HMS Defence (1815)

	Defence
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Defence
Ordered	23 March 1809
Builder	Chatham Dockyard
Laid down	May 1812
Launched	25 April 1815
Fate	Burnt, 1857
General characteristics
Class and type	Vengeur-class ship of the line
Tons burthen	1754 bm
Length	176 ft (54 m) (gundeck)
Beam	47 ft 6 in (14.48 m)
Depth of hold	21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	74 guns:; Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs; Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs; Quarterdeck: 4 × 12 pdrs, 10 × 32 pdr carronades; Forecastle: 2 × 12 pdrs, 2 × 32 pdr carronades; Poop deck: 6 × 18 pdr carronades;

HMS Defence was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 25 April 1815 at Chatham.^[1]

She was converted to serve as a prison ship in 1849.^[1] Defence was badly damaged by an accidental fire, probably caused by spontaneous combustion in a recently delivered load of coal,^[2] at Woolwich on 14 July 1857.^[3]</ref> The fire was extinguished by scuttling the ship.^[2] and while it was not totally destroyed the remains were broken up later.^[3]

Sectional view of the interior of the Defence Hulk, (The Woolwich prison ships)

The Defence hulk and the Unite convict hospital ship, off Woolwich

Citations[]

^ ^a ^b ^c Lavery, Ships of the Line vol. 1, p. 189.
^ ^a ^b The Hobart Town Mercury, 30 Oct 1857, p2
^ ^a ^b Gosset (1986), p. 114.

References[]

Gosset, William Patrick (1986). The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900. Mansell. ISBN 0-7201-1816-6.
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.

External links[]

Media related to HMS Defence (ship, 1815) at Wikimedia Commons

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[Lavery,_SoLv1_p189-1] Lavery, Ships of the Line vol. 1, p. 189.

[The_Hobart_Town_Mercury_1857,_p2-2] The Hobart Town Mercury, 30 Oct 1857, p2

[FOOTNOTEGosset1986114-3] Gosset (1986), p. 114.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t Vengeur-class ships of the line
Ajax Berwick Rodney Poictiers Vigo Cressy Egmont Armada America Vengeur Conquestador Edinburgh Barham La Hogue Duncan Asia Stirling Castle Mulgrave Cornwall Dublin Gloucester Scarborough Clarence Anson Pembroke Rippon Devonshire Medway Indus Benbow Cornwallis Blenheim Vindictive Redoubtable Defence Hercules Pitt Wellington Agincourt Russell
Preceded by: Swiftsure class Followed by: Black Prince class
List of ships of the line of the Royal Navy

History
Defence
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Defence
Ordered	23 March 1809
Builder	Chatham Dockyard
Laid down	May 1812
Launched	25 April 1815
Fate	Burnt, 1857
General characteristics ^[1]
Class and type	Vengeur-class ship of the line
Tons burthen	1754 bm
Length	176 ft (54 m) (gundeck)
Beam	47 ft 6 in (14.48 m)
Depth of hold	21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	74 guns: Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs Quarterdeck: 4 × 12 pdrs, 10 × 32 pdr carronades Forecastle: 2 × 12 pdrs, 2 × 32 pdr carronades Poop deck: 6 × 18 pdr carronades