Vanguard (70)
Hierarchical Path: Seven Years War (Main Page) >> Navies >> British Navy >> Vanguard (70)
Origin and History
The ship was built by Philemon Ewer at East Cowes on the Isle of Wight and launched on April 16 1748.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- in 1759: captain Robert Swanton
The ship was sold on April 13 1774.
Service during the War
At the beginning of 1758, the ship was part of the fleet who assembled at Portsmouth under the command of admiral Edward Boscawen for the expedition against Louisbourg. On February 19, this fleet set sail for Halifax and finally arrived there on May 9. On May 28, the fleet sailed from Halifax and arrived in sight of Louisbourg on June 1. Throughout the siege of Louisbourg, the fleet actively supported the British army and the fortress finally surrendered on July 26.
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, Saunders' fleet made a junction with Durell's squadron at Isles-aux-Coudres. 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. The town finally surrendered on September 18. 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 November 1759, the ship was part of vice-admiral Charles Saunders' squadron, returning from Québec. Saunders learnt in the chops of the Channel that the French were out and that admiral Hawke had gone in chase of them. Saunders fully realised that no addition of forces was to be despised and, on his own responsibility, he steered for Quiberon Bay with all the sail he could set. Saunders had with him but 3 ships of the line. However, Saunders' reinforcements arrived too late to take part in the decisive battle of Quiberon.
In 1762, the ship took part in the expedition against Martinique.
To do: more details on the campaigns from 1760 to 1762
Characteristics
| Guns | 70
| ||||||||
| Crew | not available | ||||||||
| Length at gundeck | 160 ft (48.8 m) | ||||||||
| Width | 45 ft (13.7 m) | ||||||||
| Depth | 19 ft 4 in (5.9 m) | ||||||||
| Displacement | 1,419 long tons (1441.8 t) |
References
Blasco, Manuel, British 3rd Rates, 3 Decks Wiki
Phillips, M., Michael Phillip's Ships of the Old Navy
- HMS Vanguard (1748)
N.B.: the section Service during the War is derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
