Rochester (50)
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Origin and History
The ship was built by Thomas Holland at Deptford dockyard in 1749 and launched on August 3 of the same year. She was an experimental ship built larger than the usual ships of her category.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- from 1758 to at least November 1759: captain Robert Duff
The ship was sold on April 3 1770.
Service during the War
At the end of May 1758, the ship was part of commodore Howe's squadron who, from June 1 to July 1, escorted the amphibious expedition against the French coasts. Somewhere in June, the ship assisted the frigate Renown (30) in the chase and capture of the French frigate Guirlande (22). From July 31 to September 19, she took part in the second expedition against the French Coasts. On August 18, a French privateer attacked the rear of the British fleet off the isle of Aldeney. This privateer was engaged, first by a British frigate then by the Rochester. The French privateer finally struck.
In June 1759, the ship was part of the fleet of admiral sir Edward Hawke who blockaded the French fleet in Brest. She relieved the Firme (60), which was watching the French transports which had assembled in the river Morbihan in preparation for the invasion of Ireland, when at length this ship became very foul and had to go home to refit. On November 20, 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.
To do: campaigns from 1760 to 1762
Characteristics
| Guns | 50
| ||||||||
| Crew | 350 men | ||||||||
| Length at gundeck | 146 ft (44.5 m) | ||||||||
| Width | 40 ft (12.2 m) | ||||||||
| Depth | 16 ft 10 in (5.1 m) | ||||||||
| Displacement | 1,034 long tons (1,050.6 t) |
References
Blasco, Manuel, British 4th Rates, 3 Decks Wiki
Phillips, M., Michael Phillip's Ships of the Old Navy
- HMS Rochester (1749)
N.B.: the section Service during the War is derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
