{{short description|1803 ship of the line of the Royal Navy}} {{other ships|HMS Colossus}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}} {{Use British English|date=August 2017}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=Warspite (1807), Colossus (1803).jpg |image_caption=Hull plan for ''Colossus'' and {{HMS|Warspite|1807|2}} }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=United Kingdom |flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}} |name=''Colossus'' |ordered=23 November 1797 |builder=Deptford Dockyard |laid_down=May 1799 |launched=23 April 1803 |commissioned=March 1803 |decommissioned= |in_service= |out_of_service= |renamed= |struck= |reinstated= |honours= |fate=Broken up, 8 February 1826 |notes= }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class={{sclass|Colossus|ship of the line}} |tons_burthen=1,888 <small>{{fraction|47|94}}</small> (bm) |length={{cvt|181|ft|1|in|m|1}} (gundeck) |beam={{cvt|48|ft|11|in|m|1}} |draught={{cvt|18|ft|m|1}} (light) |hold_depth={{cvt|21|ft|m|1}} |sail_plan=Full-rigged ship |propulsion= |complement=590 |armament=*74 muzzle-loading, smoothbore guns *Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdr guns *Upper deck: 30 × 24 pdr guns *Quarterdeck: 4 × 24 pdr guns + 10 × 32 pdr carronades *Forecastle: 2 × 24 pdr guns + 2 × 24 pdr carronades *Poop: 6 × 18 pdr carronades }} }}
'''HMS ''Colossus''''' was the lead ship of her class of 74-gun, third-rate ships of the line built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 19th century. Completed in 1803, she played a minor role in the Napoleonic Wars, including participating in the Battle of Trafalgar two years later. She was broken up in 1826.
==Description== The ''Colossus''-class ship of the line was designed by Sir John Henslow, co-Surveyor of the Navy. It was one of the "large" type of 74 with heavier guns than those of the "common" and "middling" classes.<ref>Lavery, pp. 184–185</ref> ''Colossus'' measured {{convert|181|ft|1|in|m|1}} on the gundeck and {{convert|148|ft|4|in|m|1}} on the keel. She had a beam of {{convert|48|ft|11|in|m|1}}, a depth of hold of {{convert|21|ft|m|1}} and had a tonnage of 1,888 <small>{{fraction|47|94}}</small> tons burthen. The ship's draught was {{convert|13|ft|3|in|m|0}} forward and {{convert|18|ft|m|1}} aft at light load; fully loaded, her draught would be significantly deeper. The ships' crew numbered 590 officers and ratings. They were fitted with three masts and were ship-rigged.<ref name=w9/>
The ships were armed with 74 muzzle-loading, smoothbore guns that consisted of twenty-eight 32-pounder guns on their lower gundeck and thirty 24-pounder guns on their upper deck. Their forecastle mounted a pair of 24-pounder guns and two 24-pounder carronades. On their quarterdeck they carried four 24-pounders and ten 32-pounder carronades. Six 18-pounder carronades were positioned on the poop deck. Sometime before 1815, ''Colossus'' had her 24-pounders on the upper deck replaced by 18-pounder guns.<ref name=w9>Winfield, p. 41</ref>
==Construction and career== ''Colossus'' was the second ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy.<ref>Colledge, Warlow & Bush, p. 91</ref> She was ordered on 23 November 1797 and was laid down at Deptford Dockyard in May 1799. The ship was launched on 23 April 1803 and was commissioned by Captain George Martin in March. ''Colossus'' was completed at Woolwich Dockyard on 20 June and assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet.<ref name=w9/>
The ship joined a squadron of the Channel Fleet commanded by Captain Sir Edward Pellew blockading Ferrol and A Coruña, Spain, on 19 August.<ref>Parkinson, p. 293</ref> ''Colossus'' recaptured the East Indiaman ''Lord Nelson'' on 27 August, which the French privateer ''Belone'' had captured two weeks before and which the brig-sloop {{HMS|Seagull|1795|2}} had fought to the point of surrender.<ref>Clarke & McArthur, pp. 260, 344</ref><ref>James, p. 196</ref> The ship served from December to February 1804 as the flagship of Rear-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, commander of the Inshore Squadron blockading the French coast.<ref>{{cite web |last1=The National Archives |title=Trafalgar Ancestors |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/trafalgarancestors/details.asp?id=13226|website=www.nationalarchives.gov.uk |access-date=17 March 2026}}</ref> In May, ''Colossus'' was briefly the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Graves, the new commander of the Inshore Squadron.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hiscocks |first1=Richard |title=Sir Thomas Graves |url=https://morethannelson.com/officer/sir-thomas-graves/ |website=More than Nelson |access-date=17 March 2026}}</ref>
Captain James Nicoll Morris assumed command on 23 June. Shortly afterwards, the ship joined Vice-Admiral Collingwood's small squadron blockading Cádiz, Spain.<ref>Goodwin, p. 72</ref> On 20 August, the Franco-Spanish fleet spotted Collingwood's four ships of the line and single frigate while sailing from Ferrol and A Coruña to Cádiz. Vice-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, commander of the combined fleet, detached sixteen ships of the line in pursuit, two hours after Collingwood had slowly sailed towards the Strait of Gibraltar. Once he reached the entrance to the Strait, he ordered his ships to turn about, streamed signal flags as if to a friendly fleet in the strait and ordered ''Colossus'' to close with the advancing Franco-Spanish ships, to give the appearance of reconnoitering in anticipation of a battle. The allied fleet turned away and entered Cádiz harbour.<ref>Adams, pp. 197–199</ref><ref>Clayton & Craig, p. 4</ref>
===Battle of Trafalgar=== {{main|Trafalgar campaign}} [[File:Trafalgar 1200hr.svg|thumb|Artist's conception of the situation at noon as ''Royal Sovereign'' was breaking into the Franco-Spanish line. The depiction of Nelson's northern column is incorrect as he aimed much closer to the leading ships, before turning south and paralleling the Franco-Spanish line before turning east towards the French flagship, the 86-gun {{ship|French ship|Bucentaure|1803|2}}.]] [[File:Richard Henry Nibbs (1816-1893) - The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 - BHC0555 - Royal Museums Greenwich.jpg|thumb|The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October. On the left the French ''Swiftsure'', next to her the Spanish ''Bahama'', then the ''Colossus'' firing into the French ''Argonaute''. Painting by Richard Henry Nibbs]]
In the days before the battle, ''Colossus'' was part of the chain of ships relaying signals to Vice-Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, commander of the British fleet, from the frigates closest to Cádiz.<ref>Goodwin, pp. 72–73</ref> Disregarding the traditional tactic of sailing in parallel lines, Nelson decided that he would form his ships into two columns in line ahead that would break through the enemy's line and allow his ships to defeat them in detail because the foremost ships would require a significant amount of time to turn around so they could engage his ships. The leading ships in each column would have to bear the brunt of the enemy's fire until the breakthrough so Nelson decided his largest and most durable ships would lead the columns. He chose to lead the windward (northern) column in his flagship, {{HMS|Victory}}, and Collingwood would lead the leeward (southern) column in his flagship, {{HMS|Royal Sovereign|1786|2}}. ''Colossus'' was the sixth ship in line behind the latter ship.<ref>Adkins, pp. 57–58, 94</ref>
The ship closed to within firing range of the combined fleet about 1300, an hour after ''Royal Sovereign'' had broken the Franco-Spanish battle line. ''Colossus''{{'}}s opening salvo from her port double-shotted guns struck ''Swiftsure'', 74, and killed 17 men aboard the French ship. ''Colossus'' continued to engage ''Swiftsure'' even after the French 74-gun ''Argonaute'' collided with the British ship's starboard side in the smoke, entangling their yardarms. ''Argonaute'' initially fired a double-shotted broadside into ''Colossus'' and they continued to exchange fire at point-blank range. The British ship's carronades swept the ''Argonaute''{{'}}s upper deck clear of her crew who withdrew below decks, preparing to board the British ship. After about a half hour of action, the ships drifted apart before the French could make their attempt. Morris claimed that ''Argonaute'' was reduced to firing only a single gun from her stern cabin as they separated.<ref>Clayton & Craig, pp. 196–197</ref><ref name=g3>Goodwin, p. 73</ref>
While ''Colossus'' was firing at ''Argonaute'', she was engaging both ''Swiftsure'' and the Spanish ''Bahama'', 74, on her other side, concentrating her fire on the latter. After about two hours, ''Colossus'' had temporarily silenced most of ''Swiftsure''{{'}}s guns and knocked down her main topmast, which caused her to drift astern. The British ship had caused ''Bahama''{{'}}s mizzen and mainmast, killed her captain, Brigadier Dionisio Alcalá Galiano. The sailcloth and rigging from the masts had fallen over many of the ship's guns which prevented them from firing and a council of the surviving ship's officers decided to surrender.<ref>Clayton & Craig, pp. 228–229</ref><ref name=g3/>
After ''Bahama'' had surrendered, ''Swiftsure''{{'}}s crew had managed to get her under control and attempted to rake ''Colossus''{{'}}s stern, but Morris had already begun his turn, swinging his stern away from the French ship, and fired a broadside that brought her mizzenmast down. The British 74 {{HMS|Orion|1787|2}} then appeared out of the smoke and delivered three broadsides that knocked down ''Swiftsure''{{'}}s mainmast, the ship's wheel and dismounted most of the guns on the upper deck. The ship surrendered shortly afterwards. ''Colossus'' was in bad shape after these engagements, her mizzenmast had been lost late in her duel with ''Swiftsure'' and her rigging and remaining masts had been badly damaged. Her crew sustained the most casualties of any British ship in the battle, with 40 killed and 160 wounded, including Morris who was hit by a grazing shot outside his knee from one of ''Argonaute{{'}}s'' guns. He refused medical treatment and used a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.<ref>Clayton & Craig, pp. 197, 230–231</ref><ref>Goodwin, pp. 73–74</ref> The ship had to be towed after the battle by the 64-gun {{HMS|Agamemnon|1781|2}}.<ref>Clayton & Craig, p. 265</ref>
==War of 1812== On 24 March 1812 ''Colossus'' in company with {{HMS|Tonnant|1798|2}}, {{HMS|Hogue|1811|2}}, {{HMS|Poictiers|1809|2}} and {{HMS|Bulwark|1807|2}} captured the ''Emilie''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16705|date=20 February 1813|page=381}}</ref>
On 5 January 1813 ''Colossus'', the frigate {{ship|French frigate|Rhin|1802|2}} and the brig {{HMS|Goldfinch|1808|2}} captured the American ship ''Dolphin''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16768|page=1710|date=28 August 1813}}</ref> A little over a month later, on 11 February, ''Rhin'' and ''Colossus'' captured the American ship ''Print''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16782|page=1946|date=28 September 1813}}</ref>
==Fate== In 1815 ''Colossus'' was placed in ordinary at Chatham. She was broken up on 8 February 1826.<ref name="Lavery, SoLv1 p184">Lavery, p. 184</ref>
==Citations== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==References== {{Commons category}} *{{cite book |last1=Adams |first1=Max |title=Admiral Collingwood: Nelson's own Hero |date=2005 |publisher=Orion Books |isbn=0-3043-6729-X}} * {{cite book |last1=Adkin |first1=Mark |title=The Trafalgar Companion: A Guide to History's Most Famous Sea Battle and the Life of Admiral Lord Nelson |date=2005 |publisher=Aurum Press |isbn=1-84513-018-9|url=https://archive.org/details/trafalgarcompani0000adki|url-access=registration}} *{{cite book |last1=Adkins |first1=Roy |title=Trafalgar: The Biography of a Battle |date=2004 |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=0-316-72511-0}} *{{cite book |editor1-last=Clarke |editor1-first=James Stanier |editor2-last=McArthur |editor2-first=John |title=The Naval Chronicle: Containing a General and Biographical History of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom with a Variety of Original Papers on Nautical Subjects: Volume 10: July–December 1803 |orig-year=1803 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-01849-4|date=2010|name-list-style=amp}} * {{cite book |last= Clayton |first=Tim |last2=Craig|first2= Phil| title=Trafalgar: The Men, the Battle, the Storm | publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |year=2005 |isbn=0-340-83028-X|name-list-style=amp}} *{{cite book |last1=Colledge |first1=J. J. |title=Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present |date=2020 |publisher=Seaforth Publishing|isbn=978-1-5267-9327-0 |edition=5th revised and updated|first2=Ben|last2=Warlow|first3=Steve|last3=Bush|name-list-style=amp}} * {{cite book |last= Goodwin|first=Peter|year=2005|title=The Ships of Trafalgar: The British, French and Spanish Fleets October 1805|publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn= 1-59114-824-3}} *{{cite book |last1=James |first1=William |title=The Naval History of Great Britain during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars |date=2002 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |isbn=0-85177-907-7|volume=3: 1801–1805|author-link=William James (naval historian)|orig-year=1837}} *{{cite book |last1=Lavery |first1=Brian |title=The Ship of the Line|volume=1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650-1850 |date=1984 |publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-85177-252-8|author-link= Brian Lavery}} *{{cite book |last1=Parkinson |first1=C. Northcote |title=Edward Pellew, Viscount Exmouth, Admiral of the Red |date=1934 |publisher=Methuen & Co.|author-link=C. Northcote Parkinson|oclc=5471901}} * {{cite book |first=Rif|last=Winfield|title=British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates|publisher=Seaforth|year=2008|isbn=978-1-84415-717-4|edition=2nd, revised|orig-year=2005}}
== External links == * [http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/info.php?ref=0550 ''Colossus'' (74) (1803)]. Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colossus (1803)}} Category:1803 ships Category:Ships built in Deptford Category:Ships of the line of the Royal Navy