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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 1750 – Launch of HMS Swiftsure, a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, and in active service during the Seven Years' War.


HMS Swiftsure
was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched in 1755 and in active service during the Seven Years' War. After a distinguished career at sea she was decommissioned in 1763 and sold into private hands ten years later.

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Construction
Swiftsure was built at Deptford Dockyard to the specifications of the 1745 Establishment, and launched on 25 May 1750.

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This engraving depicts the British naval vessel Monmouth, in port bow view, taking the French naval vessel Foudroyant, shown in port broadside view, on 28th February 1758 in the Mediterranean.The Monmouth is central to the picture, issuing starboard cannon fire into the stern of Foudroyant, on the left of the image. Although both vessels have holes in their sails and have lost their mizzen masts, Foudroyant has only her foremast intact; her main mast is falling into the sea. Two other ships, Swiftsure and Hampton Court, can be seen on the right of the picture. Although the sea is relatively calm the sky seems dark and forbidding, but a full moon creates a shaft of light on the sea, illuminating four figures clinging to the floating wreckage of rigging in the foreground. Engraving PAH7694, by another artist, shows the same event moments before the present image

Naval service
Swiftsure was commissioned into the Royal Navy in August 1755, under Captain Augustus Keppel. In 1756 her command was transferred to Captain Matthew Buckle, and she was assigned first to the fleet under Admiral Henry Osborn, and then to that of Edward Boscawen. In company with HMS Monmouth she engaged and captured the French ship of the line Le Foudroyant in 1758. In 1759 she was again with Admiral Boscawen at Lagos, and at Quiberon Bay later that year, and at the capture of Belle Île in 1761.

She was sold on 2 June 1773.

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Scale: 1:48. A plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for a 70-gun Second Rate, two-decker, as prepared by the Master Shipwrights of Chatham Dockyard, Deptford Dockyard, Portsmouth Dockyard, Woolwich Dockyard, and Sheerness Dockyard, and approved by Sir John Norris and other flag officers. Later used for 'Grafton' (1750), 'Somerset' (1748), 'Northumberland' (1750), 'Orford' (1749), 'Swiftsure' (1750), 'Vanguard' (1748), and 'Buckingham' (1751), all 70-gun (later 68-gun) Third Rate, two-deckers


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Swiftsure_(1750)
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/colle...el-352018;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=S
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 1793 - HMS Hyaena (HMS Hyæna), a 24-gun Porcupine-class post-ship of the Royal Navy launched in 1778, was captured by french, took her into service as Hyène


HMS
Hyaena
(HMS Hyæna) was a 24-gun Porcupine-class post-ship of the Royal Navy launched in 1778. The French captured her in 1793, took her into service as Hyène, and then sold her. She became a privateer that the British captured in 1797. The Royal Navy took her back into service as Hyaena and she continued to serve until the Navy sold her in 1802. The shipowner Daniel Bennett purchased her and renamed her Recovery. She made seven voyages as a whaler in the Southern Whale Fishery and was broken up 1813.

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Early service
Launched in March 1778, she was commissioned in January 1779 for service in British home waters and the Caribbean, under the command of Captain Edward Thompson. She saw active service in the blockade and capture of French-controlled Gorée in April 1779, and eight months later was part of Admiral George Rodney's fleet which sailed to the naval relief of Gibraltar in January 1780.

Hyaena then returned to England, bearing reports of the battle and the disposition of Admiral Rodney's fleet. In August 1780, still under Thompson's command, Hyaena escorted a merchant convoy to New York and then turned south to the Caribbean. Thompson's orders were to use his ship and any other forces at his disposal to secure British control of Dutch settlements of Demerara and Essequibo. This was achieved despite a lack of resources, with Hyaena subsequently escorting merchant convoys between these new British possessions and the larger port of Barbados, and thence to England. Convoy in tow, Hyaena reached England in January 1782. Eighteen months in tropical waters had left her in poor condition, and she was promptly decommissioned and sailed to Woolwich dockyards for repair. The works were extensive and were completed at a final expense of ₤5,561, more than half the cost of Hyaena's original construction four years earlier.

While Hyaena was out of service her captain, Edward Thompson, had been assigned to the newly built HMS Grampus, a 50-gun ship of the line. Command of Hyaena passed to Captain Patrick Sinclair, whose orders were to protect shipping in the seas immediately surrounding the British Isles. Recommissioned in January 1783, Hyaena took up this new role in April and remained at this station for the next five years. In 1784, she was briefly under the command of the Honourable M.De Courcy (Acting), until Sinclair resumed command. In 1787 De Courcy took command of Hyaena on the Irish station. May saw Hyaena serving as the initial escort for the convoy of ships that would become the First Fleet to Australia, sailing alongside the fleet to a point two hundred miles west of the Scilly Isles. While undertaking this escort it was discovered that the convict storeship Fishburn was five crew members short. This was addressed by requiring five of Hyaena's crew to transfer to Fishburn for the eight-month voyage to Australia.

In 1788 Hyaena was again decommissioned to allow a four-month refit at Plymouth Dockyard for a cost of ₤4,439. After a brief period of service in the Irish Sea under the command of Captain John Aylmer, she returned to the English Channel where she remained throughout 1790 and early 1791. In mid-1791 she was under the command of Captain James Kineer, as the Navy relegated her to the status of an impressment vessel at Bristol, holding press-ganged sailors aboard until they could be transferred to Navy vessels departing for foreign service.

Capture and recapture
Finally, after a further refit, Hyaena returned to overseas service under Captain William Hargood, sailing for Jamaica in October 1791. Disaster struck on 25 May 1793 when Hyaena encountered the brand-new 40-gun French frigate Concorde in open waters off Hispaniola. Outgunned by Concorde and unable to escape, Hyaena had to strike her colours after having fired only a few guns during the three hours that Concorde chased her. She then become a French prize.

The French removed Hyaena's quarterdeck and forecastle to create a flush-deck, and renamed the modified vessel Hyène. She was sold at Bayonne in December 1796,[2] and her new owners used her as a privateer in pursuit of British and neutral shipping in the Caribbean.

A year later, on 25 October 1797, Hyène encountered HMS Indefatigable, a 44-gun frigate commanded by Sir Edward Pellew, which captured Hyène after a chase of eight hours. At the time Hyène carried twenty-four 9-pounder guns and had a crew of 230 men. She was two weeks out of Bayonne but had not captured anything. Hyène had apparently mistaken Indefatigable for a vessel from Portuguese India. Pellew judged that had Hyène not lost her foretopmast in the chase, she might well have escaped.

HMS Hyaena again
Hyene returned to Plymouth dockyards where her nine-pounder guns were removed and replaced with twenty 32-pounder carronades. The Royal Navy recommissioned her on 26 March 1798 as Hyaena, under the command of Captain Courtnay Boyle. Hyaena then served off Cherbourg, Saint-Malo, and the Île de Batz. On 19 September Hyaena was anchored in Graveling Bay. On setting out to sea she struck a rock and was gotten off only with some difficulty. On 2 February 1799 Boyle was appointed to escort a convoy from Plymouth to Lisbon and Gibraltar. However, Boyle was compelled to resign his appointment as a result of injuries that he sustained in March when he was thrown from a carriage before he could sail for Lisbon.

In March 1799 Captain David Lloyd replaced Boyle, and sailed Hyaena for the Mediterranean on 4 March. In January 1801, Captain William Granger replaced Lloyd, with Hyaena serving in the Baltic. She did participate in the expedition to the Baltic, but is not listed among the vessels whose crews qualified for the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty awarded in 1847 for participation in the battle of Copenhagen.

Disposal: The "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy" advised that on 24 February 1802, "Hyæna, 522 Tons, Copper-bottomed and Copper fastened, lying at Deptford", would be put up for sale. Hyaena was sold out of naval service at Deptford Dockyard that month.

Whaler
Daniel Bennett purchased Hyaena and renamed her Recovery. She first entered Lloyd's Register in 1804 with Wm. Bacon, master, D. Bennett, owner, and trade London–Southern Fishery. Captain William Beacon received a letter of marque on 25 May 1803.
She made between 1803 and 1813 seven whaling voyages.

Fate
Recovery was broken up in 1813.

Daniel Bennett purchased HMS Lynx, named her Recovery, and sent her whaling. Her captain on her next five voyages was Captain William Beacon. The duplication of vessel names and masters between the two Recovery whalers has led to some conflation of the vessels.

sistership
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Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for Pelican (1777). Annotated with Isaac Rogers (bottom right). From Tyne & Wear Archives Service, Blandford House, Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JA

The Porcupine-class sailing sixth rates were a series of ten 24-gun post ships built to a 1776 design by John Williams, that served in the Royal Navyduring the American War Of Independence. Some survived to serve again in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars. The first two were launched in 1777. Three were launched in 1778, three more in 1779, and the last two in 1781.

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Design
John Williams, the Surveyor of the Navy, designed the class as a development of his 1773 design for the 20-gun Sphinx class. The 1776 design enlarged the ship, which permitted the mounting of an eleventh pair of 9-pounder guns on the upper deck and two smaller (6-pounder) guns on the quarterdeck.

Ships in class
The Admiralty ordered ten ships to this design over a period of two years. The contract for the first ship was agreed on 25 June 1776 with Greaves, for launching in July 1777; the second was agreed with Adams on 6 August 1776, for launching in May 1777. The contract price for each was £10½ per ton BM; they were named Porcupine and Pelican by Admiralty Order on 27 August 1776. The contract price for Penelope was £11½ per ton BM.

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 1796 – HMS Suffisante captures the privateer Revanche


The French brig Suffisante was launched in 1793 for the French Navy. In 1795 the Royal Navy captured her and took her into service under her existing name. HMS Suffisante captured seven privateers during her career, as well as recapturing some British merchantmen and capturing a number of prizes, some of them valuable. She was lost in December 1803 when she grounded in poor weather in Cork harbour.

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French service
Suffisante was built with copper sheathing, including the pegs. By 30 November 1793 Suffisante was under the command of enseigne de vaisseau non entretenu Berrenger and stationed at Le Havre. From there she cruised to protect the fishermen working between Dieppe and Cap d'Antifer. Between 9 February 1794 and 3 August now sous-lieutenant de vaisseau Berrenger sailed Suffisante on cruises, escorted convoys between Dieppe and Cancale, sailed into the Atlantic, returning to Rochefort, and then sailed from Rochefort to Brest.

Between 27 April 1795 and her capture, Suffisante was stationed at Flessingue and under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau Nosten.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board outline, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for Suffisante (captured 1803), a captured French 16-gun Brig Sloop, as taken off at Sheerness Dockyard while laid up in Ordinary. The plan includes the Table of Mast and Yard dimensions. Signed by George Parkin [Master Shipwright, Sheerness Dockyard, 1806-1813]

Capture
On 25 August 1795 the squadron under Admiral Adam Duncan captured two French Navy brigs off the Texel. One was Suffisante, of fourteen 8 and 6-pounder guns, and the other was Victorieuse, of fourteen 12-pounder guns. They were heading into the North Sea on a cruise.

French records state that Suffisante's actual captors were the 74-gun third-rate Mars, the frigate Venus, and the lugger Speedy.[6] The French reports further state that Suffisante exchanged fire with the 20-gun lugger Speedy, but the arrival on the scene of Mars and Venus rendered further resistance futile.

Victorieuse's captain was lieutenant de vaisseau Salaun. The captors of Victorieuse were Duncan's flagship Venerable, Mars, and a frigate. Victorieusetoo joined the Royal Navy, becoming HMS Victorieuse and serving until broken up in 1805. Courts martial acquitted both Nosten and Salaun of the loss of their vessels.[8]

British service
The Royal Navy commissioned HMS Suffisante for the North Sea in November under Commander Nicholas Tomlinson, who had been promoted commander into her.

On 25 May 1796 Suffisante achieved the first of many captures. After a chase of eleven hours and a half-hour engagement, she captured the privateer brig Revanche in a single-ship action. The Bermuda-built Revanche was armed with twelve 4-pounder guns, and had a crew of 85 men under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau George Henri Dravemen. She had lost two men killed and seven wounded; Suffisante had only one man wounded. Revanche was five days out of Le Havre but had taken nothing. The capture required able seamanship as it took place among the rocks on the lee shore between Ushant and The Main.

...... read more about her intensive career on wikipedia ......

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the upper deck and lower deck with plaform for Suffisante (captured 1803), a captured French 16-gun Brig Sloop, as taken off at Sheerness Dockyard while laid up in Ordinary. Initialled by George Parkin [Master Shipwright, Sheerness Dockyard, 1806-1813]



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_brig_Suffisante_(1793)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 1801 - Boats of HMS Mercury (28), Cptn. T Rogers, re-captured and brought out bomb vessel HMS Bulldog from Ancona but had to abandon her.


Mercury then made an attempt to recapture the 18-gun bomb vessel HMS Bulldog at Ancona on 25 May 1801. The cutting out party was able to get Bulldog out of the harbour, but then the winds died down just as enemy boats started to arrive. The cutting out party were too few in numbers both to guard the captured prisoners and resist the approaching enemy, and were tired from the row in to board Bulldog. Mercury had drifted too far away to come to the rescue either. The cutting out party therefore abandoned Bulldog. Mercury lost two men killed and four wounded in the attempt; Rogers estimated that the enemy had lost some 20 men killed, wounded and drowned.


The second HMS Bull Dog (1782) was a 16-gun sloop launched in 1782 but converted to a Royal Navy bomb vessel in 1798. The French captured her in February 1801 when she unwittingly entered the French-held port of Ancona. Boats from HMS Mercury recaptured her in May, but adverse winds prevented her from escaping and the French recaptured her. In September, HMS Champion recaptured her off Gallipoli, Apulia.[1] Bulldog returned to Portsmouth where she became a powder hulk. She was broken up at Portsmouth in December 1829.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the section through the fore part of the After Bomb Bed, and an inboard profile for Bulldog (1782), a 16-gun Ship Sloop, as proposed to convert her to Bomb Vessel in 1798. The reverse of the plan states that the same conversion in 1798 also relates to Zebra (1780), a 16-gun Ship Sloop

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Frame (ZAZ4815)


HMS Mercury was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built during the American War of Independence and serving during the later years of that conflict. She continued to serve during the years of peace and had an active career during the French Revolutionary Warsand most of the Napoleonic Wars, until being broken up in 1814.

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lossy-page1-1024px-HMS_Mercury_cuts_out_the_French_gunboat_Leda_from_Rovigno,_1_April_1809_RMG...jpg
HMS Mercury cutting out a French gunboat from Rovigno, 1 April 1809

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Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines and longitudinal half breadth for Pomona (1778), then Pegasus (1779), then Mercury (1779), and wih pencil alterations for Hussar (1784), Rose (1783), Dido (1784), Thisbe (1783), Alligator (1787), Circe (1783), Lapwing (1785), all 28-gun, Sixth Rate Frigates. Signed by John Williams [Surveyor of the Navy, 171765-1784]. The top ship is not 'Laurel' as listed in the annotation on the right, as this plan predates her ordering by over one year


 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 1806 – Merchant ship Barton repels attack by French privateer Fairey


Barton was launched in 1794 as a West Indiaman, sailing primarily to Barbados. She was of average size for vessels launched at Liverpool at that time. She sailed under letters of marque and several times repelled attacks by French and Spanish privateers. Still, the Americans captured and burnt her in 1814.

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Career
Barton entered Lloyd's Register as Barten in 1799 with Rd Hall, master, Barten & Co, owner, and trade Liverpool–Barbados. The next volume of Lloyd's Register corrected her name and that of her owner, Barton & Co.

Captain Richard Hall acquired a letter of marque on 7 April 1794. At some point he recaptured the brig Mentor, of Aberdeen, which had been sailing from Lisbon with fruit when originally captured.

In March 1797 Barton and Agreeable were sailing in company to Barbados when they parted. A Spanish privateer of 16 guns and 120 men came up and attacked Barton. After about 20 minutes the Spaniard veered off, but proceeded to follow Barton all night at a distance of half a mile. Next morning, when Agreeable appeared, the Spaniard came up and engaged the two British merchantmen. The engagement lasted one hour and forty minutes before the Spaniard disengaged, having suffered extensive damage to her sails and rigging. British casualties consisted of two men wounded on Agreeable.

Captain William Cutler acquired a letter of marque on 20 September 1798. A letter dated Barbados, 1 December 1799, reported that on 25 November Barton was about 20 leagues to windward of Barbados when an unknown vessel came up and shadowed Barton all night, despite Barton maintaining a regular fire from her stern chase guns. In the morning the vessel came up, showing herself to be a French privateer schooner of eighteen 6 and 9-pounder guns. A two-and-a-half hour running engagement ensued. The privateer withdrew to repair her rigging and then recommenced the attack and ran into Barton with the intent of boarding her. Cutler, who had massed his crew and passengers on the quarter deck, led the counter-attack. The British reported that they had speared many Frenchmen in Barton's netting and shrouds, and that Barton' cabin guns, which continued to fire, had caused casualties on the privateer's deck. The privateer, having sustained casualties in the unsuccessful attempt to board, and much damage to her rigging, broke off the attack. Barton had sustained four casualties: her mate and three seamen wounded. Captain Cutler acquired a new letter of marque on 25 February 1800.

Captain George Chalmers acquired a letter of marque on 11 June 1803. Chaklmers was 23 years old when he became master. When Barton sailed from Liverpool the practice was to sail in the Channel and along the French coast for some six weeks looking for possible prey, before then sailing on to Barbados. He reports three engagements with French privateers. On 17 May 1806 as Barton was returning to Liverpool from Barbados she encountered a French privateer of 20 guns and 50 men, but apparently nothing much transpired. On 23 May Barton fell in with a French privateer of 10 guns that attempted to board, but clearly was unsuccessful. Then on 25 May Barton encountered the French privateer Fairey, of 20 guns and 150 men. For an hour Fairey ranged 50 yards alongside, firing broadsides that Barton's crew responded only with small arms fire though her guns were loaded. When Fairey finally come alongside to board, Barton's crew fired her guns; they also cut down the French men attempting to board. Fairey sheared off, having sustained heavy casualties and damage to her rigging.

Captain John Ford acquired a letter of marque on 13 June 1806.

The Register of Shipping for 1810 showed Barton with J. Ford, master, changing to R. Burns, Irlam & Co. owners, changing to Taylor & Co., and trade London–Demerara. (Barton, Irlam and Higginson acquired a new Barton that was twice the size of the one they had just sold.)

Captain Robert Burn acquired a letter of marque on 14 November 1809.

Captain James Hasler acquired a letter of marque on 31 December 1811.

The Register of Shipping for 1813 showed Barton with J. Hasler, master, Taylor & Co., owners, changing to Clare & Co., and trade Liverpool–Rio de Janeiro, changing to Liverpool–Africa. Lloyd's Registerfor 1814 confirms the change of ownership and trade.

Fate
USS Syren captured and burnt Barton, Hassler, master, on 28 May 1814. Barton was carrying a cargo of redwood, palm oil and ivory to St Thomas, Danish Virgin Islands. Syren took on board both Barton's crew and as much of her cargo as Captain Nicholson of Syren desired. The Americans then set her on fire. They delivered her crew to St Thomas, from where the crew went on Jane, of Liverpool. Three crew members from Barton joined the Americans, a Portuguese and two "coloured men".

Jane, Andersen, master, arrived at Liverpool in August 1814. She had sailed via Africa, which she had left on 6 June. Also, Syren had blockaded her at St Thomas for four weeks.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barton_(1794_ship)
 
25 May 1801 - Boats of HMS Mercury (28), Cptn. T Rogers, re-captured and brought out bomb vessel HMS Bulldog from Ancona but had to abandon her.


Mercury
then made an attempt to recapture the 18-gun bomb vessel HMS Bulldog at Ancona on 25 May 1801. The cutting out party was able to get Bulldog out of the harbour, but then the winds died down just as enemy boats started to arrive. The cutting out party were too few in numbers both to guard the captured prisoners and resist the approaching enemy, and were tired from the row in to board Bulldog. Mercury had drifted too far away to come to the rescue either. The cutting out party therefore abandoned Bulldog. Mercury lost two men killed and four wounded in the attempt; Rogers estimated that the enemy had lost some 20 men killed, wounded and drowned.


The second HMS Bull Dog (1782) was a 16-gun sloop launched in 1782 but converted to a Royal Navy bomb vessel in 1798. The French captured her in February 1801 when she unwittingly entered the French-held port of Ancona. Boats from HMS Mercury recaptured her in May, but adverse winds prevented her from escaping and the French recaptured her. In September, HMS Champion recaptured her off Gallipoli, Apulia.[1] Bulldog returned to Portsmouth where she became a powder hulk. She was broken up at Portsmouth in December 1829.
Very interesting, I am wondering if Russian manufacture Eskadra ( Эскадра ) make a kit based on her or this is completely different ship with the same name


It is should be a nice model in scale 1:72 (Russian language, sorry)
 
Very interesting, I am wondering if Russian manufacture Eskadra ( Эскадра ) make a kit based on her or this is completely different ship with the same name


It is should be a nice model in scale 1:72 (Russian language, sorry)
Hallo Jim,
is there a year of the vessel launch given by the manufacturer?

According wikipedia there were several ships with this name

Eighteen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Mercury, or HMS Mercure, after the God Mercury, of Roman mythology:

and this is the list Threedecks are showing us:

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 1814 - Boats of HMS Elizabeth (74), Cptn. Leveson Gower, took Aigle off Corfu.


HMS Elizabeth
was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 23 May 1807 at Blackwall.

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Career
On 25 May 1814, Elizabeth captured the French naval xebec Aigle and her prize, the Glorioso off Corfu. Weazel shared in the prize money though it was the boats of Elizabeth that performed the actual capture in an action that in 1847 earned for their crews the Naval General Service Medal with clasp, "24 May Boat Service 1814". Aigle was armed with six guns, a howitzer, and three swivel guns, and had a crew of 40 men. The capture of the Aiglere presented the last naval surrender of the French Tricolour in the Napoleonic Wars.

Fate
Elizabeth was broken up in 1820.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for building 'Magnificent' (1806), 'Valiant' (1807), 'Elizabeth' (1807), 'Cumberland' (1807), and 'Venerable' (1808), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers, similar to the 'Repulse' (1803), 'Sceptre' (1802), and 'Eagle' (1804)

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The Repulse-class ships of the line were a class of eleven 74-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir William Rule. The first three ships to this design were ordered in 1800, with a second batch of five following in 1805. The final three ships of the class were ordered towards the end of the Napoleonic War to a modified version of Rule's draught, using the new constructional system created by Sir Robert Seppings; all three were completed after the war's end.

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Ships
Builder: Dudman, Deptford Wharf
Ordered: 4 February 1800
Laid down: December 1800
Launched: 11 December 1802
Fate: Broken up, 1821
Builder: Barnard, Deptford Wharf
Ordered: 4 February 1800
Laid down: September 1800
Launched: 22 July 1803
Fate: Broken up, 1820
Builder: Pitcher, Northfleet
Ordered: 4 February 1800
Laid down: August 1800
Launched: 27 February 1804
Fate: Burnt, 1926
Builder: Perry, Wells & Green, Blackwall Yard
Ordered: 31 January 1805
Laid down: April 1805
Launched: 30 August 1806
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1843
Builder: Perry, Wells & Green, Blackwall
Ordered: 24 January 1805
Laid down: April 1805
Launched: 24 January 1807
Fate: Broken up, 1823
Builder: Wells, Blackwall
Ordered: 24 January 1805
Laid down: August 1805
Launched: 23 May 1807
Fate: Broken up, 1820
Builder: Pitcher, Northfleet
Ordered: 24 January 1805
Laid down: August 1805
Launched: 19 August 1807
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1870
Builder: Pitcher, Northfleet
Ordered: 24 January 1805
Laid down: December 1805
Launched: 12 April 1808
Fate: Broken up, 1838
Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 15 February 1814
Laid down: July 1814
Launched: 15 October 1818
Fate: Burnt, 1840
Builder: Bombay Dockyard
Ordered: 7 March 1815
Laid down: April 1817
Launched: 28 December 1818
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1905
Builder: Pembroke Dockyard
Ordered: 17 November 1812
Laid down: February 1816
Launched: 26 April 1819
Fate: Broken up, 1872

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Scale: 1:24. Plan showing part plans of the beams, and a section through 'Elizabeth' (1769) or (1807), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, illustrating the use of iron knees for securing the beams and wooden knees. It has been historically assumed that this plan refers to 'Elizabeth' (1769). However, the watermark dated 1796 would mean this plan refers to her at the end of her career because she was broken up in August 1798. It is more likely that this plan relates to the building of 'Elizabeth' (1807), which would date the plan to between 1805 and 1807


 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 1838 – Launch of HMS Peterel , a six-gun Alert-class packet brig built for the Royal Navy during the 1830s.


HMS Peterel
was a six-gun Alert-class packet brig built for the Royal Navy during the 1830s

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Description
Peterel had a length at the gundeck of 95 feet 1 inch (29.0 m) and 75 feet (22.9 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 30 feet 3 inches (9.2 m), a draught of 10 feet 11 inches (3.3 m) and a depth of hold of 14 feet 9 inches (4.5 m). The ship's tonnage was 359 4⁄94 tons burthen. The Alert class was initially armed with a pair of 6-pounder cannon and four 12-pounder carronades. Later they were equipped with six 32-pounder or eight 18-pounder cannon. The ships had a crew of 44 officers and ratings.

Construction and career
Peterel, the third ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy, was ordered on 14 April 1836, laid down in April 1837 at Pembroke Dockyard, Wales, and launched on 23 May 1838. She was completed on 3 October 1838 at Plymouth Dockyard and commissioned on 18 August of that year.

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Lines (ZAZ5186)

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Peterel_(1838)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 1855 - Sea of Azoff naval campaign begins


During the Crimean War (1853–1856), a naval campaign was fought in the Sea of Azov between the Royal Navy and the French Navy against the Russian Navybetween 25 May–22 November 1855. British and French warships struck at every vestige of Russian power along the coast of the Sea of Azov. Except for Rostov and Azov, no town, depot, building or fortification was immune from attack and Russian naval power ceased to exist almost overnight. Contrary to established images of the Russian War, here was a campaign which was well-planned, dynamically led and overwhelmingly successful. The British authorities, significantly, issued the bar "Azoff" to the British Crimean War Medal, thus acknowledging the services of those who waged the most successful operations against the Russians during the war of 1854-1856. The bar was awarded only to the Royal Navy, together with units of the Royal Marines present during the campaign. The unauthorised French clasp, reading Mer d'Azoff , was worn by sailors of the French Navy.

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The French squadron during the Crimean War

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Gravure showing the first attack on Taganrog


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Azoff_naval_campaign
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 1861 – Launch of The Murray, a clipper ship of the Orient Line, which sailed from London to South Australia for 20 years.


The Murray was a clipper ship of the Orient Line which sailed from London to South Australia for 20 years.

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Murray_(clipper_ship).jpg

History
The Murray, a clipper of 1,019 tons B.M. and 902 tons register, length 193.7 feet (59.0 m), breadth 33.2 feet (10.1 m) and depth 20.2 feet (6.2 m), was built in 1861 by Alexander Hall & Co. in Aberdeen, Scotland for the packet service of James Thompson & Co. of London, the first ship built for that company, better known as the Orient Line, the last of their ships to be built entirely of wood.

She was launched on 25 May 1861, her first master being the highly regarded Captain Legoe, whose wife gave her the name of "The Murray". She sailed from Gravesend on her first voyage to Australia in July 1861.

She carried both passengers and cargo, making very fast times. In 1863 she left Plymouth on 15 July and arrived at Adelaide on 26 September, making the entire journey in 73 days, equal to the 1860 record of Yatala, considered the fastest on the route until the advent of Torrens.

Captain Legoe, previously of Celestial, was succeeded by James Norval Smart in 1867, William Begg 1869–1872, previously of Sebastian and Coonatto, and Thomas L. Wadham 1874–1876.

On the night of 26 May 1870 in mid Atlantic between Brazil and West Africa, a lookout saw a ship on fire, and Begg made towards it. The ship was the Italian barque Mannin Barabino, out of Genoa bound for the River Plate (Puerto Rico) with a cargo of spirits. The fire had started in the galley and swiftly engulfed the ship; the ship's boat was lowered but was soon overloaded and capsized, and the few survivors managed by clinging to the upturned boat or floating spars, and over 120 were lost by fire or water. Captain Begg was awarded a silver medal by the Italian government for his part in the rescue.


 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 1868 – Launch of HMS Monarch, the first seagoing British warship to carry her guns in turrets, and the first British warship to carry guns of 12-inch (300 mm) calibre.


HMS Monarch was the first seagoing British warship to carry her guns in turrets, and the first British warship to carry guns of 12-inch (300 mm) calibre.

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Design

HMS_Monarch_diagrams_Brasseys_1888.jpg
Diagrams showing location of gun turrets and armour protection, as depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual1888

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Monarch after her 1872 conversion to barque rig.

She was designed by Sir Edward Reed, at a time when the basic configuration of battleship design was undergoing major change simultaneously in many aspects. Sail was gradually giving way to steam, wooden hulls had just been superseded by iron, smoothbore artillery firing round-shot had been overtaken by rifled shell-firing cannon, increasingly heavier armour was being mounted, and there was mounting agitation in naval design circles to abandon broadside armament in favour of that mounted in turrets. In this melting-pot, any battleship design was fated to be a compromise, and the design of Monarch proved to be so.

Having determined that Monarch would carry her main artillery in turrets, the Board of Admiralty then stipulated that, as she was destined for overseas service, and steam engines were not at that time wholly reliable, she must carry a full ship-rig and be fitted with a forecastle. Reed objected to this concept, which had the effect of totally preventing the main artillery from firing on any other angle than on the port and starboard beams. He was overruled, and is reported to have taken little pride in the resulting ship. He himself wrote, in 1869 "no satisfactorily designed turret ship has yet been built, or even laid down.....the middle of the upper deck of a full-rigged ship is not a very eligible place for fighting large guns". In 1871 Reed stated to the Committee on Designs that he wanted on a turret ship no poop and no forecastle, and masts carrying at most light rig past which the guns could fire fore or aft on the centre-line.

The hull of Monarch was different in no significant way from the hulls of recent broadside ironclads, except that her lines were finer, with a length: beam ratio of 5.7:1; a ratio which was not bettered for a battleship until the building of HMS Dreadnought with a ratio of very nearly 6:1.

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Modernisation
In 1890 she was selected for what was at the time called "modernisation". She was given new triple expansion engines and new boilers, and thereafter could make 15.75 knots (29.17 km/h) – less than a knot better than on her first trials. No attempt was made to bring her armament up to date, although the muzzle-loading rifles which she carried were by then totally obsolete, and the fitting of breech-loading cannon would not have been difficult. At this time she received four 12-pounder 76 mm (3.0 in) and ten 3-pounder quick-firers as a torpedo-boat defence.

Armament
The four 12-inch muzzle-loading rifles carried as main armament were housed in two pairs in two centre-line turrets on the upper deck, one on either side of the funnel. These guns, each of which weighed 25 long tons (25 t), could fire a shell weighing 600 pounds (270 kg) with a muzzle velocity of 1,380 ft/s (421 m/s). Being situated on the upper deck, at a height of seventeen feet above water, they were seven feet higher than any battery in the fleet, with significant advantage thereby accruing in terms of range and command. Unlike earlier turret-equipped coast-defence ships, training was by steam power.

A good gun crew could fire an aimed shell every two minutes.

To compensate for the inability of the main guns to train either fore or after, two smaller guns of 7 inch calibre were carried in the bow, and one in the stern.

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Scale: 1:48. A half block model of the port side of the turret ship HMS Monarch (1868), made entirely in wood and painted light pink-brown below the waterline, a narrow white stripe above and black above the waterline with a second white stripe along the gunwale. Hull details include a ram bow, rows of square portholes, propeller and rudder. Other fittings include stump bowsprit, foremast, mainmast and mizzen mast, a single lozenge-shaped funnel painted off-white with an ochre top, and two turrets, each with provision for two guns, fore and aft the funnel. The model is displayed on a backboard painted off-white with a mahogany-stained frame with bevelled edge. On backboard ‘Monarch’

Service history
HMS Monarch in Number 10 Dock, Portsmouth Dockyard, Hampshire; In 1871 census on 2nd April; 316 on board; 209 not on board; Capt Charles Murray-Aynsley; (1821-1901) Captain of Monarch, Channel Squadron (until paying off); October 1870 to 29 November 1871

She was commissioned for the Channel Fleet at Chatham, and served therein until 1872. During the service she crossed the Atlantic in the company of USS Plymouth carrying the remains of George Peabody, American merchant, financier and philanthropist, to the United States for burial. On her way home she sailed on one day a distance of 242 nautical miles (448 km), which fell short of the record set by HMS Ocean by one nautical mile only. She paid off for refit, rejoining the Channel Fleet in 1874. In 1876 she was posted to the Mediterranean, where she served until 1885, with a short refit at home in 1877. She was present and active at the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882 firing 125 12-inch (300 mm) shells at the Egyptian forts.

She was ordered to Malta in the Russian war scare of 1885, but broke down en route and her whereabouts were unknown for some days; she was ultimately found, towed into Malta, patched up and sent home under escort. After refit she again served in the Channel between 1885 and 1890. She spent the years from 1890 to 1897 undergoing a lengthy modernisation, after which she was guardship at Simon's Bay until 1902. Captain Charles Henry Bayly was appointed in command on 1 February 1900. In March 1902 Captain Robert Kyle McAlpine was appointed in command, for service as Naval Officer in Charge Ascension. Two months later, Captain William Lowther Grant was appointed in command on 5 May 1902,[5] and in July 1902 she was part of a group of seven Royal Navy ships visiting Zanzibar for a show of force following the death of the sultan and accession of his son.[6] She was thereafter reduced to the status of a depot ship under the new name of HMS Simoon; brought home in 1904, she was sold in 1905.

Gunnery trials
A trial was undertaken in 1870 to compare the accuracy and rate of fire of turret-mounted heavy guns with those in a centre-battery ship. The target was a 600 feet (180 m) long, 60 feet (18 m) high rock off Vigo. The speed of the ships was 4–5 knots (4.6–5.8 mph; 7.4–9.3 km/h) ("some accounts say stationary"). Each ship fired for five minutes, with the guns starting "loaded and very carefully trained". The guns fired Palliser shells with battering charges at a range of about 1,000 yards (0.91 km). Three out of the Captain's four hits were achieved with the first salvo; firing this salvo caused the ship to roll heavily (±20°); smoke from firing made aiming difficult. The Monarch and the Hercules also did better with their first salvo, were inconvenienced by the smoke of firing, and to a lesser extent were caused to roll by firing. On the Hercules the gunsights were on the guns, and this worked better than the turret roof gunsights used by the other ships.

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Scale: 1:48. A half frame model of the port side of the turret ship HMS Monarch (1868), made entirely in wood with metal fittings and painted in realistic colours. The hull is made plank-on-frame and one deck above waterline is left unplanked. The decks and frame edges are painted black, and the two large diameter turrets are painted off-white. The turrets are situated on a weather deck and the deck above has open areas that are covered in a mesh. Fittings include stump masts, black-painted funnel, capstan and davits fore and aft. The model is displayed on a wooden board, stained dark brown


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Monarch_(1868)
 
Hallo Jim,
is there a year of the vessel launch given by the manufacturer?
Hello Uwe, at the moment I cannot find the lunch year of her. Here is what I found:

The decree of Nicholas I (tzar) prescribed to always have in the Black Sea Fleet a brig similar to “Mercury” with its flag and team: at sea, build one with it a drawing and the similarity perfect with it in all the other such vessel, naming it “Mercury” and assigning it to the same crew to which the flag with the pennant was transferred; when this ship begins to fall into disrepair, replace it with another new one, built according to the same drawing, continuing this way until later times. We wish that the memory of the famous merits of the brig "Mercury" team and it never disappeared in the fleet and, passing from clan to clan for everlasting times, served as an example to posterity. (Google translate from Russian)

96970

96971
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 1896 – Launch of ARA San Martín, one of four Giuseppe Garibaldi-class armored cruisers purchased by the Argentine Navy from Italy


ARA
San Martín
was one of four Giuseppe Garibaldi-class armored cruisers purchased by the Argentine Navy from Italy.

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Colorized photo of San Martin on her sea trials

Design and description
San Martín had an overall length of 344 feet 2 inches (104.9 m), a beam of 50 feet 8 inches (15.4 m), and a mean draft (ship) of 23 feet 4 inches (7.1 m). She displaced 6,773 metric tons (6,666 long tons) at normal load. The ship was powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam from eight Scotch marine boilers. The engines were designed for a maximum output of 13,500 indicated horsepower (10,100 kW) and a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). She had a cruising range of 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Her complement consisted of 28 officers and 460 enlisted men.

Her main armament consisted of four 45-caliber Armstrong Whitworth 8-inch (203 mm) guns, in twin-gun turrets fore and aft of the superstructure. The ten 40-caliber quick-firing (QF) 6-inch (152 mm) guns that comprised her secondary armament were arranged in casemates amidships on the main deck. San Martín also had six QF 4.7-inch (119 mm) and six QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns to defend herself against torpedo boats. She was also equipped with four above-water 457 mm (18.0 in) torpedo tubes, two on each side.

The ship's waterline armor belt had a maximum thickness of 5.9 inches (150 mm) amidships and tapered to 3.1 inches (79 mm) towards the ends of the ship. Between the main gun barbettes it covered the entire side of the ship up to the level of the upper deck. The barbettes, the conning tower, and gun turrets were also protected by 5.9-inch armor. Her deck armor ranged from 1 to 2 inches (25 to 51 mm) thick.

Construction and career
The ship was launched on 25 May 1896 and was stricken from the Navy List on 18 December 1935.


The Giuseppe Garibaldi-class cruisers were a class of ten armoured cruisers built in Italy in the 1890s and the first decade of the 20th century. The ships were built for both the Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina) and for export.

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 1911 - USS Wyoming (BB 32) launches. She is commissioned in Sept. 25, 1912 and later participates in the Veracruz Intervention and World War I.


USS Wyoming (BB-32)
was the lead ship of her class of dreadnought battleships and was the third ship of the United States Navy named Wyoming, although she was only the second named in honor of the 44th state. Wyoming was laid down at the William Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia in February 1910, was launched in May 1911, and was completed in September 1912. She was armed with a main battery of twelve 12-inch (305 mm) guns and capable of a top speed of 20.5 kn (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph).

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Wyoming steaming up the East River in 1912

During the First World War, she was part of the Battleship Division Nine, which was attached to the British Grand Fleet as the 6th Battle Squadron. During the war, she was primarily tasked with patrolling in the North Sea and escorting convoys to Norway. She served in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets throughout the 1920s, and in 1931–1932, she was converted into a training ship according to the terms of the London Naval Treaty of 1930.

Wyoming served as a training ship throughout the 1930s, and in November 1941, she became a gunnery ship. She operated primarily in the Chesapeake Bay area, which earned her the nickname "Chesapeake Raider". In this capacity, she trained some 35,000 gunners for the hugely expanded US Navy during World War II. She continued in this duty until 1947, when she was decommissioned on 1 August and subsequently sold for scrap; she was broken up in New York starting in December 1947.

Design
Main article: Wyoming-class battleship
Wyoming was 562 ft (171 m) long overall and had a beam of 93 ft 3 in (28 m) and a draft of 28 ft 6 in (9 m). She displaced 26,000 long tons (26,417 t) as designed and up to 27,243 long tons (27,680 t) at full combat load. The ship was powered by four-shaft Parsons steam turbines and twelve coal-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers rated at 28,000 shp (21,000 kW), generating a top speed of 20.5 kn (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph). The ship had a cruising range of 8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at a speed of 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph).

The ship was armed with a main battery of twelve 12-inch/50 caliber Mark 7[a] guns in six Mark 9 twin gun turrets on the centerline, two of which were placed in a superfiring pair forward. The other four turrets were placed aft of the superstructure in two superfiring pairs. The secondary battery consisted of twenty-one 5-inch (127 mm)/51 caliber guns mounted in casemates along the side of the hull. The main armored belt was 11 in (279 mm) thick, while the gun turrets had 12 in (305 mm) thick faces. The conning tower had 11.5 in (292 mm) thick sides.

Modifications
In 1925, Wyoming was modernized in the Philadelphia Navy Yard.[2] Her displacement increased significantly, to 26,066 long tons (26,484 t) standard and 30,610 long tons (31,100 t) full load. Her beam was widened to 106 ft (32 m), primarily from the installation of anti-torpedo bulges, and draft increased to 29 ft 11.75 in (9 m). Her twelve coal-fired boilers were replaced with four White-Forster oil-fired boilers that had been intended for the ships cancelled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty; performance remained the same as the older boilers. The ship's deck armor was strengthened by the addition of 3.5 in (89 mm) of armor to the second deck between the end barbettes, plus 1.75 in (44 mm) of armor on the third deck on the bow and stern. The deck armor over the engines and boilers was increased by 0.75 in (19 mm) and 1.25 in (32 mm), respectively. Five of the 5-inch guns were removed and eight 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber anti-aircraft guns were installed. The mainmast was removed to provide space for an aircraft catapult mounted on the Number 3 turret amidships.

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Wyoming transiting the Panama Canal on 26 July 1919



 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 1915 - the pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Triumph was torpedoed and sunk off Gaba Tepe by U-21 in the Gallipoli Campaign.
The destroyer HMS Chelmer took off most of her crew before she capsized ten minutes later. She floated upside down for about 30 minutes then slowly sank in about 180 feet (55 m) of water. Three officers and 75 ratings were lost.


HMS Triumph
, originally known as Libertad, was the second of the two Swiftsure-class pre-dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy. The ship was ordered by the Chilean Navy, but she was purchased by the United Kingdom as part of ending the Argentine–Chilean naval arms race. Triumph was initially assigned to the Home Fleet and Channel Fleets before being transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1909. The ship briefly rejoined the Home Fleet in 1912 before she was transferred abroad to the China Station in 1913. Triumph participated in the hunt for the German East Asia Squadron of Maximilian Graf von Spee and in the campaign against the German colony at Tsingtao, China early in World War I. The ship was transferred to the Mediterranean in early 1915 to participate in the Dardanelles Campaign against the Ottoman Empire. She was torpedoed and sunk off Gaba Tepe by the German submarine U-21 on 25 May 1915.

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Design and description
See also: Argentine–Chilean naval arms race
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HMS Triumph near completion in January 1904.

Triumph was ordered by Chile, with the name of Libertad, in response to the Argentine purchase of two armoured cruisers from Italy during a time of heightened tensions with Argentina. After the crisis subsided, financial problems forced Chile to put the ship up for sale in early 1903; concerned that Russia might buy them, the United Kingdom stepped in and with financing via merchant bank Antony Gibbs & Sons purchased the still-incomplete ships from Chile on 3 December 1903 for £2,432,000. The ship was designed to Chilean specifications, particularly the requirement to fit in the graving dock at Talcahuano, and was regarded by the British as a second-class battleship.

General characteristics
Triumph had an overall length of 475 feet 3 inches (144.9 m), a beam of 71 feet 1 inch (21.7 m),[2] and a draught of 28 feet 6 inches (8.7 m) at deep load. She displaced 12,175 long tons (12,370 t) at standard load and 13,840 long tons (14,060 t) at deep load. At deep load she had a metacentric height of 4.01 feet (1.22 m). In 1906, the crew numbered 729 officers and enlisted men.

Propulsion
The ship was powered by two four-cylinder inverted vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller. A dozen Yarrow water-tube boilers provided steam to the engines which produced a total of 12,500 indicated horsepower (9,300 kW) which was intended to allow them to reach a speed of 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph). The engines proved to be more powerful than anticipated and Triumph exceeded 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) during sea trials. She carried a maximum of 2,048 long tons (2,081 t) of coal, enough to steam 6,210 nautical miles (11,500 km; 7,150 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). In service she and her sister proved to be more economical than first thought with an estimated range of 12,000 nautical miles (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 10 knots.

Armament
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Swiftsure at anchor after about 1908

The ship was armed with four 45-calibre BL 10-inch Mk VII guns in two twin gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure.[2] The guns fired 500-pound (227 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2,656 ft/s (810 m/s); this provided a maximum range of 14,800 yards (13,500 m) at the gun's maximum elevation of 13.5°. The firing cycle of the Mk VII guns was claimed to be 20–25 seconds;[7] each gun was provided with 90 shells.

Triumph's secondary armament consisted of fourteen 50-calibre 7.5-inch Mk IV guns. Ten of the guns were mounted in a central battery on the main deck; the other four were in casemates abreast the fore- and mainmastson the upper deck.[8] A major problem with the guns on the main deck was that they were mounted low in the ship—only about 10 feet (3 m) above water at deep load—and were unusable at high speed or in heavy weather as they dipped their muzzles in the sea when rolling more than 14°. The guns fired 200-pound (91 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2,781 ft/s (848 m/s) at a rate of four rounds per minutes. At their maximum elevation of 15° they had a maximum range of about 14,000 yards (13,000 m). The ship carried 150 rounds per gun.

Defence against torpedo boats was provided by fourteen QF 14-pounder Mk II guns, but the guns were modified in British service to use the standard 12.5-pound (5.7 kg) shell used by the QF 12 pounder 18 cwt gun in British service. They fired 3-inch (76 mm), 12.5-lb projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2,548 ft/s (777 m/s). Their maximum range and rate of fire is unknown. 200 rounds per gun was carried by Triumph. The ship also mounted four QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns in the fighting tops, although these were removed in 1906–08.

The ship was also armed with a pair of 17.7-inch (450 mm) submerged torpedo tubes, one on each broadside, for which she carried nine torpedoes.

Armour
The Swiftsures' armour scheme was roughly comparable to that of the Duncan class. The waterline main belt was composed of Krupp cemented armour (KCA) 7 inches (178 mm) thick. It was 8 feet (2.4 m) high of which 5 feet 3 inches (1.6 m) was below the waterline at normal load. Fore and aft of the 2–6-inch (51–152 mm) oblique bulkheads that connected the belt armour to the barbettes, the belt continued, but was reduced in thickness. It was six inches thick abreast the barbettes, but was reduced to two inches fore and aft of the barbettes. It continued forward to the bow and supported the ship's spur-type ram. It continued aft to the steering gear compartment and terminated in a 3-inch (76 mm) transverse bulkhead. The upper strake of 7-inch armour covered the ship's side between the rear of the barbettes up to the level of the upper deck. The upper deck casemates were also protected by 7-inch faces and sides, but were enclosed by rear 3-inch plates. The 7.5-inch guns on the main deck were separated by 1-inch (25 mm) screens with .5 inches (12.7 mm) plating protecting the funnel uptakes to their rear. A longitudinal 1-inch bulkhead divided the battery down its centreline.

The turret faces were 9 inches (229 mm) thick and their sides and rear were 8 inches (203 mm) thick. Their roofs were two inches thick and the sighting hood protecting the gunners was 1.5 inches (38 mm) thick. Above the upper deck the barbettes were 10 inches (254 mm) thick on their faces and eight inches on the rear. Below this level they thinned to three and two inches respectively. The conning tower was protected by 11 inches (279 mm) of armour on its face and eight inches on its rear. The deck armour inside the central citadel ranged from 1 to 1.5 inches in thickness. Outside the citadel, the lower deck was three inches thick and sloped to meet the lower side of the belt armour.

Construction and service
Pre-World War I
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Triumph on maneuvers in 1908

HMS Triumph was ordered by Chile as Libertad and laid down by Vickers, Sons & Maxim at Barrow-in-Furness on 26 February 1902 and launched on 15 January 1903. She was completed in June 1904 and commissioned at Chatham Dockyard on 21 June 1904 for service in the Home Fleet. On 17 September 1904 the ship was struck by SS Siren off Pembroke Dock and was only slightly damaged. Under a fleet reorganization in January 1905, the Home Fleet became the Channel Fleet. She collided with her sister ship Swiftsure on 3 June 1905 and suffered damage to her bow. Triumph received a brief refit at Chatham Dockyard in October 1908 and was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet on 26 April 1909. The ship returned to the Home Fleet in May 1912. She was transferred to the China Station on 28 August 1913 and was placed in reserve at Hong Kong until mobilized in August 1914 at the beginning of World War I.

World War I
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Triumph firing at German positions at Tsingtao, China, in October 1914

Triumph was recommissioned using the crews of demobilised river gunboats, supplemented with two officers, 100 enlisted men, and six signallers from the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, and was ready for sea on 6 August 1914. Triumph took part in operations off the German colony of Tsingtao, China in early August 1914, with the intention of stopping German shipping entering or returning to the port.[16] Triumph, together with the French cruiser Dupleix, captured the German merchant ship Senegambia, laden with coal and cattle, on the morning of 21 August, with Dupliex then chasing and eventually capturing a second merchant ship, the C. Ferd Laeiz. On the evening of 21 August, Triumph captured the German merchant ship Frisia, also carrying coal and cattle. On 23 August 1914, she was attached to the Imperial Japanese Navy's Second Fleet, and after disembarking her Army volunteers at Wei-hai-wei, participated in the campaign against the German colony at Tsingtao. In September, Triumph, together with the destroyer Usk, escorted a convoy carrying British troops for operations against Tsingtao, with Triumph taking part in several bombardments of German positions until the capture of Tsingtao by the Japanese. Triumph was hit by a German shell during a bombardment on 14 October, damaging a mast, and killing one crewman and wounding two more. With Tsingtao in Japanese hands, Triumph returned to Hong Kong for a refit on 19 November 1914.

Upon completion of her refit in January 1915, Triumph was transferred to the Dardanelles for service in the Dardanelles Campaign. The ship departed Hong Kong on 12 January and stopped at Suez from 7 February to 12 February before moving on to join the Dardanelles Squadron. Triumph took part in the opening attack on the entrance forts on 18 February and 19 February, and joined the predreadnoughts Albion and Cornwallis in using her secondary battery to silence the fort at Sedd el Bahr on 25 February. She, Albion, and Majestic were the first Allied battleships to enter the Turkish Straits during the campaign when they carried out the initial attack on the inner forts on 26 February. She also took part in the attack on Fort Dardanos on 2 March 1915. She and Swiftsure were detached from the Dardanelles on 5 March for operations against forts at Smyrna, returning to the Dardanelles on 9 March.

1280px-HMS_Triumph_picket_boat.jpg
HMS Triumph's picket boat returning to the battleship after the E15expedition.

Triumph participated in the main attack on the Narrows forts on 18 March, and fired on Ottoman trenches at Achi Baba on 15 April. On 18 April, one of her picket boats and one from Majestic torpedoed and sank the British submarine E15, which had run aground near Fort Dardanos and was in danger of being captured by Ottoman forces. Triumph supported the main landing by the Anzac forces at Gaba Tepe on 25 April, and continued to support them through May. On 25 May, the ship was underway off Gaba Tepe, firing on Ottoman positions, with torpedo nets out and most watertight doors shut, when she sighted a submarine periscope 300 to 400 yards (270 to 370 m) off her starboard beam at about 1230 hours. It belonged to the U-boat U-21 under the command of Lieutenant Otto Hersing.Triumph opened fire on the periscope, but was almost immediately struck by a torpedo, which easily cut through her torpedo net, on her starboard side. A tremendous explosion resulted, and Triumph took on a list 10° to starboard. She held that list for about five minutes, then it increased to 30°. The destroyer Chelmerev acuated most of her crew before she capsized ten minutes later. She remained afloat upside down for about 30 minutes, then began to sink slowly in about 180 feet (55 m) of water. Three officers and 75 enlisted men died in her sinking.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Triumph_(1903)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 1941 – Last battle of the battleship Bismarck – the 25th May




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HMS Prince of Wales (53)


HMS Prince of Wales fired unopposed until she began a port turn at 05:57, when Prinz Eugen took her under fire. After Hood exploded at 06:01, the Germans opened intense and accurate fire on Prince of Wales, with 15-inch, 8-inch and 5.9-inch guns. A heavy hit was sustained below the waterline as Prince of Wales manoeuvred through the wreckage of Hood. At 06:02, a 15-inch shell struck the starboard side of the compass platform and killed the majority of the personnel there. The navigating officer was wounded, but Captain Leach was unhurt. Casualties were caused by the fragments from the shell's ballistic cap and the material it dislodged in its diagonal path through the compass platform. A 15-inch diving shell penetrated the ship's side below the armour belt amidships, failed to explode and came to rest in the wing compartments on the starboard side of the after boiler rooms. The shell was discovered and defused when the ship was docked at Rosyth.

At 06:05 Captain Leach decided to disengage and laid down a heavy smokescreen to cover Prince of Wales's escape. Following this, Leach radioed the Norfolk that Hood had been sunk and then proceeded to join Norfolk roughly 15 to 17 miles (24 to 27 km) astern of Bismarck. Throughout the day the British ships continued to chase Bismarck until at 18:16 when Suffolk sighted the German battleship at 22,000 yards (20,000 m). Prince of Wales then opened fire on Bismarck at an extreme range of 30,300 yards (27,700 m), she fired 12 salvos but all of them missed. At 01:00 on 25 May Prince of Wales once again regained contact and opened fire at a radar range of 20,000 yards (18,000 m), after observers believed that she had scored a hit on Bismarck, Prince of Wales's "A" turret temporarily jammed, leaving her with only six operational guns. After losing Bismarck owing to poor visibility and after searching for 12 hours, Prince of Wales headed for Iceland and took no further part in actions against Bismarck.

……

For some time, Bismarck remained under long-distance observation by the British. At about 03:00 on 25 May, she took advantage of her opponents' zig-zagging to double back on her own wake; Bismarck made a nearly 270° turn to starboard, and as a result her pursuers lost sight of the battleship, thus enabling her to head for German naval bases in France unnoticed. Contact was lost for four hours, but the Germans did not know this. For reasons that are still unclear, Admiral Günther Lütjens transmitted a 30-minute radio message to HQ, which was intercepted, thereby giving the British time to work out roughly where he was heading. However, a plotting error made onboard King George V, now in pursuit of the Germans, incorrectly calculated Bismarck's position and caused the chase to veer too far to the north. Bismarck was therefore able to make good time on 25/26 May in her unhindered passage towards France and protective air cover and destroyer escort. By now, however, fuel was becoming a major concern to both sides.

............ to be continued .......




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_battle_of_the_battleship_Bismarck
 
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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 May 2011 – Launch of Alexander von Humboldt II, a German sailing ship built as a replacement for the ship Alexander von Humboldt, which had been launched in 1906 and used for sail training since 1988.


Alexander von Humboldt II is a German sailing ship built as a replacement for the ship Alexander von Humboldt, which had been launched in 1906 and used for sail training since 1988. Constructed by Brenn- und Verformtechnik (BVT) in Bremen, the new ship was launched in 2011.

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Just like her predecessor, the Alexander von Humboldt II is operated by Deutsche Stiftung Sail Training in Bremerhaven which offers sail training for people between 14 and 75 years of age.

800px-Alexander_von_Humboldt_II_Leith_2018.jpg



 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 25 May


1644 – Action of May 25th 1644
Danes get slightly the better of 33 hired Dutch ships

The Dutch had apparently thirty-three vessels in all, including fireships and small craft; the Danes had ten warships and three fireships. As the Dutch came out Mund weighed anchor and stood out to sea, but his three fireships went aground at the entrance to the harbour and were of no further use to him. The action was a long range affair, with the wind and sea getting up steadily, until by evening all thoughts of fighting had to be abandoned. The Dutch ship Campen lost her mainmast in a squall early in the day, and at once steered for home. In the morning of May 26th Thijsen had only seventeen ship with him, and decided, in view of their damaged state and the discontent of his crews, to return to the Vlie.

https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_battle&id=483


1671 – Launch of both French Vaillant Class ships. Designed and built by Laurent Hubac.

Anjou
50, later 54 guns (launched 25 May 1671 at Brest) - renamed Vaillant on 24 June (30 days after launch); condemned 1690 and broken up 1691.
Ardent 54 guns (launched 25 May 1671 at Brest) - renamed Téméraire on 24 June (30 days after launch); captured by the English on 9 December 1694 off Kinsale and burnt.


1672 – Launch of French Bon 48, later 56 guns (designed by Laurent Hubac, built by Jean Hontabat and Joseph Saboulin, launched 25 May 1672 at Brest) – condemned 1692 and broken up.


1708 – Launch of HMS Plymouth, a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Devonport Dockyard (Devonport then known as Plymouth-Dock) to the 1706 Establishment of dimensions


HMS Plymouth
was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Devonport Dockyard (Devonport then known as Plymouth-Dock) to the 1706 Establishment of dimensions, and launched on 25 May 1708.
Orders were issued on 26 May 1720 directing Plymouth to be taken to pieces and rebuilt according to the 1719 Establishment at Chatham, from where she was relaunched on 2 August 1722. Plymouth remained in service until she was broken up in 1764

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Plymouth_(1708)


1716 – Launch of Spanish San Felipe el Real 80 (launched 25 May 1716 at Sant Feliú de Guíxols) - Captured by Britain at the Battle of Cape Passaro 11 August 1718; taken to Port Mahon (Menorca) where blew up by accident.



1761 - St Ann was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1755. She was captured by the Royal Navy on 25 May 1761, and commissioned as the third rate HMS St Ann.



1768 James Cook promoted to Lieutenant and given command of the bark, HMS Endeavour.

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


1782 – Launch of French Alcide was a 74-gun Pégase class ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1782.

The Alcide was a 74-gun Pégase class ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1782.
In 1782, she took part in the American war of Independence in De Grasse's fleet.
She took part in the Battle of Hyères, under captain Le Blond Saint-Hilaire. She was the last ship of the French rear when she was becalmed and had to fight HMS Victory, Culloden, and Cumberland. She managed to damage the rigging of Culloden and almost dismasted Victory, but was quickly battered by her overwhelmingly superior opponents. She surrendered to Cumberland at 2h. The frigates Justice and Alceste attempted to take her in tow to safety, but were repelled by gunfire from Victory.
Soon thereafter, a fire broke out, reportedly in her tops[1] or by her own Heated shots. She exploded 30 minutes afterwards with the loss of 300.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pégase-class_ship_of_the_line


1795 HMS Thorn , Cdr. Robert Otway, captured Courier National in the West Indies.

HMS Thorn
(1779) was a 14-gun sloop launched in 1779 that two American frigates, USS Deane (1778) and USS Boston (1777) captured on 25 August 1779. She became an American privateer with a number of successful engagements and prizes to her name until Arethusa captured her on 20 August 1782. She then returned to service in the Royal Navy, serving until 1816 when she was sold

https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=19345


1809 – Launch of French Ulm was a Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy

Ulm was a Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
Under Captain Chaunay-Duclos, Ulm took part in the Action of 5 November 1813, where she sustained fire from the British squadron before disengaging. Ulm was decommissioned in 1814.
Ulm was refitted in 1822, and struck in 1828.

1280px-Achille_mp3h9307.jpg


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Ulm_(1809)


1811 Tamatave and French frigate Nereide surrendered to HMS Astrea (36), Cptn. Charles Marsh Schomberg.


1812 HMS Hyacinth (26), Cptn. Thomas Ussher, HMS Termagant (18), Cptn. Gawen William Hamilton, and HMS Basilisk (14), Lt. George French, silenced the fortress and destroyed a small privateer at Almunecar.


1812 – Launch of HMS Nimrod was a brig-sloop of the British Royal Navy


HMS Nimrod
was a brig-sloop of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1812. She spent her war years in north American waters where she captured one small privateer, assisted in the capture of another, and captured or destroyed some 50 American vessels. After the war she captured smugglers and assisted the civil authorities in maintaining order in Tyne. She was wrecked in 1827 and so damaged that the Navy decided she was not worth repairing. A private ship-owner purchased Nimrod and repaired her. She then went on to spend some 20 years trading between Britain and Charleston, the Mediterranean, Australia, and India. She was last listed in 1851.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Nimrod_(1812)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruizer-class_brig-sloop


1812 – Launch of French Rubis was a 40-gun Pallas-class frigate of the French Navy

The Rubis was a 40-gun Pallas-class frigate of the French Navy.
On 25 November 1812, under Commander Louis-François Ollivier, Rubis sailed from Nantes along with Aréthuse (Captain Pierre Bouvet) to intercept British trade off West Africa. In January, having captured a Portuguese ship, La Serra, they reached Cap-Vert.
On 27 January 1813, Aréthuse intercepted the brig HMS Daring (Lieutenant Pascoe) off Tamara. Released prisoners reported the presence of the French frigates, prompting the departure of HMS Amelia (Captain Frederick Paul Irby).
In the night of 5 February, a storm hit Rubis and Aréthuse while at anchor; both frigates broke their cables and Rubis was thrown ashore, while Aréthusemanaged to sail clear of the coast into open water. Efforts to refloat her the next day proved futile, and she was abandoned by her crew, who embarked on the prize Serra, and scuttled by fire. Aréthuse fought the Action of 7 February 1813 with HMS Amelia the next day, and after the stalemate with her opponent, returned on the site of the wreck to repatriate the crew to France.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Rubis_(1812)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallas-class_frigate_(1808)


1814 – Capture of Hussar, an American privateer active during the War of 1812. Hussar was launched in 1812 and made several cruises, first two as a letter of marque, and two as a privateer, but apparently without success. HMS Saturn captured her.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussar_(1812_ship)


1878 – Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore opens at the Opera Comique in London.

H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical theatre piece up to that time. H.M.S. Pinafore was Gilbert and Sullivan's fourth operatic collaboration and their first international sensation.

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The story takes place aboard the ship HMS Pinafore. The captain's daughter, Josephine, is in love with a lower-class sailor, Ralph Rackstraw, although her father intends her to marry Sir Joseph Porter, the First Lord of the Admiralty. She abides by her father's wishes at first, but Sir Joseph's advocacy of the equality of humankind encourages Ralph and Josephine to overturn conventional social order. They declare their love for each other and eventually plan to elope. The captain discovers this plan, but, as in many of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, a surprise disclosure changes things dramatically near the end of the story.


Drawing on several of his earlier "Bab Ballad" poems, Gilbert imbued this plot with mirth and silliness. The opera's humour focuses on love between members of different social classes and lampoons the British class system in general. Pinafore also pokes good-natured fun at patriotism, party politics, the Royal Navy, and the rise of unqualified people to positions of authority. The title of the piece comically applies the name of a garment for girls and women, a pinafore, to the fearsome symbol of a warship.

Pinafore's extraordinary popularity in Britain, America and elsewhere was followed by the similar success of a series of Gilbert and Sullivan works, including The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. Their works, later known as the Savoy operas, dominated the musical stage on both sides of the Atlantic for more than a decade and continue to be performed today. The structure and style of these operas, particularly Pinafore, were much copied and contributed significantly to the development of modern musical theatre.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.M.S._Pinafore


1943 - Patrol bombers from (VP 84) sink German submarine U 467 south-southeast of Iceland.


1944 - USS Flying Fish (SS 229) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks guardboat Daito Maru and freighter Osaka Maru north of Palau.


1945 - April 1-May 25 End of Battle of Okinawa - The Japanese lose their last significant naval force, including the battleship Yamato.




1986 - Shamia – On 25 May 1986 the double deck river ferry, carrying about 1,000 people, capsized in the Meghna River 135 miles (217 km) south of Dhaka in a storm. An estimated 500-600 people were lost
 
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