HMS Vanguard

Type

Ship of the Line

Period

18th Century

Nation

Great Britain

Overview: HMS Vanguard was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, most famous as Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's flagship at the Battle of the Nile in 1798. She was the sixth Royal Navy vessel to carry the name, and remains one of the most popular subjects among age-of-sail ship model kit makers due to her association with Nelson. Specifications: Vanguard was an Arrogant-class ship of the line, designed under Sir Thomas Slade (co-Surveyor of the Navy), one of the "common" type 74s carrying lighter guns than the "large" classes. She measured 168 ft 2 in on the gundeck with a 46 ft 10 in beam and a 19 ft 9 in depth of hold, at about 1,609 tons burthen, and carried 74 guns — 28 32-pounders on the lower gundeck, 28 18-pounders on the upper gundeck, and 9-pounders split between forecastle and quarterdeck — with a complement of roughly 600 men. Service History: Ordered in December 1779 and laid down at Deptford Dockyard in October 1782, Vanguard was launched on 6 March 1787 after a slow, peacetime build, and played only a minor role in the French Revolutionary Wars before Nelson hoisted his flag aboard her in December 1797 under flag captain Edward Berry. After losing her topmasts and foremast in a Mediterranean gale off the Gulf of Lion in May 1798, with HMS Alexander taking her in tow, she went on to lead Nelson's fleet at the decisive Battle of the Nile on 1 August 1798, where the French fleet was destroyed in Aboukir Bay. She later served as a prison ship from 1812 and a powder hulk from 1814 before being broken up in 1821. Notable Facts: Because the open stern gallery configuration and possible carronade additions during her 1797 refit are debated among historians, most kit manufacturers (including Amati's Victory Models range) depict her "as built" with an open stern gallery, since evidence for later modification is inconclusive. The same hull/kit series is often sold under alternate identities as sister ships HMS Elephant or HMS Bellerophon, making Vanguard a popular multi-build subject for modelers. Contemporary marine artist Nicholas Pocock, along with James Weir and others, produced several depictions of Vanguard during her Mediterranean and Nile service, and a well-known contemporary caricature also depicts Nelson and his men aboard Vanguard celebrating after the Nile victory.