HMS Bombay Castle was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 June 1782 at Blackwall Yard. She grounded on 21 December 1796 in the shoals of the Tagus River's mouth.
 Bombay Castle
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Bombay |
| Namesake | Bombay Castle |
| Ordered | 14 July 1779 |
| Builder | Perry, Blackwall Yard |
| Laid down | June 1780 |
| Launched | 14 June 1782 |
| Renamed | HMS Bombay Castle (17 February 1780) |
| Fate | Wrecked, 1796 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type | Elizabeth-class ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1628,[2] or 162819⁄94 bm |
| Length | 168 ft 6 in (51.4 m) (gundeck); 138 ft 3+1⁄8 in (42.1 m) |
| Beam | 47 ft 1 in (14.4 m) |
| Depth of hold | 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament | |
Origins
editThe British East India Company (EIC) funded the construction of Bombay Castle as a contribution to the war effort.[1][2] Similarly, the EIC also paid for the construction of HMS Carnatic and HMS Ganges.
Bombay Castle was at Plymouth on 20 January 1795 and so shared in the proceeds of the detention of the Dutch naval vessels, East Indiamen, and other merchant vessels that were in port on the outbreak of war between Britain and the Netherlands.[3]
Loss
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Bombay Castle was under the command of Captain Thomas Sotheby when she entered the Tagus, having taken a pilot on board. In attempting to avoid the storeship Camel, which had grounded ahead of Bombay Castle, Bombay Castle too grounded. During the subsequent week, attempts were made to float her off after boats had removed her guns and stores, but without success. The navy abandoned her as a wreck on 27 December 1798.[4]
Citations
edit- ^ a b Winfield (2008), pp. 55–56.
- ^ a b Hackman (2001), p. 225.
- ^ "No. 15407". The London Gazette. 15 September 1801. p. 1145.
- ^ Hepper (1994), p. 82.
References
edit- Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-96-7.
- Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 0-948864-30-3.
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.
External links
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Media related to HMS Bombay Castle (ship, 1782) at Wikimedia Commons
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