Warspite (74)
Hierarchical Path: Seven Years War (Main Page) >> Navies >> British Navy >> Warspite (74)
Origin and History
The ship was built by Thomas West at Deptford and launched on April 8 1758.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- from 1758: captain Charles Holmes
- from 1759: captain sir John Bentley
- from 1761 until June 1763: captain William Willett
In 1780, the ship was renamed Arundel and transformed into a hospital ship who served at Portsmouth.
From 1799, the ship served as a receiving ship at Portsmouth.
The ship was broken up in November 1801.
Service during the War
On February 16 1759, the ship sailed for the Mediterranean. In May, she was part of Boscawen squadron who had taken position off Cap Sicié to blockade the harbour of Toulon where a French fleet was preparing to sail to join another squadron at Brest and then to escort an invasion force to Ireland. At the beginning of July, Boscawen was compelled to go to abandon the blockade of Toulon and to sail for Gibraltar for provisions and repairs. On August 5 de la Clue set sail from Toulon to make a junction with de Conflans' fleet at Brest. On August 17, de la Clue's fleet (10 ships of the line, 2 50-gun ships and 3 frigates) passed the straits of Gibraltar where it was sighted by the Gibraltar (20). Alarmed, Boscawen set sail from Gibraltar to intercept de la Clue. On August 18, the ship took part to the victorious battle of Lagos. On August 19, the Warspite (74) was ordered in against the Téméraire (74) and succeeded in bringing her out very little damaged. As soon as his fleet had repaired damages, Boscawen returned to Great Britain, in accordance with his instructions, taking with him several vessels including the Warspite (74). Captain Bentley of the Warspite (74) was knighted for his share in the action. On November 20, the ship took part in the decisive battle of Quiberon who eliminated any serious threat from the French navy for the rest of the war.
On December 11 1761, the ship sailed for the Mediterranean where she served until June 1763.
Characteristics
| Guns | 74
| ||||||||
| Crew | 550 to 600 men | ||||||||
| Length at gundeck | 165 ft 9 in (50.53 m) | ||||||||
| Width | 46 ft 11 in (14.3 m) | ||||||||
| Depth | 19 ft 9 in (6.03 m) | ||||||||
| Displacement | 1580 tons (1605 tonnes) |
References
Blasco, Manuel, 3 Decks Wiki – British 3rd Rates
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.
