HMS Minotaur was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 15 April 1816 at Chatham Dockyard.

Minotaur in 1851
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Minotaur
Ordered	3 December 1811
Builder	Robert Seppings (1812-1813), George Parkin (1813-1816), Chatham Dockyard
Laid down	December 1812
Launched	15 April 1816
Fate	Broken up, 1869
General characteristics
Class and type	Ganges-class ship of the line
Tons burthen	1726 3⁄94 bm
Length	139 ft 7.5 in (42.558 m) (gundeck)
Beam	48 ft 2.5 in (14.694 m)
Depth of hold	20 ft 3.75 in (6.1913 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	550
Armament	74 guns: Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs Quarterdeck: 14 × 9 pdrs Forecastle: 4 × 9 pdrs

She was never commissioned for sea service; on completion of construction the new vessel was immediately placed in reserve at Sheerness Dockyard until 1842 when she was fitted as a receiving ship for naval conscripts. By 1859 she had become a guardship in Sheerness harbour, and in 1861 was converted into a floating lazarette for passengers from merchant vessels who were suspected by the Customs Service of bringing in disease. Five years later she was sailed to Gravesend to serve as a hospital for cholera patients.^[1]

In July 1866 she was renamed Hermes, but was broken up at Sheerness Dockyard in 1869.^[1]