HMS ''Waterloo'' was a 120-gun

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 ...

, launched on 10 June 1833 at

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

. ''Waterloo'' was cut down to an 89-gun 2-decker and converted to steam at Chatham 1 April 1859 – 12 December 1859. Following the loss of the modern 101-gun steam 2-decker in 1861, ''Waterloo'' was renamed ''Conqueror'' in 1862. In 1864 she served on the China station under the command of Captain William Luard, and was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...

in 1866. In 1877 she was renamed HMS ''Warspite'' and served as a training ship at Greenhithe/

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in 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 maintained throu ...

. She was destroyed by fire in 1918, with 250 boys embarked at the time."The Warspite Fire". ''The Times'' (41718): Col B, p. 3. 20 February 1918. Three teenage boys later claimed to have started the fire deliberately."Charge Of Burning The Warspite". ''The Times'' (41694): Col E, p. 3. 23 January 1918. They were charged for the alleged act and ordered to three years' detention at a reformatory.

Notes

References

* Lambert, Andrew ''Battleships in Transition, the Creation of the Steam Battlefleet 1815–1860'', published Conway Maritime Press, 1984. . * Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . * Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif (2004) ''The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889.'' Chatham Publishing, London. .

External links

* Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Caledonia-class ships of the line Ships built in Chatham 1833 ships Ship fires Shipwrecks of the River Thames Maritime incidents in 1918 {{UK-line-ship-stub