Thanks PghBaldy. The ship might not have gone down if it had more than one horn. Seems like a good Digest ping as well.
Posted on 04/30/2021 6:06:39 PM PDT by PghBaldy
Perched on a pontoon above the chilly water of Dundee's Victoria Dock, surveyors are inspecting every section of one of the world's oldest ships.
HMS Unicorn has been a feature of the city since 1873, half a century after she was built at Chatham Dockyard in Kent.
The former training ship has weathered many storms, including almost being scrapped in the 1960s.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Thought of you when I saw this.
The Unicorn came off the slips and went straight into Ordinary. She never sailed under a commission pennant. Because of that, she came to be preserved, at least in her hull, frame and essential furniture. Much of the original construction can be seen today and ought to be conserved as a tribute to the Age of Sails.
The Unicorn is nice and is a fine example of British Ship building in the 1800s. Interesting, but I am not sure how much of a tourist attraction she would be except for Naval historical buffs, like me. In the early part of this Century, another Chief and I were visiting Portsmouth. We went on board the HMS Warrior. The first steel hulled ship in the Royal Navy. There were workers on the aft deck welding something or other. We were not sure by the way they looked at us if we were even supposed to be on board. So we just took a tour on our own. It was great there was nobody there and we climbed through every part of the ship like ship rats. Nobody stopped us so what the hell. Probably wrote us off as crazy Yanks. The Royal Navy has some really cool Museums.
I love the figurehead of the unicorn. Beautiful!
Wow.
"never fired a shot in battle"
"You can touch the guns used in the battle"
Can’t wait to hear Joe Biden’s war stories on how he saved the ship from an enemy.
We’ve got the USS Constellation (Baltimore) and the USS Constitution (Boston as I recall). Among the oldest actual fighting ships in the world, and in very good condition. Been on both.
I also have a souvenir coin made from a piece of the propeller of the USS Olympia (Spanish-American War), as well as photos of myself and a friend (Cub Scout visit) to the USS Pike submarine, WW2, also in Baltimore, and myself under the 12 inch guns of the Light Cruiser USS Baltimore, about 1952.
When you see these ships and read about them, you are learning about the creation of America, the defeat of the Spanish fleet under Adm. Dewey at Manila Bay, and the defeat of the Axis powers during WW2.
Anchors away my boys, anchors away!
Interesting story, but compared to the Victory she is a third rate ship that never fired a shot in battle.
The only US Naval ship afloat that has fired a shot in battle is the USS Constitution.
“The only US Naval ship afloat that has fired a shot in battle is the USS Constitution.”
I’m guessing you mean a sailing ship?
Thanks PghBaldy. The ship might not have gone down if it had more than one horn. Seems like a good Digest ping as well.
“Ah told the Cap’n to give ‘em two warning shots ‘cross the bows—blam! blam!—an’ away they skeddadled!”
Both:
"never fired a shot in battle" ~ HMS Unicorn
"You can touch the guns used in the battle" ~ HMS Victory
Ah, didn’t catch that part :P
Sometime British ship naming baffles me. Unicorn? My really cute 3 year old granddaughter gave me a unicorn sun catcher. Not sure how that translates to a man o’ war.
That’s probably why it was never sent into battle. “And we’ll assign the Unicorn to report on extinct mythical animals in the South Seas.”
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Read the Post
The Unicorn never fired a gun in battle
The Victory did and you can touch the guns used at the Battle of Trafalgar.
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