A detail taken from Royal Sovereign by L. De Man, circa 1725 | |
History | |
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Great Britain | |
Name | HMS Royal Sovereign |
Builder | Fisher Harding, Woolwich Dockyard |
Launched | July 1701 |
Fate | Broken up, 1768 |
General characteristics as built [1] | |
Class and type | 100-gun first rate ship of the line |
Tons burthen | 1882+71⁄94 bm |
Length | |
Beam | 50 ft 3.5 in (15.3 m) |
Depth of hold | 19 ft 1 in (5.8 m) |
Propulsion | Sails |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Armament |
|
General characteristics after 1728 rebuild [2] | |
Class and type | 1719 Establishment 100-gun first rate ship of the line |
Tons burthen | 1883+46⁄94 bm |
Length | 174 ft (53.0 m) (gundeck) |
Beam | 50 ft (15.2 m) |
Depth of hold | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
Propulsion | Sails |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Armament |
|
HMS Royal Sovereign was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard and launched in July 1701. [1] She had been built using some of the salvageable timbers from the previous Royal Sovereign, which had been destroyed by fire in 1697. [3]
She was Admiral George Rooke's flagship in the War of the Spanish Succession. She was later the flagship of Admiral Clowdisley Shovell. In the Seven Years' War she was flagship of the Portsmouth fleet. Admiral Boscawen received the death warrant for Admiral John Byng in the captain's cabin in March 1757, and here authorised the firing squad on the nearby HMS Monarch. [4]
Royal Sovereign formed the basis for the dimensions for 100-gun ships in the 1719 Establishment, being a generally well-regarded vessel. [5] In practice, only Royal Sovereign herself was affected by this Establishment, being the only first rate ship either built or rebuilt to the Establishment in its original form, but the Royal William and Britannia had been rebuilt to the same dimensions (approximately) when both were re-launched in 1719. She underwent her rebuild to the 1719 Establishment at Chatham after an order of 18 February 1724, being relaunched on 28 September 1728. [2]
The rebuilt Royal Sovereign remained in service until she was broken up in 1768, ending her career with a total of 67 years' service in the Royal Navy. [2]
In the 2013 video game Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag , HMS Royal Sovereign, partnered with HMS Fearless, appears as one of the legendary ships which the protagonist Edward Kenway could encounter and sink in the Caribbean Sea. As the two ships sail and fight together, either Royal Sovereign and Fearless are both sunk in battle with the Jackdaw, or neither of them are.
A giant in the 1726 novel Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift is depicted with a staff “near as tall as the mainmast of the Royal Sovereign.”
HMS Vanguard was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Portsmouth Dockyard and launched in 1678.
HMS Norfolk was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built at Southampton and launched on 28 March 1693, and was the first ship to bear the name. She was rebuilt at Plymouth according to the 1719 Establishment, and was re-launched on 21 September 1728. Instead of carrying her armament on two decks as she had done originally, she now carried them on three gundecks, though she continued to be rated a third rate.
HMS Royal Katherine was an 84-gun full-rigged second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched in 1664 at Woolwich Dockyard. Her launching was conducted by Charles II and attended by Samuel Pepys. Royal Katherine fought in both the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars and afterwards, the War of the Grand Alliance before entering the dockyard at Portsmouth for rebuilding in 1702. In this rebuilding, she was upgraded to carry more guns, 90 in total, and served in the War of the Spanish Succession during which she was renamed Ramillies in honour of John Churchill's victory at the Battle of Ramillies. She was rebuilt again in 1742–3 before serving as the flagship of the ill-fated Admiral John Byng in the Seven Years' War. Ramillies was wrecked at Bolt Tail near Hope Cove on 15 February 1760.
HMS Royal Oak was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Jonas Shish at Deptford and launched in 1674. She was one of only three Royal Navy ships to be equipped with the Rupertinoe naval gun. Life aboard her when cruising in the Mediterranean Sea in 1679 is described in the diary of Henry Teonge.
HMS Nottingham was a 60-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard and launched on 10 June 1703. She was the first ship to bear the name.
HMS Duke was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 13 June 1682 at Woolwich Dockyard.
HMS Greenwich was a 54-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Christopher Pett at Woolwich Dockyard and launched in 1666.
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 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 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 Captain was a 70-gun third rate built at Woolwich Dockyard in 1677/78. After sitting in Ordinary for ten years she was in active commission for the War of the English Succession fighting at Beachy Head and Barfleur. She was in Ordinary until 1706 when she was rebuilt. She was in active commission for the last half of the War of Spanish Succession but fought in no major engagements. She was at the Battle of Passero I 1718. She was rebuilt in 1720/22. She made two forays in to the Baltic though the bulk of her late career was spent as guardship at Portsmouth. She was hulked in 1740 and finally broken in 1762.
HMS Hampton Court was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford Dockyard in 1678. Her initial commission was to move her to Chatham where she spent in the next ten years in Ordinary. She held an active commission for the War of the English Succession, participating in the Battles of Beachy Head and Barfleur. She was rebuilt at Blackwall in 1699/1701. During the War of Spanish Succession she served mainly in the Mediterranean. In 1707 she was taken by the French and incorporated into the French Navy for four years. She was sold to the Spanish in 1712. She was wrecked in Spanish service off the coast of Florida in a hurricane in 1715.
HMS Burford was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line built at Woolwich Dockyard in 1677/79 as part of the Thirty Ships Programme of 1677. She fought in the War of the English Succession, including the Battle of Barfleur, before being rebuilt at Deptford in 1699, remaining as a 70-gun third rate. During the War of Spanish Succession she was mostly in the Mediterranean fleet and fought at the capture of Gibraltar and the Battle of Málaga in 1704 before being extensively repaired between 1710 and 1712 at Portsmouth Dockyard. Burford served in the Baltic in 1715 and 1717 before returning to the Mediterranean to fight the Spanish at the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718. She was wrecked on the Italian coast in a storm on 14 February 1719.
HMS Expedition was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line built at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1677/79. She was in active commission during the War of the English Succession participating in the battles of Beachy Head and Barfleur. She was rebuilt in 1699. Again, for the War of Spanish Succession she was in commission for the operation at Cadiz then returned to England where she sat for two years. She was in the Mediterranean for the Battle of Marbella in 1705. She then went to the West Indies and fought in Wager's action off Cartagena in 1708. She was rebuilt in 1709-14 to the 1706 Establishment. She spent her time split between the Baltic and as guard ship at Portsmouth before being broken at Portsmouth in 1736. She was rebuilt in 1736/40 at Deptford Dockyard.
HMS Kent was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line built by Sir Henry Johnson of Blackwall in 1677/79. She served during the War of English Succession 1699 to 1697, participating in the Battle of Barfleur. She was rebuilt in 1697/99. She served during the War of Spanish Succession 1702 to 1712 and partook in the Battles of Vigo and Velez-Malaga. She partook in the Battle of Passaro then served during the short war with Spain, December 1718 to February 1720. She was rebuilt in 1722/26. She spent the next thirteen years as a guard ship at Portsmouth. In the 1740s, she was off Cape Finisterre then in the West Indies. She returned home and was finally broken in 1744.
HMS Suffolk was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by contract of 20 February 1678 by Sir Henry Johnson at Blackwall. She participated in the War of the English Succession 1689 - 1697, in the Battles of Beachy Head and Barfleur. She was rebuilt in 1699. She was actively involved in the War of Spanish Succession 1702 - 1713. Her later career was as guard ship duties, deployments to the Baltic Sea and the West Indies. She was finally broken in 1765 after lying in Ordinary for almost twenty years.
HMS Boyne was an 80-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford Dockyard on 21 May 1692.
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