HMS ''Windsor Castle'' was a 98-gun second-rate

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 3 May 1790 at Deptford Dockyard.

Dardanelles

''Windsor Castle'' was part of

Robert Calder Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, (2 July 174531 August 1818) was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. For much of his career ...

's fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805. She shared in the prize and head money for ''San Rafael'' and ''Firme'' captured on that day. On 25 September a French squadron of five frigates and two corvettes under Commodore Eleonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil was escorting a convoy ferrying supplies and troops to the

French West Indies The French West Indies or French Antilles (french: Antilles françaises, ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy fwansez) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, ...

. A British squadron intercepted the convoy, which led to the

action of 25 September 1806 The action of 25 September 1806 was a naval battle fought during the Napoleonic Wars off the French Biscay port of Rochefort. A French squadron comprising five frigates and two corvettes, sailing to the French West Indies with supplies and rei ...

, where the British captured four of the frigates: ''Armeide'', ''Minerva'', ''Indefatigable'', and ''Gloire''. The frigate and the corvette escaped, with managing to outrun ''Windsor Castle''. Duckworth's Squadron forcing the Dardanelles

Duckworth's Squadron forcing the Dardanelles

While in the Mediterranean she served during Vice Admiral Sir John Duckworth's unsuccessful 1807 Dardanelles Operation.Howard, pp.15-20. On 19 February, ''Windsor Castle'' suffered seven men wounded while forcing the Dardanelles. Near a redoubt on

Point Pesquies Nara Burnu ( Turkish "Cape Nara"), formerly Nağara Burnu, in English Nagara Point, and in older sources Point Pesquies, is a headland on the Anatolian side of the Dardanelles Straits, north of Çanakkale. It is the narrowest and, with , the deepes ...

the British encountered a Turkish squadron of one ship of 64 guns, four frigates and eight other vessels, most of which they ran aground. Marines from spiked the 31 guns on the redoubt. On 27 February ''Windsor Castle'' had one man killed assisting a Royal Marine landing party on the island of Prota.James (1837), Vol. 4, pp. 296-312. On the way out, the Turkish castle at

Abydos Abydos may refer to: *Abydos, a progressive metal side project of German singer Andy Kuntz * Abydos (Hellespont), an ancient city in Mysia, Asia Minor * Abydos (''Stargate''), name of a fictional planet in the '' Stargate'' science fiction universe ...

fired on the British squadron. Granite cannonballs weighing 7-800 pounds and measuring 6'6" in circumference hit ''Windsor Castle'', and . ''Windsor Castle'' was badly damaged when an 800-pound stone shot from a Turkish cannon sheared off her main mast.Yeo, R., p. 683. ''Windsor Castle'' had four men killed and 20 wounded in the withdrawal. In all, the British lost 29 killed and 138 wounded. No ship was lost. ''Windsor Castle'' accompanied Duckworth on the

Alexandria expedition of 1807 The Alexandria expedition of 1807, also known as the Fraser expedition, ( ar, حملة فريزر) was a failed attempt by the British to capture the Egyptian city of Alexandria during the Anglo-Turkish War in order to secure a base of operation ...

, and in May left Alexandria and sailed to Malta.

Fate

She was reduced to a 74-gun ship in 1814, and was eventually broken up in 1839.

Notes

References

Citations Bibliography * Howard, Edward (2003) ''Memoires of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, K.C. B., & c., Volume 2,'' Adamant Media Corporation. * * Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . * Yeo, Richard R., ''The Edinburgh Encyclopaedia'', Routledge, 1999.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Windsor Castle (1790) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy London-class ships of the line 1790 ships