HMS ''Triumph'' was a 74-gun

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Rating When the rating system was f ...

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 3 March 1764 at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

. In 1797, she took part in the

Battle of Camperdown The Battle of Camperdown (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Zeeslag bij Kamperduin'') was fought on 11 October 1797 between the Royal Navy's Commander-in-Chief, North Sea, North Sea Fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan, Adam Duncan and a ...

, and in 1805 ''Triumph'' was part of Admiral Calder's fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre. 21 July 1802 she was at Gibraltar to prevent Algerian corsairs from passing through the Straits. In 1810 ''Triumph'' and , salvaged a large load of elemental mercury from a wrecked Spanish vessel near Cadiz, Spain. The bladders containing the mercury soon ruptured, poisoning the crew with mercury vapour. ''Triumph'' was on harbour service from 1813 but was not broken up until 1850.

Notes

References

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

External links

* M. P. Earles: ''A Case of Mass Poisoning With Mercury Vapour on Board H.M.S. Triumph at Cadiz, 1810.'' In: ''Medical History.'' July 1964, vol. 8(3), p. 281–286, online a
NCBI

National Maritime Museum - HMS Triumph in 1808
Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Valiant-class ships of the line Ships built in Woolwich 1764 ships {{UK-line-ship-stub