Frigate D. Fernando II e Glória
Source: Collection Seixas
Material: Wood, metal and fabric
Dimension: Lenght: 1015 mm, Beam: 267 mm (Scale 1/20)
MM.01359
Frigate built at the Navy’s Royal Arsenal of Damão. In 1832, the frigate was set as part of the Company and launched in 1842. It was the last wind-powered frigate of the Portuguese Navy and is considered the last Nau of the Portuguese India Run. Although she was designed as a 50-gun frigate, she was never this heavily armed, as she spent much of her operational life as a freighter, carrying cargo, troops and passengers.
In 1861 she sailed to India on her last voyage as a freighter. The following year she started her return voyage to Portugal but lost her masts near Mozambique. After being repaired, she returned to Lisbon. In 1865, the ship was turned into a training school – the Escola de Artilharia Naval (Naval Gunnery School). Since then, she made small voyages to the Portuguese Islands and served as the Quartel do Corpo de Marinheiros (the Seamen Corps Quarters) and the Escola de Artilharia (Gunnery School). In 1938 and 1939, she was the flagship of the Portuguese naval forces stationed in the Tagus River. Up until 1943, she ceased to perform any special missions. From this year onwards, up until 1963 she served as a school ship for deprived children, a social project that became known as Obra Social da Fragata D. Fernando (Frigate D. Fernando Social Welfare).
On April 3, 1963 she suffered a major fire, in the Tagus River. The remains of the ship were beached in the Tagus Estuary. In the nineties, the reconstruction of the ship began. Admiral Andrade e Silva’s tireless efforts were paramount in making the ship available to the public. In 1998, she was on display in the 98EXPO and has remained open to visitors ever since. She is currently on dry dock in Cacilhas.