Table of contents

1 HMS Colossus (1787-1798) 2 HMS Colossus (1882-1908) 3 HMS Colossus (1910-1928) 4 HMS Colossus (1943-1946)

HMS Colossus (1787-1798)

The first HMS Colossus (1787) was a 74-gun Leviathan Class frigate, launched at Gravesend in 1787. The ship took part in many large fleet engagements, includin the capture of Toulon in [[1793, the Battle of Groix and the Battle of Cape St, Vincent in 1797. In 1798 Colossus was wrecked in the Scilly Isles, thankfully no lives were lost in this cruel incident.

The wreck of Colossus was found at a depth of nine metres in 1974, and some artifacts were recovered.

HMS Colossus (1882-1908)

The second ship to bear the name Colossus had a far more particularly mundane life. She was a Colossus second-class battleship, launched in 1882 and commissioned in 1886. She had a displacement of 9,520 tons, and an armament of 4 x 12.5-inch breechloaders, 5 x 6-inch guns and had a respectable speed of 15.5 knots. She served in the Mediterranean Fleet, from her commission in 1886 to 1893 when she then became a Coastguard ship. In 1901 she was placed in Reserve, before becoming a tender to HMS Excellent in 1904. Colossus was put up for sale in 1906, finally being broken up in 1908. Her sister-ship HMS Edinburgh was broken up in 1910.

The third HMS Colossus (1910) was a Colossus-class dreadnought, commissioned in 1911. She fought at the Battle of Jutland and was scrapped in 1928 due to the Washington Treaty.