HMS ''Nile'' was a two-deck 90-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 28 June 1839 at

Plymouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roya ...

.Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy vol.1, p244. She was named to commemorate the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; ) was fought between the Royal Navy and the French Navy at Abu Qir Bay, Aboukir Bay in Ottoman Egypt, Egypt between 1–3 August 1798. It was the climax of the Mediterranean ca ...

in 1798. After service in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

and the

North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956, with main bases at the Imperial fortresses of Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The ...

, she was converted to a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

and renamed , surviving in that role until 1953.

Construction, reserve and conversion to steam

On completion but before

commissioning Commissioning is a process or service provided to validate the completeness and accuracy of a project or venture. It may refer more specifically to: * Project commissioning, a process of assuring that all components of a facility are designed, in ...

, ''Nile'' went straight into

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

at Devonport. From December 1852 to January 1854, ''Nile'' was fitted with screw propulsion; the 500

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

engine was made by Sewards of Petersfield and the conversion cost £63,837. Once finally commissioned, she joined the

Western Squadron The Western Squadron was a squadron or formation of the Royal Navy based at Plymouth Dockyard. It operated in waters of the English Channel, the Western Approaches, and the North Atlantic. It defended British trade sea lanes from 1650 to 1814 an ...

under the command of Commodore

Henry Byam Martin Sir Henry Byam Martin Order of the Bath, KCB (25 June 1803 – 9 February 1865) was a senior Royal Navy officer, and a watercolour artist. Naval career Martin was born in 1803, the second son of Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of t ...

Crimean War in the Baltic

In May 1854, commanded by Captain George Rodney Mundy, ''Nile'' joined the Baltic Squadron in the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

, following the start of the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. On 18 September 1855, ''Nile''s boats boarded and burnt some Russian vessels, reportedly near Hammeliski (possibly Humaliski on the island of Björkö, now called

Primorsk, Leningrad Oblast Primorsk (; ; ) is a coastal town in Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia and is the second largest Russian port on the Baltic, after St. Petersburg. It is located on the Karelian Isthmus, west of St. Petersburg, at the northe ...

). At the end of that month, the fleet began to return to the United Kingdom and on 23 April 1856, participating ships, including ''Nile'', attended a Review of the Fleet at

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. In June 1856, ''Nile'' sailed for

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

; the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of Rear Admiral

Arthur Flagshawe Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

. She visited

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

before returning to

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

in March 1857.

Home service and North America

''Nile'' recommissioned in March 1858 under the command of Captain

Henry Ducie Chads Admiral Sir Henry Ducie Chads, (24 February 1788 – 7 April 1868) was an officer in the Royal Navy who saw action from the Napoleonic Wars to the Crimean War. Family background Chads was born in Marylebone, London, the eldest son of Captain ...

. When he was promoted to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

, ''Nile'' became his

based at Queenstown in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, Ireland. After exercising with the Channel Fleet during the summer, ''Nile'' departed for the

in October, but was caught in a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

and returned to

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

for repairs some forty days later. After further repairs at Plymouth, she finally started out for the Royal Naval Dockyard in the

Imperial fortress Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Lord Salisbury described Malta, Gibraltar, Bermuda, and Halifax as Imperial fortresses at the 1887 Colonial Conference, though by that point they had been so designated for decades. Later histor ...

colony of

(located in the North Atlantic, and administratively part of

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

, Bermuda was the headquarters and main base of the station) in April 1859 under the command of Captain Edward King Barnard and carrying the flag of Rear Admiral Alexander Milne, the Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station. ''Nile'' operated from Bermuda and Halifax during the tense period following the ''Trent'' Affair, when the United Kingdom's entry into the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

seemed possible, eventually cementing cordial relations with the Union by means of a visit to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in September 1863. Returning to Plymouth in the following April, she was decommissioned and returned to the reserve, where her engines, boilers and propellers were removed.

Training ship at Liverpool as HMS ''Conway''

In 1876 the ship was loaned to the Mercantile Marine Service Association as a training ship at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and renamed HMS ''Conway''. She replaced the previous ''Conway'' (ex- which had proved to be too small. The third HMS ''Conway'' (ex-''Nile'') remained at a mooring off Rock Ferry Pier in Wirral and was home to up to 250 cadets. She was refitted twice during this time. In October 1940, ''Conway'' was struck by SS ''Hektoria'', a 13,000-ton whaling

factory ship A factory ship, also known as a fish processing vessel, is a large ocean-going vessel with extensive on-board facilities for processing and freezing caught fish or whales. Modern factory ships are automated and enlarged versions of the earlier ...

, and moved to a dock at

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

for repairs. During the

Liverpool Blitz The Liverpool Blitz was the The Blitz, heavy and sustained bombing of the British city of Liverpool and its surrounding area, during the Second World War by the Nazi Germany, German ''Luftwaffe''. Liverpool was the most heavily bombed area o ...

there was concern that there might be considerable loss of life if the ship were hit and she moved to Glyn Garth Mooring on the

Menai Straits The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The ...

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, in May 1941. In 1949 she moved further along the Strait to a new mooring off Plas Newydd where a shore establishment was also established.

Loss

In 1953, it was decided to return ''Conway'' to Birkenhead for a refit. On 14 April, the ship left her moorings in the

Menai Strait The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The s ...

under tow, but was driven ashore shortly afterwards by unexpectedly strong tides and wrecked, watched by a large crowd on the

Menai Suspension Bridge The Menai Suspension Bridge ( or ) is a suspension bridge spanning the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it was the world's first major suspension bridge. Th ...

. A fire in 1956 then destroyed her. One may still find nails and timber at the site. Two Admiralty Pattern anchors from ''Conway'' survive; one at the

Merseyside Maritime Museum The Merseyside Maritime Museum is a museum based in the city of Liverpool, Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater M ...

in Liverpool and one on Caernarfon marine promenade.

Notes

External links

References

* * Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nile (1839) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Rodney-class ships of the line Ships built in Plymouth, Devon 1839 ships Crimean War naval ships of the United Kingdom Training ships of the Royal Navy