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HMS Rodney (1809)

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'Rodney'of the 'Armada'/'Conquestadore'/'Vangeur' class (1806)
History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Rodney
Ordered28 May 1808
BuilderBarnard, Deptford
Laid downMarch 1808
Launched8 December 1809
FateSold, 1836
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeVengeur-class ship of the line
Tons burthen1754 (bm)
Length176 ft (54 m) (gundeck)
Beam47 ft 6 in (14.48 m)
Depth of hold21 ft (6.4 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 74 guns:
  • Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 4 × 12 pdrs, 10 × 32 pdr carronades
  • Forecastle: 2 × 12 pdrs, 2 × 32 pdr carronades
  • Poop deck: 6 × 18 pdr carronades

HMS Rodney was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 8 December 1809 at Deptford.[1]

The Dockyard was suffering from a shortage of seasoned timber at the time Rodney was being built. In consequence the hull was built from unseasoned wood which quickly shrunk and rotted when exposed to seawater. After just three years at sea all of the hull fastenings had given way and Rodney was returned to Deptford for decommissioning.[2]

In 1827 she was reduced to a 50-gun ship, and in 1836 Rodney was sold out of the Navy.[1]

In commercial service, Rodney collided with the British paddle steamer Thames at Havana, Cuba, on 11 October 1846, destroying her pinnace, and was driven ashore.[3][4]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p188.
  2. ^ Albion 2000, p. 395
  3. ^ "Awful storm at Havannah". The Standard. No. 6939. London. 5 November 1846.
  4. ^ "The Havannah and Mexico". Daily News. No. 137. London. 5 November 1846.

References

[edit]
  • Albion, Robert Greenhalgh (2000). Forests and Sea Power: The Timber Problem of the Royal Navy, 1652-1862. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557500215.
  • 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.