Roebuck (44)
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Origin and History
The frigate was built by George Rowcliffe at NothampSouthampton and launched on December 21 1743.
During the War of the Austrian Succession, in 1744 off Cape Finisterre, the frigate captured a Spanish 18-guns vessel.
During the Seven Years' War, the frigate was under the command of:
- from 1757: captain John Holwell
- from January 1759: captain Thomas Lynn
The frigate was sold out of the navy on July 3 1764.
Service during the War
At the beginning of January 1759, the frigate was among the fleet assembled at Carlisle Bay in Barbados under commodore John Moore for the planned expedition against the Martinique and Guadeloupe islands. On January 13, the whole British force sailed for Martinique Island. On January 15, the fleet lay off the bay of Fort Royal (actual Fort de France). On the morning of January 16, the frigate was part of the squadron charged to silence the French coastal batteries and to cover the landing. On January 18, after an unsuccessful attempt of the land troops to capture Fort Royal, the British fleet proceeded to Saint-Pierre, the second town in Martinique. On January 19, after failing to silence the batteries around Saint-Pierre, commodore Moore decided to redirect his efforts against the island of Guadeloupe. On January 22, the British fleet reached Basse-Terre. On January 23, along with the Bristol (54), the frigate relieved the Rippon (60) who had ran aground while bombarding a 6 guns battery. By the end of the day, Basse-Terre was almost entirely destroyed. On January 24, British troops landed and occupied the town. On February 6, the frigate was part of captain Harman's squadron which was detached to attack Fort Louis on the Grande-Terre. On February 13, this squadron cannonaded Fort Louis for 6 hours before landing a large detachment of marines and Highlanders who stormed the fort. In mid March, Moore fell back to Prince Rupert's Bay in the Island of Dominica with his fleet, in order to cover Basse-Terre and the British Leeward Islands from the threat of the newly arrived French squadron. The island of Guadeloupe finally capitulated on May 1. On June 25, the frigate escorted the convoy transporting the remnants of the 3rd Buffs, 61st Foot and 64th Foot to Great Britain.
To do: more details on the campaigns from 1760 to 1762
Characteristics
| Guns | 44
| ||||||
| Crew | not available | ||||||
| Length at gundeck | not available | ||||||
| Width | not available | ||||||
| Depth | not available | ||||||
| Displacement | not available |
References
Blasco, Manuel, British 5th Rates, 3 Decks Wiki
Phillips, M., Michael Phillip's Ships of the Old Navy
N.B.: the section Service during the War is derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
