HMS Britannia (1820)

HMS Britannia was a 120-gun first-rate ship-of-the-line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1813 and launched on 20 October 1820.[1]

Watercolor of HMS Britannia, c. 1834, by John H. Wilson
History
UK
Name:	HMS Britannia
Ordered:	6 November 1812
Builder:	Devonport Dockyard
Laid down:	December 1813
Launched:	20 October 1820
Fate:	Broken up, 1869
General characteristics as built[1]
Class and type:	Caledonia-class ship of the line
Tons burthen:	2616 bm
Length:	205 ft (62 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	53 ft 6 in (16.31 m)
Depth of hold:	23 ft 2 in (7.06 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	120 guns: Gundeck: 32 × 32 pdrs Middle gundeck: 34 × 24 pdrs Upper gundeck: 34 × 18 pdrs Quarterdeck: 6 × 12 pdrs, 10 × 32 pdr carronades Forecastle: 2 × 12 pdrs, 2 × 32 pdr carronades Poop deck: 6 × 18 pdr carronades
General characteristics after 1839
Armament:	120 guns: Gundeck: 30 × 32 pdrs + 2 x 8 in guns Middle gundeck: 32 × 32 pdrs + 2 x 8in guns Upper gundeck: 32 × 32 pdrs + 2 x 8in guns Quarterdeck: 4 × 32 pdrs + 12 x 32pdr carronades Forecastle: 2 × 32 pdrs + 2 × 32pdr carronades

Commissioned in 1823, she saw service in the Mediterranean from 1830-1 and in 1841. She was decommissioned in 1843, before returning to service for the Crimean War, serving as flagship of Admiral Sir James Deans Dundas,[2] commanding the British fleet in the Mediterranean and Black Sea from 1851–4.. On 14 November 1854, she was driven ashore on the Russian coast and was reported to have 5 feet (1.5 m) of water in her hold.[2]

She returned to England at the beginning of 1855 and that year became a hospital ship at Portsmouth, then a cadet training ship in 1859.[1] 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.[1] 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 Britannias. Alumni included John Fisher, Percy Scott, John Jellicoe, Roger Keyes, William Boyle, Augustus Agar and King George V.