
The construction of the Fragata D. Fernando II e Glória dates back to 1821, after a proposal by Admiral Garcez Palha to the then King D. João VI, who eventually approved its construction three years later, with funding from tobacco and some subsidies from the Macau government.
Even so, this ship would only have its first contact with water in 1843, at the Daman shipyard in India. But we’ll get there!
The first sketch of the D. Fernando II e Glória Frigate was inspired by another Portuguese vessel, the “Duquesa de Bragança”, which at the time was highly praised by the British Imperial Navy.
The frigate, piece by piece
The D. Fernando II e Glória Frigate was built in the Daman shipyards, because the labor was cheaper here, and because there was an extensive forest nearby, in the Nagar Aveli enclave, where they made use of teak wood, one of the best for building such large ships.
This frigate is paired with a four-masted galley. From bow to stern: the bowsprit, the trapeze, the big one and the mezzanine, in this case, the “cat”, as it spreads a round cloth, like the other main masts.
War power
The frigate D. Fernando II e Glória was designed and built to carry 50 pieces of weaponry, 28 in the battery and 22 on deck.
But as it has never been armed as a frigate, in the true sense of the word, the armament of this vessel is much less, and it is still adapted to each mission.
It should be noted, as a curiosity, that throughout its operational life the Frigate D. Fernando II e Glória never went into combat.
The frigate over the years
The Frigate D. Fernando II e Glória pays homage to D. Fernando Saxe Coburgo-Gotha, husband of Queen D. Maria II of Portugal, and to the Queen herself, named Maria da Glória.
It is the last exclusively sailing ship in the Portuguese Navy and the last “Nau” of the “Carreira da Índia”, which for more than three centuries connected Portugal with the former colony in the Indian Ocean.
It was also the last large ship to be built in India, in Daman, and was then towed to Goa to be armed and fitted out.
His first trip was from Goa to Lisbon in 1845, arriving in the Tagus on July 4.
Its last voyage was in 1878, and it was anchored in the Tagus between 1865 and 1938, where it served as the Naval Artillery School.
In 1947, the Fragata D. Fernando II e Glória became the headquarters of a social work that took in teenagers and young men, mainly orphans from underprivileged backgrounds, who learned naval techniques here so that they could later work in the Navy, fishing or merchant marine.
In 1963, a huge fire destroyed a large part of the frigate, which remained half submerged in the Tagus until 1992, when it was decided to recover and restore the ship to serve as a museum ship.
In 1998, during Expo 98, the vessel was handed over to the Navy as an Auxiliary Unit, and was also opened to the public during this major event in the country.
Address: Alfredo Dinis Square (Almada)
The frigate’s numbers
Like any piece of artifact, the Frigate D. Fernando II e Glória also has some interesting numbers in its already long life history:
- For 33 years he sailed more than 100,000 nautical miles, the same as five times around the world;
- It made three-month non-stop trips with 650 people on board, including passengers;
- On its 7th voyage it suffered a violent storm in the Mozambique Channel, losing its masts;
- During the fire, the National Flag of the Frigate D. Fernando II e Glória was “saved” by 3 firefighters and 2 tug masters;
- According to the International Register of Historic Ships, the D. Fernando II e Glória is the 4th oldest frigate and the 8th oldest sailing warship in the world.
Address: Largo Alfredo Dinis (Almada)
Opening hours: Tuesdays to Sundays, 1pm to 5pm
Tickets: at Fever
USS Constitution: the oldest frigate in the world
The oldest frigate in the world is the USS Constitution, a US Navy ship launched in 1797 .
It was also built in wood and took part in several historic battles, such as the Tripoli War against the Berber pirates and the Anglo-American War of 1812, where it won a famous victory against the British ship Guerriere.
