Nelson-class ship of the line

	Nelson in Williamstown, Victoria, before 1878
Class overview
Name	Nelson
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Caledonia class
Succeeded by	HMS Trafalgar
Built	1808–1815
In service	4 July 1814–1898
Completed	3
Scrapped	3
General characteristics
Type	First-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	2,601 4⁄94 (bm)
Length	205 ft (62.5 m) (gun deck); 170 ft 10+1⁄8 in (52.1 m) (keel);
Beam	53 ft 6 in (16.3 m)
Depth of hold	24 ft (7.3 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Crew	875 officers and ratings
Armament	120 muzzle-loading, smoothbore guns:; Lower gun deck: 32 × 32 pdr guns; Middle gun deck: 34 × 24 pdr guns; Upper gun deck: 34 × 18 pdr guns; Quarterdeck: 6 × 12 pdr guns, 10 × 32 pdr carronades; Forecastle: 2 × 12 pdrs, 2 × 32 pdr carronades; Poop deck: 6 × 18 pdr carronades;
General characteristics (Nelson, as converted)
Displacement	3,158 long tons (3,209 t)
Tons burthen	2,736 bm
Length	216 ft 3 in (65.9 m) (gun deck)
Beam	54 ft 6 in (16.6 m)
Draught	21 ft 10 in (6.7 m)
Depth of hold	24 ft 3 in (7.39 m)
Installed power	4 fire-tube boilers; 2,102 ihp (1,567 kW);
Propulsion	1 shaft; 1 HRCR steam engine
Speed	11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Crew	850
Armament	Lower gun deck: 32 × 8 in shell guns; Upper gun deck: 34 × 32 pdr guns; Forecastle & Quarterdeck: 22 × 32 pdr guns, 1 × 68 pdr gun;

The Nelson class consisted of three 120-gun, first-rate ships of the line built for the Royal Navy during the 1810s, Nelson, St Vincent, and Howe. The ships spent the bulk of their service in ordinary or on secondary duties like stationary flagships for various administrative positions. Nelson spent her entire career in various ports and never saw active duty at sea. She was the only one of the sisters to be converted to steam power. After her conversion in 1860, she became a training ship in 1867 for the government of Victoria, Australia, and was sold out of service in 1898. The ship was subsequently hulked and was eventually sold for scrap in 1928. Howe served with the Mediterranean Fleet in 1840–1843 and again in 1847–1850. The ship was broken up in 1854.

St Vincent served as the flagship for the Mediterranean Fleet in 1831–1834. She next saw active duty when she was assigned to participate in comparative sailing trials in the Experimental Squadrons in 1844–1846. The ship participated in the Crimean War in 1854 when she served as a troopship. St Vincent became a training ship in 1862 and was sold for scrap in 1906.