HMS Superb (1798)

This article explains the fifth HMS Superb, for other ships of the same name see HMS Superb (overview) .

HMS Superb

Ship data flag  United Kingdom Ship type Ship of the line Shipyard Pitcher, Northfleet Keel laying August 1795 Launch March 19, 1798 Whereabouts Wrecked in 1826

Ship dimensions and crew length 55.52 (cannon deck) m ( Lüa ) width 15 m Draft Max. 6.4 m

Armament 74 cannons 28 × 32 pounder 30 × 18 pounder 16 × 9 pounder

The HMS Superb was a third rank ship of the line of the Royal Navy with 74 guns. It was launched on March 19, 1798; In 1826 it was scrapped. The Superb is often associated with Richard Goodwin Keats , who served as captain on her and used her as the flagship from 1808 until she was sold in 1809.

history

In July 1801, the Superb was stationed near Cadiz and took part in the second sea battle of Algeciras . During the Franco-Spanish retreat, Admiral Sir James Saumarez ordered the captain of the Superb , Richard Goodwin Keats , to seize the Allied fleet from behind and attack. The Superb was a relatively new ship and also the fastest ship of the line in the fleet. During dusk on July 12th, Keats sailed alongside the Spanish Real Carlos (112 cannons) on its starboard side. Another Spanish ship, the San Hermenegildo (112 cannons), sailed at the same height. After Keats had fired three broadsides at the Real Carlos , it was on fire. While the Superb pulled away from the Real Carlos and attacked the French St. Antoine , the San Hermenegildo mistook the burning Real Carlos for an enemy ship and a fierce duel between the two Spanish triplane began. This drifted into the San Hermenegildo , the rigging hooked, and when the Real Carlos exploded, the San Hermenegildo was also set on fire and exploded 15 minutes later. The Superb , relatively unscathed, brought the St. Antoine up after a brief exchange of broadsides.

She served as the flagship of Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth during the naval right of San Domingo .

Charles Paget was chosen to command the Superb as part of the Channel Fleet and took several prizes during a voyage through the Bay of Biscay . In 1814 she was deployed on the coast of North America under the command of Sir Alexander Cochrane and took part in an attack on Wareham, Massachusetts during the British-American War .

literature

• Brian Lavery: The Ship of the Line. Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet, 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press, London 2003, ISBN 0-85177-252-8 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Brian Lavery: The Ship of the Line. Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet, 1650-1850. 2003, p. 185.