.

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Sévère 64 (launched 17 January 1775 at Lorient-Caudan, and purchased for the French Navy in November 1778) - Wrecked 26 January 1784 in Table Bay, South Africa.

Built as an Indiaman by Roth on the lines of a previous ship, Superbe, that had been sold to the Austrian East India Company, Sévère was purchased by the Crown in November 1778 and commissioned for the American Revolutionary War.

She was incorporated into Suffren's squadron. She took part in the Battle of Negapatam in 1782, under Captain Villeneuve-Cilart; during the battle, Villeneuve panicked and attempted to strike, but was prevented from doing so by officers Dieu and Kerlero de Rosbo. Sévère ended up causing damage to HMS Sultan.

Sévère was later armed en flûte, and was wrecked on 26 January 1784 at the Cape of Good Hope.



Ajax 64 (launched 14 January 1774 at Lorient-Caudan under the name Maréchal de Broglie, and purchased for the French Navy in April 1779, being renamed Ajax on 13 August 1779) - Struck in 1786, but reinstated as a floating battery at Verdon in June 1795; taken to pieces after March 1801

Built as Maréchal de Broglie for private owners and transferred to the French East India Company, the ship sailed two journeys to China as a merchantman. In April 1779, she was purchased by the Crown to ferry furnitures to Isle de France (now Mauritius) and be commissioned as a warship upon her arrival. In June, she was coppered, and she received her name of Ajax on 13 August.

On 16 February 1780, Ajax departed Lorient with Protée, Éléphant and Charmante, escorting a convoy bound for India. In late February, off Spain, the convoy met Rodney's fleet; Protée sacrificed herself to hold the British back and was captured on 24, while Charmante returned to Lorient, arriving on 3 March, and the convoy escaped under the protection of Ajax.

Arrived at Isle the France, Ajax joined Suffren's squadron. She took part in the Battle of Negapatam in 1782, under Captain Bouvet. The rigging of Ajax having been damaged by a gale the night before and not been repaired, Bouvet requested authorisation to retreat to effect his repairs; when Suffren refused, Ajax remained with her squadron but without taking part in the action. Suffren was furious and cashiered Bouvet for his conduct.

Ajax then took part in the Battle of Trincomalee and in the Battle of Cuddalore, under Captain Dupas de la Mancelière, who was killed in the action.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Sévère_(1778)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 March 1784 – Launch of spanish Bahama, a 74-gun ship of the line of the Spanish Navy


Bahama was a 74-gun ship of the line of the Spanish Navy. She was built in Havana on plans originally drawn by Ignacio Mullan for the 64-gun San Pedro de Alcantara, completed as a project of Gautier. She was later rebuilt as a 74-gun.

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Career
In 1784, Bahama was under Captain Félix del Corral y Jaime, with Commander Francisco de la Bodega y Cuadra as first officer. She departed Havana on 5 January 1785 in the fleet under Admiral Francisco de Borja, bound for Cadiz, where she arrived on 2 March.

On 3 June 1788, she entered drydock number 3 of Carraca arsenal for a refit and rebuilt as a 74-gun.

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Navío de línea de la Armada Española Bahama, pintado por Rafael Berenguer (1822-1890), Museo naval de Madrid

Battle of Trafalgar
Bahama took part in the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, under Commodore Dionisio Alcalá Galiano. She was part of the vanguard of the Franco-Spanish fleet, at the 6th position in the second division of the reconnaissance squadron under Admiral Gravina, and came under intense fire from British ships. Bahama suffered 75 killed and 65 wounded, among whom Galiano, who died from his wounds after a cannonball struck him.

The British captured Bahama and sailed her to Gibraltar for repairs. She then sailed to England, where she was hulked and used as a prison ship. She was scrapped in Chatham in 1814.

81779
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with sternboard outline, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for Bahama (captured 1805), a captured Spanish Third Rate, two-decker. The plan illustrates her as taken off at Chatham Dockyard prior to being broken up. Signed by George Parkin [Master Shipwright, Chatham Dockyard, 1813-1830].


 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 March 1796 – Launch of French Comète, a Romaine class frigate of the French Navy


The Comète was a Romaine class frigate of the French Navy.

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She took part in the Atlantic campaign of 1806 and in the Battle of San Domingo.

The frigates Comète and Félicité, and the corvette Diligente captured and burned the American vessel Lark, Moore, master, which was sailing from Philadelphia to Jamaica.

From June 1808, she was used as a mast machine in Bayonne, and was eventually broken up in 1810.


81780
Portrait of Incorruptible by Olivier Colin.

The Romaine class was a class of nine frigates of the French Navy, designed in 1794 by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait. They were originally designated as "bomb-frigates" (Fr. frégate-bombarde) and were intended to carry a main armament of twenty 24-pounder guns and a 12-inch mortar mounted on a turntable in front of the mizzen mast. Experience quickly led to the mortars being removed (in most vessels they were never fitted), and the 24-pounders were replaced by 18-pounder guns. The ships also featured a shot furnace, but they proved impractical, dangerous to the ships themselves, and were later discarded. A further eleven ships ordered to this design in 1794 were not built, or were completed to altered designs.

Two vessels of the class became breakwaters in less than 15 years after their construction. The British Royal Navy captured three. One was lost at sea. None had long active duty careers. All-in-all, these ships do not appear to have been successful with the initially intended armament, but proved of adequate performance once their heavy mortar was removed and their 24-pounders replaced with 18-pounder long guns.

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sistership
81786
lines & profile NMM, Progress Book, volume 5, folio 739, states that 'Desiree' (1800) arrived at Sheerness Dockyard on 12 July 1800, was docked on 23 August, and sailed on 10 November 1800 having been fitted. The work cost £10,258. She was sold to Mr Joseph Christie of Rotherhithe on 22 Agusut 1832 for £2,020.

Romaine class, (design by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait, initially given 20 x 24-pounder guns and a 12-inch mortar, although all those completed were later armed or re-armed with 18-pounder guns and no mortar).

Romaine, (launched 25 September 1794 at Le Havre).
Immortalité, (launched 7 January 1795 at Lorient) – captured by the British Navy 1798, becoming HMS Immortalite.
Impatiente, (launched 12 March 1795 at Lorient).
Incorruptible, (launched 20 May 1795 at Dieppe).
Revanche, (launched 31 August 1795 at Dieppe).
Libre, (launched 11 February 1796 at Le Havre).
Comète, (launched 11 March 1796 at Le Havre).
Désirée, (launched 23 April 1796 at Dunkirk) – captured by the British Navy 1800, becoming HMS Desiree.
Poursuivante, (launched 24 May 1796 at Dunkirk).

sistership
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This images shows port stern quarter views of the L'Immortalite (on the left) and the Fisgard (on the right) as they both run before the wind, engaging in broadside gun battle. Smoke billows between the vessels and both have holed sails. L'Immortalite flies the French flag at her stern, while the Fisgard flies the red ensign.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Comète_(1796)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 March 1813 - Battle of Suriname River
HMS Coquette and the American privateer General Armstrong have an inconclusive engagement


11 March 1813, under the command of Guy R. Champlin, General Armstrong was in the mouth of the suriname River when she encountered a vessel that she presumed to be a British privateer. This ship was, in fact, the British sloop HMS Coquette. The ensuing battle caused a lot of damage to the General Armstrong. Champlin was injured and threatened to blow up the ship if his crew surrendered. General Armstrong managed to escape.

In his log-book Champlin wrote: "In this action we had six men killed and sixteen wounded, and all the halyards of the headsails shot away; the fore-mast and bowsprit one quarter cut through, and all the fore and main shrouds but one shot away; both mainstays and running rigging cut to pieces; a great number of shot through our sails, and several between wind and water, which caused our vessel to leak. There were also a number of shot in our hull."

General Armstrong returned to the US and arrived in Charleston 4 April. The shareholders of the General Armstrong awarded Champlin a sword in recognition of his saving the General Armstrong.


HMS Coquette was launched in 1807 and spent her naval career patrolling in the Channel and escorting convoys. In 1813 she engaged an American privateer in a notable but inconclusive single-ship action. The Navy put Coquette in ordinary in 1814 and sold her in 1817. She became a whaler and made five whaling voyages before she was lost in 1835 on her sixth.

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Talbot Class
Coquette was the second ship in a class of two sloops; her sister ship was HMS Talbot, the name ship for the class. Both were enlarged versions of the Cormorant-class ship-sloop. In 1811 the Admiralty re-rated Talbot and Coquette as 20-gun post ships.

Royal Navy service
Commander Robert Forbes commissioned Coquette for the Channel in June 1807. An announcement of his appointment to Coquette described her as "the fins and largest sloop in the British Navy".

On 19 November 1807, Coquette recovered the English brig Amazon, which was carrying a cargo of hemp. Amazon, Birkley, master, had been sailing from Petersburg to Plymouth when two French privateers captured her off the Isle of Wight. Coquette recaptured Amazon and sent her into Portsmouth, where Amazon arrived on 2 December.

On 26 October 1807, Tsar Alexander I of Russia declared war on Great Britain. The official news did not arrive there until 2 December, at which time the British declared an embargo on all Russian vessels in British ports. Coquette was one of some 70 vessels that shared in the proceeds of the seizure of the 44-gun Russian frigate Speshnoy (Speshnyy), and the Russian storeship Wilhelmina (or Vilghemina) then in Portsmouth harbour. The Russian vessels were carrying the payroll for Vice-Admiral Dmitry Senyavin’s squadron in the Mediterranean.

On 23 October 1808, Coquette was in company with Daring when they captured the French privateer Espiegle.

Forbes was promoted to post captain on 21 October 1810, the fifth anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar. Commander George Hewson replaced Forbes in November.

On 12 July a vessel arrived at Leith that Coquette had detained as the vessel was sailing from Archangel.

On 16 November HMS Chanticleer took possession of the derelict vessel Haabet near the Dogger Bank. Haabet, of near 800 tons burthen, Jannsen, master, had lost her main and mizzen mast and was waterlogged. Her crew had abandoned her. She had been bringing timber from Memel. Two days later Coquette took Haabet into Leith, arriving on 21 November.

Between January and May 1812 Coquette was undergoing fitting at Woolwich. In March Captain Thomas Bradby assumed command. In May, Captain John Simpson replaced Bradby.

When news of the outbreak of the War of 1812 reached Britain, the Royal Navy seized all American vessels then in British ports. Coquette was among the Royal Navy vessels then lying at Spithead or Portsmouth and so entitled to share in the grant for the American ships Belleville, Janus, Aeos, Ganges and Leonidas seized there on 31 July 1812.

On 20 November Coquette sailed from Portsmouth with a convoy bound for the West Indies.

On 11 March 1813 Coquette was a little to windward of Suriname. At 6 o'clock in the morning she encountered a schooner. Simpson lured the schooner closer by sailing like a merchantman. The schooner opened fire at 9a.m. with a 32-pounder gun that outranged Coquette's guns. Coquette was finally able to engage at about 10:30a.m. She discovered that the schooner, which flew an American flag, was armed with 14 guns, plus the 32-pounder, and had a crew of over 100 men. In the engagement the vessels exchanged broadsides and both sustained damage. It appeared that the American might strike her flag, but instead she took to her sweeps and escaped as the wind was too weak for Coquette to pursue. Coquette had four men wounded, two of whom later died.

The American privateer was General Armstrong. Her captain later reported that she had suffered six men killed and 16 wounded in the engagement.

Main article: General Armstrong § Battle of Suriname River
Lloyd's List reported on 21 May 1813 that General Armstrong's long gun was a 42-pounder, and that she had a crew of 140 men. It also reported, incorrectly, that her captain (Guy R. Champlin), had been killed.

On 20 July, Coquette was in company with Cressy, Frolic, and Mercury at the capture of the American ship Fame.

Disposal: The Navy placed Coquette in Ordinary at Woolwich in 1814. The "Principal Officers and Commisioners of His Majesty's Navy" offered the "Coquette sloop, of 484 tons", lying at Deptford, for sale on 30 January 1817. She finally sold for £1,090 on 30 April to a Mr. Ismay.

sistership
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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with midship framing, and longitudinal half-breadth for Cormorant (1794) and Favourite (1794), both 16-gun Ship Sloop (with quarter deck & forecastle), building at Rotherhithe by Messrs Randall & Brent.


Mercantile service
Coquette became a whaler, sailing for a sequence of owners. Coquet first appeared in Lloyd's Register and the Register of Shipping in 1818 with J. (or T.) Moore, master, Rains, owner, and trade London–South Seas.

1st whaling voyage (1817–1818): Captain Joseph Moore sailed in 1817. Coquette returned on 7 November 1819 with 600 casks of whale oil.

2nd whaling voyage (1820–1823): Captain King sailed on 9 June 1820, bound for Peru. On 22 January 1821 Coquette and Globe, of Nantucket spoke in the Eastern Pacific. Captain Phillips of Coquette reported that Captain King had taken ill and returned to London. Phillips, the chief mate, had assumed command.

On 14 August 1821 10 of the 12 men in a landing party from Coquette were massacred at Hanamenu on the island of Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands. They had the misfortune to arrive as a local war commenced and one side assumed they were enemy. HMS Dauntless was sent to investigate and exact reprisals.

Between 9 and 30 October 1822 Coquette was at Honolulu after having fished off the coast of Japan. She returned to England on 18 April 1823 with 600 casks of whale oil.

3rd whaling voyage (1823–1826): Captain John Stavers sailed from England on 2 November 1823. Coquette was at the Moluccas on 29 March 1824, on the coast of Japan in June-July, and at Timor in September.

While Coquette was at Guam in 1825 Stavers entered into a dispute with the Spanish governor there. The governor did not acknowledge Stavers's invitation to fight, but in the evening a party of the governor's guards lured Stavers into an ambush and murdered him. Some accounts state that the Governor executed Stavers for "drunken riotous behavior". Captain Spencer replaced Stavers.

Coquette returned to England on 1 September 1826 with 550 casks or 2600 barrels.

Lloyd's Register for 1827 shows Coquette as having undergone repairs in 1827, and her master changing from Buckle to Thornton. It also shows her owner as Deacon & Co. The Register of Shipping for 1827 shows Coquette's master changing from Phillips to Thornton, and her owner still as Gale & Co.

4th whaling voyage (1827–1829): Captain Thornton sailed from England on 31 August 1827. By 9 September Coquette was at Madeira. She returned to England on 19 October 1829.

A suit by the ship's cooper on her return reveals that her owners for the voyage were Bicknell, Deacon (managing owner), and Thorton (also the commander). The voyage had proved particularly valuable and the plaintiff's 1⁄90th share was £141 14s 8d. Advances and deductions reduced the net to £37 16s 7d.

5th whaling voyage (1830–1832): Captain Thornton sailed on 20 April 1830, bound for the Indian Ocean. On 3 July 1832 Coquette was at Mauritius, sailing for London. She returned to London on 10 October 1832.

Loss
Captain Thornton sailed Coquette from London on 12 December 1832 on her 6th whaling voyage, bound for the Pacific Ocean. On 16 January 1834 she was at New Ireland. In February she was at Bayenwall Island (near the Isle de Santa Cruz). The Sydney Herald reported on 28 July 1834 that natives of one of the islands of New Guinea had speared a boat's crew belonging to Coquette, 12 months out of London.

Lloyd's List reported on 13 June 1837 that Coquette had not been heard of since July 1835, when another whaler had spoken to her. At the time, Coquette had 1700 barrels of whale oil. Another report had Coquette lost at Guam on 4 November 1835.


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"The Privateer Brig General Armstrong Captain S. C. Reid Commander. Which fought a thrilling battle in the Harbor of Fayal." Artist unknown

General Armstrong was an American brig built for privateering in the Atlantic Ocean theater of the War of 1812. She was named for Brigadier General John Armstrong, Sr. who fought in the American Revolutionary War.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Coquette_(1807)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 March 1815 – Launch of HMS St Vincent, a 120-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Devonport Dockyard


HMS St Vincent
was a 120-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1810 at Devonport Dockyard and launched on 11 March 1815

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Service
She was one of class of three, and the only one to see active service, though she was not put into commission until 1829, when she became the flagship of William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, under Northesk's flag captain, Edward Hawker, at Devonport (aka Plymouth-Dock) Dockyard. After paying-off in April 1830 she was recommissioned the following month and was made flagship at Portsmouth Dockyard. From 1831 until 1834 she served in the Mediterranean. Placed on harbour service at Portsmouth in 1841, she joined the Experimental Squadron in 1846. From May 1847 until April 1849 she was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Napier, commanding the Channel Fleet.

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Lines (ZAZ7762)

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HMS St. Vincent used as a Training ship in 1897

After a spell in ordinary at Portsmouth, from July to September 1854, during the Crimean War, she was used to transport French troops to the Baltic. Subsequently she became a depot ship at Portsmouth. She was commissioned as a training ship in 1862, and specifically as a training ship for boys, moored permanently at Haslar from 1870. In this role she retained 26 guns. She continued as a training ship until 1905. Commander B. J. D. Yelverton was appointed in command in January 1902.

Fate
St Vincent was sold out of the service in 1906 for breaking up.


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Frame (ZAZ7730)

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Williamstown, Victoria. Between 1870 and 1879. Port broadside view of the wooden steam battleship HMVS Nelson.

The Nelson-class ships of the line were a class of three 120-gun first rates, designed for the Royal Navy as a joint effort between the two Surveyors of the Navy at the time.

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Ships
Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 23 November 1805
Laid down: December 1809
Launched: 4 July 1814
Completed: 17 August 1814
Fate: Broken up, 1928
Builder: Plymouth Dockyard
Ordered: 15 January 1806
Laid down: May 1810
Launched: 11 March 1815
Completed 1829
Fate: Sold, 1906
Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 15 January 1806
Laid down: June 1808
Launched: 28 March 1815
Completed: 1835
Fate: Sold, 1854

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HMS Howe entering the harbor at Malta, 1843

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section, midship (ZAZ7757)

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Scale: 1:48. A full hull model of the first rate120-gun ship HMS Nelson (1814) made entirely in wood with metal and organic material fittings and painted in realistic colours. The vessel is depicted on a slipway prior to launch with launching flags. It is complete with its original glazed display case, with integral legs, and incorporating a drawer at the stern end which, when pulled out, extends the length of the slipway. By removing the end wall of the display case and turning a handle at the opposite (bow) end of the case, the model can be launched down the slipway to demonstrate how a ship of this size is launched. The hull is painted lead white below the waterline and black above. There are broad horizontal yellow ochre stripes along the three gundecks. The gunport lids are shown open though the gunports themselves are blanked-off. Fittings include a gilded figurehead in the form of a bust of Admiral Lord Nelson, a complete set of channels, stern galleries and quarter galleries and launching flags. On stern ‘Nelson’. On a painted wooden plaque attached to the left-hand side of the display case ‘H.M.S. NELSON 120 GUNS. LAUNCHED AT WOOLWICH 1814. PRESENTED BY ADMIRAL SIR CHARLES CUNNINGHAM’. On display case ‘(15)’ and ‘138’.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_St_Vincent_(1815)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 March 1841 - the British passenger liner President, with 136 passengers and crew and an extensive cargo manifest, encountered a gale.
She was seen on her second day out laboring in heavy seas in a dangerous area between Nantucket Shoals and Georges Bank and was not seen again.


SS
President
was a British passenger liner that was the largest ship in the world when she was commissioned in 1840, and the first steamship to founder on the transatlantic run when she was lost at sea with all 136 on board in March 1841. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1840 to 1845. The ship's owner, the British and American Steam Navigation Company, collapsed as a result of the disappearance.

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President was the second liner owned by British and American and was noted for her luxurious interiors. Designed by Macgregor Laird and built by Curling and Young of London, she was fitted for 154 passengers. President was over 25% larger than the British Queen, the previous holder of the size record, and over twice the size of Cunard’s Britannia Class, the first three of which were also commissioned in 1840. This was accomplished by adding a third deck to the design of the British Queen. As a result, President was top heavy. She was also underpowered and had the slowest passage times of any transatlantic steamer up to that point. To avoid litigation, changes were made to her paddle wheels after her second round trip that further complicated her lack of power, especially in rough weather.

On 11 March 1841, President cleared New York bound for Liverpool on her third eastbound voyage. She was overloaded with cargo to compensate for her roll. President was last seen the next day struggling in a gale. Her disappearance was major news for several months and even Queen Victoria followed the story.

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Development and design
British and American recognized from the beginning that frequent sailings were required and that the line needed a fleet of steamers for its new transatlantic service. As soon as the line’s first unit, British Queen was delivered, British and American ordered the President. The plan was that by 1840, either President or British Queen was to depart each month for New York.

As designed by Macgregor Laird, President was 500 GRT larger than British Queen, then the largest ship. Her opulent interiors were in sharp contrast to the sparse accommodations of Cunard’s fleet. Great American wanted passengers to feel they were in a luxury hotel rather than at sea. The saloon measured 80 feet by 34 feet and was in Tudor Gothic style. The corridor aft to the regular staterooms was a picture gallery, with ten oil paintings depicting scenes about Christopher Columbus. The regular staterooms could accommodate 110 passengers and another 44 forward in Servants cabins. The two berth regular cabins were seven feet by seven feet. Her exterior decoration included a figurehead of George Washington.

President’s wooden hull was subdivided into watertight compartments. However, it was not as robust as Great Western or the new Cunard vessels just entering service. After just two round trip voyages, she required refit after stormy seas weakened and twisted her hull. President was top heavy and rolled excessively because she was constructed with a third deck on top of a hull with almost the same waterline dimensions as British Queen.

Relative to her size, President was significantly less powerful than her rivals. As a result, her 1840 voyage times were disappointing. This problem was compounded in 1841 when President’s paddle wheels were modified with non-feathering paddles. Tests in 1830 demonstrated that feathering paddles improved speed by 25% in smooth water and over 50% in rough seas. British American failed to secure the rights to use the patented design and removed the feathering paddles before President left on her first 1841 voyage in order to avoid litigation .

Service history

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SS President in a gale

President’s maiden voyage in August 1840 lasted 16.5 days and averaged only 8.4 knots (15.6 km/h) as compared to the then record of 9.52 knots (17.63 km/h) posted by Great Western. President left the Mersey with few passengers because both Great Western and Cunard’s Acadia sailed the previous week. Her return trip also averaged only 8.4 knots (15.6 km/h) as compared to Great Western’s eastbound record of 10.17 knots (18.83 km/h). President’s captain was blamed for the poor performance and replaced. However, her times were no better on her second round trip. Leaving New York City, President was only able to complete 300 miles in four days and returned to the Hudson to refuel. Upon arrival in Liverpool, her December voyage was cancelled and she was refitted. Again her captain was replaced.

Departing Liverpool in February, under Captain Richard Roberts, President’s third westbound voyage to New York lasted 21 days. She sailed for her return voyage on 11 March 1841 with 136 passengers and crew along with an extensive cargo manifest. President encountered a gale and was seen on her second day out laboring in heavy seas in the dangerous area between Nantucket Shoals and Georges Bank. She was not seen again. Among the passengers was the Rev. George Grimston Cookman, who had served as Chaplain of the Senate, and the popular Irish comic actor Tyrone Power, who was the great-grandfather of the film star of the same name. The late ship deathwatch stretched out for months. Queen Victoria asked that a special messenger be sent to her if there was news about the ship.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_President
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 March 1871 – Launch of SMS Albatross, a gunboat of the Imperial German Navy launched and commissioned in 1871.


SMS
Albatross
was a gunboat of the Imperial German Navy launched and commissioned in 1871. SMS Nautilus soon followed as her sister ship. She served as a gunboat overseas until she became a survey vessel in 1888. Struck from the list on 9 January 1899, she was sold and used as a collier until she foundered in a storm in March 1906.

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Das Kanonenboot SMS Albatros (oder Albatross) der deutschen Kaiserlichen Marine, gebaut 1871.

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Albatross sometime in the 1880s


 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 March 1899 – Launch of HMS Glory, a pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy and a member of the Canopus class.


HMS Glory
was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy and a member of the Canopus class. Intended for service in Asia, Glory and her sister ships were smaller and faster than the preceding Majestic-class battleships, but retained the same battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns. She also carried thinner armour, but incorporated new Krupp steel, which was more effective than the Harvey armour used in the Majestics. Glory was laid down in December 1896, launched in March 1899, and commissioned into the fleet in November 1900.

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HMS Glory between 1910 and 1915.

Glory spent much of her peacetime career abroad. She was assigned to the China Station from 1901 to 1905, before returning to British waters for a brief stint with the Channel Fleet and then the Home Fleet from late 1905 to early 1907. After a refit in 1907, she was then sent to the Mediterranean Fleet, where she remained until April 1909. She then returned to Britain and was reduced to reserve status. She remained inactive until the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, at which time she was mobilised into the 8th Battle Squadron.

In October 1914, Glory was transferred to the North America and West Indies Station, where she served as the squadron flagship. In June 1915, she was reassigned to the Mediterranean, and she took part in the Dardanelles Campaign, though she saw little action during that time, as her crew was needed ashore to support the troops fighting in the Gallipoli campaign. In August 1916, Glory was sent to Murmansk, Russia, to support Britain's ally by keeping the vital port open for supplies being sent for the Eastern Front. There, she served as the flagship of the British North Russia Squadron. She returned to Britain in 1919, was decommissioned, and was renamed HMS Crescent in 1920, before ultimately being sold to ship breakers in December 1922.

sistership
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Launch of HMS Vengeance (1899)

Design
Main article: Canopus-class battleship

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Right elevation, deck plan and hull section as depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1906

Glory and her five sister ships were designed for service in East Asia, where the new rising power Japan was beginning to build a powerful navy, though this role was quickly made redundant by the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902. The ships were designed to be smaller, lighter and faster than their predecessors, the Majestic-class battleships. Glory was 421 feet 6 inches (128.47 m) long overall, with a beam of 74 ft (23 m) and a draft of 26 ft 2 in (7.98 m). She displaced 13,150 long tons (13,360 t) normally and up to 14,300 long tons (14,500 t) full loaded. Her crew numbered 682 officers and ratings.

The Canopus-class ships were powered by a pair of 3-cylinder triple-expansion engines, with steam provided by twenty Belleville boilers. They were the first British battleships with water-tube boilers, which generated more power at less expense in weight compared with the fire-tube boilers used in previous ships. The new boilers led to the adoption of fore-and-aft funnels, rather than the side-by-side funnel arrangement used in many previous British battleships. The Canopus-class ships proved to be good steamers, with a high speed for battleships of their time—18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) from 13,500 indicated horsepower (10,100 kW)—a full two knots faster than the Majestics.

Glory had four 12-inch (305 mm) 35-calibre guns mounted in twin-gun turrets fore and aft; these guns were mounted in circular barbettes that allowed all-around loading, although at a fixed elevation. The ships also mounted twelve 6-inch (152 mm) 40-calibre guns mounted in casemates, in addition to ten 12-pounder guns and six 3-pounder guns. As was customary for battleships of the period, she was also equipped with four 18-inch (460 mm) torpedo tubes submerged in the hull.

To save weight, Glory carried less armour than the Majestics—6 inches (152 mm) in the belt compared to 9 in (229 mm)—although the change from Harvey armour in the Majestics to Krupp armour in Glory meant that the loss in protection was not as great as it might have been, Krupp armour having greater protective value at a given weight than its Harvey equivalent. Similarly, the other armour used to protect the ship could also be thinner; the bulkheads on either end of the belt were 6 to 10 in (152 to 254 mm) thick. The main battery turrets were 10 in thick, atop 12 in (305 mm) barbettes, and the casemate battery was protected with 6 in of Krupp steel. Her conning tower had 12 in thick sides as well. She was fitted with two armoured decks, 1 and 2 in (25 and 51 mm) thick, respectively.

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Glory, c. 1903


The Canopus class was a group of six pre-dreadnought battleships of the British Royal Navy built in the late 1890s. The ships were designed by the Director of Naval Construction, William White, for use on the China Station. The class comprised Canopus, the lead ship, and Glory, Albion, Ocean, Goliath, and Vengeance. The class was armed with a main battery of four BL 12 inch Mk VIII naval guns and a secondary battery of twelve QF 6-inch guns. Compared to the preceding Majestic-class battleships, the Canopus class was smaller, faster, and less heavily armoured, though they adopted new, stronger Krupp armour, which was more effective than the Harvey steel used in the Majestics. In addition to the Krupp steel, the ships also adopted several other changes, including water-tube boilers, in-line funnels, and a full-length armoured belt.

The six ships of the Canopus class served abroad for much of their early careers, with all six of them seeing service on the China Station in the early 1900s. In addition, Canopus also served with the Mediterranean Fleet during this period. In 1905, with the signing of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the Royal Navy withdrew most of its heavy units from the Far East, and the six Canopus-class ships returned to British waters, seeing further service with the Home, Channel, and the Atlantic Fleets through 1908. From then to 1910, most of the ships saw service with the Mediterranean Fleet, before being reduced to reserve status or other secondary duties thereafter.

With Britain's entry into the First World War in August 1914, the ships were mobilised as the 8th Battle Squadron, but they were quickly dispersed to other stations, serving as guard ships and convoy escorts. Canopus participated in the hunt for the German East Asia Squadron, which culminated in the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914. In early 1915, most of the ships were sent to the eastern Mediterranean Sea to take part in the Dardanelles Campaign against the Ottoman Empire. During these operations, Ocean and Goliath were sunk, in March and May 1915, respectively. Canopus and Albion were withdrawn from active service in 1916, thereafter being used as barracks ships. Glory served as the flagship of the British North Russia Squadron, while Vengeance took part in operations off German East Africa in 1916. After the war, all four survivors were quickly broken up in the early 1920s.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with thick plating and armour plating areas, and longitudinal half-breadth for the Canopus class battleship. The class consisted of Albion (1898), Canopus (1897), Glory (1899), Goliath (1897), Ocean (1898) and Vengeance (1899). The plan includes a table of the principal dimensions. Signed by William H White [Director of Naval Construction, 1885-1902]

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Upper deck plan (NPA8076)

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Aft section plan (NPA8082)

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile with outboard detail for the First Class Battleship HMS Canopus (1898), as fitted at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1899. The plan includes alterations in red ink from the refit between 1903-4 at Cammell Laird and further alterations in burnt sienna from May 1908. Signed by J A Yates [Chief Constructor, Portsmouth Dockyrd, 1895-?]

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HMS Canopus (Design, Half block model) (SLR1284)


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Glory_(1899)
 
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