HMS ''Conqueror'' was a 101-gun ''Conqueror''-class screw-propelled

first-rate In the rating system of the British Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at ...

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 tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. She was launched in 1855, but spent only six years in service before being wrecked on

Rum Cay Rum Cay (formerly known as Mamana and Santa Maria de la Concepción) is an island and district of the Bahamas. It measures in area, it is located at Lat.: N23 42' 30" - Long.: W 74 50' 00". It has many rolling hills that rise to about 120 feet (3 ...

in what was then the colony of the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

in 1861.

Construction and commissioning

''Conqueror'' was one of a two ship class, her sister being . She was built to an 1852 design from the Surveyor’s Department and ordered from Devonport Dockyard on 16 November 1852. She was laid down on 25 July 1853, launched on 2 May 1855 and commissioned on 9 April 1856. She cost a total of £171,116, with £91,244 spent on her hull and a further £50,919 spent on her machinery, from John Penn & Son.

Career

''Conqueror'' was initially commanded by Thomas Matthew Charles Symonds and formed part of the

Channel Squadron Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

. She was later assigned to operate in 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 north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

, and later was based out of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, when

Hastings Yelverton Admiral Sir Hastings Reginald Yelverton, (born Hastings Reginald Henry; 21 March 1808 – 24 July 1878) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he took part in a major action against pirates off Candia in June 1826 and was involved in prot ...

took command on 22 July 1859. Yelverton was succeeded by William John Cavendish Clifford, and he by James Willcox in 1860, by which time ''Conqueror'' had returned to

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

Edward Southwell Sotheby Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir Edward Southwell Sotheby (14 May 1813 – 6 January 1902) was an English naval officer in the Royal Navy. Early life and education Sotheby was born at Clifton, Bristol, the second son of Admiral of the Blue Tho ...

took over command and was despatched to carry troops supporting the French intervention in Mexico in late 1861. While sailing through the

, ''Conqueror'' was wrecked on

on 29 December 1861 due to a navigation error. All 1,400 aboard were saved.

Wreck

The wreck lies in of water off Rum Cay and is preserved as an Underwater Museum of the Bahamas. It is a popular dive site.

Notes

References

* * Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif, The Sail and Steam Navy List, All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889, pub Chatham, 2004,

External links

''Conqueror''s career
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conqueror, HMS Conqueror-class ships of the line Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Victorian-era ships of the line of the United Kingdom Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Shipwrecks of the Bahamas 1855 ships Ships built in England Maritime incidents in December 1861