HMS Princess Charlotte (1825)

HMS Princess Charlotte was a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Nicholas Diddams (but completed after his death)[2] launched on 14 September 1825 at Portsmouth.[1] The occasion was notable for the fact that the gates of the dry dock into which she was to be placed burst because of the high tide and more than 40 people were drowned.[3]

Princess Charlotte off Mytelene on 21 September 1838
History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Princess Charlotte
Ordered19 June 1813
BuilderPortsmouth Dockyard
Laid downNovember 1818
Launched14 September 1825
FateSold, 1875
General characteristics [1]
Class and typePrincess Charlotte-class ship of the line
Tons burthen2443 bm
Length197 ft 7 in (60.22 m) (gundeck)
Beam52 ft 10 in (16.10 m)
Depth of hold22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 104 guns:
  • Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs, 2 × 68 pdr carronades
  • Middle gundeck: 32 × 32 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 32 × 24 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 2 × 18 pdrs, 12 × 32 pdr carronades
  • Forecastle: 2 × 18 pdrs, 2 × 32 pdr carronades

When first ordered in 1812 she was intended to be a second rate of 98 guns, but in the general reclassifications of 1817 she was reclassed as a first rate.

Princess Charlotte and part of the Allied Fleet in a heavy gale at St George Bay near Beyrout, 2 December 1840, by John Frederick Warre RN

From 1837 to 1841 she served as the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet flying the flag of Vice Admiral Sir Robert Stopford and thus took part in the Syrian War and the bombardment of Acre. She had a crew of 738 men.[4]

Her commanders included Captain Robert Devereux Fanshaw from 1837 to 1841 (as flagship to Admiral Sir Robert Stopford) and Sir Henry George Thomsett from 1858 to 1861.[5]

She became a receiving ship at Hong Kong in 1858,[6] and was sold in 1875.[1]

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p187.
  2. ^ "Nicholas Diddams".
  3. ^ "Launch of HMS Princess Charlotte". Hampshire Chronicle. 17 September 1825. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  4. ^ "British First Rate ship of the line 'Princess Charlotte' (1825)".
  5. ^ "British First Rate ship of the line 'Princess Charlotte' (1825)".
  6. ^ HMS Princess Charlotte as a hulk on the right in this image https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_harbour,_Hong_Kong._Wellcome_L0055512.jpg

References edit

  • Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.

External links edit

Preceded by
None
Royal Navy Receiving Ship in Hong Kong
1858–1873
Succeeded by