HMS ''Colossus'' was a 74-gun third-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, launched from Deptford Dockyard on 23 April 1803. She was designed by Sir John Henslow as one of the large class 74s, and was the name ship of her class, the other being . As a large 74, she carried 24 pdrs on her upper gun deck, as opposed to the 18 pdrs found on the middling and common class 74s. She took part in the Battle of Trafalgar, and was broken up in 1826.Ships of the Old Navy, ''Colossus''.

Napoleonic Wars

On 27 August 1803 ''Colossus'' recaptured the

East Indiaman East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

''Lord Nelson'', which the French privateer ''Belone'' had captured two weeks before and which had fought to the point of surrender.

Trafalgar

''Colossus'' fought at

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under Captain

James Nicoll Morris Vice-Admiral Sir James Nicoll Morris KCB (1763 – 15 April 1830) was a Royal Navy officer who served through the American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary Wars, and Napoleonic Wars. He joined the Royal Navy in 1772 and subsequently ...

, in Collingwood's lee column. After sustaining fire from the enemy fleet, she eventually ran by the French ''Swiftsure'', 74, and became entangled with ''Argonaute'', 74. Towards the end of the exchange of fire between the two ships, Captain Morris was hit by a shot from one of ''Argonaute's'' guns, just above the knee. ''Argonaute'' broke free from ''Colossus'' after this, whilst the British ship was engaging both ''Swiftsure'' and the Spanish ''Bahama'', 74, on her other side. ''Bahama'' surrendered when ''Colossus'' brought down her main mast, and ''Swiftsure'' did likewise after combined fire from ''Colossus'' and brought down her main and mizzen masts.

War of 1812

On 24 March 1812 ''Colossus'' in company with , , and captured the ''Emilie''. On 5 January 1813 ''Colossus'', the frigate and the brig captured the American ship ''Dolphin''. A little over a month later, on 11 February, ''Rhin'' and ''Colossus'' captured the American ship ''Print''.

Fate

In 1815 ''Colossus'' was placed in

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. She was eventually broken up in 1826.

Citations

References

* Michael Phillips
''Colossus'' (74) (1803)
Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 4 November 2008. * Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colossus (1803) 1803 ships Ships built in Deptford Ships of the line of the Royal Navy