Invincible (74)
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Origin and History
The ship was designed by Pierre Morineau, built at Rochefort (France) and launched on October 21 1744.
The ship was captured by the Royal Navy on May 14 1747 off Cape Finisterre after engaging six British warships to protect her convoy.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- in 1758: captain John Bentley
The ship foundered in February 1758.
Service during the War
In 1757, the ship was part of admiral Holbourne's squadron which left Ireland on May 5 for the planned expedition against Louisbourg. By July 10, the entire squadron was finally at anchor before Halifax where it made its junction with Hardy's squadron. However on August, when the combined fleet was ready to set sail, Louisbourg had already been reinforced by three French squadron and governor Loudon canceled the whole enterprise. Holbourne's squadron stayed off Louisbourg till September 25 when it was shattered by a most terrible storm. It then returned to Great Britain in a very bad condition.
At the beginning of 1758, the ship was part of the fleet who assembled at Portsmouth under the command of admiral Edward Boscawen for a new expedition against Louisbourg. On February 19, this fleet set sail for Halifax. A few days later, the Invincible (74), missing stays, ran on a shoal in the East Solent near St. Hellen's and foundered.
Characteristics
| Guns | 74
| ||||||
| Crew | 700 | ||||||
| Length | 171 ft 3 in (52,20 m.) at gun deck level | ||||||
| Width | 49 ft 3 in (15,01 m.) | ||||||
| Depth | 21 ft 3 in (6,48 m.) | ||||||
| Displacement | 1,793 tons (1627 metric tons) |
References
Anonymous, A Complete History of the Present War, from its Commencement in 1756, to the End of the Campaign, 1760, London, 1761, pp. 202-205, 233-235
Blasco, Manuel, British 2nd Rates, 3 Decks Wiki
Deschênes, Ronald, Répertoire des vaisseaux de ligne français 1682-1780
Wikipedia, HMS Invincible (1747)
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
