HMS Laurel (1779)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Laurel.

HMS Laurel was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Laurel was first commissioned in October 1779 under the command of Captain Thomas Lloyd. She sailed for the Leeward Islands on 13 April 1780, but was wrecked on 11 October in the Great Hurricane of 1780 at Martinique. Lloyd, and all but 12 of his crew, died.

History
Great Britain
Name	Laurel
Ordered	30 April 1778
Builder	Thomas Raymond, Chapel, Southampton
Laid down	3 June 1778
Launched	27 October 1779
Completed	4 January 1780 (at Portsmouth Dockyard)
Commissioned	October 1779
Fate	Wrecked at Martinique 10 October 1780
General characteristics
Class and type	28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate
Tons burthen	601 70⁄94 (bm)
Length	120 ft 8+1⁄2 in (36.792 m) (overall) 99 ft 6+3⁄4 in (30.347 m) (keel)
Beam	33 ft 8+1⁄2 in (10.3 m)
Depth of hold	11 ft (3.4 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	200 officers and men
Armament	Upper deck: 24 × 9-pounder guns Quarterdeck: 4 × 6-pounder guns + 4 × 18-pounder carronades Forecastle: 2 × 18-pounder carronades 12 swivel guns

References

• Robert Gardiner, The First Frigates, Conway Maritime Press, London 1992. ISBN 0-85177-601-9.
• Hepper, David J. (1994) British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650–1859. (Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot). ISBN 0-948864-30-3
• David Lyon, The Sailing Navy List, Conway Maritime Press, London 1993. ISBN 0-85177-617-5.
• Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1844157006.