British Third Rate ship of the line 'Puissant' (1793)

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Puissant
Nominal Guns	74	BWAS-1793
Nationality	Great Britain
Operator	Royal Navy
Previously	French Third Rate ship of the line 'Puissant' (1782) (74) 1782-1793 French 74 Gun 3rd Rate Ship of the Line
Captured	29.8.1793	BWAS-1793
First Commissioned	4.1796	BWAS-1793
Shipyard	Lorient - Brittany
Category	Third Rate	BWAS-1793
Ship Type	Ship of the Line	BWAS-1793
Sailing Rig	Ship Rigged	BWAS-1793
Sold	11.7.1816	BWAS-1793

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentBWAS-1793
Length of Gundeck178' 9"Imperial Feet54.2573
Length of Keel146' 5 ½"Imperial Feet44.5135
Breadth48' 0 ¾"Imperial Feet14.6495
Depth in Hold21' 4"Imperial Feet6.5024
Burthen1,799 ⁴⁹⁄₉₄Tons BM

8 Ship Commanders

DatesRankNameSource
4.1796 - 1797CommanderBWAS-17931797 - 3.1798CommanderBWAS-17933.1799 - 10.1799LieutenantBWAS-179310.1799 - 1801CommanderBWAS-17931803 - 1810CommanderBWAS-17931803LieutenantBWAS-17931811 - 1812CaptainBWAS-17939.1812 - 10.1815CaptainBWAS-1793

1 Flag Officer

DatesRankNameSource
9.1812 - 10.1815Admiral of the BlueBWAS-1793

1 Commissioned Officer

DatesRankNameSource
12.1.1814 - 1814LieutenantNBD1849

2 Warrant Officers

DatesRankNameSource
3.1.1799 - 20.5.1802MasterADM 29-112.9.1809 - 31.12.1815BoatswainNAO

6 Petty Officers

DatesRatingNameSource
11.1801 - 5.1803MidshipmanNBD18494.1804 - 18.3.1805MidshipmanNBD18491809MidshipmanNBD18491809 - 2.1810MidshipmanNBD18497.1809 - 3.1810MidshipmanNBD184917.4.1813 - 20.6.1813SupernumeraryADM 29/8

1 Crewman

DatesRatingNameSource
6.1.1807 - 5.1808Ordinary SeamanNBD1849

Service History

DateEventSource
3.5.1794Arrived at PortsmouthBWAS-1793
2.1796Began fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth BWAS-1793
4.1796Refitted as a Other Vessels Receiving Ship
6.1796Completed fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth at a cost of £10044.0.0dBWAS-1793
1803Refitted as a Other Vessels Sheer Hulk
9.1812Refitted as a Other Vessels Receiving Ship
11.7.1816Sold for £2,250BWAS-1793

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

ADM 29-1 Document

ADM 29/8 Archive

BWAS-1793Rif Winfield, Book

NAOVarious, Web Site

NBD1849O'Brien, Digital Book

Previous comments on this page

Posted by Jon Miller on Tuesday 2nd of June 2026 01:42

Portsmouth, 10 January 1802: There are now two men under sentence of death on board the Puissant sheer-hulk. One is for mutiny on board the Glenmore frigate, and the other for the same crime on board the Hermoine. [Kentish Post, 15 January 1802]

Posted by keith wilkie on Monday 15th of September 2025 12:40

Daniel Wilkie, Carpenter's Crew 1802 ADM35/1303

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