HMS Marlborough (1767)
| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name: | HMS Marlborough |
| Ordered: | 4 December 1760 |
| Builder: | Deptford dockyard |
| Laid down: | 3 June 1763 |
| Launched: | 26 August 1767 |
| Commissioned: | January 1771 |
| Fate: | Wrecked near Belle Île, 4 November 1800 |
| Notes: |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Ramillies-class ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 1642 bm |
| Length: | 168 ft 8.5 in (51.422 m) (gun deck) |
| Beam: | 46 ft 11 in (14.30 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Complement: | 600 |
| Armament: |
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HMS Marlborough was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 August 1767 at Deptford. She was one of the Ramillies class built to update the Navy and replace ships lost following the Seven Years' War. She was first commissioned in 1771 under Captain Richard Bickerton as a guard ship for the Medway and saw active service in the American Revolutionary War and on the Glorious First of June.
On the evening of 3 November 1800 Marlborough was at sea in a storm off Brittany's Belle Île when strong winds drove her onto a partially submerged ledge of rocks. A substantial breach was opened in her hull and she began to batter against the rocks with each incoming wave. Her commander, Captain Thomas Sotheby, ordered the ship's guns and stores to be thrown overboard to lighten her, but she remained stuck fast.[1]
The storm abated by the following morning, but the ship had settled on the rocks and was awash to her orlop deck as waves flowed in through the hull. A distress signal was raised and answered by HMS Captain which drew close to Marlborough and succeeded in taking off all 600 of her crew. No attempt was made to salvage the ship itself.[1]
Notes
References
- Grocott, Terence. Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Eras. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1861760302.
- Lyon, David (1993) The Sailing Navy List Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-617-5.