HMS Majestic (1785)
| career |
|
|---|---|
| Commissioned: | July 23, 1781 |
| Laid on the keel: | July 1782 |
| Launch: | February 11, 1785 |
| Commissioning: | 1785 |
| Fate: | Decommissioned and launched in 1810, converted into a 58-gun Razee in 1813 |
| Decommissioning: | Decommissioned for the last time in 1815, scrapped in Pembroke in 1816. |
| Data as a ship of the line | |
| Class: | Canada- class designed by William Bateley |
| Tonnage: | 1632 Tons builder's measurement |
| Length: | 170 ft 6 in |
| Width: | 46 ft 7 in |
| Draft: | 18 ft 3 in |
| Drive: | sail |
| Speed: | 12 knots |
| Crew: | 550 officers and ranks |
| Armament: | Nominal 74 guns, actually carried: 28 × 32-pounder guns (lower battery deck) 30 × 18-pounder guns (upper battery deck) 10 × 9-pounder guns, 8 × 32-pounder carronades (stern and aft deck) |
| Dates as Razee (changed only) | |
| Crew: | 495 officers and crew ranks |
| Armament: | Nominal and actual 58 guns: 28 × 32-pounder guns (lower battery deck) 28 × 42-pounder carronades , 2 × 12-pounder guns (upper battery deck) |
The HMS Majestic was a British ship of the line built in 1785 and had 74 guns. It took part in the Battle of the so-called Glorious June 1st in 1794 and in the Battle of Abukir in 1798 . In 1813 it was converted into a 58-gun ship to operate against the large US frigates .
History as a ship of the line 1785–1810
The Majestic was built from 1782 to 1785 at William Barnard's shipyard in Deptford as a ship of the line with 74 cannons and was ranked 3rd according to the classification system at the time . The Majestic was one of four ships of the Canada class designed by William Bateley in 1760 and a sister ship of the Captain , who was commanded by Horatio Nelson at the Battle of St. Vincent in 1797 .
As part of Admiral Earl Howe's fleet , she took part in the battle of the so-called Glorious First of June under Captain Charles Cotton in 1794 . On days 28./29. On May 1st and June 1st a total of three seamen died on it, 18 others were injured.
The following years were relatively uneventful. In April 1796, Vice Admiral Sir John Laforey brought them to England from the West Indies . A year later she was under the command of George Blagdon Westcott.
In 1798 the Majestic Nelsons squadron was assigned to search for Napoleon's French Mediterranean fleet . Nelson presented and finally defeated them on August 1, 1798 in the naval battle of Abukir . Westcott was already killed by a shot in the neck when his ship approached the enemy ships Tonnant (Captain Dupetit-Thouars) and Heureux . The Majestic was badly damaged. Westcott was the only British captain to die in that battle.
In 1799 the ship was stationed in Gibraltar under Captain Robert Cuthbert . Shortly afterwards in 1800 it was overhauled in Plymouth .
In 1805, under the command of Joseph Hanwell, Rear Admiral TM Russel raised his flag. At that time she was stationed in the North Sea. Two years later, Russel was now Vice Admiral , George Hart took command in Great Yarmouth , followed a year later by Matthew Foster. This was replaced in January 1809 by Frederick Watkins. During these years, apart from its shipyard stays, the ship seems to have proven itself in the blockade service in the North Sea. Outstanding at this time, however, is only the capture of the Danish Luggers Spider (2 cannons and 21 men crew) in May 1809 by a boat attack.
In 1810 the ship was temporarily decommissioned at Chatham .
History as Razee 1813-1816
After a series of defeats by British 18 pounder frigates against the large frigates of the US Navy ( USS Constitution , United States and President ) in the War of 1812 , the British Admiralty was forced to take countermeasures. A quick way to get hold of heavy frigates was to cut down old 74-gun ships into heavy frigates. Such ships were called Razee . The Majestic was one of the three ships selected for this conversion . Work began in Chatham in January 1813. While the Majestic was a ship of the 3rd rank as a 74, she was now a 58-gun ship in the 4th rank . The armament of the lower battery deck remained unchanged with 32-pounder cannons, making the three Razees artillery superior to the large US frigate with 24-pounders. The upper deck was equipped with 42-pounder carronades , which was the heaviest regularly used caliber of these guns. The ship was put back into service in May, and in June 1813 the Majestic sailed to North America under Captain John Hayes to take part in the hunt for the heavy US frigates. On the morning of February 3, 1814, she chased a ship sailing from St. Michael towards Madeira . As they approached this, another three ships and a brig nine miles away were reported. Hayes decided to break off the chase and examine the newcomers. They turned out to be two French 44-gun frigates , a ship with 20 guns and the brig without any significant armament. Hayes opened fire on one of the frigates, which had to drop its flag after an hour and a half. Coming darkness and a stormy sea made it necessary that the Majestic stuck to her pinch , which allowed the other opponents to escape. The captured ship was the Terpsichore , which had sailed with her sister ship Atalante . On board the prize there were three dead and six wounded (two of them seriously), the Majestic had no losses to complain about.
In January 1815, the Majestic was involved in the hunt for the USS President together with the frigates Endymion , Tenedos and Pomone . As the fastest ship in the squadron, the Endymion was able to catch and damage the fleeing President before she had to turn away. As the Pomone approached, the President's Captain Decatur saw no point in further resistance and struck off the flag so that the Majestic no longer had to use her artillery, which was far superior in caliber.
The ship was decommissioned for the last time in Plymouth in 1815 and was scrapped in 1816.
literature
- Rif Winfield: British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793-1817. Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Chatham Publishing, London 2005, ISBN 1-86176-246-1 .
- Robert Gardiner: Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars. Chatham Publishing et al., London et al. 2006, ISBN 1-59114-283-0 .