HMS ''Formidable'' 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 ...

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 19 May 1825 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 ...

. With a crew of 700 she was one of the Navy's largest ships at that time.

Service

She was designed by Sir

Robert Seppings Sir Robert Seppings, FRS (11 December 176725 April 1840) was an English naval architect. His experiments with diagonal trusses in the construction of ships led to his appointment as Surveyor of the Navy in 1813, a position he held until 1835. ...

. She was launched in May 1825 at a truly massive cost of £64,000. However, her fitting out (with guns etc) was not completed until November 1841. Her first "true commander" (i.e. other than being moved from dock to dock) was Captain Charles Sullivan who sailed her to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. On 29 November 1842, ''Formidable'' ran aground off the mouth of the

Llobregat The Llobregat () is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain, after the Ter. It flows into the Mediterranean south of the city of Barcelona. Its name could have originated in an ancient Latin word meaning 'dark', 'muddy' or 'slippery', or ...

on the coast of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. She was refloated on 2 December 1842 with the aid of two French

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s. In April 1844 command transferred to Captain George Frederick Rich. In 1869 ''Formidable'' became a training ship, at the National Nautical School in Portishead, and she was sold out of the navy in 1906 to Castle's for breaking up at Charlton.

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. .

External links

*
Film panorama of the River Avon in 1902 including footage of HMS Formidable
Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Canopus-class ships of the line Ships built in Chatham 1825 ships Maritime incidents in November 1842 {{UK-line-ship-stub

Service

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