Spanish ship Neptuno (1795)

rdf:langString Spanish ship Neptuno (1795)

rdf:langString Neptuno

rdf:langString *80 guns: *Lower gundeck: 28 × 24 pdrs *Upper gundeck: 30 × 24 pdrs *Quarterdeck: 14 × 8 pdrs *Forecastle: 4 × 8 pdrs *Poop deck: 4 × 18 pdr carronades

rdf:langString Royal Dockyard, Ferrol

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rdf:langString Neptuno

rdf:langString *Participated in: *Battle of Trafalgar

rdf:langString Sails

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rdf:langString Neptuno was an 80-gun Montañes-class ship of the line of the Spanish Navy. She was built in 1795 and took part in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. She fought with the Franco-Spanish fleet in the battle of Trafalgar, and was wrecked in its aftermath. Neptuno was built at Ferrol and launched in 1795. She entered service in time to support an attempt to unite with a French force and land troops in England, but the Spanish fleet under Admiral José de Córdoba y Ramos was intercepted and engaged by a British fleet under Sir John Jervis. Neptuno did not take part in the battle, having been sent into port beforehand. Several years later she was in a Spanish port when the combined Franco-Spanish fleet under Vice-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve arrived, having sailed to the West Indies and back, and been engaged by a British fleet in the Battle of Cape Finisterre. Neptuno joined the fleet in her attempt to reach Brest, but the plan to join with another French fleet failed and Neptuno ended up with the rest of the fleet, blockaded in Cadiz by a British fleet under Lord Nelson. Villeneuve came out of Cadiz in late 1805, and was engaged by Nelson in the decisive Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October. As the lead ship of the line, Neptuno was initially isolated from the main fighting, though she joined in an attempt later in the day to come to the aid of Villeneuve's flagship. Instead she became trapped and engaged by two British ships and, after fighting for over an hour, surrendered. She was taken in hand by a British prize crew, but two days after the battle a sortie by some of the survivors from the battle succeeded in retaking her. She was towed towards a friendly port but, already badly damaged in the battle, was caught up in the powerful storm that struck the area and ran aground. Her crew were evacuated, and Neptuno broke up in the heavy seas.