HMS Defiance (1783)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Defiance |
| Ordered: | 11 July 1780 |
| Builder: | Randall, Rotherhithe |
| Laid down: | April 1782 |
| Launched: | 10 December 1783 |
| Honours and awards: |
Participated in: |
| Fate: | Broken up, 1817 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Elizabeth-class ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 1685 tons (1712 tonnes) |
| Length: | 168 ft 6 in (51.4 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 46 ft (14 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 19 ft 9 in (6.0 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Armament: |
74 guns:
|
HMS Defiance was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Randall and Co., at Rotherhithe on the River Thames, and launched on 10 December 1783.
Contents |
[edit] History
Her crew mutinied three times, firstly in October 1795, when she was under the command of Captain Sir George Horne. Captain William Bligh of the Calcutta was ordered to embark 200 troops and take them alongside in order for the troops to board Defiance and regain control, however the threat of the soldiers was sufficient to bring about an end to the mutiny. The crew of the Defiance mutinied for a second time in 1797 during the Spithead mutiny, and again in 1798 during the rising of the United Irishmen.
She fought at the Battle of Copenhagen on April 2, 1801, as the flagship of Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves, with Captain Richard Retalick commanding. She also participated in the Battle of Cape Finisterre on July 22, 1805, and the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, whilst under the command of Captain Philip Charles Durham, who claimed that 'she was the fastest 74 gun ship in the British fleet'. In the latter battle she captured the Spanish San Juan Nepomuceno and sustained casualties of 17 killed, 53 wounded.
After serving as a prison ship at Chatham from 1813, she was broken up in 1817.
[edit] Captains
- 1794 Captain G. Keppel
- 1795 Captain Sir George Horne
- 1796 Captain T. Jones
- 1799 Captain T.R. Shivers
- 1801 Captain R. Retalick
- 1805 Captain Philip Charles Durham
- 1807 Captain Henry Hotham
- 1811 Captain Richard Raggett
[edit] Trafalgar Wood Project
As a part of the Trafalgar Wood Project to commemorate the 33 Royal Navy ships that were at Trafalgar, a wood of 10 acres was planted October/November 2005 in Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland to honour HMS Defiance.
[edit] Further reading
- Trafalgar Captain: Durham of the Defiance, Hilary Rubinstein, Tempus Publishing Ltd, 2005, ISBN 0-7524-3435-7
[edit] 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.
