HMS ''Bombay'' was an 84-gun

second rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, launched on 17 February 1828 at

Bombay Dockyard Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, abbreviated as ND (Mbi) and previously known as the Bombay Dockyard, is an Indian shipbuilding yard in Mumbai. The superintendent of the dockyard is a naval officer of the rank Rear Admiral, known as the Admiral Superint ...

. She was fitted with screw propulsion in 1861 at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...

. This was a significant modification and involved cutting the ship in half and inserting a section to lengthen her, as well as fitting a

Humphrys, Tennant and Dykes Humphrys, Tennant and Dykes (later named Humphrys, Tennant and Co.) was a British engineering company based in Deptford, London, England. History The company was founded in 1852 by Edward Humphrys, formerly chief engineer of Woolwich Dockyard, ...

steam engine that gave a speed of 10 knots. Under the command of Captain Colin Andrew Campbell, she was sent to South America as the flagship of Rear-Admiral

Charles Elliot Admiral Sir Charles Elliot (15 August 1801 – 9 September 1875) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat, and colonial administrator. He became the first Administrator of Hong Kong in 1841 while serving as both Plenipotentiary and Chief Su ...

. On 8 December 1864, members of the crew fielded a cricket side to play against the Buenos Aires Cricket Club in the opening of the BACC's new game field in

Parque Tres de Febrero Parque Tres de Febrero, popularly known as Bosques de Palermo (Palermo Woods), is an urban park of approximately 400 hectares (about 989 acres) located in the neighborhood of Palermo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Located between Libertador and F ...

Palermo, Buenos Aires Palermo is a or neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located in the north of the city, near the Río de la Plata. It has a total land area of 17.4 km2 and a population of 249,016. It is the only within the administrative division ...

, located where the Galileo Galilei planetarium is today. That day the BACC defeated the ''Bombay'' team by 85 runs to 31.

Loss

The ship would be destroyed in a fire on the River Plate, in a freak target practice accident. Her efficient ventilation system spread the fire of unknown origin during the target practice off

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

near

Isla de Flores Isla de Flores is a small Uruguayan island in the Rio de la Plata, east of Punta Carretas, Montevideo, Uruguay. The island and of water around it were made a national park on February 26, 2018. History Flores was named by Sebastián Gaboto, w ...

near

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

in the River Plate on 14 December 1864. destroying her and costing the lives of 93 of her crew of 619. At the time the ship was under sail, and the engines were not in use. The fire was reported at 3.35pm, having started in the area of the aft-

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (compartment), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called ...

. It spread quickly; by 4pm flames were coming out of the hatchways and setting the sails on fire. The ships boats were launched, but many men went into the water; some were killed by the ship's anchors when the cables holding them burnt through and they dropped into the sea. At 8:25pm, the ship's after

gunpowder magazine A gunpowder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications re ...

exploded and she quickly sank in shallow water. ''Bombay's'' bowsprit remained visible above the water for some years afterwards, though it had disappeared by 1885.

Notes

References

* *Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Canopus-class ships of the line British ships built in India 1828 ships Ship fires Maritime incidents in December 1864 Shipwrecks {{UK-line-ship-stub

Loss

See also

Notes

References