HMS Leander (1813)

HMS Leander at Sea, Thomas Buttersworth
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Leander
Ordered	6 May 1813
Builder	Wigram, Wells & Green, Blackwall
Laid down	June 1813
Launched	10 November 1813
Completed	By 18 February 1814
Fate	Broken up in March 1830
General characteristics
Class and type	50-gun fourth rate
Tons burthen	1,57210⁄94 bm
Length	174 ft (53 m) (gundeck) 145 ft 1+3⁄4 in (44.240 m) (keel)
Beam	45 ft 1+1⁄2 in (13.754 m)
Depth of hold	14 ft 4 in (4.37 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Crew	450
Armament	Upper deck: 30 × 24-pounder guns Spar deck: 26 × 42-pounder carronades Fc: 4 × 24-pounder guns

HMS Leander was a 50-gun spar-decked frigate (rated in the fourth rate) of the Royal Navy which saw service in the Napoleonic Wars, the War of 1812, and the Second Barbary War.

Leander and her near sister HMS Newcastle were a new type of ship in the Royal Navy, being exceptionally large and powerful frigates. They were ordered in response to the threat posed by the heavy American spar-decked frigates, during the War of 1812. Leander proved a successful ship, which operated in squadrons which chased the American frigates, but ultimately failed to catch them before the war ended. Refitted to serve as flagships for admirals on foreign stations, Leander saw action with Admiral Edward Pellew's fleet at the bombardment of Algiers in 1816, firing over 3,000 round shot and sustaining severe casualties. She spent some time as the flagship on the North American Station, followed by in the East Indies, before returning to Britain in 1822 and being laid up the following year as a receiving ship. She spent the rest of her career in this role, until being broken up in 1830.