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'HMS ''Elephant''' was 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built by George Parsons in Bursledon, Hampshire, and launched on August 24 1786.
In late November 1790 the ship narrowly avoided destruction when she was struck by lightning whilst in Portsmouth Harbour. The main topmast exploded but did not plunge through the quarterdeck as it was still held by the toprope.
In 1801 Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson chose it as his flagship during the Battle of Copenhagen due to its suitability for the shallow waters that prevailed there. It was on this ship that he is said to have put his telescope to his blind eye and claimed not to be able to see a signal ordering him to withdraw.
''Elephant'' was reduced to a 58-gun fourth-rate in 1818, and broken up in 1830.

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Reference

★ Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.