HMS ''Achilles'' was a 60-gun

fourth-rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, built by

Barnard Barnard is a version of the surname Bernard, which is a French and West Germanic masculine given name and surname. The surname means as tough as a bear, Bar(Bear)+nard/hard(hardy/tough) __NOTOC__ People Some of the people bearing the surname Ba ...

and Turner at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

to the draught specified by the

1745 Establishment The 1745 Establishment was the third and final formal establishment of dimensions for ships to be built for the Royal Navy. It completely superseded the previous 1719 Establishment, which had subsequently been modified in 1733 and again in 1741 ...

as amended in 1750, and launched in 1757. She was ordered in November 1755. HMS ''Achilles'' was a ''Dunkirk''-class fourth rate, along with and .

Career

HMS ''Achilles'' was launched on 6 February 1757 at Harwich. At the

action of 29 April 1758 The action of 29 April 1758 was a naval engagement fought in the Bay of Biscay near Brest between a British Royal Navy squadron and a single French Navy ship of the line during the Seven Years' War. In an attempt to support the garrison of Loui ...

, she was detached along with in pursuit of the 64-gun French ship . ''Dorsetshire'' engaged ''Raisonnable'' first, followed by ''Achilles''. After sustaining 35 casualties, ''Raisonnable'' was taken and later purchased for the Navy as HMS ''Raisonnable''. On 4 April 1759 ''Achilles'' under

Samuel Barrington Admiral Samuel Barrington (1729 – 16 August 1800) was a Royal Navy officer. Barrington was the fourth son of John Barrington, 1st Viscount Barrington of Beckett Hall at Shrivenham in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). He enlisted in the navy at th ...

"VII. The Venus: Letters." ''The Barrington Papers'', Vol. 77. Ed. D Bonner-Smith. London: Navy Record Society, 1937. 391-411
British History Online
Retrieved 30 December 2022. engaged and captured the 60-gun French coastguard vessel in a two-hour battle. ''Achilles'' sustained 2 killed and 23 wounded. Later that year, ''Achilles'' was the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of Rear-Admiral

George Rodney Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the ...

when he sailed to L'Havre on 3 July. The fleet of four 50-gun ships along with five frigates, a sloop and six bomb ketches destroyed landing barges assembled in the harbour for a possible invasion of England. ''Achilles'' remained at L'Havre for the rest of the year. On 28 March 1762 ''Achilles'', along with several other warships and transports carrying 10,000 troops, set sail from Saint Helens to attack the French at Belleisle. The fleet arrived on 7 April. The next day the army attempted a landing under the cover of ''Achilles''s guns. The attack was forced back and the army lost 500 soldiers killed, wounded or captured. The army finally landed successfully on 22 April, and besieged the French in

Le Palais Le Palais (; br, Porzh-Lae) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is one of the four communes on the island of Belle Île. Inhabitants of Le Palais are called in French ''Palantins''. Geography Le Pal ...

until the French surrendered on 7 June. ''Achilles'' became the

guardship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in 1763. ''Achilles'' was hulked in 1782 and sold on 1 June 1784.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Achilles, HMS (1757) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1757 ships Ships built in Harwich