HMS Worcester (1769)

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'Worcester' (1769); 'Stirling Castle' (1775); 'Lion' (1777) (alternative spelling- Lyon) RMG J3184.png
Worcester
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
NameHMS Worcester
Ordered16 November 1765
BuilderPortsmouth Dockyard
Laid down6 May 1766
Launched17 October 1769
FateBroken up, 1816
Notes
General characteristics [1]
Class and type Worcester-class ship of the line
Tons burthen137949⁄94 (bm)
Length159 ft (48 m) (gundeck)
Beam44 ft 6 in (13.56 m)
Depth of hold19 ft 10 in (6.05 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail plan Full-rigged ship
Armament
  • 64 guns:
  • Gundeck: 26 × 24 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 26 × 18 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 10 × 4 pdrs
  • Forecastle: 2 × 9 pdrs

HMS Worcester was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 17 October 1769 at Portsmouth, [1] and was the fourth ship to bear the name.

Contents

In 1783, Worcester took part in the Battle of Cuddalore. [2]

She was broken up in Deptford in 1816, after having been hulked in 1788. [1] She is best known as the ship on which Lord Nelson won an acting commission in 1776 as the fourth lieutenant.[ citation needed ]

In fiction

A 74-gun ship by the name of HMS Worcester featured in The Ionian Mission by Patrick O'Brian. Despite the events of the novel taking place during this ship's lifetime, the Worcester of the novel is described as being one of the 'forty-thieves'—a name ascribed to the ships of the later, and somewhat infamous Surveyors' class of third rates, sometimes also known as the Vengeurclass.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 181.
  2. ↑ Clowes, William Laird (1996) [1900]. The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, Volume III. London: Chatham Publishing. p. 563. ISBN   1-86176-012-4.

Related Research Articles

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Lyme was a 52-gun third rate Speaker-class frigate built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England at Portsmouth, and launched in 1654.

Worcester was a 48-gun third rate frigate built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England at Woolwich Dockyard, and launched in 1651.

President was a 38-gun fourth rate frigate of the Royal Navy, originally built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England by Peter Pett I at Deptford Dockyard, and launched in 1650.

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HMS <i>Lenox</i> (1678) Ship of the line of the Royal Navy

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HMS <i>Expedition</i> (1679) Ship of the line of the Royal Navy

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HMS <i>Humber</i> (1693) Ship of the line of the Royal Navy

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HMS <i>Newark</i> (1695) Ship of the line of the Royal Navy

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HMS <i>Dreadnought</i> (1691) Ship of the line of the Royal Navy

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HMS <i>Plymouth</i> (1708) Ship of the line of the Royal Navy

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HMS Worcester was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Portsmouth Dockyard to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment, and launched on 20 December 1735.

References


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