HMS Boscawen (1844)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Boscawen.

HMS Boscawen, 1904
History
UK
Name	HMS Boscawen
Ordered	11 May 1817
Builder	Woolwich Dockyard
Laid down	January 1826
Launched	3 April 1844
Renamed	Wellesley 1873
Fate	Burned and sank 11 March 1914 Broken up 1914
General characteristics
Class and type	70-gun third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	2048 tons (2080.9 tonnes)
Length	187 ft 4+1⁄2 in (57.1 m) (gundeck)
Beam	50 ft 9 in (15.47 m)
Depth of hold	21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full rigged ship
Armament	70 guns: Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs, 2 × 68 pdr carronades Upper gundeck: 32 × 24 pdrs Quarterdeck: 4 × 24 pdrs, 10 × 32 pdr carronades Forecastle: 2 × 24 pdrs, 2 × 32 pdr carronades

HMS Boscawan was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 April 1844 at Woolwich Dockyard. She was originally ordered and begun as a 74-gun ship, but an Admiralty order dated 3 March 1834 required that she be reworked to Sir William Symonds' design. She was named for Admiral Edward Boscawen.

In 1873, Boscawen replaced Wellesley – the former HMS Cornwall – as the training ship at Wellesley Nautical School and was herself renamed Wellesley.

On the afternoon of 11 March 1914, Wellesley was destroyed by fire and sank at her moorings on the River Tyne at North Shields. A total loss, she was broken up later in 1914.

References

• Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.

External links

• British Pathe video of Wellesley (ex-Boscawen) burning on 11 March 1914

Wellesley burning at her moorings in the River Tyne at North Shields on the afternoon of 11 March 1914, photographed from South Shields.

The wreck of Wellesley in 1914.