HMS Hibernia (1804)

For other ships of the same name, see HMS Hibernia.
Figurehead of HMS Hibernia in the Malta Maritime Museum
Career (UK)
Name: HMS Hibernia
Ordered: 9 December 1790
Builder: Plymouth dockyard
Laid down: November 1797
Launched: 17 November 1804
Fate: Sold 1902
General characteristics [1]
Class and type:110-gun first rate ship of the line
Tons burthen:2530 tons (2570.6 tonnes)
Length:201 ft 2 in (61.32 m) (gundeck)
Beam:53 ft 1 in (16.18 m)
Depth of hold:22 ft 4 in (6.81 m)
Propulsion:Sails
Sail plan:Full rigged ship
Armament:110 guns:
  • Gundeck: 32 × 32 pdrs
  • Middle gundeck: 32 × 24 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 34 × 18 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 12 × 32 pdr carronades
  • Forecastle: 4 × 32 pdr carronades, 2 × 18 pdrs

HMS Hibernia was a 110-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Plymouth dockyard on 17 November 1804, and was the only ship built to her draught, designed by Sir John Henslow.[1]

Between 1807 and 1808, Hibernia, under the command of Sir William Sidney Smith, led the British escort of the Portuguese Royal Family during the transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil.

Hibernia was flagship of the British Mediterranean Fleet from 1816 until 1855, when she became the flagship for the Royal Navy's base at Malta and stationed in Grand Harbour. She remained in this role until she was sold in 1902.[1]

After the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815, HMS Hibernia was used in the service of the British Empire in other ways, such as to transport convicts to the colony of New South Wales. In 1818-1819, for example, the ship carried 160 male convicts to Sydney from Portsmouth sailing on 20 November and arriving 18 June. Also on board as passengers were the first Minister of St James' Church, Sydney, Richard Hill and his wife.[2]

The ten-day court-martial of the surviving officers and crewmen of the battleship HMS Victoria for the loss of their ship in a 22 June 1893 collision with the battleship HMS Camperdown was held on Hibernia‍ '​s deck. The proceedings began on 17 July 1893.[3]

After being sold in 1902, Hibernia was scrapped for timber which was used to fire bakeries in Malta, leading to an outbreak of lead poisoning on the island. Her figurehead is in the Maritime Museum at Vittoriosa, Malta.

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p182.
  2. ↑ "HOBART TOWN, MAY 15.". The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW: 1803 - 1842) (NSW: National Library of Australia). 5 June 1819. p. 3. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Hough, pp. 121-162.

References

  • Hough, Richard. Admirals in Collision. New York: Viking Press, 1959. Library of Congress Card Catalog Number 59-13415.
  • 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.