HMS Royal Oak (1769)

Last updated

George III reviewing the Fleet at Spithead 22 June 1773.jpg
George III reviewing the Fleet at Spithead, 22 June 1773, depicting HMS 'Royal Oak'
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
NameHMS Royal Oak
Ordered16 November 1765
BuilderPlymouth Dockyard
Laid downMay 1766
Launched13 November 1769
FateBroken up, 1815
Notes
General characteristics [1]
Class and type Royal Oak-class ship of the line
Tons burthen1606 2194 (bm)
Length168 ft 6 in (51.36 m) (gundeck)
Beam46 ft 9 in (14.25 m)
Depth of hold20 ft (6.1 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail plan Full-rigged ship
Armament
  • 74 guns:
  • Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 14 × 9 pdrs
  • Forecastle: 4 × 9 pdrs
HMS Royal Oak, by Joseph Marshall HMS 'Royal Oak', by Joseph Marshall LW SCMU 1864 0010 0001.jpg
HMS Royal Oak, by Joseph Marshall

HMS Royal Oak was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Israel Pownoll and launched on 13 November 1769 at Plymouth. [1]

Contents

She was commissioned for the Falklands Crisis of 1770.

She was not fully commissioned until November 1770 and her first commander was Captain Molyneux Shuldham. Other notable commanders include Sir Peter Parker from November 1775 until October 1776. Johnathon Faulknor from October 176 until January 1778. Henry Francis Evans April/May 1778. Sir George Home July/August 1779. Sir Digby Dent August to December 1779.

She spent all of her first years in Plymouth and in 1773 formed part of the Spithead Review where the strength of the Navy was displayed to King George III. Not until December 1778 did she begin to partake in meaningful duties, when she then sailed over the Atlantic to the West Indies. In 1779 she was posted to the Leeward Islands. On 6 July 1779 she took part in the Battle of Grenada.

From January to April 1780 she was refitted with a copper bottom in Portsmouth Docks. She sailed for North America in May 1780 and arrived in July.

On 16 March 1781 she took place in the Battle of Cape Henry fighting the French fleet off the American coast. In August 1781 she captured the American sloop Aurora (16 gun). She fought the French again at the Battle of the Chesapeake on 5 September 1781. In December she was re-posted to the West Indies and on 12 April 1782 took place in the huge Battle of the Saintes as the final ship of the Red Squadron, in which action she delivered the fatal blow to the French ship "Cesar". After this action she returned to North America before being returned to Portsmouth in 1783 for repair. Although some works were carried out a full refit proved uneconomic and she sat for many years unused in Portsmouth Docks.

Royal Oak was converted for use as a prison ship for French prisoners-of-war in 1796, and was broken up in 1815. [1]

Citations and notes

  1. 1 2 3 Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p179.

Related Research Articles

HMS <i>Africa</i> (1781) Ship of the line of the Royal Navy

HMS Africa was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched by Barnard at Deptford on 11 April 1781.

HMS <i>Berwick</i> (1775) Elizabeth-class ship of the line

HMS Berwick was a 74-gun Elizabeth-class third rate of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard on 18 April 1775, to a design by Sir Thomas Slade. She fought the French at the Battle of Ushant (1778) and the Dutch at the Battle of Dogger Bank (1781). The French captured her in the action of 8 March 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars and she served with them with some success then and at the start of the Napoleonic Wars until the British recaptured her at the Battle of Trafalgar. Berwick sank shortly thereafter in a storm.

HMS Nymph was a 14-gun Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy, built by Israel Pownoll and launched at Chatham Dockyard on 27 May 1778. She was accidentally burnt and sank in the British Virgin Islands in 1783.

HMS <i>Raisonnable</i> (1768) Ship of the line of the Royal Navy

HMS Raisonnable was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, named after the ship of the same name captured from the French in 1758. She was built at Chatham Dockyard, launched on 10 December 1768 and commissioned on 17 November 1770 under the command of Captain Maurice Suckling, Horatio Nelson's uncle. Raisonnable was built to the same lines as HMS Ardent, and was one of the seven ships forming the Ardent class of 1761. Raisonnable was the first ship in which Nelson served.

HMS <i>Dublin</i> (1757) Ship of the line of the Royal Navy

HMS Dublin was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Adam Hayes at Deptford Dockyard and launched on 6 May 1757.

HMS <i>St Albans</i> (1764) Ship of the line of the Royal Navy

HMS St Albans was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 12 September 1764 by Perry, Wells & Green at their Blackwall Yard, London.

HMS <i>Europa</i> (1765) Ship of the line of the Royal Navy

HMS Europa was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 21 April 1765 at Lepe, Hampshire. She was renamed HMS Europe in 1778, and spent the rest of her career under this name.

HMS <i>Sultan</i> (1775) British Royal Oak-class ship of the line

HMS Sultan was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 23 December 1775 at Harwich. Built to take part in the American Revolutionary War, her departure was delayed due to a shortage of crew and it was 9 June 1778 before she finally sailed as part of a squadron led by Rear-Admiral John Byron. In September she was with Richard Howe's fleet, blockading the French in Boston and in 1779, transferred to the West Indies, where she took part in the Battle of Grenada that July. Almost a year later, on 20 June 1780, she was involved in a short action off the coast of the Dominican Republic with a superior French force.

<i>Intrepid</i>-class ship of the line

The Intrepid-class ships of the line were a class of fifteen 64-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir John Williams. His design, approved on 18 December 1765, was slightly smaller than Sir Thomas Slade's contemporary Worcester-class design of the same year, against which it was evaluated competitively. Following the prototype, four more ships were ordered in 1767–69, and a further ten between 1771 and 1779.

HMS <i>Monmouth</i> (1772) Ship of the line of the Royal Navy

HMS Monmouth was an Intrepid-class 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Israel Pownoll and launched on 18 April 1772 at Plymouth. Being relatively compact in relation to her gun power she was affectionately known as the "Little Black Ship".

HMS <i>Foudroyant</i> (1758) Ship of the line of the Royal Navy

The Foudroyant was an 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was later captured and served in the Royal Navy as the Third Rate HMS Foudroyant.

HMS Burford was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1754, and launched in 1757.

HMS <i>Lowestoffe</i> (1761) British fifth-rate frigate

HMS Lowestoffe was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Built during the latter part of the Seven Years' War, she went on to see action in the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary War, and served often in the Caribbean. A young Horatio Nelson served aboard her shortly after passing his lieutenant's examination.

HMS <i>Pallas</i> (1757) British fifth-rate frigate (1757–1783)

HMS Pallas was one of the three 36-gun Venus-class fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1757 and initially served in Sir Edward Hawke's fleet blockading the coast of France where she fought at the Raid on Cherbourg and in the Battle of Bishops Court. She later served for a number of years in the Mediterranean Sea before moving to serve off the coast of Africa between 1774 and 1776 where she protected the isolated British colonies. In 1778 she joined the Newfoundland Station and participated in the attack on Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Pallas returned to the English Channel after this and assisted in destroying a French invasion force intended for the Channel Islands in 1779 before briefly serving on the Jamaica Station. In 1783 she was beached on São Jorge Island after she was found to be heavily leaking; she was burned there on 24 February.

Sir Charles Saxton, 1st Baronet

Sir Charles Saxton, 1st Baronet was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, rising to the rank of captain.

Robert Fanshawe was a British officer of the Royal Navy and a Member of Parliament.

HMS <i>Perseverance</i> (1781) Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Perseverance was a 36-gun Perseverance-class frigate of the British Royal Navy. She served on the North American station until 1787, after which she returned to England, where she was refitted at Portsmouth. In 1789 Perseverance was sent to the East Indies; she returned to Portsmouth in 1793, when she was laid up before finishing her career there as a receiving ship. She was sold and broken up in May 1823.

Digby Dent (Royal Navy officer, born 1739)

Rear Admiral Sir Digby Dent (1739–1817) was a late 18th century and early 19th century Royal Navy commander.

HMS Scarborough (1756)

HMS Scarborough was a 20-gun ship built in 1756 which served the Royal Navy until 1780. She had a crew of 160 men.

Adam Hayes

Adam Hayes (1710–1785) was an 18th century shipbuilder to the Royal Navy. A great number of his models survive.

References