The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815).
Cosme Damián de Churruca y Elorza was a Basque Spanish noble, admiral of the Royal Spanish Armada, naval scientist and Mayor of Motrico. During the Battle of Trafalgar, he was the commander of the ship of the line San Juan Nepomuceno which he defended to his death.
HMS Ajax was an Ajax-class 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the British Royal Navy. She was built by John Randall & Co of Rotherhithe and launched on the Thames on 3 March 1798. Ajax participated in the Egyptian operation of 1801, the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805 and the Battle of Trafalgar, before she was lost to a disastrous fire in 1807 during the Dardanelles Operation.
HMS Neptune was a 98-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She served on a number of stations during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and was present at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
In the Battle of Cape Finisterre off Galicia, Spain, the British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder fought an indecisive naval battle against the combined Franco-Spanish fleet which was returning from the West Indies. Failing to prevent the joining of French Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve's fleet to the squadron of Ferrol and to strike the shattering blow that would have freed Great Britain from the danger of an invasion, Calder was later court-martialled and severely reprimanded for his failure and for avoiding the renewal of the engagement on 23 and 24 July. At the same time, in the aftermath Villeneuve elected not to continue on to Brest, where his fleet could have joined with other French ships to clear the English Channel for an invasion of Great Britain.
Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. For much of his career he was regarded as a dependable officer, and spent several years as Captain of the Fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis. However, he is chiefly remembered for his controversial actions following the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805 which resulted in his court-martial. Though he was removed from his sea command, he was retained in the Navy and later served as Commander-in-Chief of the base at Plymouth.
Neptune was a Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. Built during the last years of the French Revolutionary Wars she was launched at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars. Her brief career with the French included several major battles, though she spent the last 12 years of her life under the Spanish flag.
Indomptable ("Indomitable") was a Tonnant-class 80-gun ship of the line in the French Navy, laid down in 1788 and in active service from 1791. Engaged against the Royal Navy after 1794, she was damaged in the Battle of Trafalgar and wrecked near the Spanish city of Cadiz on 24 October 1805.
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.
Federico Carlos Gravina y Nápoli, born Federico Carlo Gravina Cruyllas was a Sicilian admiral in the service of the Spanish Empire, during the American Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. He died of wounds sustained during the Battle of Trafalgar. Explorer Jacinto Caamaño named the Gravina Island in Alaska in his honor.
The Thémis was a 40-gun Coquille class frigate of the French Navy.
Furet, launched in 1801, was an Abeille-class brig of the French Navy. HMS Hydra captured her on 27 February 1806, off Cadiz.
Neptuno was an 80-gun Neptuno-class ship of the line of the Spanish Navy. She was built in 1795 and took part in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. She fought with the Franco-Spanish fleet in the battle of Trafalgar, and was wrecked in its aftermath.
The Príncipe de Asturias was a Spanish three-deck 112-gun ship of the line, named after Ferdinand, eldest surviving son of Charles IV of Spain and heir apparent with the title Prince of Asturias. She served during the Napoleonic wars escorting convoys, and fought at different times against both the British and French navies. Her invocation name was Los Santos Reyes.
Santa Ana was a 112-gun three-decker ship of the line of the Spanish Navy, built to plans drawn by engineer Miguel de la Puente, following a specification issued by José Romero Fernández de Landa. Her actual constructor at Ferrol was Honorato Bouyón. She was the prototype and lead ship of the Santa Ana class, also known as los Meregildos, which were built during the following years at Ferrol and Havana and which formed the backbone of the Spanish Navy - the other ships were the Mejicano, Conde de Regla, Salvador del Mundo, Real Carlos, San Hermenegildo, Reina María Luisa and Príncipe de Asturias. Her dimensions were 213.4 Burgos feet long, 58 feet in the beam and a total tonnage of 2,112 tonnes.
Rayo was an 80-gun ship of the line of the Spanish Navy. As was traditional for Spanish ships not named after a saint, its second, dedicatory name was San Pedro Apóstol. She underwent rebuilding at Cartagena from 1803 to 1805, emerging as a three-decked ship with 100 guns. She then fought at the Battle of Trafalgar during the Napoleonic Wars and was dismasted as a result of damage sustained in the battle. When she sortied after Trafalgar in order to recover prizes, the warship was captured by HMS Donegal. Subsequently, she ran aground and was wrecked in a storm. Her broken hull was set ablaze and destroyed by British sailors on 31 October.
San Francisco de Asis was a Spanish 74-gun ship of the line launched in 1767 from the royal shipyard in Guarnizo (Cantabria). She was wrecked after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 near Puerto de Santa Maria.
Bahama was a 74-gun ship of the line of the Spanish Navy. She was built in Havana on plans originally drawn by Ignacio Mullan for the 64-gun San Pedro de Alcantara, completed as a project of Gautier. She was later rebuilt as a 74-gun.
The Monarca was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Spanish Navy. She was ordered by a royal order of 28 September 1791, built in the Reales Astilleros de Esteiro shipyard and launched on 17 March 1794. Designed by Romero Landa and belonging to the Montañés-class, her main guns were distributed along two complete decks, with 28 24-pounder in her first battery and 30 18-pounders in her second battery. Additionally she had 12 8-pounders on her quarterdeck and four 8-pounders on her forecastle.
Spain
