Eagle | |
History | |
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→ Great Britain → United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Eagle |
Ordered | 14 January 1771 |
Builder | Wells, Rotherhithe |
Laid down | April 1771 |
Launched | 2 May 1774 |
Honours and awards |
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Fate | Broken up, Chatham UK, October 1812 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type | Intrepid-class ship of the line |
Tons burthen | 1372 bm |
Length | 159 ft 6 in (48.62 m) (gun deck) |
Beam | 44 ft 4 in (13.51 m) |
Draught | 10 ft 8 in (3.25 m) |
Depth of hold | 19 ft (5.8 m) |
Propulsion | Sails |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Armament |
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HMS Eagle was a British 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 2 May 1774 at Rotherhithe. [1]
On 7 September 1776, the experimental American submarine Turtle, under the guidance of army volunteer Sergeant Ezra Lee, was alleged to have attacked HMS Eagle, which was moored off what is today called Liberty Island, but was unable to bore through the hull. When Lee attempted another spot in the hull, he lost the ship, and eventually abandoned the attempt.
British naval historian Richard Compton-Hall stated that the problems of achieving neutral buoyancy would have rendered the vertical propeller useless. The route Turtle would have had to take to attack HMS Eagle was slightly across the tidal stream which would, in all probability, have resulted in Ezra Lee becoming exhausted having only 20 minutes of air. There is no record of the Royal Navy recording an attack. [2] In the face of these and other problems Compton-Hall suggests that the Turtle got nowhere near HMS Eagle and the entire story was fabricated as disinformation and morale-boosting propaganda, and that if Ezra Lee did carry out an attack it was in a covered rowing boat rather than Turtle. [2]
Eagle went on to take part in the Battle of Cuddalore in 1783. [3]
Eagle was on harbour service from 1790, and was broken up in 1812. [1]
Turtle was the world's first submersible vessel with a documented record of use in combat. It was built in 1775 by American David Bushnell as a means of attaching explosive charges to ships in a harbor, for use against the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull recommended the invention to George Washington, who provided funds and support for the development and testing of the machine.
HMS Bellona was a 74-gun Bellona-class third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Designed by Sir Thomas Slade, she was a prototype for the iconic 74-gun ships of the latter part of the 18th century. "The design of the Bellona class was never repeated precisely, but Slade experimented slightly with the lines, and the Arrogant, Ramillies, Egmont, and Elizabeth classes were almost identical in size, layout, and structure, and had only slight variations in the shape of the underwater hull. The Culloden-class ship of the line was also similar, but slightly larger. Thus over forty ships were near-sisters of the Bellona." Bellona was built at Chatham, starting on 10 May 1758, launched on 19 February 1760, and commissioned three days later. She was the second ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name, and saw service in the Seven Years' War, American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.
HMS Royal Sovereign was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, which served as the flagship of Admiral Collingwood at the Battle of Trafalgar. She was the third of seven Royal Navy ships to bear the name. She was launched at Plymouth Dockyard on 11 September 1786, at a cost of £67,458, and was the only ship built to her design. Because of the high number of Northumbrians on board the crew were known as the Tars of the Tyne.
HMS Mars was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 25 October 1794 at Deptford Dockyard.
Ezra Lee was an American colonial soldier, best known for commanding and operating the one-man Turtle submarine.
HMS Caledonia was a 120-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 25 June 1808 at Plymouth. She was Admiral Pellew's flagship in the Mediterranean.
HMS Kent was a 74-gun Bellona-class third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Thomas Slade and built by Adam Hayes at Deptford Dockyard and launched on 23 March 1762.
HMS Illustrious was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 7 July 1789 at Bucklers Hard under the direction of Henry Adams. She participated in the Battle of Genoa after which she was wrecked.
HMS Superb was a 74-gun Bellona-class third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Thomas Slade and built by Adam Hayes at Deptford Dockyard, launched on 27 October 1760 as a sister ship to HMS Dragon.
HMS Ocean was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 21 April 1761 at Chatham.
The Alfred-class ships of the line were a class of four 74-gun third rates for the Royal Navy by Sir John Williams. They were an enlarged version of the Royal Oak class.
HMS Nonsuch was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Israel Pownoll and launched on 17 December 1774 at Plymouth. She was broken up in 1802.
HMS Charles was a 96-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Christopher Pett at Deptford Dockyard until his death in March 1668, then completed by Jonas Shish after being launched in the same month. Her name was formally Charles the Second, but she was known simply as Charles, particularly after 1673 when the contemporary Royal Charles was launched.
HMS Salisbury was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Richard and James Herring at Baileys Hard on the Beaulieu River in Hampshire, England, and launched on 18 April 1698.
HMS Neptune was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built under the 1677 "Thirty Great Ships" Programme and launched in 1683 at Deptford Dockyard.
HMS Eagle was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Portsmouth Dockyard during 1677/79. When completed she was placed in Ordinary for 10 years. She was in active commission during the War of the English Succession partaking in the Battle of Barfleur. She was rebuilt in 1699 at Chatham. She again played an active role in the early part of the War of Spanish Succession participating in the Capture of Gibraltar, and the Battle of Velez Malaga. She was wrecked in the Isles of Scilly in October 1707.
HMS Yarmouth was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed and built by Joseph Allin the younger at Deptford Dockyard. She was previously ordered to the dimensions specified in the 1741 proposals for modifications to the 1719 Establishment, but the Admiralty had very quickly concluded that these were too small, and as an experiment in 1742 authorised an addition of 6 ft to the planned length, and Yarmouth was re-ordered to the enlarged design in June 1742. She was built at Deptford, where the Admiralty felt they could best observe the effectiveness of the added size, and launched on 8 March 1745.
HMS Eagle was a 58-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy built at King's Yard in Harwich by John Barnard and launched in 1745.
HMS Boyne was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Plymouth Dockyard to the draught specified in the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1754, and launched on 31 May 1766. She was first commissioned for the Falkland Crisis of 1770 after which, in 1774, she sailed for North America. From March 1776, she served in the English Channel then, in May 1778, she was sent to the West Indies where she took part in the battles of St Lucia, Grenada and Martinique. In November 1780, Boyne returned home, where she was fitted for ordinary at Plymouth. In May 1783, she was broken up.