HMS Mary Galley (1744)

HMS Mary Galley was a 44-gun fifth rate ship of the line, built and launched in 1744 in Rotherhithe, and sunk as a breakwater in 1764.[1]

Mary Galley
History
Great Britain
NameHMS Mary Galley
Ordered26 April 1743
BuilderHenry Bird, Globe Stairs, Rotherhithe
Laid down18 May 1743
Launched16 June 1744
Commissioned13 September 1744 at Deptford dockyard
FateSunk as breakwater, Plymouth 20 April 1764
General characteristics
Class and type44-gun fifth-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen712 1394 (bm)
Length
  • 126 ft 0 in (38.4 m) (overall)
  • 102 ft 4 in (31.2 m) (keel)
Beam36 ft 2 in (11.0 m)
Draught15 ft 5 in (4.7 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planship rigged
Complement250
Armament
  • Lower deck: 20 × 18-pdrs
  • Upper deck: 20 × 9-pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 4 × 6-pdrs
edit

Mary Galley was initially commissioned under Captain Piercy Brett, but command was transferred to Captain William Dandridge before the ship was put to sea.[2][1] Dandridge died on 27 August, and command passed to Robert Swanton.[3][2] Under Swanton, Mary Galley undertook an extensive voyage of patrol along the Bristol Channel, the Downs and into the North Sea. In March 1746 she underwent minor repairs at Sheerness docks at a cost of £984.[2]

The ship returned to sea in April 1746 and was assigned to Atlantic service off west Africa, and then to the Leeward Islands from 1747 to 1748. She was surveyed for hull damage in January 1749, but no repairs were made. She was sunk as part of a breakwater at Plymouth, on 20 April 1764.[2]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "MARY GALLEY (44) [1744]". Ageofnelson.org. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d Winfield 2007, p.171
  3. ^ Hayes, Kevin J. and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "William Dandridge (1689–1744)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 23 September 2013. Web. 26 May 2014.