HMS Colossus (1787)
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The first HMS Colossus was a 74-gun ship of the line in the British Royal Navy.
Launched at Gravesend in 1787, on 6 June 1793, in the Bay of Biscay, Colossus captured Vanneau, a tiny ship with an armament of just 6 guns. The same year, she was part of a large fleet of 51 warships of numerous types, including a Spanish squadron, but commanded overall by Vice Admiral Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood.
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Siege of Toulon
The Fleet arrived off Toulon on August 26, 1793, with Lord Hood in the warship HMS Victory. The objective was to keep the French Fleet in check. In Toulon's port were 58 French warships, and Lord Hood was determined not to allow such a potent and dangerous fleet to be taken over by French revolutionary forces. The Bourbons, the Royalists of France, had managed to retain control of Toulon, a vital Mediterranean port. Upon the arrival of the British Fleet, the Bourbons duly surrendered the town and ships to Hood.
Sailors and Royal Marines began to land at Toulon from the ships of the Royal Navy Fleet, with the objective of taking possession of the key forts, in which they succeeded in doing so. The French Republican forces quickly mobilised, and began the siege of Toulon on 7th September. By 15th December, the British and Spanish withdrew, taking with them 15,000 Royalists, as well as destroying the dockyards and a large number of French warships.
In 1795, Colossus was once again part of a large fleet, this time of 25 ships commanded by Admiral Lord Bridport on his flagship of Royal George. A French Fleet, comprising 23 warships under the command of Rear-Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse were his opponents. The battle, known as the Battle of Groix. It was immense and chaotic, and raged across a vast area, yet it came to an indecisive end, when Lord Bridport ordered his Fleet to cease fighting at 7.15am, just four hours after the initial fighting had started. This decision allowed nine important French warships to escape. Colossus received damage, suffering three killed and thirty wounded. In total, British losses were 31 killed and 113 wounded. French losses are not known, though it is estimated over 670 French sailors were killed or wounded, during skirmishes that resulted in the capture of three French warships alone.
Though Colossus was involved in much bitter fighting, her Scots captain, John Monkton, ordered his kilt-wearing piper to proceed to the maintop mast staysail netting and play the pipes throughout the battle, no doubt to the bemusement of the French sailors that witnessed it.
Battle of Cape St. Vincent
In 1797, Colossus was involved in yet another large-scale clash of fleets, this time joining a 21-ship strong fleet (including 7 smaller craft), under the command of Admiral John Jervis in his his flagship HMS Victory, against a large Spanish Fleet of 27 ships commanded by Lieutenant-General Don Jose de Cordova, that would become known as the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797). During the battle, Colossus, under the command of Captain George Murrary, a close friend of Admiral Nelson, sustained serious damage, her sails being virtually shot away. It looked inevitable that she would be raked by Spanish warships, until HMS Orion headed for Colossus and covered her.
The battle was a major victory for the Royal Navy despite being outnumbered, in which four Spanish ships were captured and seven crippled, including the largest warship afloat at that time - the Santissima Trinidada. Britain lost approximately 300 killed or wounded, with the Spanish losing 1,092 killed or wounded, as well as 2,300 taken prisoner.
Other action
The following year, Colossus was part of a squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Lord Nelson, in his flagship of HMS Vanguard. They took part in the blockade of Malta, at that time under French occupation, and in the capture of Gozo, a small island near Malta. In the aftermath of the Battle of the Nile, Colossus was used as a transport, ferrying wounded soldiers from both sides, as well as captured treasure during the battle. Due to the damage that many British ships had received during the Battle of the Nile, Colossus and a number of other ships were 'cannabilised', with much of the ship's equipment was used to repair other ships.
The same year, HMS Colossus, while anchored at St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly, a strong gale occurred, her anchor cabled parted and the ship ran aground. No lives were lost in this incident.
Modern discovery
In the closing years of the 1960s, a diver known as Roland Morris began diving on the site, searching for much of the antiquities that Colossus had been transporting. In 1974, the diver discovered Colossus, as well as fragments from the collection of Sir Edward Hamilton, the man who had collected the antiquities that Colossus had been transporting. Many of the item that were found, were reconstructed and are now on display at the British Museum in London.
See also: HMS Colossus for other ships of the name.