HMS ''Harwich'' was a 50-gun fourth rate

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 King's Yard in

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- ...

by John Barnard to the dimensions laid down in the 1741 proposals of the

1719 Establishment The 1719 Establishment was a set of mandatory requirements governing the construction of all Royal Navy warships capable of carrying more than 20 naval long guns. It was designed to bring economies of scale through uniform vessel design, and ens ...

, and launched on 22 December 1743. Her captain, William Adams, was killed in 1748 during Edward Boscawen's unsuccessful siege of Pondicherry during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

. At some point around in 1757 or shortly before, ''Harwich'' captured the ''Maria Louisa Magdalena'', ''Messagere'', and ''Comte de Maurepas''. She shared the prize money, by agreement, with and . In 1758 she participated in the

British Capture of Senegal The British capture of Senegal took place in 1758 during the Seven Years' War with France, as part of a concerted British strategy to weaken the French economy by damaging her international trade. To this end, a succession of small British milit ...

, captained by Commodore Henry Marsh. ''Harwich'' was wrecked in 1760.

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850''. Conway Maritime Press. . Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1743 ships Ships built in Harwich Maritime incidents in 1760 {{UK-line-ship-stub