HMS Hindostan (1804)

Engagement between the British Third Rate 74-gun ship-of-the-line HMS Tremendous (in the foreground) and HMS Hindostan (firing in the background) against the French frigate Canonnière, 21 April 1806.
History
Great Britain
NameAdmiral Rainier
OwnerHudson, Bacon & Co.[1]
BuilderHudson, Bacon & Co., Calcutta
Launched1798,[2][3] or 1799[4][1]
FateSold to the Royal Navy in 1804
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Hindostan
OwnerRoyal Navy
Acquired30 May 1804
Renamed
  • Renamed Dolphin, 1819
  • Renamed Justitia 1831
FateSold out of service 1855
General characteristics [4]
Class and type
Tons burthen511,[2] 8865494,[4] or 8868894[1] (bm)
Length
  • 158 ft 6 in (48.3 m) (overall)
  • 121 ft 9 in (37.1 m) (keel)
Beam37 ft (11.3 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement
  • Merchantman: 80 men[5]
  • 4th Rate: 294 men
  • Storeship: 141 men
Armament
  • Merchantman: 22 × 6&12-pounder guns[5]
  • 4th Rate: 26 × 18-pounder guns (Lower Deck ) + 26 × 24-pounder carronades (Upper Deck )
  • From 1811: 20 × 24-pounder carronades + 2 × 9-pounder guns

HMS Hindostan (variously Hindustan or Hindoostan) was a 50-gun two-decker fourth rate of the Royal Navy. She was originally a teak-built East Indiaman named Admiral Rainier launched at Calcutta in 1799 that the Royal Navy brought into service in May 1804. Before the Royal Navy purchased her, Admiral Rainier made two trips to England for the British East India Company (EIC), as an "extra ship", i.e., under charter. Perhaps her best known voyage was her trip to Australia in 1809 when she and Dromedary brought Governor Lachlan Macquarie to replace Governor William Bligh after the Rum Rebellion. In later years she became a store ship, and in 1819 was renamed Dolphin. She was hulked in 1824 to serve as a prison ship, and renamed Justitia in 1831. She was finally sold in 1855.

  1. ^ a b c Hackman (2001), p. 220.
  2. ^ a b British Library: Admiral Rainier.
  3. ^ Phipps (1840), p. 97.
  4. ^ a b c Winfield (2008), p. 113.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference LoM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).