Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and then at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. As a captain he fought at the Battle of Bantry Bay during the Williamite War in Ireland.
Association was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1697. She served with distinction at the capture of Gibraltar, and was lost in 1707 by grounding on the Isles of Scilly in the greatest maritime disaster of the age. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.
HMS Somerset was a three-decker 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Chatham Dockyard on 31 May 1698. She was the first ship to bear the name.
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 St Andrew was a 96-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Christopher Pett at Woolwich Dockyard under the supervision of Christopher Pett until his death in March 1668, completed by Jonas Shish, and launched in 1670. Commanded by George Churchill, she took part in the 1692 victory over the French navy at Barfleur & La Hogue.
HMS Swiftsure was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Sir Anthony Deane at Harwich, and launched in 1673. By 1685 she had been reduced to a 66-gun ship.
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 Torbay was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford Dockyard on 16 December 1693. In 1707, she served as flagship of Rear-Admiral of the Blue Sir John Norris and belonged to Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet. She saw action during the unsuccessful Battle of Toulon and was present during the great naval disaster off the Isles of Scilly when Shovell and four of his ships were lost, claiming the lives of nearly 2,000 sailors. Torbay suffered little to no damage and finally managed to reach Portsmouth.
HMS Lancaster was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Bursledon on 3 April 1694.
HMS Orford was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford in 1698. She carried twenty-two 24-pounder guns and four (18-pounder) culverins on the lower deck; twenty-six 12-pounder guns on the upper deck; fourteen (5-pounder) sakers on the quarterdeck and forecastle; and four 3-pounder guns on the poop or roundhouse.
HMS Triumph was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Chatham Dockyard on 2 March 1697. She was renamed HMS Prince in 1714.
HMS Anglesea was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Plymouth in 1694, although not ordered from the dockyard, but as a commercial contract with Mr Flint, with labour and materials supplied from the dockyard by the Master Shipwright, Elias Waffe. She was ordered on 17 February 1692.
Firebrand was a Royal Navy fireship built at Limehouse in 1694, the first Royal Naval vessel to bear the name.
HMS Colchester was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, ordered to be built by commercial contract by Sir Henry Johnson on 16 November 1693, and both ships were launched at the contractor's Blackwall Yard on 23 October 1694. The Colchester was commissioned on 10 December 1694 under Captain Frederick Weighman, for service in the West Indies.
HMS Burlington was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Sir Henry Johnson's Blackwall Yard, and launched on 16 September 1695. The commercial contract had originally been agreed with Johnson on 16 November 1693, but the latter two were delayed and a fresh contract for them agreed on 7 December 1694.
HMS Severn was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Sir Henry Johnson's Blackwall Yard on 16 September 1695. The commercial contract had originally been agreed with Johnson on 16 November 1693, but the latter two were delayed and a fresh contract for them agreed on 7 December 1694.
HMS Panther was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard and launched on 15 March 1703.
HMS Phoenix was built as a fireship as part of the 1693–94 programme of Fireships. After her commissioning she spent time in the English Channel then joined the Fleet for the Battle of Vigo Bay followed by the Battle of Velez-Malaga. She went aground in the Isles of Scilly and was salvaged. While laid up at Plymouth in 1708 was rebuilt as a 24-gun sixth rate. After recommissioning she spent her time in Home Waters, North America and the West Indies. She was rebuilt again in 1727 before finally being sold in 1744.
HMS Nonsuch was a 36-gun fifth rate of the Royal Navy. She was an experimental fast-sailing design, built by the renowned shipwright Anthony Deane according to proposals by the Dutch naval officer Laurens van Heemskirk, who became her first captain. She was launched in December 1668, and commissioned the same day under van Heemskirk. In 1669 she was reclassed as a 42-gun Fourth rate, being commanded from 9 April by Captain Sir John Holmes. She was to spend most of her career in the Mediterranean. She was for a time based on Tangier, and was commanded by a succession of accomplished commanders who subsequently rose to flag rank in the Navy, including George Rooke from 1677 to 1680, then briefly under Cloudesley Shovell, and then Francis Wheler from 1680 to 1681. Under Wheler's command, she participated on 9 April 1681 in the capture of the Algerine 46-gun Golden Horse, along with the Fourth rate Adventure.
The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 was the loss of four warships of a Royal Navy fleet off the Isles of Scilly in severe weather on 22 October 1707. Between 1,400 and 2,000 sailors lost their lives aboard the wrecked vessels, making the incident one of the worst maritime disasters in British naval history. The disaster has been attributed to a combination of factors, including the navigators' inability to accurately calculate their positions, errors in the available charts and pilot books, and inadequate compasses.
Great Britain 