Essex-class ship of the line

Essex (1760), Africa (1761)
Class overview
Name	Essex class
Operators	Royal Navy
Succeeded by	St Albans class
In service	28 August 1760–1799
Completed	2
General characteristics
Type	Ship of the line
Length	158 ft (48 m) (gundeck) 129 ft 9 in (39.55 m) (keel)
Beam	44 ft 2 in (13.46 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Armament	64 guns: Gundeck: 26 × 24-pounders Upper gundeck: 26 × 18-pounders Quarterdeck: 10 × 4-pounders Forecastle: 2 × 9-pounders

The Essex-class ships of the line were a class of two 64-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade. ^[1]

Ships

• HMS Essex

Builder: Wells and Stanton, Rotherhithe

Ordered: 31 January 1759

Launched: 28 August 1760

Fate: Sold out of the service, 1799

• HMS Africa

Builder: Perry, Blackwall Yard

Ordered: 31 January 1759

Launched: 1 August 1761

Fate: Sold out of the service, 1774

Citations

1. Winfield, p. 97

References

• Lavery, Brian (1984). The Ship of the Line. Vol. 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650-1850. Naval Institute Press. ISBN   0-85177-252-8.
• Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN   978-1-84415-700-6.