HMS Royal William was a first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, originally constructed as a 120-gun, three-deck vessel of the broad Caledonia class during the 1830s. Built at Pembroke Dockyard, she was laid down in October 1825, launched on April 2, 1833, and completed in 1834. As a first-rate, she measured approximately 216 feet 9 inches (66.1 meters) on the gundeck and around 177 feet (53.9 meters) along the keel. Her beam was 55 feet 7 inches (16.9 meters), with a deep draught of 24 feet 7 inches (7.49 meters). She displaced about 3,520 long tons (3,580 tonnes) and had a tonnage of 2,849 tons burthen. Royal William was originally armed with a traditional muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament, including thirty-two 8-inch shell guns on her lower gundeck, thirty-four 32-pounder guns on her upper gundeck, along with twenty-two 32-pounder guns and a single 68-pounder gun on the forecastle and quarterdeck. Her complement numbered roughly 830 officers and ratings. In the 1850s, Royal William was razeed and converted into a steam-powered, 89-gun second-rate ship, becoming a two-decker. This conversion involved lengthening the ship by about 11 feet and installing a horizontal two-cylinder single-expansion steam engine built by Robert Napier & Sons, rated at 500 nominal horsepower, capable of generating 1,763 indicated horsepower. This engine powered a single propeller shaft, allowing the vessel to reach speeds of approximately 10.6 knots during sea trials. Her steam machinery enabled her to operate independently of her sails, although she was never fully commissioned as a seagoing steamship after her conversion. Royal William’s service included a minor role in the Crimean War (1854–1855), where she served as a troopship and transported prisoners of war from the Baltic. Her first commissioned service was in 1854 under Captain John Kingcome. Later, in 1884, she was repurposed as a training ship, lent to the Liverpool Roman Catholic Reformatory Society, and renamed HMS Clarence. Her later years ended tragically when she was destroyed by arson on the River Mersey in 1899, marking the end of her maritime significance.

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