HMS ''Britannia'' 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 ...

ship-of-the-line 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 ...

, laid down in 1813 and launched on 20 October 1820. Commissioned in 1823, she saw service 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 Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

from 1830-1 and in 1841. She was decommissioned in 1843, before returning to service for 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 ...

, serving as flagship of Admiral Sir James Deans Dundas, commanding the British fleet in the Mediterranean and

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

from 1851–4.. She was engaged in the Bombardment of Sebastopol on 17 October 1854 during the

.Duckers, The Crimean War at Sea, Appendix 1. On 14 November 1854, she was driven ashore on the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

coast and was reported to have of water in her hold. She returned to England at the beginning of 1855 and that year became a hospital ship at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, then a cadet training ship in 1859. She was moved to Portland in 1862, then Dartmouth in 1863, where she served as residential barracks for cadets. She was finally sold for breaking up in 1869. Her place at Dartmouth was taken by HMS ''Prince of Wales'', which was renamed ''Britannia'' for the role. Generations of naval officers had their first taste of the navy aboard the two ''Britannia''s. Alumni included

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI. Fisher was executed by o ...

Percy Scott Admiral Sir Percy Moreton Scott, 1st Baronet, (10 July 1853 – 18 October 1924) was a British Royal Navy officer and a pioneer in modern naval gunnery. During his career he proved to be an engineer and problem solver of some considerable f ...

John Jellicoe Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, (5 December 1859 – 20 November 1935) was a Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Anglo-Egyptian War and the Boxer Rebellion and commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutlan ...

Roger Keyes Admiral of the Fleet Roger John Brownlow Keyes, 1st Baron Keyes, (4 October 1872 – 26 December 1945) was a British naval officer. As a junior officer he served in a corvette operating from Zanzibar on slavery suppression missions. Ea ...

, William Boyle, Augustus Agar and

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

George Chambers Snr - 'Britannia' Entering Portsmouth

Notes

References

*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. . *Duckers, Peter (2011) ''The Crimean War at Sea: The Naval Campaigns against Russia, 1854-56.'' Pen & Sword Maritime. .

External links

*
The Dreadnought Project
Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Ships built in Plymouth, Devon Caledonia-class ships of the line Hospital ships of the Royal Navy 1820 ships Crimean War naval ships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in November 1854 {{UK-line-ship-stub