British flagship found in dock with no engine

A heavily armed Royal Navy vessel that has been drydocked in Portsmouth for an extended period is at the centre of a scandal this morning after it emerged the ship has no engine.

The vessel, bristling with more than 100 guns, has been in Portsmouth for some time. Now, with no engine, there are fears she may never sail again. We understand that the Admiralty considers the vessel too old to be fitted with engines at this stage, particularly given her current condition and the extent of work required to return her to sea.

The UK Defence Journal understands that plans were once considered to repurpose the ship as a floating depot and, at one stage, as a prison vessel. The vessel has been the flagship of the First Sea Lord since October 2012. Prior to this, she was the flagship of the Second Sea Lord.

Concerns about the ship’s ability to remain afloat are not new. She was moved into No. 2 Dry Dock in Portsmouth in 1922 after her condition deteriorated to the point that she could no longer safely stay in the water, and she has remained there ever since. There has, however, been little operational urgency. With the United Kingdom and France largely on good terms in recent years, officials are said to have seen no pressing requirement to return the vessel to active service.

The ship is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line, displacing around 3,500 tonnes and measuring 186 feet along the gundeck, with an overall length of 227 feet 6 inches. With a beam of 51 feet 10 inches and a draught of 28 feet 9 inches, she was designed for sail propulsion, carrying some 6,510 square yards of canvas under a full-rigged plan and capable of speeds of up to 11 knots. Her complement stood at approximately 850 personnel, with armament at Trafalgar including 32-pounders, 24-pounders, 12-pounders and carronades distributed across multiple decks.

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