HMS Rodney (1833)
HMS Rodney was a two-deck 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Launched in 1833, she was broken up in 1884.
Bombardment Of Sebastopol by HMS Rodney, showing HMS Spiteful – a 6-gun steam sloop on her starboard side[1]
(17 October 1854, Crimean War) | |
History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Rodney |
Builder | Pembroke Dockyard |
Laid down | July 1827 |
Launched | 18 June 1833 |
Commissioned | 29 August 1835 |
Fate | Broken up, February 1884 |
General characteristics [2] | |
Class and type | Rodney-class ship of the line |
Tons burthen | 2598 bm |
Length | 205 ft 6 in (62.64 m) (gundeck) |
Beam | 54 ft 5 in (16.59 m) |
Depth of hold | 23 ft 2 in (7.06 m) |
Propulsion | Sails (and steam, after 1860) |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Complement | 850 men |
Armament |
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History
Rodney was launched on 18 June 1833 at Pembroke Dockyard.[2] She was based on a design by Robert Seppings and used his diagonal bracing (short timber) construction.
The majority of her commissions saw active service in the Mediterranean Sea, but she also served in the Black Sea during the Crimean War (1853–1856), and after being converted to a steam and screw propelled vessel, served in China as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Henry Keppel, commanded by captain Algernon Heneage from 21 January 1867.
Rodney was the ship where William Hall, later to become the first Black man and one of the first Canadians to win the Victoria Cross, began his naval career in 1852.[3] On 29 October 1853, she ran aground in the Dardanelles. She was refloated with assistance from HMS Firebrand.[4]
Rodney was fitted with screw propulsion in 1860, completed on 11 January, and was the last unarmoured wooden battleship in full commission. She was broken up in 1882.[2]
Captains who commanded Rodney
Over the decades after Rodney's launch, eight captains commanded her:
List of Captains | ||
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Captain | From | Until |
Captain Hyde Parker | 29 August 1835 | 12 May 1840 |
Captain Robert Maunsell | 13 May 1840 | 16 October 1843 |
Captain Edward Collier | 4 February 1845 | 8 March 1849 |
Captain Charles Graham | 6 August 1851 | 22 November 1854 |
Captain George St Vincent King | 22 November 1854 | 21 July 1855 |
Captain Henry Keppel | 21 July 1855 | 24 January 1856 |
Captain George Knyvett Wilson[5] | 24 January 1856 | 20 August 1856 |
Captain Algernon Charles Fieschi Heneage | 21 January 1867 | 27 April 1870 |
Notes
- http://sites.rootsweb.com/~pbtyc/Hurrah/Chap_03.htm Benyon
- Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p190.
- David W. States, "William Hall VC of Horton Bluff, Nova Scotia Nineteenth Century Naval Hero", Collections of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society Vol. 44, p. 73
- "The Combined Fleets of England and France". The Morning Chronicle. No. 27117. London. 21 November 1853.
- For more on George Knyvett Wilson see: O'Byrne, William R. (1849). . A Naval Biographical Dictionary. London: John Murray.
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.
- "William Loney RN – Victorian Naval Surgeon" (Search – Mid-Victorian RN Vessel HMS Rodney)