HMS Goliath (1781)
| History | |
|---|---|
 UK
|
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| Name: | HMS Goliath |
| Ordered: | 21 February 1778 |
| Builder: | Deptford Dockyard |
| Laid down: | 10 April 1779 |
| Launched: | 19 October 1781 |
| Honours and awards: |
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| Fate: | Broken up, 1815 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Arrogant class ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 1604 bm |
| Length: | 168 ft (51 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 46 ft 9 in (14.25 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Complement: | 584 officers and men |
| Armament: | |
HMS Goliath was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line in the Royal Navy. She was launched on 19 October 1781 at Deptford Dockyard. She was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, Battle of the Nile, and Battle of Copenhagen. She was broken up in 1815.
She is recorded as entering Portsmouth Harbour on 24 September 1785. She is also recorded as being at the Tagus on 21 December 1796, when the Mediterranean Fleet arrived, and sailed from there on the following 20 January with a Portuguese convoy. On 6 February, she was joined off Cape St Vincent by a squadron detached from the Channel Fleet, and was present with it at Jervis's action against the Spanish on 14 February 1797. She was commanded during that action by Captain Charles H. Knowles, and lost only 8 wounded and none killed. However, Jervis called Knowles 'an imbecile, totally incompetent; the Goliath no use whatever under his command,' and so after the battle Knowles was ordered to exchange ships with Captain Thomas Foley of Britannia. Foley restored Goliath to order whilst Britannia slid under Knowles.
She then sailed on 31 March 1797 from Lisbon to blockade (and, on 3 July), bombard Cadiz. She sailed away from the Cadiz area on 24 May 1798 with a squadron of 10 ships of the line to join Nelson's squadron in the Mediterranean in searching for the French fleet transporting Bonaparte to Egypt, arriving with them on 7 June. She was thus present at the Battle of the Nile on 1 August, at which Foley deduced that there was enough room to sail between the shore and the stationary anchored French ships. Four other ships followed, and it was this move that can be said to have won the battle. After it, on 19 August, she and Zealous, Swiftsure, Seahorse, Emerald, Alcmene, and Bonne Citoyenne left Aboukir Bay to cruise off the port of Alexandria. There, on 25 August, her boats captured the French armed ketch Torride from under the guns of Abukir Castle; the royal Navy took Torride into service. Goliath then remained stationed off Alexandria until at least the end of 1798.
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Wikipedia