Spanish ship Bahama (1784)

Bahama was a 74-gun ship of the line of the Spanish Navy. She was built in Havana on plans originally drawn by Ignacio Mullan for the 64-gun San Pedro de Alcantara, completed as a project of Gautier. She was later rebuilt as a 74-gun.

Bahama, a drawing by Rafael Berenguer, Madrid naval museum
History
- Spain
Name: Bahama
Ordered: 1776
Builder: Havana
Commissioned: 1780
Fate: Captured at the Battle of Trafalgar, October 1805
General characteristics
Tons burthen: 1,696 tons burthen
Length: 50.79 m (166 ft 8 in)
Beam: 13.63 m (44 ft 9 in)
Draught: 5.96 m (19 ft 7 in)
Complement: 689 men
Armament:

Career

In 1784, Bahama was under Captain Félix del Corral y Jaime, with Commander Francisco de la Bodega y Cuadra as first officer. She departed Havana on 5 January 1785 in the fleet under Admiral Francisco de Borja, bound for Cadiz, where she arrived on 2 March.

On 3 June 1788, she entered drydock number 3 of Carraca arsenal for a refit and rebuilt as a 74-gun.

Battle of Trafalgar
French and Spanish ships laid up at Gibraltar shortly after the battle of Trafalgar; Bahama, French Swiftsure, San Juan Nepomuceno and San Ildefonso

Bahama took part in the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, under Commodore Dionisio Alcalá Galiano. She was part of the vanguard of the Franco-Spanish fleet, at the 6th position in the second division of the reconnaissance squadron under Admiral Gravina, and came under intense fire from British ships. Bahama suffered 75 killed and 65 wounded, among whom Galiano, who died from his wounds after a cannonball struck him.

The British captured Bahama and sailed her to Gibraltar for repairs. She then sailed to England, where she was hulked and used as a prison ship. She was scrapped in Chatham in 1814.[Note 1]

Notes
  1. There are some doubts as to whether the ship scrapped in Chatham was Bahama, as her characteristics might not fit hers.
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References

    Bibliography
    • Pérez-Reverte, Arturo (2004). Cabo Trafalgar. Alfaguara.
    • "Historia del navío de línea Bahama" [History of the ship of the line Bahama]. todoababor.es (in Spanish). 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
    • "Batalla de Trafalgar: Navios Españoles" [Battle of Trafalgar: Spanish Ships]. batalladetrafalgar.com (in Spanish). 1997. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
    • Militares y Navíos Españoles que participaron en Trafalgar (1) de Luís Aragón Martín
    • Militares y Navíos Españoles que participaron en Trafalgar (2) de Luís Aragón Martín
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