| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Royal William |
| Ordered | 30 December 1823 |
| Builder | Pembroke Dockyard |
| Laid down | October 1825 |
| Launched | 2 April 1833 |
| Fate | Burnt, 1899 |
| General characteristics (as a steamship) | |
| Class & type | BroadenedCaledonia-classship of the line |
| Displacement | 3,520long tons (3,580 t) |
| Tons burthen | 2849bm |
| Length | 216 ft 9 in (66.07 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam | 55 ft 7 in (16.94 m) |
| Draught | 24 ft 7 in (7.5 m) |
| Installed power | 1,763 ihp (1,315 kW) |
| Propulsion | 1 shaft; 1single-expansion steam engine |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 830 |
| Armament |
|
HMSRoyal William was a 120-gun, three-deck,first rate, broadenedCaledonia-classship of the line built for theRoyal Navy during the 1830s. Completed in 1834, the ship remainedin ordinary until she wasrazeed and converted into a steam-powered, 89-gun,second rate, two decker during the 1850s. She played a minor role in theCrimean War of 1854–1855 and became atraining ship in 1884.
As an 89-gun ship,Royal Wiliam measured 216 feet 9 inches (66.1 m) on thegundeck and about 177 feet (53.9 m) on thekeel. She had abeam of 55 feet 7 inches (16.9 m),[1] and a deepdraught of 24 feet 7 inches (7.49 m)[2] The shipdisplaced 3,520long tons (3,580 t) and had a tonnage of 2849tons burthen. She was fitted with a horizontal two-cylindersingle-expansion steam engine built byRobert Napier & Sons that was rated at 500nominal horsepower and drove a singlepropeller shaft. Her boilers provided enough steam to give the engine 1,763indicated horsepower (1,315 kW) that was good for a speed of 10.6knots (19.6 km/h; 12.2 mph) during hersea trials without masts or stores. Her crew numbered 830 officers andratings.[3]
The ship'smuzzle-loading,smoothbore armament consisted of thirty-two8 in (203 mm) shell guns on her lower gundeck and thirty-four32-pounder (56 cwt) guns[Note 1] on her upper gundeck. Between herforecastle andquarterdeck, she carried twenty-two 32-pounder (42 cwt) guns and a single68-pounder gun.[4]
Royal William was ordered on 30 December 1823,laid down atPembroke Dockyard in October 1825,launched on 2 April 1833 and completed in 1834. The ship's firstcommission was not until 16 February 1854 under CaptainJohn Kingcome when she became the flagship of CommodoreMichael Seymour,guard ship at Plymouth.[5]Royal William was sent to the Baltic Sea in 1854 as atroopship and conveyed 764prisoners of war captured during theBattle of Bomarsund in August back to the UK.[6]
Royal William was ordered to be cut down and converted into a steamship on 5 February 1859. The work included lengthening the ship by about 11 feet (3.4 m) and began on 21 March. It was completed on 9 February 1860; she was never put into seagoing state for operation. In November 1884[1] she was lent to theLiverpool Roman Catholic Reformatory Society, who renamed herHMS Clarence[7] to replace their first reformatory school ship of that name destroyed by arson in 1884. As the newClarence, she was ultimately also destroyed byarson, on 26 July 1899 on theRiver Mersey nearNew Ferry on theWirral Peninsula inEngland.[7][8][9]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1899 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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