HMS Implacable ( 1805 ) HMS " Implacable was a 74 - gun third rate of the Royal Navy . She was originally the French Navy ' s " Téméraire " - class ship of the line Duguay - Trouin " , launched in 1800 . She survived the Battle of Trafalgar only for the British to capture her at the subsequent Battle of Cape Ortegal . In British service she participated in the capture of the Imperial Russian Navy 74 - gun ship of the line " Vsevolod " ( Russian : " Всеволод " ) in the Baltic in 1808 during the Anglo - Russian War . Later , " Implacable " became a training ship . Eventually , she became the second oldest ship in the Royal Navy after , Lord Nelson ' s flagship at Trafalgar . When the Royal Navy finally scuttled " Implacable " in 1949 , she flew both the French and British flags side - by - side as she sank . French career . Originally named " Duguay - Trouin " after René Trouin , Sieur du Gué . Construction , to a plan by Rolland but update to a plan by Sané , began in 1794 but was interrupted in 1795 . She was launched at Rochefort in 1800 . On 22 November 1802 , under Captain Claude Touffet , she departed Toulon as part of a squadron commanded by Commodore Quérangal , also comprising the frigate " Guerrière " and the flagship " Duquesne " , a sister " Téméraire " - class vessel armed en flûte . Bound for Santo Domingo , the squadron found itself blockaded in Cap Français during the Blockade of Saint - Domingue by HMS " Elephant " , " Bellerophon " , " Theseus " and " Vanguard " . After a successful sortie in the dark , the squadron split up . " Guerrière " and " Duguay - Trouin " managed to escape but " Vanguard " , with " Tartar " , captured " Duquesne " . Under " Capitaine de Vaisseau " Lhermite she participated in an action at Cap Français . On 21 October 1805 , the " Duguay - Trouin " took part in the Battle of Trafalgar , where she was part of the vanguard of the French fleet under " Contre - amiral " Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley , and was one of four French ships that escaped capture that day . Capture . On 3 November 1805 , British Admiral Sir Richard Strachan , with " Caesar " , " Hero " , " Courageux " , " Namur " and four frigates , defeated and captured what remained of the Franco - Spanish fleet . In the battle , the captain of " Duguay - Trouin " , Claude Touffet , was killed , her masts were shot away , and she was eventually captured . British service in the Napoleonic Wars . The Royal Navy commissioned her as a third rate under the name HMS " Implacable " . " Implacable " served with the Royal Navy for the rest of the Napoleonic Wars . Anglo - Russian War . In early 1808 Russia initiated the Finnish War in response to Sweden ' s refusal to bow to Russian pressure to join the anti - British alliance . Russia captured Finland and made it a Grand Duchy under the Russian Empire . The British decided to take counter - measures and in May sent a fleet , including " Centaur " , under Vice - Admiral Sir James Saumarez to the Baltic . Thus in March 1808 " Implacable " was in the Baltic , under the command of Captain Thomas Byam Martin . On 9 July , the Russian fleet , under Admiral Peter Khanykov , came out from Kronstadt . The Swedes massed a fleet under Swedish Admiral Cederstrom , consisting of 11 line - of - battle ships and 5 frigates at Örö and Jungfrusund to oppose them . On 16 August , Saumarez then sent " Centaur " and " Implacable " to join the Swedish fleet . They chased two Russian frigates on 19 July and joined the Swedes the following day . On 22 August , the Russian fleet , which consisted of nine ships of the line , five large frigates and six smaller ones , moved from Hanko and appeared off the Örö roads the next day . The Swedish ships from Jungfur Sound had joined Rear - Admiral Nauckhoff and by the evening of 24 August the combined Anglo - Swedish force had made its preparations . Early the next day they sailed from Örö to meet the Russians . The Anglo - Swedish force discovered the Russians off Hango Udd . but the Russians retreated as the Allied ships followed them . " Centaur " and " Implacable " exhibited superior sailing and slowly outdistanced their Swedish allies . At 5am on 26 August " Implacable " caught up with a Russian straggler , the 74 - gun " Vsevolod " ( also " Sewolod " ) , under Captain Rudnew ( or Roodneff ) . " Implacable " and " Vsevolod " exchanged fire for about 20 minutes before " Vsevolod " ceased firing . " Vsevolod " hauled down her colours , but Hood recalled " Implacable " because the Russian fleet was approaching . During the fight " Implacable " lost six dead and 26 wounded ; " Vsevolod " lost some 48 dead and 80 wounded . The Russian frigate " Poluks " then towed " Vsevolod " towards Rager Vik ( Ragerswik or Rogerswick ) , but when " Centaur " started to chase them the frigate dropped her tow . The Russians sent out boats to bring her in , in which endeavor they almost succeeded . They did succeed in putting 100 men aboard her as reinforcements and to replace her casualties . However , just outside the port , " Centaur " was able to collide with " Vsevolod " . A party of seamen from " Centaur " then lashed her mizzen to the Russian bowsprit before " Centaur " opened fire . " Vsevolod " dropped her anchor and with both ships stuck in place , both sides attempted to board the other vessel . In the meantime , " Implacable " had come up and added her fire to the melee . After a battle of about half an hour , the Russian vessel struck again . " Implacable " hauled " Centaur " off . Their prize was so firmly aground that after taking out the prisoners and wounded men , Sir Samuel Hood , in " Centaur " , ordered " Vsevolod " to be burnt . The British removed their prisoners and then set fire to " Vsevolod " , which blew up some hours later . " Centaur " had lost three killed and 27 wounded . " Vsevolod " lost another 124 men killed and wounded in the battle with " Centaur " ; 56 Russians escaped by swimming ashore . In all , " Vsevolod " had lost 303 killed , wounded and missing . The action with " Vsevolod " was the largest engagement during the Anglo - Russian War . In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with the clasps " Implacable 26 Augt . 1808 " and " Centaur 26 Augt . 1808 " to all surviving claimants from the action . Vice - Admiral Saumerez with his entire squadron joined the Anglo - Swedish squadron the next day . They then blockaded Khanykov ' s squadron for some months . After the British and the Swedes abandoned the blockade , the Russian fleet was able to return to Kronstadt . Return to the Baltic . By the summer of 1809 Martin and " Implacable " were back in the Baltic and Admiral Saumarez sent her and " Melpomene " to sail east of Nargen Island . At the beginning of July 1809 she and " Melpomene " sailed into the $ 3 , some 110 miles east of Tallinn . There they captured nine vessels laden with timber , spars and cordage , which were the property of the Russian Emperor . " Implacable " , " Melpomene " and deployed their boats to search all the creeks and inlets around the gulf , which yielded them three more cargo vessels . More importantly , the British discovered that a convoy was sheltering under Percola Point with an escort of eight gunboat s . Each Russian gun - boat mounted both a 32 and a 24 - pounder gun , and had a crew of 46 men . The British decided to send in a cutting out party to seize the convoy , and its protectors . In Martin ' s word , the intent was to " to impress these Strangers with that Sense of Respect and Fear , which His Majesty ' s other Enemies are accustomed to show to the British Flag " . At 9pm on 7 July , " Implacable " , " Melpomene " , " Prometheus " and assembled 17 boats , all under the command of Lieutenant Joseph Hawkey of " Implacable " . The Russians expected the British attack and positioned their vessels between two rocks off Hango Head ( Hangöudde ) . This meant that the British would have to come straight towards the gunboats ' cannon rather than flanking them . The British came straight in , enduring the fire without firing back , until they reached the Russians , at which point they boarded the gunboats . Of the eight gunboats , the British captured six , among them gun boats Nos . 5 , 10 , 13 , and 15 . They sank one gunboat and one escaped . The British also captured all twelve of the ships and vessels the gunboats had been protecting , as well as a large armed ship , which they burnt . These were laden with powder and provisions for the Russian army . British losses were heavy . Grapeshot killed Hawkey while he was boarding his second gunboat . Including Hawkey , " Implacable " lost six men killed and 17 wounded . In all , the British lost 17 men killed and 37 wounded . The Russians lost at least 65 men killed , and 127 taken prisoner , of whom 51 were wounded . For this action , the Admiralty issued the clasp " 7 July Boat Service 1809 " to the Naval General Service Medal . France and Spain . In January 1810 Captain George Cockburn took command of " Implacable " . She then sailed to Quiberon Bay with a small squadron that also included " Disdainful " , a brig and the schooner , all escorting the Baron de Kolli . His mission was to arrange the escape of Ferdinand VII of Spain , whom the French had imprisoned at the Chateau of Valençay . The mission failed when Ferdinand refused to have anything to do with the British , and Kolli was arrested . " Implacable " then returned to Spithead . On 17 July Rear Admiral Sir Richard Keats arrived on " Implacable " to take charge of the British support of the Spanish in the Siege of Cádiz . Marshal Victor ' s French army had completely blockaded the Isla de León by land and were further fortifying the coast with works that supplemented the existing defences . Eleven or twelve British and Spanish line - of - battle ships anchored as close to shore as they could without grounding . The allied troops defending Leon consisted of 16 , 500 Spaniards , 4 , 000 British and Germans , and 1 , 400 Portuguese . In August the Allies attacked the French at Moguer , a town in the province of Huelva . Cockburn , sailing in the brig - sloop , directed the naval portion of the attack . General Lacey ' s Spanish troops and horses landed from the transports on 23 August about 22 miles south of the town . They then marched along the beach with 11 flat boats under Lieutenant Westphal of " Implacable " moving with them . The boats then ferried the troops across a large branch of the river , enabling the troops to reach Moguer next morning . The Spanish took the French somewhat by surprise and drove them out of the town . The French , numbering perhaps 1100 men , rallied and counter - attacked several times , but without success . The Spaniards followed them , but most of the French were cavalry and were able to withdraw towards Seville . Spanish casualties were slight . " Milford " arrived in Cadiz on 2 September and Rear Admiral Keats moved to her . On 6 September " Implacable " sailed from Cadiz to Havana as escort to two Spanish 3 - deckers . From there she sailed to Vera Cruz , Mexico , to pick up specie . She returned to Cadiz on 18 February 1811 with 2 , 000 , 000 dollars on board . " Implacable " then participated in the defense of the Isla de Leon . In August Captain I . R . Watson took command . By 1813 " Implacable " was back in Plymouth . Post war . From August to November 1840 " Implacable " participated in the bombardment and capture of Acre , and operations on the coast of Syria . The Ottoman government awarded medals to the officers and men employed during the campaign . In 1847 the Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp " Syria " to the officers and men who had participated in the campaign and who claimed the medal . From the Eastern Mediterranean " Implacable " sailed to Malta and then spent about a year in the Mediterranean , though she made one trip to Plymouth . She visited Syracuse , Corfu , Gibraltar and Tunis . By 15 February 1842 , she was in Devonport , condemned as unfit for sea service . She was to be docked to extend her life . Post active service . From 1844 she was out of commission at Devonport . A conversion to a training ship permitted her to return to service in June 1855 in the Hamoaze . Initially she was under the command of Captain Arthur Lowe . In January 1865 , under Commander Edward Hay , she became a training ship for boys . Commander Henry Carr took command in October 1877 , with Commander Thomas Sturges Jackson following him in 1880 . In 1908 King Edward VII intervened to save the ship . In 1912 she was handed over to philanthropist Geoffrey Wheatley Cobb ( died 1931 ) for preservation , and for use as a boys ' training ship . There were several appeals to help preserve " Implacable " over the years , especially in the 1920s . Funds were raised and she underwent several restorations , which continued in the 1930s . In conjunction with , she served as an accommodation ship , a training ship , a holiday ship and a coal hulk , and the two ships were renamed " Foudroyant " in 1943 . H . V . Morton saw her at Devonport Dockyard during one of the restorations and was told she had been " lying for years in Falmouth , and we are giving her a wash and brush up before sending her back as a training ship " . " Fate . Unlike the unfortunate " Wellesley " , " Implacable " survived the Second World War . Still , the Admiralty scuttled her by an explosive charge on 2 December 1949 . A fireboat towed her to a spot east of the Isle of Wight and she sank into Saint Catherine ' s Deep , about five miles from Ventnor . A French warship was in attendance to render honours . " Implacable " was by then the second oldest ship of the Navy after " Victory " , and there were heavy protests against her disposal . However , given the post - War austerity the British decided against the cost of her restoration , which was estimated at £150 , 000 with another £50 , 000 for re - rigging . In 1947 they had offered her to the French , who too declined to spend the money to turn her into a museum . Still , her figurehead and stern galleries were saved and are on display in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich , while her capstan is on display at the maritime museum at Rochefort . Public reaction to the " criminal action against the maritime history of Britain " forced the government to support the preservation of " Cutty Sark " .