HMS Centurion (1844)

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

History
United Kingdom
Name	Centurion
Ordered	18 March 1839
Builder	Pembroke Dockyard
Laid down	July 1839
Launched	2 May 1844
Completed	10 June 1844 (in ordinary)
Fate	Sold for scrap, 19 March 1870
General characteristics
Class and type	Vanguard-class ship of the line
Tons burthen	2589 94⁄94 bm
Length	190 ft (57.9 m) (gundeck)
Beam	57 ft 1 in (17.4 m)
Draught	18 ft 10 in (5.7 m)
Depth of hold	23 ft 4 in (7.1 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	720 (wartime)
Armament	78 guns: Gundeck: 26 × 32 pdrs, 2 × 68 pdr carronades Upper gundeck: 26 × 32 pdrs, 2 × 68 pdr carronades Quarterdeck: 14 × 32 pdrs Forecastle: 2 × 32 pdrs, 2 × 32 pdr carronades Poop deck: 4 × 18 pdr carronades

HMS Centurion was a 80-gun second rate Vanguard-class ship of the line built for the Royal Navy in the 1840s.

Description

The Vanguard class was designed by Sir William Symonds, Surveyor of the Navy, with each ship built with a slightly different hull shape to evaluate their speed and handling characteristics. Centurion had a length at the gundeck of 190 feet 8 inches (58.1 m) and 153 feet 5 inches (46.8 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 57 feet 1 inch (17.4 m), a draught of 18 feet 10 inches (5.7 m) and a depth of hold of 23 feet 4 inches (7.1 m). The ship's tonnage was 2,589 83⁄94 tons burthen. The Vanguards had a wartime crew of 720 officers and ratings.

The Vanguard class ships of the line were armed with twenty 32-pounder (56 cwt) cannon and two 68-pounder carronades on her lower gundeck, twenty-eight 32-pounder (50 cwt) cannon and another pair of 68-pounder carronades on the upper gundeck. On her quarterdeck were fourteen 32-pounder (42 cwt) cannon and on the forecastle deck were eight more 32-pounder (42 cwt) cannon.

Modifications

When Centurion was ordered to be modified for steam propulsion in 1854, she was fitted with a two-cylinder horizontal steam engine of 400 nominal horsepower that drove a single propeller shaft. On trials the engine produced 1,255 indicated horsepower (936 kW) which gave the ship a speed of 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph).

Construction and career

Centurion and HMS Royal Albert attempt to save a man overboard, during the passage to Corfu, circa 1857-58, as sketched by Capt. Egerton of the Royal Albert

Centurion was ordered from Pembroke Dockyard on 18 March 1839 and laid down the following July. She was launched on 2 May 1844 and completed on 10 June. The ship was not fitted out and Centurion was placed in ordinary. Her construction cost £57,386. Between September 1854 and November 1855, she was fitted with steam propulsion.

Centurion was sold for scrap on 19 March 1870, for a price of £8200.

References

• 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.
• Lecky, Halton Sterling (1913). The King's Ships: Vol II. London: Horace Muirhead.
• Lyon, David & Winfield, Rif (2004). The Sail & Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-032-9.
• Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793-1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.