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HMS ''Temeraire'' was a 98-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Launched in 1798, she served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, mostly on blockades or convoy escort duties. She fought only one fleet action, the Battle of Trafalgar, but became so well known for her actions and her subsequent depictions in art and literature that she has been remembered as "The Fighting Temeraire". Built at Chatham Dockyard, ''Temeraire'' entered service on the Brest blockade with the Channel Fleet. Missions were tedious and seldom relieved by any action with the French fleet. The first incident of note came when several of her crew, hearing rumours they were to be sent to the West Indies at a time when peace with France seemed imminent, refused to obey orders. This act of mutiny eventually failed and a number of those responsible were tried and executed. Laid up during the Peace of Amiens, ''Temeraire'' returned to active service with the resumption of the wars with France, again serving with the Channel Fleet, and joined Horatio Nelson's blockade of the Franco-Spanish fleet in Cadiz in 1805. At the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October, the ship went into action immediately astern of Nelson's flagship, . During the battle ''Temeraire'' came to the rescue of the beleaguered ''Victory'', and fought and captured two French ships, winning public renown in Britain. After undergoing substantial repairs, ''Temeraire'' was employed blockading the French fleets and supporting British operations off the Spanish coasts. She went out to the Baltic in 1809, defending convoys against Danish gunboat attacks, and by 1810 was off the Spanish coast again, helping to defend Cadiz against a French army. Her last action was against the French off Toulon, when she came under fire from shore batteries. The ship returned to Britain in 1813 for repairs, but was laid up. She was converted to a prison ship and moored in the River Tamar until 1819. Further service brought her to Sheerness as a receiving ship, then a victualling depot, and finally a guard ship. The Admiralty ordered her to be sold in 1838, and she was towed up the Thames to be broken up. This final voyage was depicted in a J. M. W. Turner oil painting greeted with critical acclaim, entitled ''The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last Berth to be broken up, 1838''. The painting continues to be held in high regard and was voted Britain's favourite painting in 2005. ==Construction and commissioning== ''Temeraire'' was ordered from Chatham Dockyard on 9 December 1790, to a design developed by Surveyor of the Navy Sir John Henslow.〔〔 She was one of three ships of the ''Neptune'' class, alongside her sisters and .〔 The keel was laid down at Chatham in July 1793. Her construction was initially overseen by Master Shipwright Thomas Pollard and completed by his successor Edward Sison. ''Temeraire'' was launched on 11 September 1798 and the following day was taken into the graving dock to be fitted for sea.〔 Her hull was fitted with copper sheathing, a process that took two weeks to complete. Refloated, she finished fitting out, and received her masts and yards. Her final costs came to £73,241, and included £59,428 spent on the hull, masts and yards, and a further £13,813 on rigging and stores.〔〔 She was commissioned on 21 March 1799 under Captain Peter Puget, becoming the second ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name ''Temeraire''.〔〔 Her predecessor had been the 74-gun third-rate , a former French ship taken as a prize at the Battle of Lagos on 19 August 1759 by a fleet under Admiral Edward Boscawen.〔〔 Puget was only in command until 26 July 1799, during which time he oversaw the process of fitting the new ''Temeraire'' for sea. He was superseded by Captain Thomas Eyles on 27 July 1799, while the vessel was anchored off St Helens, Isle of Wight. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMS Temeraire (1798)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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