HMS Britannia (1820)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Britannia.

Watercolor of HMS Britannia, c. 1834, by John H. Wilson
History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Britannia
Ordered6 November 1812
BuilderDevonport Dockyard
Laid downDecember 1813
Launched20 October 1820
FateBroken up, 1869
General characteristics as built[1]
Class and typeCaledonia-class ship of the line
Tons burthen2616 bm
Length205 ft (62 m) (gundeck)
Beam53 ft 6 in (16.31 m)
Depth of hold23 ft 2 in (7.06 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 120 guns:
  • Gun deck: 32 × 32-pdrs
  • Middle gun deck: 34 × 24-pdrs
  • Upper gun deck: 34 × 18-pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 6 × 12-pdrs, 10 × 32-pdr carronades
  • Forecastle: 2 × 12-pdrs, 2 × 32-pdr carronades
  • Poop deck: 6 × 18-pdr carronades
General characteristics after 1839
Armament
  • 120 guns:
  • Gun deck: 30 × 32-pdrs + 2 × 8 in guns
  • Middle gun deck: 32 × 32-pdrs + 2 × 8 in guns
  • Upper gun deck: 32 × 32-pdrs + 2 × 8 in guns
  • Quarterdeck: 4 × 32-pdrs + 12 × 32-pdr carronades
  • Forecastle: 2 × 32-pdrs + 2 × 32-pdr carronades

HMS Britannia was a 120-gun first-rate ship-of-the-line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1813 and launched on 20 October 1820.[1]

Britannia enters Portsmouth in 1835, George Chambers

Commissioned in 1823, she saw service in the Mediterranean from 1830-1 and in 1841. She was decommissioned in 1843,[citation needed] before returning to service for the Crimean War, serving as flagship of Admiral Sir James Deans Dundas,[2] commanding the British fleet in the Mediterranean and Black Sea from 1851–4.[citation needed].

Britannia and the Allied Fleets anchored in the Bosphorus, late 1853; the prelude to the Crimean war. Giuseppe Schranz

She was engaged in the Bombardment of Sebastopol on 17 October 1854 during the Crimean War.[3] On 14 November 1854, she was driven ashore on the Russian coast and was reported to have 5 feet (1.5 m) of water in her hold.[2]

She returned to England at the beginning of 1855 and that year became a hospital ship at Portsmouth, then a cadet training ship in 1859.[1] She was moved to Portland in 1862, then Dartmouth in 1863, where she served as residential barracks for cadets.

She was finally sold for breaking up in 1869.[1] Her place at Dartmouth was taken by HMS Prince of Wales, which was renamed Britannia for the role.

Generations of naval officers had their first taste of the navy aboard the two Britannias. Alumni included John Fisher, Percy Scott, John Jellicoe, Roger Keyes, William Boyle, Augustus Agar and King George V.

  1. ^ a b c d Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 187.
  2. ^ a b "(untitled)". The Times. No. 21912. London. 30 November 1854. p. 6.
  3. ^ Duckers, The Crimean War at Sea, Appendix 1.