Woolwich Dockyard, launch of Royal Albert 1854 LMA

HMS ''Royal Albert'' was a 121 gun

three-decker A three-decker was a sailing warship which carried her principal carriage-mounted guns on three fully armed decks. Usually additional (smaller) guns were carried on the upper works (forecastle and quarterdeck), but this was not a continuous b ...

ship 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 ...

launched in 1854 at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich in north-west Kent, where many ships were built from the early 1 ...

. She had originally been designed as a sailing ship but was converted to screw propulsion while still under construction. Die Gartenlaube (1854) b 118

Lithographs of the launch at Woolwich, 13 May 1854 of HMS ''Royal Albert'' screw steamer, claim she has 131 guns. National Maritime Museum - Lithograph of the launch and 131 guns
/ref> From commissioning at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

she was first commanded by Commander Alexander Little between June and October 1854. From October to November 1854 by Captain Thomas Sabine Pasley while still at Sheerness. Interview between Admiral Lyons and Admiral Bruat on Board the Royal Albert, prior to the attack on Kinburn - Illustrated Times 1855

Interview between Admiral Lyons and Admiral Bruat on Board the Royal Albert, prior to the attack on Kinburn - Illustrated Times 1855

From 14 February 1855 to April 1857 she was commanded by Captain

William Robert Mends Sir William Robert Mends, (27 February 1812 – 26 June 1897), was a British admiral of the Royal Navy, eldest son of Admiral William Bowen Mends and nephew of Captain Robert Mends. William Mends was born at Plymouth into a naval family. He ...

as flagship to Rear-Admiral Edmund Lyons commanding the

Mediterranean fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

, then chiefly concerned with 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 ...

. In late December 1855, she sprang a leak whilst on a voyage from the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

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 ...

and was beached at San Nicholas,

Kea The kea (; ; ''Nestor notabilis'') is a species of large parrot in the family Nestoridae found in the forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. About long, it is mostly olive-green with a brilliant orange under its wings ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. She was subsequently refloated and taken in to Malta for repairs. From April 1857 to 20 August 1858 she was commanded by Captain Francis Egerton. From 25 August 1858 to October 1859 she was commanded by Captain Edward Bridges Rice as 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 ...

under Rear-Admiral

Charles Fremantle Admiral Sir Charles Howe Fremantle GCB RN (1 June 1800 – 25 May 1869) was a renowned British Royal Navy officer. The city of Fremantle, Western Australia, is named after him. Early life Fremantle was the second son of Thomas Fremantle, an ...

. She received a new captain on 1 October 1859, Captain Henry James Lacon, who remained up to her paying off at Plymouth on 25 January 1861. Rear-Admiral Robert Fanshawe took over the Channel Squadron from 10 October 1860. In 1884 she was sold for breaking up at Charlton. The Royal Albert hulk in the Hamoaze, 1890 CSK 2002

The Royal Albert hulk in the Hamoaze, 1890 CSK 2002

References

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External links

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Ship information online
Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Ships built in Woolwich 1854 ships Maritime incidents in December 1855 {{UK-line-ship-stub