HMS Albion
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There have been nine ships to bear the name of HMS Albion from a third-rate ship of the line to a commando carrier to the lead ship of today's Albion-class LPD's (Landing Platform Dock Ships). Albion is an archaic name for Great Britain, although often used to refer specifically to England.
- The first Albion was built in 1763 at Deptford being adapted from a design of the old 90-gun warship Neptune which had been built in 1719.
- The second Albion was a ship-rigged sloop of just 336 tons, and was an ex-merchant vessel bought by the Royal Navy, though she was privately owned in her previous role as a hired armed ship, she was manned by a Royal Navy crew. She had a powerful armament of 22 carronades, and was a competent convoy escort, but was eventually sold in 1803.
- The third Albion was launched at Perry's Yard at Blackwall on the Thames in June 1802. She was a third-rate, of 1729 tons with quite a large crew of 590 men.
- Both the fourth and fifth Albions were in service, while the third was still in commission. They were both cutters, being hired between 1803 and 1808, with the second from 1808 to 1812. They were quite tiny with a displacement of 80 tons and armed with six 4-pounder guns, with a small complement of 25 sailors.
- The sixth Albion was a second-rate warship and was the name of the class of 90-gun that included two others - the HMS Aboukir and HMS Exmouth. She was ordered in 1839 and was launched at Plymouth in September 1842, and was 204 feet long, with a displacement of 3083 tons and quite a large crew complement of 830.
- The seventh Albion was a Canopus-class pre-dreadnought of approximately 14,000 tonnes, with a main armament of 4 x 12 inch guns and was built by Thames Iron Works, launched in 1898, the launch marred by an accident claiming 38 lives when temporary staging carrying onlookers collapsed, commissioned in 1901, serving on the China Station until 1905.
- The eighth Albion was a 22,000 ton Centaur-class aircraft carrier.
- The ninth and current Albion is one of the newest additions to the Royal Navy and is the lead ship of a class of two Landing Platform Dock Ships (LPD's).
References
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