Revenge (64)
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Origin and History
The ship was built by Richard Stacey at Deptford starting in 1740 and was launched on May 23, 1742.
In 1743, during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48), the ship took part in the Battle of Toulon.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- from May 21, 1755: Captain Frederick Cornwall
- from August 11, 1756 to June 23, 1760: Captain John Storr
- from August 5, 1761 to February 8, 1763: Captain Edward Vernon
The ship was sold on May 24, 1787.
The ship was sold in 1787.
Service during the War
In November 1755, the ship was part of Counter-Admiral West's squadron cruising off the coast of France. On November 13 towards 10:00 a.m. some 400 km west of Yeu Island, this squadron intercepted the slow Espérance (74) armed as a flute with only 22 guns, who was returning from Louisbourg. At the end of the afternoon, the ship joined the Orford (70) who had already engaged the Espérance. The combat lasted for three hours, the conduct of the French crew forcing the admiration of its British opponents. At 9:00 p.m., the Espérance was surrounded by the four British ships of the squadron and a prize crew sent aboard.
In 1756, the ship was part of Byng's squadron sent to relieve Fort St. Philip besieged by a French amphibious force which had proceeded to the invasion of Minorca. The squadron set sail from England on April 10. On May 2, it arrived at Gibraltar. On May 8, Byng's squadron left Gibraltar. On May 19, it came into sight of Fort St. Philip. The French fleet then advanced to meet Byng. On May 20, the ship took part in the Battle of Minorca where several British ships were seriously damaged but none was lost on either side. After a council of war, Byng gave orders to return to Gibraltar, abandoning Minorca to its fate.
From May 1757, the ship operated in the Mediterranean.
At the beginning of 1758, a British squadron of 11 ships of the line and 9 frigates conducted operations in the Mediterranean under the command of Admiral Henry Osborn. This squadron intercepted a smaller French squadron which had sailed from Toulon for North America, forcing it to take refuge in the harbour of Cartagena. In February, the French sent a relief squadron (only 5 ships of the line and a frigate) under M. Duquesne. On February 28, off Cape de Gata, Osborn sighted 4 of these sail near his fleet and ordered them to be chased while the main part of the British squadron continued off Carthagena to watch the French ships there. The Revenge brought the Orphée (64) to action and, on the Berwick (70) and Preston (50) coming up, the Orphée struck. In the Revenge, 33 were killed and 54 wounded, among the latter being Captain Storr.
On November 20 1759, the ship was present at the decisive Battle of Quiberon who eliminated any serious threat from the French navy for the rest of the war.
In May 1760, the ship was repaired at Chatham Dockyard.
Characteristics
| Guns | 70 (refitted as a 64-guns in 1755)
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| Crew | 480 men | ||||||||
| Length | 151 ft (46.02 m) | ||||||||
| Width | 43 ft 7 in (13.17 m) | ||||||||
| Depth | 17 ft 9 in (5.21 m) | ||||||||
| Displacement | 1,257 tons BM |
References
This article contains texts from the following book which is now in the public domain:
- Clowes, Wm. Laird, The Royal Navy – A History from the Earliest Time to the Present, Vol. III, Sampson Low, Marston and Company, London: 1898, pp. 146-160, 289
Other sources
Harrison, Simon and Manuel Blasco, 3 Decks
Phillips, M., Michael Phillip's Ships of the Old Navy
- "Battle of Minorca"
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
