HMS Elizabeth (1807)

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

Elizabeth
History
United Kingdom
Name	Elizabeth
Builder	Perry, Wells & Green, Blackwall Yard
Laid down	August 1805
Launched	23 May 1807
Commissioned	June 1807
Fate	Broken up, 1820
General characteristics
Class & type	Repulse-class ship of the line
Tons burthen	1,724 9⁄94 (bm)
Length	174 ft (53 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 Elizabeth 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 1807, she played a minor role in the Napoleonic Wars.

Description

Elizabeth measured 174 feet (53 m) on the gundeck and 143 feet 2 inches (43.6 m) on the keel. She had a beam of 47 feet 7 inches (14.5 m), a depth of hold of 20 feet (6.1 m) and had a tonnage of 1,724 9⁄94 tons burthen. The ship's draught was 13 feet 3 inches (4.0 m) forward and 187 feet 10 inches (57.3 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

Elizabeth was the tenth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. ^[2] She was ordered on 24 January 1805 from Perry, Wells & Green 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 their shipyard in Blackwall Yard in August and was launched on 23 May 1807. She was commissioned by Captain Henry Curzon in June and completed at Woolwich Dockyard by 3 July. ^{[3] [4]}

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. ^[5]

On 25 May 1814, Elizabeth captured the French naval xebec Aigle and her prize, the Glorioso off Corfu. Weazel shared in the prize money though it was the boats of Elizabeth that performed the actual capture in an action that in 1847 earned for their crews the Naval General Service Medal with clasp, "24 May Boat Service 1814". ^{[6] [a]} Aigle was armed with 6 guns, a howitzer, and 3 swivel guns, and had a crew of 40 men. The capture of the Aigle represented the last naval surrender of the French Tricolour in the Napoleonic Wars. ^[8]

Fate

Elizabeth was broken up in 1820. ^[3]

Notes

1. A first-class share of the prize money was worth £61 7¼d; a sixth-class share was worth 9s 2¼d. ^[7]

Citations

1. Winfield, pp. 75, 78
2. Colledge, Warlow & Bush, p. 135
3. Lavery, p. 188
4. Winfield, p. 78
5. "No. 16744". The London Gazette . 22 June 1813. p. 1228.
6. "No. 20939". The London Gazette . 26 January 1849. p. 247.
7. "No. 17032". The London Gazette . 1 July 1815. p. 1287.
8. Literary Panorama and National Register, Volume 7, pp. 149–150

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 (1984). The Ship of the Line. Vol. 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650-1850. Naval Institute Press. ISBN   0-85177-252-8.
• 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.