Union original body plan
History
Great Britain
NameHMS Union
Ordered12 July 1750
BuilderChatham Dockyard
Launched25 September 1756
FateBroken up, 1816
General characteristics [1]
Class and type1750 amendments 90-gun second rate ship of the line
Tons burthen1781
Length171 ft (52.1 m) (gundeck)
Beam48 ft 6 in (14.8 m)
Depth of hold20 ft 6 in (6.2 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 90 guns:
  • Gundeck: 26 × 32 pdrs
  • Middle gundeck: 26 × 18 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 26 × 12 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 10 × 6 pdrs
  • Forecastle: 2 × 6 pdrs

HMS Union was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 25 September 1756.[1]

In 1756, one of the midshipmen on the Union was John Hunter, later to become an admiral and the second Governor of New South Wales.[2] On 1 August 1757 Arthur Phillip, who was to become the first Governor of New South Wales, joined the crew with the new commander.[3]

The results (published in 1796) of an experiment made at the desire of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, on board the Union hospital ship, to determine the effect of the nitrous acid in destroying contagion, and the safety with which it may be employed were given in a letter addressed to the Right Hon. Earl Spencer, by James Carmichael Smyth, M. D. F.R.S., Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and Physician Extraordinary to His Majesty, published with the approbation of the lords commissioners of the Admiralty.[4]

In 1799, Union was converted to serve as a hospital ship.

In February 1802, she became a receiving ship and was renamed Sussex under Lieutenant John Rickman. In May 1807 Rickman was superseded by Lieutenant William Cockraft until she was paid off in Ordinary in March 1816. In October of that year she was broken up at Chatham.[1]

Union hospital ship, upper deck plan
Hospital, middle deck plan

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p174.
  2. ↑ Auchmuty, J.J. (1966). "Hunter, John (1737–1821)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  3. ↑ Hiscocks, Richard (2018). "Phillip, Arthur". morethannelson.com. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  4. ↑ Smyth, James Carmichael (1796). An account of the experiment made at the desire of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, on board the Union hospital ship, to determine the effect of the nitrous acid in destroying contagion, and the safety with which it may be employed. In a letter addressed to the Right Hon. Earl Spencer. By James Carmichael Smyth, M. D. F.R.S., Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and Physician Extraordinary to His Majesty, published with the approbation of the lords commissioners of the Admiralty. J. Johnson, in St. Paul's Church-Yard. Retrieved 8 August 2018.

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.


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