HMS Hero (1803)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Hero.

HMS Hero was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 August 1803 at Blackwall Yard.^[1]

The wreck of HMS Hero in the Texel, 25 December 1811
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Hero
Ordered	24 June 1800
Builder	Perry, Blackwall Yard
Laid down	August 1800
Launched	18 August 1803
Honours and awards	Participated in: Battle of Cape Finisterre
Fate	Wrecked, 1811
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Fame-class ship of the line
Tons burthen	1743 (bm)
Length	175 ft (53 m) (gundeck)
Beam	47 ft 6 in (14.48 m)
Depth of hold	20 ft 6 in (6.25 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	530
Armament	74 guns: Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pounder guns QD: 14 × 9-pounder guns Fc: 4 × 9-pounder guns

She took part in Admiral Robert Calder's action at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805.^[2] Later in the same year Hero was a part of the squadron commanded by Captain Sir Richard Strachan that won the Battle of Cape Ortegal.^[3]

On 25 December 1811 Hero, under captain James Newman-Newman, was wrecked on the Haak Sands at the mouth of the Texel during a gale, with the loss of all but 12 of her crew.^[2][4]

Memorial to the loss of the Hero in Fareham church

Citations

1. Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p185.
2. Michael Phillips. Hero (74) (1803). Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
3. Winfield, British Warships.
4. Gosset (1986), p. 92.

References

• Gosset, William Patrick (1986). The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900. Mansell. ISBN 0-7201-1816-6.
• 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.
• Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.