&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Vizagapatam,_1804_RCIN_735113.jpg) Defence of the Centurion in Vizagapatam Road, 15 September 1804, by Francis Sartorius (the younger) after a sketch by Sir James Lind
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | HMS Centurion |
| Ordered | 25 December 1770 |
| Builder | Barnard & Turner, Harwich |
| Laid down | May 1771 |
| Launched | 22 May 1774 |
| Completed | By 9 September 1775 |
| Fate |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | 50-gun Salisbury-class fourth rate |
| Tons burthen | 1,044 11⁄94 (bm) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 40 ft 5 in (12.3 m) |
| Depth of hold | 17 ft 3+1⁄2 in (5.27 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 350 |
| Armament | |
HMS Centurion was a 50-gun Salisbury-class fourth rate of the Royal Navy. She served during the American War of Independence, and during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
During the war with America, Centurion saw action in a number of engagements and supported British forces in the Caribbean and the North American coasts. Spending the period of peace either serving as a flagship in the Caribbean or laid up or under refit in British dockyards, she was recommissioned in time to see action in the wars with France, particularly in the East Indies.
Her most important action came in the Battle of Vizagapatam in 1804, in which she fought against the French squadron of Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois that consisted of a 74-gun ship, and two frigates. Despite sustaining severe damage, she continued fighting, and survived the assault by the considerably heavier forces.
Returning to Britain shortly afterwards, she was refitted and transferred to Halifax, where she served as a hospital and receiving ship for the rest of her career. She sank at her moorings there in 1824, and was raised the following year and broken up, ending 50 years of Royal Navy service.