HMS Bombay | |
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Bombay |
Ordered | 26 January 1825 |
Builder | Bombay Dockyard |
Laid down | May 1826 |
Launched | 17 February 1828 |
Fate | Caught fire, exploded and sank; 14 December 1864 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type | Canopus-class ship of the line |
Tons burthen | 2279 bm |
Length | 193 ft 10 in (59.08 m) (gundeck) |
Beam | 52 ft 4.5 in (15.964 m) |
Depth of hold | 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m) |
Propulsion | Sails, since 1861 sails + steam engine |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Armament |
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HMS Bombay was an 84-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 17 February 1828 at Bombay Dockyard. [1]
She was fitted with screw propulsion in 1861 at Chatham Dockyard. This was a significant modification and involved cutting the ship in half and inserting a section to lengthen her, as well as fitting a Humphrys, Tennant and Dykes steam engine that gave a speed of 10 knots. [2] Under the command of Captain Colin Andrew Campbell, she was sent to South America as the flagship of Rear-Admiral Charles Elliot.
On 8 December 1864, members of the crew fielded a cricket side to play against the Buenos Aires Cricket Club in the opening of the BACC's new game field in Parque Tres de Febrero in Palermo, Buenos Aires, located where the Galileo Galilei planetarium is today. That day the BACC defeated the Bombay team by 85 runs to 31. [3]
The ship would be destroyed in a fire on the River Plate, in a freak target practice accident. Her efficient ventilation system spread the fire of unknown origin during the target practice off Uruguay near Isla de Flores near Montevideo in the River Plate on 14 December 1864. destroying her and costing the lives of 93 of her crew of 619. [5] [6]
At the time the ship was under sail, and the engines were not in use. The fire was reported at 3.35pm, having started in the area of the aft-hold. It spread quickly; by 4pm flames were coming out of the hatchways and setting the sails on fire. The ships boats were launched, but many men went into the water; some were killed by the ship's anchors when the cables holding them burnt through and they dropped into the sea. At 8:25pm, the ship's after gunpowder magazine exploded and she quickly sank in shallow water. [7]
Bombay's bowsprit remained visible above the water for some years afterwards, though it had disappeared by 1885. [8]
HMS Monmouth was a 66-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, and was likely named for James, Duke of Monmouth. She served from 1667 to 1767, winning ten battle honours over a century of active service. She was rebuilt a total of three times during her career—each time effectively becoming a completely new ship.
HMS Berwick was a 74-gun Elizabeth-class third rate of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard on 18 April 1775, to a design by Sir Thomas Slade. She fought the French at the Battle of Ushant (1778) and the Dutch at the Battle of Dogger Bank (1781). The French captured her in the action of 8 March 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars and she served with them with some success then and at the start of the Napoleonic Wars until the British recaptured her at the Battle of Trafalgar. Berwick sank shortly thereafter in a storm.
HMS Boscawan was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 April 1844 at Woolwich Dockyard. She was originally ordered in 1812 and begun as a 74-gun Vengeur-class ship of the line, but the order was cancelled and her frames placed instorage; an Admiralty order dated 3 March 1834 required that those frames be reworked to Sir William Symonds' design. She was named for Admiral Edward Boscawen.
HMS Raisonnable was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, named after the ship of the same name captured from the French in 1758. She was built at Chatham Dockyard, launched on 10 December 1768 and commissioned on 17 November 1770 under the command of Captain Maurice Suckling, Horatio Nelson's uncle. Raisonnable was built to the same lines as HMS Ardent, and was one of the seven ships forming the Ardent class of 1761. Raisonnable was the first ship in which Nelson served.
HMS Alexander was a 74-gun third-rate of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Deptford Dockyard on 8 October 1778. During her career she was captured by the French, and later recaptured by the British. She fought at the Nile in 1798, and was broken up in 1819. She was named after Alexander the Great.
HMS Superb was a 74-gun Bellona-class third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Thomas Slade and built by Adam Hayes at Deptford Dockyard, launched on 27 October 1760 as a sister ship to HMS Dragon.
HMS Blenheim was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Israel Pownoll and launched on 5 July 1761 at Woolwich. In 1797 she participated in the Battle of Cape St Vincent. In 1801 Blenheim was razeed to a third rate. She disappeared off Madagascar with all hands in February 1807.
HMS Impregnable was a Royal Navy 98-gun second rate ship of the line launched on 15 April 1786 at Deptford Dockyard. She was wrecked in 1799 off Spithead.
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HMS Clarence was an 84-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 25 July 1827 at Pembroke Dockyard. The second navy ship to bear the name, she was ordered as HMS Goliath but renamed in 1826 prior to completion.
HMS St Michael was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by John Tippetts of Portsmouth Dockyard and launched in 1669.
The English ship Speaker was a 50-gun third-rate. Speaker was built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England by Christopher Pett at Woolwich Dockyard and launched in 1650. At the Restoration she was renamed HMS Mary. She was the prototype of the Speaker-class.
HMS Kingston was a 60-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Frame in Hull and launched on 13 March 1697. She had an eventful career, taking part in numerous engagements.
HMS Pembroke was a 60-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford on 22 November 1694.
HMS Howe was originally the teak-built Indian mercantile vessel Kaikusroo that Admiral Edward Pellew bought in 1805 to serve as a 40-gun frigate. In 1806 the Admiralty fitted her out as a 24-gun storeship and renamed her HMS Dromedary. She made numerous trips, including one notable one to Australia when she brought out Lachlan Macquarie and his family to replace William Bligh as governor of New South Wales. Later, she became a prison hulk in Bermuda. Her most recent contribution, however, is as the source of a rich archaeological site.
Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club, sometimes known simply as Buenos Aires, is an Argentine sports club based in San Fernando, Buenos Aires. Having set its official date of foundation on 8 December 1864, the club claims to be the oldest club still in existence in Argentina, according to reports of a cricket match played by the club in Recoleta, Buenos Aires, in 1831.
Admiral Sir Edmund Samuel Poë was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, East Indies station.
HMS Druid was a 46-gun Seringapatam-class fifth-rate frigate built for the Royal Navy during the 1820s, the name ship of her sub-class.
Arthur Stephens Philpotts was a British naval officer and politician.
The action of 2 June 1807 was an engagement during the British invasions of the River Plate between a British Royal Navy schooner and two Spanish small vessels, a privateer sloop and a felucca, at the mouth of the Paraná Guazú river. The encounter took place when the British warship, assisted by two armed boats, was searching for Spanish shipping off Punta Gorda, in the mouth of the Uruguay river.