On Thursday afternoon, (July 27, [1848]), at half-past two o'clock, the 50-gun frigate Indefatigable was launched from Her Majesty's Dockyard, Devonport. She was named by Miss Louis, daughter of Rear-Admiral Sir John Louis, Bart., Superintendent of this Dockyard. The wind was very high, and the weather frequently very threatening ; nevertheless there was a vast concourse of persons assembled. This noble frigate has been constructed after a design and under the superintendence of the present master shipwright, Wm. Edye, Esq. Her dimensions are:-

Length from the figure head to stern, 215 feet ;
length on the upper deck, 189 feet 6 inches ;
breadth, extreme, 51 feet 6 inches;
depth in hold, 16 feet 6 inches.
Burthen in tons, No. 2043.

Armament:

Quarter-deck and forecastle guns, 22 x 32-pounders ; weight, 45 cwt. ; length, 3 feet 5 inches.
Main-deck guns, 8-inch diameter, shot and shells, 28 x 56-pounders ; weight, 65 cwt.; length, 9 feet.
Total armament 50.
The weight of shot that could be discharged in one broadside from this ship would be 2272 lbs., equal to 1 ton 0 cwt. 1 qr. 4 lbs.

When a frigate of these dimensions was first proposed to the Admiralty, in 1820, it was deemed too large. However, a finer specimen of naval architecture than the Indefatigable displays, it would be difficult, perhaps, to produce. She was commenced in August of 1846. Her armament makes her superior to every ship of her class, she possesses proportions of most beautiful exactitude.

SG & SGTL ; Vol 5 ; pages 311-2.

^ back to top ^