Spanish ship Fenix (1749)
Ship of the line Real Fénix by Rafael Berenguer, Naval Museum of Madrid
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| History | |
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 Spain
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| Name: | Fenix |
| Launched: | 1749 |
| Honours and awards: |
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| Captured: | 16 January 1780, by Royal Navy |
 United Kingdom
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| Name: | HMS Gibraltar |
| Acquired: | 16 January 1780 |
| Honours and awards: |
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| Fate: | Broken up, 1836 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 80-gun third rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 2,184 35⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: | 178 feet 10.75 inches (54.5 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 52 feet 11.75 inches (16.1 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 22 feet 1.75 inches (6.8 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament: | 80 guns of various weights of shot |
Fénix was an 80-gun ship of the line of the Spanish Navy, launched in 1749. As the flagship of Admiral Juan de Lángara, the ship fought at the Battle of Cape St Vincent on 16 January 1780, where she was captured by the Royal Navy and commissioned as the third rate HMS Gibraltar in March that year. She spent a short while in The Channel before joining Samuel Hood's squadron in the West Indies and taking part in the Capture of Sint Eustatius in February 1781 and the Battle of Fort Royal the following month.
Gibraltar and five other ships were sent to stop a French invasion fleet bound for Tobago in May 1781, but found the French too powerful and had to withdraw. In November, her 18-pound guns were replaced with twenty-fours, after which, in February 1782, she sailed to the East Indies and in the following year participated in the Battle of Cuddalore.
At the start of the French Revolutionary War, Gibraltar served in the Channel Fleet, fighting at the Glorious First of June in 1794 before being sent to the Mediterranean in May 1795. In June, the ship was in an action off Hyères; then in December 1796, she was badly damaged in a storm and had to return to England for major repairs. By June, Gibraltar was back in the Mediterranean, serving in the navy's Egyptian campaign, where she remained during and beyond the Peace of Amiens, except for a short period when she was sent home for a re-fit.
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Wikipedia