Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Chapter · 4:34-7:05

From the Portsmouth school to HMS Britannia

A small Portsmouth school gave way to a Dartmouth training establishment aboard HMS Britannia, an underused Caledonia-class ship of the line.

Caledonia Class Ships Of The LineDartmouthFirst Rate Ships Of The LineHMS BritanniaNaval EducationPortsmouthRoyal NavyShips of the Line
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Notes

The Portsmouth school that closed in 1837 served only a small share of the officer intake and offered little clear advantage over service aboard a flagship, where personal contacts could help a career. The Navy also had underused Caledonia-class 120-gun first rates whose hulls remained sound because they had spent much of their lives laid up in ordinary. HMS Britannia became a cadet training ship in 1859, then moved from crowded Portsmouth to the River Dart. The first Dartmouth cadets arrived in 1863, giving the Navy room to build a much larger establishment.