HMS Lydia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 HMS Lydia from the 1951 film Captain Horatio Hornblower |
|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Launched: | 1796 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 951 |
| Length: | 143 feet (44 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Complement: | 274 |
| Armament: | GD: twenty-six 18 lb guns; QD: eight 9 lb guns; FC: two 12 lb guns. |
HMS Lydia is a fictional ship from C. S. Forester’s novel The Happy Return. In the novel, Lydia is Horatio Hornblower’s first frigate command.
The Lydia is described as a middle-sized Fifth-rate built at Woolwich in 1796 to the design of Sir William Rule at a cost of £19,070. Her commission under Hornblower began on March 12th, 1807. She sailed first to Alexandria, Egypt, but then in 1808 was given secret orders for a very ambitious mission to Central America. There, the 36-gun Lydia fought and sank the much larger Spanish ship of 50 guns, the Natividad.
[edit] References
- C. S. Forester, Beat to Quarters, Pinnacle Books, Los Angeles 1978.
- C. Northcote Parkinson, The Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower, Little, Brown & Company, Boston 1970.
