HMS Albion (1802)
| History | |
|---|---|
 UK
| |
| Name: | HMS Albion |
| Ordered: | 24 June 1800 |
| Builder: | Perry, Wells & Green, Blackwall Yard |
| Laid down: | June 1800 |
| Launched: | 17 June 1802 |
| Fate: | Broken up, 1836 |
| Notes: |
|
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class & type: | Fame-class ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 1740 32⁄94 bm |
| Length: | 175 ft (53 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 47 ft 6 in (14.48 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 20 ft 6 in (6.25 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Armament: |
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HMS Albion was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Perry's Blackwall Yard on the Thames on 17 June 1802. She was broken up at Chatham Dockyard in 1836.[1]
Napoleonic Wars
In May 1803 she was under the command of Captain John Ferrier and joined Admiral Cornwallis' fleet, which was blockading the vital French naval port of Brest, but was soon detached from the fleet to deploy to the Indian Ocean where she was to remain for several years.
In 1809 Albion was escort to a fleet of nine East Indiamen returning to Britain. A gale that commenced around 20 November dispersed the fleet and caused three of the Indiamen to founder without a trace: Lord Nelson, Glory and Experiment.
War of 1812
In 1814, the year that Napoleon was finally toppled, and after a long period under extensive repair, she became flagship of Rear Admiral George Cockburn, taking part in a war (War of 1812) against the United States — a duty that the first Albion had once undertaken. In the summer of 1814, she was involved in the force that harried the coastline of Chesapeake Bay, where she operated all the way up to the Potomac and Patuxent Rivers, destroying large amounts of American shipping, as well as US government property. The operations ended once peace was declared in 1815.
Post-war
Just a year later, Albion was part of a combined British-Dutch fleet taking part in the bombardment of Algiers. In 1827, she was part of a combined British-French-Russian fleet under the command of Admiral Codrington at the Battle of Navarino, where a Turkish-Egyptian fleet was obliterated, securing Greek independence.
Fate
Albion was hulked as a quarantine ship in 1831, and finally broken up in 1836.
References
Citations
Bibliography
- 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.