Scene de pont montrant poulailler barreur et capitaine vers 1775

HMS Deal Castle was a 20-gun Royal Navy ship built in 1756.

Service

Commissioned in 1754 she was built at Blackwall and fitted out in

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

1755/56 by

Adam Hayes Adam Hayes (1710–1785) was an 18th century shipbuilder to the Royal Navy. A great number of his models survive. He was responsible for the selection of the ship the "Earl of Pembroke" and was the wright who converted it into HMS Endeavour ...

and launched on 20 January 1756. Her first Captain was Edward Hughes. Fitting out was completed in March and she then plied the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

and

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. Her first action was on 18 July 1760 when she captured the French privateer Le Faucon. In 1762, she escorted a convoy of troop carriers to

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

and saw brief action with the French ship ''Le Signe''. She was recommissioned in 1763 under command of Captain Digby Dent and saw three years service in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

including a diplomatic trip to Cadiz. From 1766 to 1768, it was repaired and recommissioned at

Chatham Docks Medway Ports, incorporating the Port of Sheerness and Chatham Docks is part of Peel Ports, the second largest port group in the United Kingdom. The Ports authority is also responsible for the harbour, pilotage and conservancy matters for of ...

. It was relaunched in April 1768 and went to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. It was refitted again in 1772 and in April 1773 went to the

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

returning to England in 1775. In 1776, she was recommissioned and refitted at

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 ...

to serve in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. This was changed in 1777 and in December she returned to the Leeward Islands again. Combat de la Dominique 17 Avril 1780 Rossel de Cercy 1736 1804

On 17 April 1780, she took part in the Battle of Martinique under command of Captain William Fooks with 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 ...

. Fooks moved to

HMS Greyhound Sixteen different ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Greyhound'', after the greyhound, a breed of dog notable for its speed. * was a 45-gun ship built in 1545, rebuilt 1558, and wrecked 1563 * ''Greyhound'' was a ship in servic ...

the day after the battle and

James Hawkins-Whitshed Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Hawkins-Whitshed, 1st Baronet, (1762 – 28 October 1849), was a Royal Navy officer. He saw action in command of a sloop-of-war, sloop at the Battle of Martinique (1780), Battle of ...

took command. The ship was wrecked in the

Great Hurricane of 1780 The Great Hurricane of 1780 was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record. An estimated 22,000 people died throughout the Lesser Antilles when the storm passed through the islands from October 10 to October 16. Specifics on the hurricane's tr ...

off the coast of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

on 11 October 1780 (along with 12 other Royal Navy vessels) but only three of the 160 crew perished. Hawkins-Whitshed took over

HMS Ceres Three ships and three shore establishments of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Ceres'', after the goddess Ceres of Roman mythology. Ships * was an 18-gun sloop launched in 1777 that the captured in December 1778 off Saint Lucia. The British ...

. 22,000 persons were killed in the storm. John Thomas Serres - The wreck of the H

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deal Castle (1756) 1756 ships Maritime incidents in 1780 Ships built on the River Thames Ships of the Royal Navy