HMS Lion (1777)
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| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Lion |
| Ordered: | 12 October 1768 |
| Builder: | Portsmouth Dockyard |
| Laid down: | May 1769 |
| Launched: | 3 September 1777 |
| Honours and awards: |
Participated in: |
| Fate: | Sold for breaking up, 30 November 1837 |
| Notes: | Sheer hulk from 1816 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Worcester-class ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 1378 tons (1400.1 tonnes) |
| Length: | 159 ft (48 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 44 ft 6 in (13.6 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 19 ft 10 in (6.0 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Armament: |
64 guns:
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HMS Lion was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on September 3, 1777 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
She fought at the Battle of Grenada under Captain William Cornwallis on the 6 July 1779, where she was badly damaged and forced to run downwind to Jamaica. She remained on the Jamaica station for the next year.
In March 1780, the Lion fought an action in company with two other ships against a larger French force off Monte Christi on San Domingo. A second action took place in June 1780 near Bermuda when Cornwallis in the Lion with three other ships of the line and a fifty-gun ship met a larger French squadron carrying the troops of Rochambeau to North America. The French were too strong for Cornwallis's squadron, but were content to continue with their mission instead of attacking the smaller British force.
In 1796, she visited Cape Town.
She was converted to a sheer hulk in September 1816, following the end of the Napoleonic wars, and was sold to be broken up at Chatham on November 30, 1837.
[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.
