HMS Standard (1782)
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Standard |
| Ordered: | 5 August 1779 |
| Builder: | Deptford Dockyard |
| Laid down: | May 1780 |
| Launched: | 8 October 1782 |
| Fate: | Broken up, 1816 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type: | Intrepid-class ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 1370 bm |
| Length: | 159 ft 6 in (48.62 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 44 ft 4 in (13.51 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 19 ft (5.8 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Armament: |
64 guns:
|
HMS Standard was a 64-gun Third Rate Royal Navy ship of the line, launched on 8 October 1782 at Deptford.[1] She was the last of the 15 Intrepid class vessels, which were built to a design by John Williams.
Early career
She was commissioned in September 1782 under Captain William Dickson, and recommissioned in March 1783 as a guardship at Plymouth. She was recommissioned in September 1786 under Charles Chamberlyane, still as a guardship, and paid off in February 1788.
In April 1795 she was recommissioned under Captain Joseph Ellison, for Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren's squadron for the Quiberon operation. Standard sailed for the East Indies on 28 February 1796, temporarily under the command of Captain Lukin. By October she was in the North Sea. In February 1797 she was under Captain Thomas Parr, and then in September under Captain Thomas Shivers.
From mid-April to mid-May, Standard was one of the many vessels caught up in the Nore Mutiny. On 5 May the crew had taken over the ship and trained cannon on officer’s country over the issue of pay in arrears. After the mutiny collapsed, one of the leaders on Standard, William Wallis, shot himself to avoid trial and hanging.
She was recommissioned in February 1799 as a prison ship at Sheerness under lieutenant Thomas Pamp. In November she was fitted as a convalescent ship. at Chatham. One month later she was recommissioned under Lieutenant Jacques Dalby as a hospital ship at Sheerness.
Mediterranean
Between March and May 1801 Standard was re-fitted at Chatham as a 64-gun ship, being commissioned in April under Captain Charles Stewart, for the North Sea. She was paid off, repaired, fitted at various times, and recommissioned in August 1805, Standard was recommissioned under Captain Thomas Harvey. She then sailed to the Mediterranean to join Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Louis's squadron.
While in the Mediterranean she served during Vice Admiral Sir John Duckworth's unsuccessful 1807 Dardanelles Operation.[2] On 19 February, Standard suffered three wounded while forcing the Dardanelles. Near a redoubt on Point Pesquies the British encountered a Turkish squadron of one ship of 64 guns, four frigates and eight other vessels, most of which they ran aground. Marines from Pompee spiked the 31 guns on the redoubt. On 27 February Standard had two men wounded assisting a Royal Marine landing party on the island of Prota.
On the way out, the Turkish castle at Abydos fired on the British squadron. Granite cannon balls weighing 7-800 pounds and measuring 6'6" in circumference hit Windsor Castle, Standard and Active. Standard lost four dead, 47 wounded, and four missing. In all, the British lost 29 killed and 138 wounded. No ship was lost.
On 26 March 1808, she and the 38-gun frigate Active captured the Italian brig Friedland, which they took to Malta as a prize.
On 16 June, Standard was sailing off Corfu when she fell in with the Italian gunboat Volpe, armed with one iron 4-pounder, and the French dispatch boat Legera. When the wind fell, Harvey sent his pinnace, his cutter and his yawl in pursuit. The British caught up with their quarry after having rowed for two hours. The British captured Volpe despite facing stiff resistance and ran Legera aground about four miles north of Cape St. Mary. The French crew took to the rocks above their vessel and kept up a continuous small arms fire on the British seamen who took possession of the vessel and towed her off. Still, the British suffered no casualties. They then burned both vessels.
Last years
In 1809 she was in the Baltic under Captain Askew Hollis as part of the Gunboat War. On May 18 Standard and the 18-pounder 36-gun frigate Owen Glendower captured the island of Anholt. A landing party of seamen and marines under the command of Captain William Selby of Owen Glendower, with the assistance of Captain Edward Nicolls of the Standard's marines, landed. The Danish garrison of 170 men put up a sharp but ineffectual resistance that killed one British marine and wounded two; the garrison then surrendered. The British took immediate possession of the island. The principal objective of the mission was to restore the lighthouse on the island to its pre-war state to facilitate the movement of British men of war and merchantmen navigating the dangerous seas there.[3]
On 19 December 1810 Standard sailed for the Mediterranean again. In February 1811 she was on the Portugal station, temporarily under Captain Joshua Horton. In May she was under the temporary command of Captain Charles Fleming.
Fate
She was paid off into Ordinary in 1813. The Standard was broken up in 1816.[1]
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.
- Howard, Edward (2003) Memoires of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, K.C. B., & c., Volume 2, Adamant Media Corporation.
- James, William (1837) Naval History of Great Britain 1793 - 1827. (London), Vol. 5.
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1861762461.
- Ships of the Old Navy
