HMS Cumberland (1807)

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

Plan drawing of Cumberland
History
United Kingdom
Name	Cumberland
Ordered	31 January 1805
Builder	Pitcher, Northfleet
Laid down	August 1805
Launched	19 August 1807
Commissioned	October 1807
Renamed	Fortitude, 1833
Reclassified	As a prison ship, 1830 As a coal hulk, 1848
Fate	Sold, 1870
General characteristics
Class & type	Repulse-class ship of the line
Tons burthen	1,718 16⁄94 (bm)
Length	174 ft 4 in (53.1 m) (gundeck)
Beam	47 ft 7 in (14.5 m)
Draught	17 ft 10 in (5.4 m) (light)
Depth of hold	20 ft (6.1 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	590
Armament	74 muzzle-loading, smoothbore guns Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdr guns Upper deck: 28 × 18 pdr guns Quarterdeck: 2 × 18 pdr guns + 12 × 32 pdr carronades Forecastle: 2 × 18 pdr guns + 2 × 32 pdr carronades Poop deck: 6 × 18 pdr carronades

HMS Cumberland was a 74-gun third-rate Repulse-class ship 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, participating in the Battle of Maguelone in 1809.

Description

Cumberland measured 174 feet 4 inches (53.1 m) on the gundeck and 143 feet 5 inches (43.7 m) on the keel. She had a beam of 47 feet 5 inches (14.5 m), a depth of hold of 20 feet (6.1 m) and had a tonnage of 1,718 16⁄94 tons burthen. The ship's draught was 13 feet 8 inches (4.2 m) forward and 17 feet 7 inches (5.4 m) aft at light load; fully loaded, her draught would be significantly deeper. The Repulse-class ships were armed with 74 muzzle-loading, smoothbore guns that consisted of twenty-eight 32-pounder guns on her lower gundeck and twenty-eight 18-pounder guns on her upper gundeck. Their forecastle mounted a pair of 18-pounder guns and two 32-pounder carronades. On their quarterdeck they carried two 18-pounders and a dozen 32-pounder carronades. Above the quarterdeck was their poop deck with half-a-dozen 18-pounder carronades. ^[1]

Construction and career

Cumberland was the seventh ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. ^[2] She was ordered on 24 January 1805 from Thomas Pitcher as part of the second batch of five Repulse-class ships of the line designed by Sir William Rule, co-Surveyor of the Navy. The ship was laid down at his shipyard in Northfleet in August and was launched on 19 August 1807. She was commissioned by Captain Philip Wodehouse in October and was completed at Woolwich Dockyard that same month. ^{[3] [4]}

The Cumberland at sea

In October 1809, she took part in the Battle of Maguelone under Wodehouse. ^[5]

On 12 March 1812, as the merchant ship Ramoncita was returning from Lima and Cadiz, the French privateer Amelia captured her. However, HMS Virago recaptured Ramoncita. The salvage money notice stated that Virago had been in company with HMS Venerable, Cumberland, Elizabeth, and Plantagenet. ^[6]

Cumberland was converted to serve as a prison ship by Chatham Dockyard from October 1829 to March 1830. She was renamed Fortitude on 15 November 1833. The ship was converted into a coal hulk from September 1845 to August 1848. She was sold to H. Castle & Son for £2,020 in February 1870 to be broken up at Charlton. ^[4]

Notes

1. Winfield, pp. 75, 78
2. Colledge, Warlow & Bush, p. 104
3. Lavery, p. 188
4. Winfield, p. 78
5. Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867). Batailles navales de la France (in French). Vol. 4. Challamel ainé. pp. 56–58.
6. "No. 16744". The London Gazette . 22 June 1813. p. 1228.

References

• 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.
• Lavery, Brian (1983). The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   0851772528.
• Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates (2nd, revised ed.). Seaforth. ISBN   978-1-84415-717-4.