HMS Impregnable (1810)
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Impregnable |
| Ordered: | 13 January 1798 |
| Builder: | Chatham Dockyard |
| Laid down: | February 1802 |
| Launched: | 1 August 1810 |
| Renamed: | HMS Kent, HMS Caledonia |
| Fate: | Sold, 1906 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type: | 98-gun second rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 2406 bm |
| Length: | 197 ft (60 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 51 ft (16 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 22 ft (6.7 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Armament: |
98 guns:
|
HMS Impregnable was a 98-gun second rate three-decker ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 1 August 1810 at Chatham. She was designed by Sir William Rule, and was the only ship built to her draught.[1] Purportedly as originally built she was a near copy of the famed first rate HMS Victory, Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar.[citation needed]
During the Napoleonic Wars, she was used as the flagship of the Admiral the Duke of Clarence (later King William IV). She took part in the bombardment of Algiers in 1816 under the command of Admiral David Milne where she was second in the order of battle. In the attack on Algiers, Impregnable lost Mr. John Hawkins, midshipman, 37 seamen, 10 marines and 2 boys killed and Mr. G. N. Wesley, Mr. Henry Quinn, 111 seamen, 21 marines, 9 sappers and miners and 17 boys wounded. The Impregnable saw little further action, apart from a short commission in the Mediterranean, and in 1819 she was placed in the Reserve Fleet at Devonport. From May 1839 to October 1841 she had relieved HMS Adelaide as the Commander-in-Chief's flagship moored at the entrance to the Hamoaze. She then saw service again in the Mediterranean until May 1843, when she was once again laid up with the Reserve Fleet at Devonport.[citation needed]
Impregnable was rated as a training ship in 1862[2] and removed from the reserve fleet to begin service at Devonport training boy seamen for the Royal Navy.
On 27 September 1886, Impregnable was replaced by HMS Howe which was re-named HMS Bulwark as she became a training ship. The old Impregnable ended her days first as a tender to HMS Indus and then on 9 November 1888 she was re-named HMS Kent to be used as a hulk in the event of an epidemic. On that date, her name, Impregnable, was given to HMS Bulwark (the former HMS Howe), still serving at Devonport. Three years later on 22 September 1891, she was once again re-named, this time HMS Caledonia, and became a Scottish boys training / school ship moored at Queensferry in the Firth of Forth. She was sold for breaking up in 1906. Beginning with HMS Bulwark in 1886 until Impregnable moved ashore in 1936 and becoming a stone frigate in the process, every subsequent vessel that served in this ship's stead as a school ship at Devonport had been re-named Impregnable in her honour. The training school eventually closed in 1948.[citation needed]
Notes
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.
- Michael Phillips. Impregnable (98) (1810). Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 19 August 2007.
