HMS Colossus (1803)

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

Hull plan for Colossus and Warspite
History
United Kingdom
NameColossus
Ordered23 November 1797
BuilderDeptford Dockyard
Laid downMay 1799
Launched23 April 1803
CommissionedMarch 1803
FateBroken up, 8 February 1826
General characteristics
Class & typeColossus-class ship of the line
Tons burthen1,888 47⁄94 (bm)
Length181 ft 1 in (55.2 m) (gundeck)
Beam48 ft 11 in (14.9 m)
Draught18 ft (5.5 m) (light)
Depth of hold21 ft (6.4 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement590
Armament

HMS Colossus was the lead ship of her class of 74-gun, third-rate ships of the line built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 19th century. Completed in 1803, she played a minor role in the Napoleonic Wars, including participating in the Battle of Trafalgar two years later. She was broken up in 1826.

Description

The Colossus-class ship of the line was designed by Sir John Henslow, co-Surveyor of the Navy. It was one of the "large" type of 74 with heavier guns than those of the "common" and "middling" classes.[1] Colossus measured 181 feet 1 inch (55.2 m) on the gundeck and 148 feet 4 inches (45.2 m) on the keel. She had a beam of 48 feet 11 inches (14.9 m), a depth of hold of 21 feet (6.4 m) and had a tonnage of 1,888 47⁄94 tons burthen. The ship's draught was 13 feet 3 inches (4 m) forward and 18 feet (5.5 m) aft at light load; fully loaded, her draught would be significantly deeper. The ships' crew numbered 590 officers and ratings. They were fitted with three masts and were ship-rigged.

The ships were armed with 74 muzzle-loading, smoothbore guns that consisted of twenty-eight 32-pounder guns on their lower gundeck and thirty 24-pounder guns on their upper deck. Their forecastle mounted a pair of 24-pounder guns and two 24-pounder carronades. On their quarterdeck they carried four 24-pounders and ten 32-pounder carronades. Six 18-pounder carronades were positioned on the poop deck. Sometime before 1815, Colossus had her 24-pounders on the upper deck replaced by 18-pounder guns[2]

Construction and career

Colossus was the second ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy.[3] She was ordered on 23 November 1797 and was laid down at Deptford Dockyard in May 1799. The ship was launched on 23 April 1803 and was commissioned by Captain George Martin in March. Colossus was completed at Woolwich Dockyard on 20 June and assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet.[2]

The ship joined a squadron of the Channel Fleet commanded by Captain Sir Edward Pellew blockading Ferrol and A Coruña, Spain, on 19 August.[4] Colossus recaptured the East Indiaman Lord Nelson on 27 August, which the French privateer Belone had captured two weeks before and which the brig-sloop Seagull had fought to the point of surrender.[5] The ship served from December to February 1804 as the flagship of Rear-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, commander of the Inshore Squadron blockading the French coast.[6] In May, Colossus was briefly the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Graves, the new commander of the Inshore Squadron.[7]

Captain James Nicoll Morris assumed command on 23 June.[8]

Trafalgar

Colossus fought at Trafalgar in Collingwood's lee column. After sustaining fire from the enemy fleet, she eventually ran by the French Swiftsure, 74, and became entangled with Argonaute, 74. Towards the end of the exchange of fire between the two ships, Captain Morris was hit by a shot from one of Argonaute's guns, just above the knee. Argonaute broke free from Colossus after this, whilst the British ship was engaging both Swiftsure and the Spanish Bahama, 74, on her other side. Bahama surrendered when Colossus brought down her main mast, and Swiftsure did likewise after combined fire from Colossus and Orion brought down her main and mizzen masts.

War of 1812

On 24 March 1812 Colossus in company with Tonnant, Hogue, Poictiers and Bulwark captured the Emilie.[9]

On 5 January 1813 Colossus, the frigate Rhin and the brig Goldfinch captured the American ship Dolphin.[10] A little over a month later, on 11 February, Rhin and Colossus captured the American ship Print.[11]

Fate

In 1815 Colossus was placed in ordinary at Chatham. She was broken up on 8 February 1826.[12]

Citations

  1. ^ Lavery, pp. 184–185
  2. ^ a b Winfield, p. 41
  3. ^ Colledge, Warlow & Bush, p. 91
  4. ^ Parkinson, p. 293
  5. ^ Clarke & McArthur, pp. 260, 344
  6. ^ The National Archives. "Trafalgar Ancestors". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  7. ^ Hiscocks, Richard. "Sir Thomas Graves". More than Nelson. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  8. ^ Goodwin, p. 72
  9. ^ "No. 16705". The London Gazette. 20 February 1813. p. 381.
  10. ^ "No. 16768". The London Gazette. 28 August 1813. p. 1710.
  11. ^ "No. 16782". The London Gazette. 28 September 1813. p. 1946.
  12. ^ Lavery, p. 184

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Colossus (ship, 1803).
  • Adkin, Mark (2005). The Trafalgar Companion: A Guide to History's Most Famous Sea Battle and the Life of Admiral Lord Nelson. Aurum Press. ISBN 1-84513-018-9.
  • Adkins, Roy (2004). Trafalgar: The Biography of a Battle. Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-72511-0.
  • Clarke, James Stanier & McArthur, John, eds. (2010) [1803]. The Naval Chronicle: Containing a General and Biographical History of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom with a Variety of Original Papers on Nautical Subjects: Volume 10: July–December 1803. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-01849-4.
  • Clayton, Tim & Craig, Phil (2005). Trafalgar: The Men, the Battle, the Storm. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-83028-X.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben & Bush, Steve (2020). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th revised and updated ed.). Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-9327-0.
  • Goodwin, Peter (2005). The Ships of Trafalgar: The British, French and Spanish Fleets October 1805. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-824-3.
  • Lavery, Brian (1984). The Ship of the Line. Vol. 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650-1850. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
  • Parkinson, C. Northcote (1934). Edward Pellew, Viscount Exmouth, Admiral of the Red. Methuen & Co. OCLC 5471901.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008) [2005]. British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates (2nd, revised ed.). Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84415-717-4.
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