HMS Trincomalee Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids History
Trincomalee in her current location in Hartlepool
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Trincomalee
Operator	National Museum of the Royal Navy
Ordered	30 October 1812
Builder	Wadia Group
Cost	£23,000
Laid down	25 April 1816
Launched	12 October 1817
Out of service	1986
Renamed	Foudroyant: 1903 Trincomalee: 1992
Homeport	National Museum of the Royal Navy, Hartlepool, England
Status	Museum ship
General characteristics
Class and type	Leda-class frigate
Tons burthen	1065.63 bm
Length	150 ft 4.5 in (45.834 m) (gundeck) 125 ft 7.25 in (38.2842 m) (keel)
Beam	39 ft 11.25 in (12.1730 m)
Depth of hold	12 ft 9 in (3.89 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	315 officers and men
Armament	38-guns: (classed as 46 as carronades were counted in armament from 1817) Gundeck: 28 × 18-pounders Quarterdeck: 14 × 32-pounder carronades Forecastle: 2 × 9-pounders 2 × 32-pdr carronades

HMS Trincomalee is a famous Royal Navy sailing ship. She is a Leda-class type of ship. She was built right after the Napoleonic Wars ended. Today, Trincomalee is a museum ship that floats in the water. You can visit her at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Hartlepool, England.

The Story of HMS Trincomalee
Gallery
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The Story of HMS Trincomalee

Building a Ship: 1812–1847

Trincomalee is one of only two British frigates from her time that still exist. Her sister ship, HMS Unicorn, is also a museum ship in Dundee. The order to build Trincomalee was given on October 30, 1812.

She was built in Bombay, India, by the Wadia Group. They were a family of skilled shipbuilders. They used strong teak wood because there was not enough oak in Britain. This was due to all the ships being built for the Napoleonic Wars. The ship was named Trincomalee after a sea battle in 1782. This battle happened near a port called Trincomalee in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

Work on Trincomalee started in May 1816. A special silver nail was hammered into the ship's keel. This was a tradition for the Parsi Zoroastrian people. They believed it was important for the ship's good luck. Building Trincomalee cost about £23,000. This would be around £2,015,000 today. She was launched into the water on October 12, 1817.

Commander Philip Henry Bridges sailed her to Portsmouth Dockyard. She arrived there on April 30, 1819. The journey cost £6,600. On her first trip, the ship stopped at Saint Helena in January 1819. She stayed for six days. A surgeon who had cared for Napoleon joined the ship there.

After more work and costs, Trincomalee was put into a reserve fleet. This means she was kept ready but not actively used. This lasted until 1845. Then, she was updated with fewer but more powerful guns. Her back part was also reshaped. She was then called a sixth-rate spar-decked corvette.

Years of Service: 1847–1895

Trincomalee left Portsmouth in 1847. She served for ten years in the North America and West Indies Station. During this time, she helped calm riots in Haiti. She also stopped a planned invasion of Cuba. She even helped patrol against slavery.

In 1849, she went to Newfoundland and Labrador. She was called back to Britain in 1850. In 1852, she sailed to join the Pacific Squadron. This was on the west coast of America. When she returned to England in 1857, she was put back into reserve.

In 1860, Trincomalee was prepared for a new role. In January 1861, she was towed to Sunderland. She became a support ship for HMS Castor (1832). Castors job was to train young Naval Volunteers. These boys were 15 to 16 years old. They would serve for 10 years once they turned 18. During this time, Trincomalees gun openings were changed. This was to fit different types of training guns. In 1862, she moved to West Hartlepool. It was the third largest port in Britain then. She was moored there to become an independent training ship.

Renamed Foudroyant

Trincomalee finished her Royal Navy service as a training ship. She was put into reserve again in 1895. Two years later, on May 19, 1897, she was sold to be broken up. But a man named Geoffry Wheatly Cobb bought her. He had her restored and renamed her Foudroyant. This was to honor HMS Foudroyant, another ship he owned that had been wrecked.

She was used with HMS Implacable. She served as a place to live, a training ship, and a holiday ship. She was based in Falmouth and later Milford Haven.

She remained in service until 1986. After that, she was restored again. In 1992, her name was changed back to Trincomalee.

A Museum Ship Today

HMS Trincomalee, stern quarter

Trincomalee is now part of the National Historic Fleet. After her recent restoration, she is the main attraction. She is at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Hartlepool.

Trincomalee is special because she is the oldest British warship still floating. HMS Victory, which is 52 years older, is in a dry dock.

A painter from Falmouth, Henry Scott Tuke, used the ship and its trainees in his art. He did this until he passed away in 1929.