HMS Worcester was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, one of eight such ships authorised by the Navy Board on 24 December 1695 to be newly built (six by commercial contract and two in the Royal Dockyards); the others were the Hampshire, Dartmouth, Salisbury, Winchester, Jersey, Carlisle and Tilbury. The contract for the Worcester was signed with shipbuilder Robert Winter on 26 February 1696, for the ship to be built in his yard at Northam in Southampton, and she was launched there on 31 May 1698.[1][2]
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} Great Britain | |
| Name | HMS Worcester |
| Ordered | 24 December 1695 |
| Builder | Robert Winter, Southampton |
| Launched | 31 May 1698 |
| Fate | Broken up, 1733 |
| General characteristics as built[1][2] | |
| Class and type | 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 689 57⁄94 bm |
| Length | 131 ft 8.75 in (40.2 m) (gundeck) 109 ft 7 in (33.4 m) (keel) |
| Beam | 34 ft 4.75 in (10.5 m) |
| Depth of hold | 13 ft 6.25 in (4.1 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament | 50 guns of various weights of shot |
| General characteristics after 1714 rebuild[3][4] | |
| Class and type | 1706 Establishment 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 719 34⁄94 bm |
| Length | 130 ft 5 in (39.8 m) (gundeck) 108 ft 7 in (33.1 m) ( |
| Beam | 35 ft 3.5 in (10.8 m) |
| Depth of hold | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament |
|
The vessel was rebuilt by Joseph Allin the elder at Deptford according to the 1706 Establishment at Deptford Dockyard and relaunched on 31 August 1714. She served in the North Sea, including participation in the May 1719 capture of Eilean Donan Castle during the Jacobite rising of 1719. Worcester was broken up at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1733,[4] with a new 60-gun replacement of the same name being built there.
Notes
editReferences
edit- Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
- Winfield, Rif (1997), The 50-Gun Ship: A Complete History. Chatham Publishing (1st edition); Mercury Books (2nd edition 2005). ISBN 1-845600-09-6.
- Winfield, Rif (2009) British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.
 | This article about a ship of the line of the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |