HMS Diadem (1782)

Summary

HMS Diadem was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 19 December 1782 at Chatham.[2] She participated in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797 under Captain George Henry Towry.

Diadem at the capture of the Cape of Good Hope, 8 January 1806, by Thomas Whitcombe
History
Great Britain
NameHMS Diadem
Ordered5 December 1777
BuilderChatham Dockyard
Laid down2 November 1778
Launched19 December 1782
CommissionedMarch 1783
Honours and
awards
FateBroken up at Plymouth, September 1832
General characteristics [2]
Class and typeIntrepid-class ship of the line
Tons burthen1375½ bm
Length159 ft 10 in (48.72 m) (gundeck)
Beam44 ft 5 in (13.54 m)
Depth of hold19 ft (5.8 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement500
Armament
  • Gundeck: 26 ×  24-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 26 ×  18-pounder guns
  • QD: 10 ×  4-pounder guns
  • Fc: 2 ×  9-pounder guns
Diadem at Cape St Vincent, 1797

In 1798 she was converted to serve as a troopship.[2] On 7 April 1799 she left Portsmouth together with Trompe. They were carry the West York militia to Dublin.[3]

In 1800 under the command of Post Captain Sir Thomas Livingstone she was employed in the expedition to Quiberon and Belle Île under Sir Edward Pellew, subsequently she was employed in the expedition to Cádiz under Admiral Lord Keith.

Because Diadem served in the navy's Egyptian campaign between 8 March 1801 and 2 September, her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty authorised in 1850 to all surviving claimants.[Note 1]

Between April and July 1810 Diadem was at Chatham being fitted for service as a troopship of 28 guns. In June Captain John Phillimore (or Philmore) commissioned her for Lisbon.[5] She then spent some time working with the Spanish anti-French forces on the north coast of Spain.[6] In January 1812 she carried released Danish prisoners of war from Plymouth to Chatham.

On 7 October Diadem captured the American letter of marque Baltimore.

Later, she sailed to the Halifax station.[5] Phillimore transferred to command of HMS Eurotas on 4 May 1813.[7]

Fate edit

Diadem was broken up in September 1832.[2]

Notes edit

  1. ^ A first-class share of the prize money awarded in April 1823 was worth £34 2s 4d; a fifth-class share, that of a seaman, was worth 3s 11½d. The amount was small as the total had to be shared between 79 vessels and the entire army contingent.[4]

Citations edit

  1. ^ "No. 21077". The London Gazette. 15 March 1850. pp. 791–792.
  2. ^ a b c d Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 181.
  3. ^ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 1, p.444.
  4. ^ "No. 17915". The London Gazette. 3 April 1823. p. 633.
  5. ^ a b Winfield (2008), pp.99-100.
  6. ^ O'Byrne 1849), Vol. 1, p.306.
  7. ^ Marshall (1827), Supplement, Part 1, p.245,

References edit

  • 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 (1993) The Sailing Navy List. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-617-5.
  • Leask, David (2008) Website on the History of Westquarter
  • Marshall, John (1823–1835). "Index" . Royal Naval Biography. London: Longman and company.
  • O’Byrne, William R. (1849) A naval biographical dictionary: comprising the life and services of every living officer in Her Majesty's navy, from the rank of admiral of the fleet to that of lieutenant, inclusive. (London: J. Murray), vol. 1.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Diadem (ship, 1782) at Wikimedia Commons