HMS Ganges was an 84-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 10 November 1821 at Bombay Dockyard. Constructed from teak wood, she was designed as a facsimile of HMS Canopus, following Admiralty orders of 1816, and was built under the supervision of master shipbuilder Jamsetjee Bomanjee Wadia. Notably, she was the last sailing ship of the Royal Navy to serve as a flagship, and was the second vessel to bear the name Ganges. Her construction began in May 1819, and upon completion, she was transferred from Bombay to Britain, arriving at Spithead in October 1822. Commissioned at Portsmouth in 1823, HMS Ganges served in various capacities across different stations. She notably served as flagship of the South America Station for three years, during which she landed Royal Marines in Rio de Janeiro following a Brazilian mutiny. Her service record also includes action in the Mediterranean between 1838 and 1840, where she participated in bombarding Beirut and blockading Alexandria. Although she was paid off during the Crimean War, she did not see action in that conflict. Between 1857 and 1861, HMS Ganges served as the flagship of the Pacific Station at Valparaíso, Chile, under Rear Admiral Robert Lambert Baynes. Her duties included addressing the San Juan Boundary Dispute from Esquimalt Dockyard in Vancouver Island. She was later converted into a training ship in 1865, based at Mylor Harbour near Falmouth, and underwent several renamings, becoming Tenedos III in 1906, Indus V in 1910, and Impregnable III in 1922, reflecting her changing roles within the Royal Navy's training establishments. Decommissioned in 1923 and sold for breaking up in 1929, her timber was repurposed into souvenirs and buildings, including parts of the Burgh Island Hotel and a cross outside Guildford Cathedral. HMS Ganges’ legacy persists through geographic names such as Ganges, British Columbia, and symbols like the Saltspring Island Sailing Club badge. Her historical significance lies in her long service life, from a line of battle ship to a training vessel, and her association with notable maritime and colonial history.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.