Nelson-class ship of the line

Designed as a joint effort between the two co-Surveyors of the Navy, Robert Seppings and Joseph Tucker, the ships measured on the gun deck and on the keel. They had a beam of , a depth of hold of and had a tonnage of 2,601 tons burthen. Their crew numbered 875 officers and ratings. The ships were armed with 120 muzzle-loading, smoothbore guns that consisted of thirty-two 32-pounder guns on the lower gun deck, thirty-four 24-pounder gun on the middle gun deck and thirty-four 18-pounder guns on the upper gun deck. Their forecastles mounted a pair of 12-pounder guns and two 32-pounder carronades. On their quarterdeck they carried six 12-pounders and ten 32-pounder carronades. Above the quarterdeck was the poop deck with half-a-dozen 18-pounder carronades. By 1840, the surviving ships had been rearmed with thirty 32-pounders and two shell guns on the lower gun deck, thirty-two 32-pounders and two 8-inch shell guns on the middle gun deck and the upper gun deck. On the forecastle a pair of 32-pounders and two 32-pounder carronades while the quarterdeck had four 32-pounders and a dozen 32-pounder carronades. He ordered Nelson to be razeed and converted into an 89-gun, two-deck, second rate in 1859 along the lines of 's very successful conversion. This involved lengthening the ship to at the gun deck and at the keel. Her beam increased to and her depth of hold to . Her tonnage modestly increased to 2,736 tons burthen and she (displaced) . Nelson now had a draught of forward and aft. The ship was fitted with a 500-nominal horsepower, two-cylinder, horizontal-return, connecting rod-steam engine. It used steam provided by four fire-tube boilers The lower gun deck armament of the converted ship consisted of thirty-two 8-inch (65 cwt) shell guns and the upper gun deck had thirty-four 32-pounders (56 cwt). The combined armament of the forecastle and quarterdeck totalled twenty-two 32-pounders (42 cwt) and a single 68-pounder (95 cwt) pivot gun. When Nelson was transferred to Australia in 1867 as a training ship, she was rearmed with a pair of RML 7-inch gun| and twenty 64-pounder rifled muzzle-loading guns. The ship was also equipped with twenty 32-pounders. ==Ships==

The only time that Nelson used her sails before she was converted into a steam-propelled ship of the line was when she sailed to Portsmouth to be placed in ordinary in 1814. The ship received a "Very Large Repair" between October 1825 and September 1828 during which she was roofed over fore and aft and had her hull "doubled" by adding an extra layer of wood. The doubling was removed in September 1837. Nelson was refitted as an "Advanced ship" in April–June 1846 so she could be activated more quickly, which meant that all of her guns were aboard and more of her masts were fitted; the rest of her rigging and stores were in a designated warehouse. Walker ordered Nelson to be converted to steam power in February 1859 and she was completed in September 1860, the only ship launched before the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 to be converted. Shen was placed in ordinary upon her completion in 1815 and was refitted at Sheerness Dockyard from September 1823 to April 1824. The ship was refitted again at Chatham from October 1832 to July 1833. She was commissioned in 1835 to serve as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Charles Fleeming, Commander-in-Chief, The Nore at Sheerness. Howe was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1840 and became the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Mason, second-in-command of the fleet the following year. The ship returned home in 1843 and was placed in ordinary although she was designated as an "Advanced ship". Howe was recommissioned in 1847 and returned to the Mediterranean the following year, before returning home in 1850. The ship was in ordinary until 1853; her demolition at Sheerness was completed the following year. Like her sister ships, St Vincent was placed in ordinary upon her completion. She had a "Very Small Repair" at Plymouth from June to October 1823 and was refitted to serve as a guard ship from September 1829 to May 1830. The ship was commissioned while the refit was in progress and briefly served as the flagship for Admiral Lord Northesk, Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth and his successor Admiral Sir Thomas Foley. St Vincent became the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Hotham, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, in 1831 and returned home in 1834 and was placed back in ordinary. The ship had a "Small Repair" and was served as a demonstration flagship from 1839 to 1843. During this time St Vincent was detached for several months each of the year from 1844 to 1846 to participate in sailing trials with the Experimental Squadrons. In February 1858 St Vincent became the flagship of Rear-Admiral George Grey, Admiral Superintendent at Portsmouth, while also serving as a depot ship for the Reserve fleet. She became a boys' training ship at the beginning of 1862 and continued on that duty until she was sold for scrap in 1906. The ship arrived at Falmouth later that year to begin demolition. ==Notes==