 surprise . The British commander Captain William Hargood counterattacked , advancing on the Franco @-@ Spanish force which retreated during the day and disappeared under cover of darkness that evening in the Wanshan Archipelago . The combined squadron then dispersed and the China Fleet was not attacked again until the Battle of Pulo Aura in 1804 , at which a French squadron was again driven off in confusion . The frigates Cooke had mimicked , Forte and Prudente were sent to operate independently against British trade in the Indian Ocean in early 1799 . Prudente was captured by HMS Daedalus at the Action of 9 February 1799 near Southern Africa , and Forte was intercepted by HMS Sybille under Cooke on 28 February near Balasore in Bengal . In the ensuing battle Forte was captured but Cooke mortally wounded , dying on 25 May .   = B of the Bang =   B of the Bang was a sculpture by Thomas Heatherwick next to the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester , England , which was commissioned to mark the 2002 Commonwealth Games ; it was one of the tallest structures in Manchester and the tallest sculpture in the UK until the completion of Aspire in 2008 . It was taller and leaned at a greater angle than the Leaning Tower of Pisa . The sculpture took its name from a quotation of British sprinter Linford Christie , in which he said that he started his races not merely at the " bang " of the starting pistol , but at " the B of the Bang " .   The sculpture was commissioned in 2003 ; construction overran and the official unveiling was delayed until 12 January 2005 . Six days before the launch , the sculpture suffered the first of three visible structural problems as the tip of one of the spikes detached and fell to the ground . Legal action started a year later , resulting in an out @-@ of @-@ court settlement totalling £ 1 @.@ 7 million .   In February 2009 , Manchester City Council announced that the sculpture would be dismantled and placed in storage . Despite the promise of storage and potential reassembly , the core and legs of the sculpture were cut apart during removal . The core was sold for scrap in July 2012 , while the 180 spikes remain in storage .   = = Design and statistics = =   B of the Bang originally stood 56 metres ( 184 ft ) tall with 180 hollow tapered steel columns or spikes radiating from a central core . It was angled at 30 degrees and supported by five 25 m ( 82 ft ) long , tapered steel legs which connected to the spikes 22 m ( 72 ft ) above the ground . The sculpture weighed 165 tonnes , with the concrete in the foundations weighing over 1 @,@ 000 tonnes , including a 400 m2 ( 4 @,@ 300 sq ft ) reinforced concrete slab . The foundations are 20 m ( 66 ft ) deep .   The sculpture was made from the same weathering steel ( also known as Cor @-@ Ten ) as the Angel of the North sculpture , which gradually develops a tightly adhering oxide layer as it is exposed to the elements . This layer inhibits further corrosion by reducing its permeability to water . As part of the design , the spikes swayed slightly in the wind in order to withstand gusts in excess of 100 mph ( 160 km / h ) . At the time of construction a time capsule was placed in one of the spikes of the sculpture , containing children 's poems and paintings , due to be opened circa 2300 . The location of the time capsule after dismantling is currently unknown .   B of the Bang was located next to the City of Manchester Stadium at Sportcity , in Beswick , at the corner of Alan Turing Way and Ashton New Road ; . It took its name from a quotation of British sprinter Linford Christie in which he said that he started his races not merely at the ' bang ' of the starting pistol , but at ' The B of the Bang ' . The artwork had been nicknamed KerPlunk by the locals after the popular children 's game from the 1970s .   Prior to the construction of Aspire at the University of Nottingham , B of the Bang was Britain 's tallest sculpture at well over twice the height of the Angel of the North , which stands at 66 feet ( 20 m ) . It was designed to look like an exploding firework and was taller and leaned at a greater angle than the Leaning Tower of Pisa . It was commissioned by New East Manchester Limited to commemorate the 2002 Commonwealth Games . The design was selected by a panel consisting of both local residents and art experts via a competition in 2002 and was designed by Thomas Heatherwick .   = = Construction and funding = =   The sculpture was constructed in Sheffield by Thomas Heatherwick Studio , Packman Lucas , Flint and Neill and Westbury Structures . It was approved at the start of 2003 , with the central core arriving in Manchester on 13 June 2004 . This was the largest load that could be transferred via road from the factory , and required a police escort . This central
Ġsurprise Ġ. ĠThe ĠBritish Ġcommander ĠCaptain ĠWilliam ĠH arg ood Ġcounter att acked Ġ, Ġadvancing Ġon Ġthe ĠFranco Ġ@ - @ ĠSpanish Ġforce Ġwhich Ġretreated Ġduring Ġthe Ġday Ġand Ġdisappeared Ġunder Ġcover Ġof Ġdarkness Ġthat Ġevening Ġin Ġthe ĠW ans han ĠArch ipel ago Ġ. ĠThe Ġcombined Ġsquadron Ġthen Ġdispersed Ġand Ġthe ĠChina ĠFleet Ġwas Ġnot Ġattacked Ġagain Ġuntil Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof ĠPul o ĠAura Ġin Ġ18 04 Ġ, Ġat Ġwhich Ġa ĠFrench Ġsquadron Ġwas Ġagain Ġdriven Ġoff Ġin Ġconfusion Ġ. ĠThe Ġfrig ates ĠCooke Ġhad Ġmim icked Ġ, ĠFort e Ġand ĠPr ud ente Ġwere Ġsent Ġto Ġoperate Ġindependently Ġagainst ĠBritish Ġtrade Ġin Ġthe ĠIndian ĠOcean Ġin Ġearly Ġ17 99 Ġ. ĠPr ud ente Ġwas Ġcaptured Ġby ĠHMS ĠD aed alus Ġat Ġthe ĠAction Ġof Ġ9 ĠFebruary Ġ17 99 Ġnear ĠSouthern ĠAfrica Ġ, Ġand ĠFort e Ġwas Ġintercepted Ġby ĠHMS ĠSy b ille Ġunder ĠCooke Ġon Ġ28 ĠFebruary Ġnear ĠBal as ore Ġin ĠBengal Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġensuing Ġbattle ĠFort e Ġwas Ġcaptured Ġbut ĠCooke Ġmort ally Ġwounded Ġ, Ġdying Ġon Ġ25 ĠMay Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= ĠB Ġof Ġthe ĠBang Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠB Ġof Ġthe ĠBang Ġwas Ġa Ġsculpture Ġby ĠThomas ĠHeather wick Ġnext Ġto Ġthe ĠCity Ġof ĠManchester ĠStadium Ġin ĠManchester Ġ, ĠEngland Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġcommissioned Ġto Ġmark Ġthe Ġ2002 ĠCommonwealth ĠGames Ġ; Ġit Ġwas Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġtallest Ġstructures Ġin ĠManchester Ġand Ġthe Ġtallest Ġsculpture Ġin Ġthe ĠUK Ġuntil Ġthe Ġcompletion Ġof ĠAs pire Ġin Ġ2008 Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġtaller Ġand Ġleaned Ġat Ġa Ġgreater Ġangle Ġthan Ġthe ĠLe aning ĠTower Ġof ĠP isa Ġ. ĠThe Ġsculpture Ġtook Ġits Ġname Ġfrom Ġa Ġquotation Ġof ĠBritish Ġspr inter ĠLin ford ĠChristie Ġ, Ġin Ġwhich Ġhe Ġsaid Ġthat Ġhe Ġstarted Ġhis Ġraces Ġnot Ġmerely Ġat Ġthe Ġ" Ġbang Ġ" Ġof Ġthe Ġstarting Ġpistol Ġ, Ġbut Ġat Ġ" Ġthe ĠB Ġof Ġthe ĠBang Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġsculpture Ġwas Ġcommissioned Ġin Ġ2003 Ġ; Ġconstruction Ġover ran Ġand Ġthe Ġofficial Ġunveiling Ġwas Ġdelayed Ġuntil Ġ12 ĠJanuary Ġ2005 Ġ. ĠSix Ġdays Ġbefore Ġthe Ġlaunch Ġ, Ġthe Ġsculpture Ġsuffered Ġthe Ġfirst Ġof Ġthree Ġvisible Ġstructural Ġproblems Ġas Ġthe Ġtip Ġof Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġspikes Ġdetached Ġand Ġfell Ġto Ġthe Ġground Ġ. ĠLegal Ġaction Ġstarted Ġa Ġyear Ġlater Ġ, Ġresulting Ġin Ġan Ġout Ġ@ - @ Ġof Ġ@ - @ Ġcourt Ġsettlement Ġtot alling ĠÂ£ Ġ1 Ġ@ . @ Ġ7 Ġmillion Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn ĠFebruary Ġ2009 Ġ, ĠManchester ĠCity ĠCouncil Ġannounced Ġthat Ġthe Ġsculpture Ġwould Ġbe Ġdismantled Ġand Ġplaced Ġin Ġstorage Ġ. ĠDespite Ġthe Ġpromise Ġof Ġstorage Ġand Ġpotential Ġre assembly Ġ, Ġthe Ġcore Ġand Ġlegs Ġof Ġthe Ġsculpture Ġwere Ġcut Ġapart Ġduring Ġremoval Ġ. ĠThe Ġcore Ġwas Ġsold Ġfor Ġscrap Ġin ĠJuly Ġ2012 Ġ, Ġwhile Ġthe Ġ180 Ġspikes Ġremain Ġin Ġstorage Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠDesign Ġand Ġstatistics Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠB Ġof Ġthe ĠBang Ġoriginally Ġstood Ġ56 Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ184 Ġft Ġ) Ġtall Ġwith Ġ180 Ġhollow Ġtape red Ġsteel Ġcolumns Ġor Ġspikes Ġradi ating Ġfrom Ġa Ġcentral Ġcore Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġangled Ġat Ġ30 Ġdegrees Ġand Ġsupported Ġby Ġfive Ġ25 Ġm Ġ( Ġ82 Ġft Ġ) Ġlong Ġ, Ġtape red Ġsteel Ġlegs Ġwhich Ġconnected Ġto Ġthe Ġspikes Ġ22 Ġm Ġ( Ġ72 Ġft Ġ) Ġabove Ġthe Ġground Ġ. ĠThe Ġsculpture Ġweighed Ġ165 Ġtonnes Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġconcrete Ġin Ġthe Ġfoundations Ġweighing Ġover Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġtonnes Ġ, Ġincluding Ġa Ġ400 Ġm 2 Ġ( Ġ4 Ġ@ , @ Ġ300 Ġsq Ġft Ġ) Ġreinforced Ġconcrete Ġslab Ġ. ĠThe Ġfoundations Ġare Ġ20 Ġm Ġ( Ġ66 Ġft Ġ) Ġdeep Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġsculpture Ġwas Ġmade Ġfrom Ġthe Ġsame Ġweather ing Ġsteel Ġ( Ġalso Ġknown Ġas ĠCor Ġ@ - @ ĠTen Ġ) Ġas Ġthe ĠAngel Ġof Ġthe ĠNorth Ġsculpture Ġ, Ġwhich Ġgradually Ġdevelops Ġa Ġtightly Ġad her ing Ġoxide Ġlayer Ġas Ġit Ġis Ġexposed Ġto Ġthe Ġelements Ġ. ĠThis Ġlayer Ġinhibits Ġfurther Ġcorrosion Ġby Ġreducing Ġits Ġperme ability Ġto Ġwater Ġ. ĠAs Ġpart Ġof Ġthe Ġdesign Ġ, Ġthe Ġspikes Ġswayed Ġslightly Ġin Ġthe Ġwind Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġwithstand Ġgust s Ġin Ġexcess Ġof Ġ100 Ġmph Ġ( Ġ160 Ġkm Ġ/ Ġh Ġ) Ġ. ĠAt Ġthe Ġtime Ġof Ġconstruction Ġa Ġtime Ġcapsule Ġwas Ġplaced Ġin Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġspikes Ġof Ġthe Ġsculpture Ġ, Ġcontaining Ġchildren Ġ' s Ġpoems Ġand Ġpaintings Ġ, Ġdue Ġto Ġbe Ġopened Ġcirca Ġ23 00 Ġ. ĠThe Ġlocation Ġof Ġthe Ġtime Ġcapsule Ġafter Ġdismantling Ġis Ġcurrently Ġunknown Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠB Ġof Ġthe ĠBang Ġwas Ġlocated Ġnext Ġto Ġthe ĠCity Ġof ĠManchester ĠStadium Ġat ĠSport city Ġ, Ġin ĠBes wick Ġ, Ġat Ġthe Ġcorner Ġof ĠAlan ĠTuring ĠWay Ġand ĠAshton ĠNew ĠRoad Ġ; Ġ. ĠIt Ġtook Ġits Ġname Ġfrom Ġa Ġquotation Ġof ĠBritish Ġspr inter ĠLin ford ĠChristie Ġin Ġwhich Ġhe Ġsaid Ġthat Ġhe Ġstarted Ġhis Ġraces Ġnot Ġmerely Ġat Ġthe Ġ' Ġbang Ġ' Ġof Ġthe Ġstarting Ġpistol Ġ, Ġbut Ġat Ġ' ĠThe ĠB Ġof Ġthe ĠBang Ġ' Ġ. ĠThe Ġartwork Ġhad Ġbeen Ġnicknamed ĠKer Pl unk Ġby Ġthe Ġlocals Ġafter Ġthe Ġpopular Ġchildren Ġ' s Ġgame Ġfrom Ġthe Ġ1970 s Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠPrior Ġto Ġthe Ġconstruction Ġof ĠAs pire Ġat Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠNottingham Ġ, ĠB Ġof Ġthe ĠBang Ġwas ĠBritain Ġ' s Ġtallest Ġsculpture Ġat Ġwell Ġover Ġtwice Ġthe Ġheight Ġof Ġthe ĠAngel Ġof Ġthe ĠNorth Ġ, Ġwhich Ġstands Ġat Ġ66 Ġfeet Ġ( Ġ20 Ġm Ġ) Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġdesigned Ġto Ġlook Ġlike Ġan Ġexploding Ġfire work Ġand Ġwas Ġtaller Ġand Ġleaned Ġat Ġa Ġgreater Ġangle Ġthan Ġthe ĠLe aning ĠTower Ġof ĠP isa Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġcommissioned Ġby ĠNew ĠEast ĠManchester ĠLimited Ġto Ġcommemorate Ġthe Ġ2002 ĠCommonwealth ĠGames Ġ. ĠThe Ġdesign Ġwas Ġselected Ġby Ġa Ġpanel Ġconsisting Ġof Ġboth Ġlocal Ġresidents Ġand Ġart Ġexperts Ġvia Ġa Ġcompetition Ġin Ġ2002 Ġand Ġwas Ġdesigned Ġby ĠThomas ĠHeather wick Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠConstruction Ġand Ġfunding Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġsculpture Ġwas Ġconstructed Ġin ĠSheffield Ġby ĠThomas ĠHeather wick ĠStudio Ġ, ĠPack man ĠLucas Ġ, ĠFlint Ġand ĠNe ill Ġand ĠWest bury ĠStruct ures Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġapproved Ġat Ġthe Ġstart Ġof Ġ2003 Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġcentral Ġcore Ġarriving Ġin ĠManchester Ġon Ġ13 ĠJune Ġ2004 Ġ. ĠThis Ġwas Ġthe Ġlargest Ġload Ġthat Ġcould Ġbe Ġtransferred Ġvia Ġroad Ġfrom Ġthe Ġfactory Ġ, Ġand Ġrequired Ġa Ġpolice Ġescort Ġ. ĠThis Ġcentral