Stirling Castle (70)
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Origin and History
The ship was built by John Ward at the Chatham dockyard and launched on April 24 1742.
During the War of the Austrian Succession, the ship took part in the battle of Toulon on February 11 1744.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- in 1759: captain Michael Everitt
The ship was scuttled on September 14 1762.
Service during the War
In February 1759, the ship sailed from Spithead in Great Britain as part of the fleet destined for the expedition against Québec. The voyage was long and tedious. On April 21, when the fleet finally reached Louisbourg, it was to find the harbour blocked with ice, so that the fleet made for Halifax instead. The fleet finally sailed for Louisbourg in May. From June 1 to 6, the fleet gradually left the harbour of Louisbourg and sailed for Québec. On June 23, it made a junction with Durell's squadron near Isle-aux-Coudres and obtained from him some of the French pilots whom he had captured. Durell, reinforced, was left off Isle-aux-Coudres to bar the river and Saunders, hoisting his flag in the Stirling Castle, proceeded. On June 26, the whole British fleet of vice-admiral Saunders was anchored safely off the southern shore of Isle-d'Orléans, a few km below Québec without loosing a single ship. Québec finally surrendered on September 18 1759. At the end of October, vice-admiral Saunders fired his farewell salute and dropped down the Saint-Laurent river with his fleet on his way to Great Britain.
In 1762, the ship took part to the expedition against Havana. She was heavily damaged during the operations and declared unserviceable. On September 14 1762, she was scuttled in the upper reaches of Havana harbour.
To do: more details on the campaigns from 1760 to 1762
Characteristics
| Guns | 70
| ||||||||
| Crew | not available | ||||||||
| Length at gundeck | 151 ft (46 m) | ||||||||
| Width | 43 ft 5 in (13.2 m) | ||||||||
| Depth | 17 ft 9 in (5.4 m) | ||||||||
| Displacement | 1225 long tons (1245 tonnes) |
References
Blasco, Manuel, 3 Decks Wiki – HBMS Stirling Castle (1742)
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.
