HMS Elephant (Ship of His Majesty "Elephant", from the English elephant - "elephant") - 74-gun battleship of the third rank . Royal Navy's third ship, named Zealous . Seventh battleship of the Arrogant type . Laid down in February 1783 . Launched on August 24, 1786 at the George Parsons private shipyard in Bursledon [1] . He belonged to the so-called "ordinary 74-gun ships", carrying 18-pound guns on the upper gun deck.
| Hms elephant | |
|---|---|
| Hms elephant | |
 | |
| Service | |
 | |
| Class and type of vessel | Arrogant type 3 battleship |
| Type of sailing weapon | Three mast ship |
| Organization |  Royal fleet |
| Manufacturer | Parsons, Bursledon |
| Construction started | February 1783 |
| Launched | August 24, 1786 |
| Withdrawn from the fleet | disassembled, 1830 |
| Main characteristics | |
| Displacement | 1,604 tons ( BM ) |
| Gondek length | 168 ft (51 m) |
| Midship Width | 46 ft 9 in (14.25 m) |
| Depth of intrum | 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m) |
| Engines | Sail |
| Armament | |
| Total number of guns | 74 |
| Gundeck Guns | 28 × 32 pound guns |
| Guns on the operdek | 28 × 18-fn. guns |
| Guns on the Trench | 14 × 9-fn. guns |
| Guns on the tank | 4 × 9-fnl. guns |
Content
- 1 Service
- 2 notes
- 3 Literature
- 4 References
Service
At the end of November 1790, the ship barely managed to avoid destruction when lightning broke its mainmast while anchoring in Portsmouth harbor [2] .
On April 2, 1801, Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson chose Elephant as his flagship at the Battle of Copenhagen due to its slight rainfall, which came in handy when fighting in shallow water. It was on this ship that one well-known episode occurred when Nelson put a pipe to his blind eye and declared that he could not see Admiral Parker's signal to withdraw the ships. The British continued the battle and, in the end, forced the Danes to sit at the negotiating table. Near the end of the battle, Elephant ran aground and the crew had to spend several hours to take it aground. In the battle, Elephant was one of the most affected British ships, received severe damage to the hull and mast and lost 10 people dead and 13 wounded [3] .
In June-December 1803, Elephant , under the command of Captain George Dundas, participated in the blockade of San Domingo as part of the squadron Commodore John Loring [4] .
In July 1803, Loring's squadron intercepted the French squadron of Commodore Pierre Maurice Julien, consisting of two 74-gun ships Duquesne and Duguay-Trouin and a 40-gun frigate Guerriere . At night, the French split, Duquesne moved west, and Duguay-Trouin and Guerriere east. The British squadron rushed in pursuit and after a short battle Vanguard and Tartar forced Duquesne to lower the flag. Elephant , who was chasing Duguay-Trouin , almost caught up with him, even managed to take a few shots, but in the end, Duguay-Trouin, along with the frigate, managed to escape from the chase [5] .
In October 1803, a squadron commanded by Captain Henry William Boynton, consisting of Cumberland , Hercule, Bellerophon, Elephant and Vanguard , captured two French privateer scholars, Poisson Volant and Superieure . Both schooners were subsequently admitted to the Royal Navy [6] .
In June-July 1806, Elephant was part of Rear Admiral Richard Strechen's squadron, which was sent to the West Indies to interfere with the operations of Rear Admiral Villaume's French squadron. In July 1806 he was accompanied by a large merchant convoy going to England from the West Indies [4] .
On the morning of December 28, 1812, west of the Azores, Elephant and Hermes captured the American privateer schooner Swordfish , under the command of John Evans, who sailed 16 days ago from Boston . Twelve 6-pound cannons were installed on the schooner (ten of which were thrown overboard during a chase lasting more than 100 miles) [2] .
In 1818, the Elephant had its upper deck cut off and converted into a heavy 58-gun frigate. It was scrapped and dismantled in 1830 [1] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 B. Lavery. The Ship of the Line - Volume 1. - P. 180.
- ↑ 1 2 Ships of the Old Navy
- ↑ James, Volume 3, 2002 [1827] , p. 75.
- ↑ 1 2 Index of Naval Vessels
- ↑ James, Volume 3, 2002 [1827] , pp. 191-192.
- ↑ No. 15620, p. 1228 (English) // London Gazette : newspaper. - L .. - Iss. 15620 . - No. 15620 . - P. 1228 . - ISSN 0374-3721 .
Literature
- Lavery, B. The Ship of the Line. The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. - Conway Maritime Press, 2003. - Vol. I. - ISBN 0-85177-252-8 .
- William James The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 3, 1800-1805 . - Conway Maritime Press, 2002 [1827]. - ISBN 0-85177-906-9 .
- William James The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 4, 1805-1808 . - Conway Maritime Press, 2002 [1827]. - ISBN 0-85177-906-9 .
- JJ Colledge, Ben Warlow. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. - London: Chatham Publishing, 2006 .-- ISBN 0-85177-252-8 .
Links
- HMS Elephant // Index of 19th Century Naval Vessels and a few of their movements
- HMS Elephant // Ships of the Old Navy