HMS Colossus (1848)

HMS Colossus was a 80-gun second rate Vanguard-class ship of the line built for the Royal Navy in the 1840s. The ship was fitted with steam propulsion in 1854–1855, and was sold for scrap in 1867.

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

Colossus, with the Gun-Boat Flotilla, leaving the Motherbank for Portland
History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameColossus
Ordered18 March 1839
BuilderPembroke Dockyard
Laid downOctober 1843
Launched1 June 1848
Completed3 July 1848 (in ordinary)
FateSold for scrap, March 1867
General characteristics
Class and typeVanguard-class ship of the line
Tons burthen2589 63⁄94 bm
Length190 ft (57.9 m) (gundeck)
Beam57 ft (17.4 m)
Draught18 ft 10 in (5.7 m)
Depth of hold23 ft 4 in (7.1 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement720 (wartime)
Armament

Description

The Vanguard class was designed by Sir William Symonds, Surveyor of the Navy, with each ship built with a slightly different hull shape to evaluate their speed and handling characteristics. Superb had a length at the gundeck of 190 feet 8 inches (58.1 m) and 153 feet 6 inches (46.8 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 57 feet (17.4 m), a draught of 18 feet 10 inches (5.7 m) and a depth of hold of 23 feet 4 inches (7.1 m). The ship's tonnage was 2,583 42⁄94 tons burthen.[1] The Vanguards had a wartime crew of 720 officers and ratings.[2]

The Vanguard class ships of the line were armed with twenty 32-pounder (56 cwt)[Note 1] cannon and two 68-pounder carronades on her lower gundeck, twenty-eight 32-pounder (50 cwt) cannon and another pair of 68-pounder carronades on the upper gundeck. On her quarterdeck were fourteen 32-pounder (42 cwt) cannon and on the forecastle deck were eight more 32-pounder (42 cwt) cannon.[2]

Modifications

When Colossus was ordered to be modified for steam propulsion in 1854, she was fitted with a two-cylinder horizontal trunk steam engine of 400 nominal horsepower that drove a single propeller shaft. On trials the engine produced 1,458 indicated horsepower (1,087 kW) which gave the ship a speed of 9.3 knots (17.2 km/h; 10.7 mph).[3]

Construction and career
HM Divisional Ships of the Gun-Boat Flotilla, at moorings off Ryde, 1856. Colossus (second left), Capt. Keppel

Colossus was ordered from Pembroke Dockyard on 18 March 1839 and laid down in October 1843. She was launched on 1 June 1848 and completed on 3 July. The ship was not fitted out and Colossus was placed in ordinary. Her construction cost £59,119. Between January 1854 and June 1855, she was fitted with steam propulsion.[1]

Colossus was sold for scrap on March 1867.[4]

Notes
  1. "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 56 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

Citations
  1. Winfield, p. 171
  2. Lyon & Winfield, p. 97
  3. Lyon & Winfield, p. 189
  4. Lavery, p. 191

References
  • Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
  • Lyon, David & Winfield, Rif (2004). The Sail & Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-032-9.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793-1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
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