HMS Hawk (1741)

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Naval Ensign of Great Britain (1707-1800).svg Great Britain
NameHMS Hawk
Ordered25 August 1740
BuilderGrevill & Whetstone, Limehouse
Laid down20 October 1740
Launched10 March 1741
Completed26 April 1741 at Deptford Dockyard
CommissionedMay 1741
Out of serviceOctober 1747
FateBroken up, Deptford Dockyard
General characteristics
Class and type8-gun Drake-class snow-rigged sloop
Tons burthen205 76⁄94 (bm)
Length
  • 84 ft 5 in (25.7 m) (gundeck)
  • 68 ft 8.5 in (20.9 m) (keel)
Beam23 ft 8.75 in (7.2 m)
Depth of hold9 ft 6.5 in (2.9 m)
PropulsionSail
Sail planSnow-rigged sloop
Complement80
Armament
  • 8 × 4pdrs (10 x 4 pdrs from 1744)
  • 12 × 1/2 pdr swivels

HMS Hawk was an eight-gun snow-rigged sloop of the Royal Navy, the second of three Drake class sloops constructed during the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear. Launched in 1741, her principal service was as convoy escort and patrol in the Irish Sea. She was broken up at Deptford Dockyard in 1747.

Contents

Construction

The Limehouse waterfront, where Hawk was constructed in 1741. From a contemporary engraving by John Boydell. John Boydell - View of the riverside at Limehouse 1751.JPG
The Limehouse waterfront, where Hawk was constructed in 1741. From a contemporary engraving by John Boydell.

Hawk was the second of three small, fast vessels designed by Surveyor of the Navy Jacob Acworth to guard merchant shipping in British home waters after the declaration of war against Spain in 1739. [1] [lower-alpha 1] She was ordered in August 1740, to be constructed by contract by shipwrights Grevill and Whetstone on the waterfront at Limehouse on the River Thames, and was then fitted out, armed and commissioned at Deptford Dockyard. Her dimensions were in keeping with other vessels of her class, with an overall length of 84 ft 5 in (25.7 m), a beam of 23 ft 8.75 in (7.2 m) and measuring 205 76⁄94 tons burthen. Construction costs were low, being £1,550 in shipwright fees and building expenses and a further £1,505 for fittings. [1] [lower-alpha 2]

Hawk had two masts, supported by a trysail mast aft of the main mast, being square-rigged on the fore and main masts. She was built with seven pairs of gunports along her upper deck, but initially armed with only eight four-pounder cannons with the remaining ports left unused. Twelve lightweight half-pounder swivel guns (anti-personnel weapons) were mounted on posts along the sides of the deck, and two more four-pounder cannons were added in 1744. The vessel was established with a complement of 80 men. [1]

Hawk was commissioned in May 1741 under Commander William Bruce, and assigned to the protection of the British whaling fleet off Spitzbergen. At the conclusion of the whaling season Hawk was briefly stationed off the Carolinas, remaining there until Commander Bruce's death on 12 June 1742. Hawk was then sailed to England and assigned to escort and patrol in the Irish Sea, under Commander Arthur Forrest. [1]

The sloop returned to England in 1744 and was decommissioned in April of that year to enable refitting at Deptford for a cost of £1,735. Her armament was increased and her mast plan shortened, with the main mast reduced by 4 ft (1.2 m) to 61 ft 6 in (18.75 m), and her foremast reduced by 1 ft (0.30 m) to 54 ft 6 in (16.61 m). [4]

She was recommissioned in May, and relaunched in June, for patrol duties along the Thames Estuary under Commander Samuel Masterson. In 1745 she returned to her former station as a convoy escort in the Irish Sea, guarding merchant vessels approaching the British Isles. In August 1745 her captaincy passed from Masterson to Commander Frederick Hyde. [1]

Hawk was decommissioned and broken up at Deptford Dockyard in October 1747. [1]

Notes

  1. ↑ Other Drake-class vessels were HMS Drake and HMS Swift. [2]
  2. ↑ This equates to a relative value of £386,200 in 2013 terms. [3]

Related Research Articles

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HMS <i>Swallow</i> (1745) Royal Navy sloop

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HMS Seahorse was a member of the Gibraltar Group of 24-gun sixth rates. After commissioning she spent her career in Home waters and North America on trade protection duties. She was rebuilt at Deptford between 1725 and 1727. After her rebuild she served in Home Waters, North America, West Indies and the Mediterranean on trade protection. She was sold in 1749.

HMS Rose was a member of the Gibraltar Group of 24-gun sixth rates. After commissioning she spent her career in Home waters and North America on trade protection duties. She was rebuilt at Woolwich between 1722 and 1724. After her rebuild she served in Home Waters, North America, West Indies and the Mediterranean on trade protection. She was sold in 1744.

HMS Sheerness was a fifth rate built under the 1689 programme built at Sheerness Dockyard. Her guns were listed under old terms for guns as demi-culverines, sakers and minions. After commissioning she spent her career in Home Waters, North America, Mediterranean and the West Indies. She was reduced to a 20-gun sixth rate in 1717 then rebuilt as a Modified 1719 Establishment sixth rate in 1731. She was sold in 1744.

HMS Tartar was a 32-gun fifth rate built by the Woolwich Dockyard in 1702. Her initial commissioning was in time for the War of the Spanish Succession. She partook in the Battle of Velez Malaga in 1704. She spent the rest of her career on counter piracy and trade protection patrols. She was rebuilt as a 20-gun sixth rate in 1733. She was finally broken in 1755.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Winfield 2007, p.299
  2. ↑ Winfield 2007, pp. 299-300
  3. ↑ "Purchasing Power of British Pounds from 1264 to Present". MeasuringWorth. 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  4. ↑ McLaughlan 2014, pp. 248-249

Bibliography

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