HMS OCEAN 1761 - 1783

The first OCEAN was a "wooden Wall, a 90 gun second rate, 176 x 49ft and built in Chatham Dockyard in 1761. From 1772 - 1776 she was the Flagship in Plymouth and in 1778 she joined the Channel Fleet which was then commanded by Admiral Keppel. The American War of Independence had been fought from 1775 and in February 1778 France made a Treaty of Commerce and Alliance with the Americans followed in the same year by a Declaration of War against England. HMS OCEAN, as part of the Fleet, participated in three encounters during this period. Admiral Augustus Keppel put to sea on 9th July 1778, with a fleet of ships including OCEAN commanded by Captain John Laforey. The French fleet, under the command of Admiral d'Orvilliers who had earlier left Brest was indecisive and there was no loss of ships on either side but the English casualties were higher than those of the French. The second foray occurred on 12th December 1781. A force of twelve of the line, commanded by Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt, intercepted a convoy of merchant ships bound for the West Indies carrying supplies and reinforcements. An escort of nineteen French naval vessels, under the command of Rear Admiral de Guichon accompanied them. The action was carried out 160 miles SW of Ushant and as the convoy was separated from the naval force they scattered but 15 prizes were captured by the English without loss. On 20th October 1782 the English fleet sprang into action once more. Admiral Viscount Howe with a force of thirty three ships, including OCEAN commanded by Captain George Ourry fought the combined force of French and Spanish ships in a successful action 45 miles off Cape Spartel. On 10th January 1783 OCEAN was paid off and later broke up at Plymouth in 1791.

HMS OCEAN 1795 - 1852

The second HMS OCEAN was built in Woolwich Dockyard and launched on 24th October 1795 and commissioned on 3rd December 1795. A second rate 98 gun, 197 x 52 ft and 4047BM. From 1806 - 1809 she was the Flagship of Vice Admiral Lord Cuthbert Collingwood, Commander in Chief Mediterranean and spent the first 18 months of service off the coast of Spain in the area of Cadiz. This was where many of the ships that had escaped capture at Trafalgar were laying low. Later the operations were switched Sicily and the area around Syracuse. Between 1812 - 1814 OCEAN was employed as a private ship on blockade duty still in the Mediterranean. In January 1817 she was reclassified as a 110 gun first rate operating on the Lisbon and Mediterranean stations until 1830 when she returned to Plymouth where she went out of commission. In 1831 OCEAN became harbour duty Flagship at Sheerness until 1835 and then again lay out of commission until 1838. In 1838 she was recommissioned as guardship and depot ship, then from 1848 as Flagship Nore where she remained until 1851. In 1852 she became a coal hulk at Sheerness until finally being broken up at Chatham in 1875.

HMS OCEAN 1862 - 1872

The third OCEAN was laid down in 1860, one of the three CALEDONIA class laid down in the same year. It was intended to be a wooden wall ship of 91 guns but in 1861 the order was changed to an iron clad of 50 guns, 273 x 58ft, 6800BM and fuelled by coal. She carried 500 tons of coal giving a radius of 2000 miles at 5 knots. The ship did, in fact, hold the record for the longest days run by any British Ironclad under sail of 243 miles en route to the Far East. The machinery was a Maudsly Horizontal Reciprocating NHP 1000 plus eight rectangular 20lb pressure boilers driving a four blade 21 inch propeller. Her sail area with double top sail totalled 25,000 ft.  OCEAN was launched on 19th March 1862 and emerged finally with 24 x 7 inch guns muzzle loaded rifled and with a complement of 605 officers and men. Her armour consisted of lower deck and side belt 41 x 31 inch thick cladding of 935 tons. The ship served on the China Station from 1867 as the Flagship of Commander in Chief Vice Admiral Keppel and then Vice Admiral Kellet. After an active life of only six years she returned to Plymouth to pay off in 1872 and was then sold to Messrs Castle to be broken up in 1881.

 HMS OCEAN 1898 - 1915

The fourth OCEAN was a first class battleship laid down at Devonport in 1897 and launched on 5th July 1898. One of the Canopus class, her sister ships were GOLIATH, ALBION, GLORY, VENGEANCE and CANOPUS itself. OCEAN's displacement was 12,950 tons with twin screws, 400 x 74 ft, armament of 4 x 12 inch, 12 x 12 inch pounder guns and 4 torpedoes. With a speed of 18 knot and a complement of 682 officers and men. The class was built to keep ahead of the Japanese fleet by strengthening the British China fleet. This class was the first to be fitted out with Krupp steel armour, which was about 50% stronger than Harvey steel and three times stronger than iron armour. This class were also the first battleships to be fitted with water tube boilers which were small, lighter and more efficient than the previously used locomotive boilers. OCEAN suffered several setbacks during build and gained the reputation of being an unlucky ship. Ninety feet of the ship fell like a pack of cards when the ribs collapsed. The building programme suffered a strike by engineering workers and at the launch on 5th July 1898 the ship at first refused to move and then there was an hours delay before Princess Louise could complete the launching ceremony. The ship gained a reputation as the ship "that did not want to go to sea". On 20th February 1900 the ship was commissioned and was transferred to the Mediterranean and then on to the China Station where she served from 1901 - 1905.  She was one of the first British battleships to be able to take passage through the Suez canal. During her time on station was damaged by a typhoon and had several refits. She returned from the Far East to be paid off and transferred to Chatham reserve returning to active service with the Channel fleet in 1906. In 1908 she returned to the Mediterranean.On 4th July 1909 she joined the Home Fleet remaining there until 1914 when she joined the 8th Battleship Squadron and sailed to Queenstown. At this time she was commanded by Captain Hayes Sadler and was employed protecting Persian Gulf convoys. Turkey was preparing to attack the Suez Canal and on 25th January 1915 the ship was sent to cover the El Shatt operation. On 28th February 1915 OCEAN left Port Said for Tenedos for operations in the Dardenelles in the company of ALBION, IRRESISTIBLE, MAJESTIC, TRIUMPH and VENGEANCE. On 18th March 1915 IRRESISTIBLE was hit, OCEAN began to withdraw but was struck by a mine and then hit by a shell which caused flooding in the tiller flat and starboard steering compartments leaving the ship with irreparable damage. OCEAN was abandoned with all hands safe at 19.30 and the ship finally came to rest in the depths of Marlo Bay at 22.30 that same day.

Information taken from "HMS OCEAN - Peacetime Warrior", by Joyce Knowlson available from Compaid Graphics, T'otherside, Drumacre Lane East, Loughton, Preston PR4 4SD,England. Tel: 01772 612711.