HMS ''Grafton'' was a 70-gun

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Years of experience proved that the third r ...

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 at

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...

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 It completely superseded the previous 1719 Establishment, which had subsequently been modified in 1733 and again in 1741 ...

, and launched on 29 March 1750. The ship served in the failed

Louisbourg Expedition (1757) The Louisbourg Expedition (1757) was a failed British attempt to capture the France, French Fortress of Louisbourg on Île Royale (now known as Cape Breton Island) during the Seven Years' War (known in the United States as the French and Indian W ...

Naval career

''Grafton'' was commissioned in February 1755 under Captain Charles Holmes, in the months immediately before the commencement of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. On 11 May 1755 she was assigned as a reinforcement for the British fleet commanded by Admiral

Edward Boscawen Admiral of the Blue Edward Boscawen, PC (19 August 171110 January 1761) was a British admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall, England. He is known principally for his various naval commands during ...

, and sailed for North America when war was formally declared in 1756.Winfield 2007, p.53 ''Grafton'' served until 1767, when she was sold out of the Navy.

References

Bibliography

External links

* Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1750 ships {{UK-line-ship-stub