HMS Benbow (1813)

History
UK
Name:	HMS Benbow
Ordered:	11 June 1808
Builder:	Brent, Rotherhithe
Laid down:	July 1808
Launched:	3 February 1813
Fate:	Broken up, 1895
Notes:	Coal hulk from August 1859
General characteristics [1]
Class and type:	Vengeur-class ship of the line
Tons burthen:	1773 bm
Length:	176 ft (54 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	47 ft 6 in (14.48 m)
Depth of hold:	21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	74 guns: Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounders Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pounders Quarterdeck: 4 × 12-pounders, 10 × 32-pounder carronades Forecastle: 2 × 12-pounders, 2 × 32-pounder carronades Poop deck: 6 × 18-pounder carronades

HMS Benbow was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Brent of Rotherhithe and launched on 3 February 1813.^[1]

In 1840 Benbow saw action in the bombardment of the city of Acre under the command of Admiral Robert Stopford. At the height of the battle either Benbow or the naval steamer HMS Gorgon fired the shell that destroyed Acre's powder magazine, causing an explosion that greatly weakened the city's defences.^[2]

Benbow was used for harbour service from February 1848 until August 1859, when she was converted to be used as a coal hulk. In 1892, after 79 years of service, she was sold out of the Navy, and was broken up in 1895 at Castle, Woolwich.^[1]

References

1. Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 189.
2. Kahanov 2014, p.152.

Bibliography

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
• Kahanov, Yaacov; Stern, Eliezer; Cvikel, Deborah; Me-Bar, Yoav (2014), "Between Shoal and Wall: The naval bombardment of Akko, 1840", The Mariner's Mirror, 100 (2): 147 – 167, doi:10.1080/00253359.2014.901699
• 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.