HMS Weymouth (1736)
| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name: | HMS Weymouth |
| Ordered: | 19 April 1733 |
| Builder: | Plymouth Dockyard |
| Launched: | 31 March 1736 |
| Fate: | Wrecked, 17 February 1745 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type: | 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 1,065 35⁄94 bm |
| Length: | 144 ft (43.9 m) (Gundeck) |
| Beam: | 41 ft 5 in (12.6 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 16 ft 11 in (5.2 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament: |
|
HMS Weymouth was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line, built for the Royal Navy in the 1730s. She participated in the Battle of Cartagena de Indias in 1741 and was wrecked on a reef in Antigua in 1745.
Description
Weymouth was designed according to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment of dimensions.[1] The ship had a length at the gundeck of 144 feet (43.9 m) and 116 feet 4 inches (35.5 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 41 feet 5 inches (12.6 m), and a depth of hold of 16 feet 11 inches (5.2 m). The ship's tonnage was 1,065 35⁄94 tons burthen. Weymouth was armed with twenty-four 24-pounder cannon on her main gundeck, twenty-six 9-pounder cannon on her upper gundeck, and eight 6-pounder cannon on the quarterdeck and another pair on the forecastle. The ship had a crew of 400–420 officers and ratings.[2]
Construction and career
Weymouth, named after the eponymous port, was ordered on 6 January 1733. She was laid down in September at Plymouth Dockyard and was launched on 31 March 1736. Completed on 27 July 1739 at the cost of £14,963, she commissioned under the command of Captain Lord Aubrey Beauclerk, but he was replaced by Captain Thomas Trefusis in July and the ship was sent to the Mediterranean. The following year the ship was commanded by Captain Charles Knowles and the ship participated in the Battle of Cartagena de Indias in March 1741.[2]
Loss
On 17 February 1745, shortly before 01:00, Weymouth grounded after having sailed from English Harbour, Antigua on 13 February. All her guns and stores were removed, before Weymouth finally broke up on 22 February. Her commanding officer, Captain Warwick Calmady, was court-martialed over the loss on 18—19 February, and acquitted. The pilot who was embarked on Weymouth was sentenced to two years at the Marshalsea prison.[3]
Notes
References
- Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
- Michael Phillips. Weymouth (60) (1736). Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.