HMS Lion (1847)

HMS Lion was a 80-gun second rate Vanguard-class ship of the line built for the Royal Navy in the 1840s. She was fitted with steam propulsion in 1858–1859. In 1871 Lion was converted into a training ship at HM Dockyard, Devonport. The ship was sold for scrap in 1905.

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

Lion and Implacable in 1894
History
UK
Name: Lion
Ordered: 12 March 1840
Builder: Pembroke Dockyard
Laid down: July 1840
Launched: 29 July 1847
Completed: 26 September 1847 (in ordinary)
Fate: Sold for scrap, 1905
General characteristics
Class and type: Vanguard-class ship of the line
Tons burthen: 2583 ​42⁄94 bm
Length: 190 ft (57.9 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 57 ft (17.4 m)
Draught: 18 ft 10 in (5.7 m)
Depth of hold: 23 ft 4 in (7.1 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Complement: 720 (wartime)
Armament:

Description

The Vanguard class was designed by Sir William Symonds, Surveyor of the Navy, with each ship built with a slightly different hull shape to evaluate their speed and handling characteristics. Lion had a length at the gundeck of 190 feet (57.9 m) and 153 feet 5 inches (46.8 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 57 feet (17.4 m), a draught of 18 feet 4 inches (5.6 m) and a depth of hold of 23 feet 4 inches (7.1 m). The ship's tonnage was 2,589 ​63⁄94 tons burthen.[1] The Vanguards had a wartime crew of 720 officers and ratings.[2]

The Vanguard class ships of the line were armed with twenty 32-pounder (56 cwt)[Note 1] cannon and two 68-pounder carronades on her lower gundeck, twenty-eight 32-pounder (50 cwt) cannon and another pair of 68-pounder carronades on the upper gundeck. On her quarterdeck were fourteen 32-pounder (42 cwt) cannon and on the forecastle deck were eight more 32-pounder (42 cwt) cannon.[2]

Modifications

When Lion was ordered to be modified for steam propulsion in 1856, she was fitted with a two-cylinder horizontal trunk steam engine of 400 nominal horsepower that drove a single propeller shaft. On trials the engine produced 1,665 indicated horsepower (1,242 kW) which gave the ship a speed of 10.4 knots (19.3 km/h; 12.0 mph).[3]

Construction and career

Lion was ordered from Pembroke Dockyard on 18 March 1840 and laid down the following July. She was launched on 29 July 1847 and completed on 26 September. The ship was not fitted out and Lion was placed in ordinary. Her construction cost £59,113. Between February 1858 and May 1859, she was fitted with steam propulsion.[1]

Lion was sold for scrap on 19 March 1870.[4]

Notes
  1. "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 56 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

Citations
  1. Winfield, p. 174
  2. Lyon & Winfield, p. 97
  3. Lyon & Winfield, p. 213
  4. Lavery, p. 191
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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.
  • Lyon, David & Winfield, Rif (2004). The Sail & Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-032-9.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793-1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
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