HMS Newcastle (1813)

Newcastle
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Newcastle
Ordered	6 May 1813
Builder	Wigram, Wells & Green, Blackwall
Laid down	June 1813
Launched	10 November 1813
Completed	By 23 March 1814
Fate	Broken up in June 1850
General characteristics
Class and type	50-gun fourth rate
Tons burthen	1,556 bm
Length	176 ft 5 in (53.8 m) (gundeck) 149 ft 5+3⁄4 in (45.6 m) (keel)
Beam	44 ft 8 in (13.6 m)
Depth of hold	15 ft 1+1⁄2 in (4.6 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Crew	450
Armament	Upper deck: 30 × 24-pounder guns Spar deck: 24 × 42-pounder carronades Fc: 4 × 24-pounder guns

HMS Newcastle was a 50-gun fourth rate of the Royal Navy which saw service in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812.

A new type of warship, a large spar-decked frigate, Newcastle and her near sister HMS Leander were a response to the threat the heavy American spar-decked frigates posed during the War of 1812. Newcastle proved a successful ship and operated in squadrons that chased the American frigates, but ultimately failed to catch them before the war ended. She spent some time as the flagship on the North American Station before returning to Britain in 1822 and being laid up. She was later converted to a lazarette. She spent the rest of her career in this role, until she was sold in 1850 for breaking up.