French Firerafts Attacking the British Fleet off Quebec, 28 June 1759 by Samuel Scott. The left foreground of the picture is taken up with the anchored British fleet in which Saunders' flagship, Stirling Castle, is in starboard-quarter view in the foreground just left of centre. | |
History | |
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Great Britain | |
Name | HMS Stirling Castle |
Ordered | 6 August 1739 |
Builder | Chatham Dockyard |
Launched | 24 April 1742 |
Fate | Scuttled on 14 September 1762 |
Notes |
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General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type | 1733 proposals 70-gun third rate ship of the line |
Tons burthen | 1225 |
Length | 151 ft (46.0 m) (gundeck) |
Beam | 43 ft 5 in (13.2 m) |
Depth of hold | 17 ft 9 in (5.4 m) |
Propulsion | Sails |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Armament |
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HMS Stirling Castle was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment, and launched on 24 April 1742. [1]
Whilst under the command of Captain Thomas Cooper, Stirling Castle took part in the Battle of Toulon on 11 February 1744. Stirling Castle was the lead ship in Rear-Admiral William Rowley's van division of Admiral Thomas Mathews' fleet that engaged the France-Spanish fleet. After the battle several officers were court-martialed, including Captain Cooper who appeared on 12 May at Port Mahon, where he was dismissed the service. He was immediately restored to his former rank and command however, as the charges against him were not deemed detrimental to either his professional honour or his ability as a sea officer. [2]
On 15 April 1746, Stirling Castle captured the 24-gun frigate Volage. However, Oriflamme recaptured her the day after. [3]
She took part in the Battle of Havana in 1762. [4] Shortly afterwards Stirling Castle was declared unserviceable and was stripped and scuttled in the upper reaches of Havana harbour on 14 September 1762, on the orders of Admiral George Pocock. [4]
HMS Fame was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, in service during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War.
HMS Stirling Castle was a 70-gun third-rate built at Deptford Dockyard, in 1678/79. She was in active commission for the War of the English Succession, fighting in the Battles of Beachy Head and Barfleur. HMS Stirling Castle underwent a rebuild at Chatham Dockyard in 1699. She was in the Cadiz operation in 1702. The ship was wrecked on the Goodwin Sands off Deal on 27 November 1703. The remains are now a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.
HMS Ardent was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built by contract at Blaydes Yard in Hull according to a design by Sir Thomas Slade, and launched on 13 August 1764 as the first ship of the Ardent-class. She had a somewhat turbulent career, being captured by the French in the action of 17 August 1779, and then re-captured by Britain in 1782.
HMS Cambridge was an 80-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Joseph Allin and built at Deptford Dockyard by Adam Hayes to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 21 October 1755.
HMS Ardent was a 64–gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 9 April 1796 at Northfleet. She had been designed and laid down for the British East India Company who was going to name her Princess Royal, but the Navy purchased her before launching, for service as a warship in the French Revolutionary War.
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.
Princesa was a 70-gun, two deck, ship of the line of the Spanish Navy, one of three ordered in 1748 to the specification laid down by Ciprian Autran and designed and built at Havana by Pedro de Torres. She was laid down on 11 May 1748 and launched on 15 September 1750. She and her sisters Infante and Galicia were commissioned together on 15 August 1751, and left Havana on 1 March 1752 as a squadron under the overall command of Jefe de escuadra Francisco Ponce de Leon, arriving at Cadiz on 30 April.
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 Lenox was a 70-gun third rate built at Deptford Dockyard in 1677/78. She was in active commission for the War of English Succession fighting in the Battles of Beachy Head and Barfleur. She was rebuilt in 1699. Again in active commission for the War of Spanish Succession fighting in the Capture of Gibraltar and the Battle of Velez Malaga. She followed this with the Battle off Passero. She was rebuilt again in 1721. She was active in the War with Spain, capturing the Princesa then serving in Home Waters, the Mediterranean and finally the West Indies. She was in action off Havana in 1745. She returned home and was placed in Ordinary. She was finally sunk as a breakwater at Sheerness in 1756.
HMS Berwick was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard during 1677/1679. After completion she was placed in Ordinary for 10 years. She was commissioned for the War of the English Succession 1689-1697, participating in the battles of Beachy Head and Barfleur. She was rebuilt between 1697 and 1700. She was commissioned for the War of Spanish Succession 1702-1712, participating in the battles of Vigo Bay, Capture of Gibraltar and Velez Malaga. placed in Ordinary in 1712, she was converted to a hulk at Portsmouth in 1715 before being broken in 1742.
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 Elizabeth was a 70-gun third rate built at Barnards Yard at Deptford Green by William and Robert Castle of Rotherhithe in 1678/80. She held an active commission during the War of the English Succession fighting in all three major engagements. She was rebuilt at Portsmouth between 1699 and 1704. She was captured by the French off the Scilly Islands in November 1704. She was in the French Navy until she was deleted in 1720.
HMS Essex was a 70-gun third rate built by Sir Henry Johnson of Blackwall in 1678/79. During the War of the English Succession she fought in the last major action. She was rebuilt in 1699/1700. During the War of Spanish Succession she fought at Vigo Bay, the Capture of Gibraltar and Velez Malaga. She also fought at the Battle off Passero in 1718. She was rebuilt again in 1736-40. She was in action off Toulon in 1744. She was active in the Channel and against French ports during the Seven Years War. She fought at Quiberon Bay in 1759. She was wrecked in Quiberon Bay in November 1759.
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 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.
The siege of Havana was a successful British siege against Spanish-ruled Havana that lasted from March to August 1762, a part of the Anglo-Spanish War (1762–1763), itself part of the Seven Years' War. After Spain abandoned its former policy of neutrality by signing the family compact with France, resulting in a British declaration of war on Spain in January 1762, the British government decided to mount an attack on the important Spanish fortress and naval base of Havana, with the intention of weakening the Spanish presence in the Caribbean and improving the security of its own North American colonies. A strong British naval force consisting of squadrons from Britain and the West Indies, and the military force of British and American troops it convoyed, were able to approach Havana from a direction that neither the Spanish governor nor the Admiral expected and were able to trap the Spanish fleet in the Havana harbour and land its troops with relatively little resistance.
HMS Warwick was a 60-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built to the 1719 Establishment at Plymouth by Peirson Lock. The keel was laid down on 1 April 1730, and the ship was launched on 25 October 1733, and completed on 24 August 1734.
Rear-Admiral George Murray, 6th Lord Elibank was a British naval officer. He joined the Royal Navy in the early 1720s and fought in the Battle of Porto Bello in 1739 as a lieutenant on board the ship of the line HMS Hampton Court. Murray was promoted to commander in 1740 and given command of the sloop HMS Tryall to take part in George Anson's voyage around the world. A series of illnesses and deaths in Anson's squadron meant that by early 1741 Murray had been promoted to post captain and given command of the frigate HMS Pearl. Pearl and another ship lost contact with Anson in April of that year and after taking heavy damage and casualties through storms and sickness, sought safety in Rio de Janeiro before sailing for England.
Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Hardy, also known as Charles Hardy the Elder, was a Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century. Hardy entered the Royal Navy in 1695, joining his cousin Captain Thomas Hardy's ship HMS Pendennis. Promoted to lieutenant in 1701, he served in several ships of the line before being promoted to commander in 1705. Hardy commanded sloops in the English Channel, Mediterranean and North Seas, before taking command of HMS Dunwich in 1709, in which he was promoted to post captain. Hardy subsequently served for a year at Jamaica before commanding two ships during the Great Northern War between 1718 and 1720. Having changed commands several times, in 1727 he fought at the thirteenth siege of Gibraltar in HMS Kent.
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