Great Britain Lord Horatio Viscount Nelson's Flagship - The Foudroyant 1897  

• 1897 
• Commemorative tokens 
• United Kingdom 
• Copper 

5896715

Tokens / Medals

Great Britain Lord Horatio Viscount Nelson's Flagship - The Foudroyant 1897

1897

"Foudroyant", Lord Horatio Viscount Nelson's Flagship. Launched 1798 - Wrecked 1897

Horatio Viscount Nelson : Born 29th Sept. 1758 . Died 21st Oct. 1805

38

The Foudroyant - Commenced building in 1789 - Launched at Plymouth, April 1798 - Wrecked at Blackpool June 16th 1897 - Medal struck from copper of vessel after breaking up HMS Foudroyant was an 80-gun third rate of the Royal Navy, one of only two British-built 80-gun ships of the period. Foudroyant served Nelson as his flagship from 6 June 1799 until the end of June 1801. Although the Foudroyant was not involved in any major fleet action, she did provide invaluable service to numerous admirals throughout her years on active service. In her last years she became a training vessel for boys. Her designer was Sir John Henslow. She was named after the 80-gun Foudroyant, which Swiftsure and Monmouth, both 70-gun ships, and Hampton Court (64 guns), had captured from the French on 28 February 1758. Foudroyant was a one-off design. She followed French practice of favouring large two-decked, third rates mounting 80 guns rather than the typical British preference for building three-decked second-rate ships mounting 98 guns. The two ship types, despite the difference in absolute gun numbers, had similar gun power but the British thought the second rate had a more imposing appearance and some advantages in battle, while they considered the 80 gun ship as usually faster and less 'leewardly'. In 1862 she was converted into a gunnery training vessel, a role she fulfilled until 1884. She was thereafter stationed at Devonport on dockyard duties, and was attached as to tender to the gunnery schoolship HMS Cambridge. She was finally placed on the Sales List in 1891 and sold out of the service the following January for £2,350. Bought by J. Read of Portsmouth, she was promptly resold to German shipbreakers. This prompted a storm of public protest. Wheatley Cobb then bought her and used the ship as a boy's training vessel. To offset the restoration cost of £20,000, it was then decided to exhibit her at various seaside resorts. In June 1897 she was towed to Blackpool. On 16 June 1897 during a violent storm, she parted a cable and dragging the remaining anchor, went ashore on Blackpool Sands, damaging Blackpool North Pier in the process. The Blackpool lifeboat was able to rescue all 27 of her crew. After vain attempts to refloat her, her guns were removed and she was sold for ₤200. She finally broke up in the December gales.