HMS ''Hercules'' was a 74-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 ...

, designed by

Sir Thomas Slade Sir Thomas Slade (1703/4–1771) was an English naval architect, most famous for designing HMS ''Victory'', Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Early life He was the son of Arthur Slade (1682–1746) and his wife Hannah ...

and built at

Deptford Dockyard Deptford Dockyard was an important naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and many significant events a ...

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 15 March 1759.

Service history

On 20 November 1759 she took part in the huge conflict between the British and French fleets at the

Battle of Quiberon Bay The Battle of Quiberon Bay (known as ''Bataille des Cardinaux'' in French) was a decisive naval engagement during the Seven Years' War. It was fought on 20 November 1759 between the Royal Navy and the French Navy in Quiberon Bay, off the coast ...

. The ship took part as part of Admiral Rodney's fleet in the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

under the command of Captain Henry Savage on 12 April 1782 against a French fleet, where she suffered six killed and 18 wounded. She was the third ship of the second wave in the part of the British

line of battle The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...

and the first to hit the French flagship the . Savage commanded from an armchair on the main deck due to his suffering from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

. Savage was injured in the chair, but following treatment below deck reappeared in the chair in bandages. She was paid off in July 1783 and sold at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

in March 1784 for £1300.

Officers of note

Charles Brisbane Sir Charles Brisbane KCB (1770 – December 1829) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence, and with distinction under Lords Hood and Nelson. He took part in 1796 in the capitulation of Saldanha Ba ...

midshipman on Hercules 1781/2 *

Thomas Hurd Thomas Hannaford Hurd ( bapt. 30 January 1747 – 29 April 1823) was an officer of the Royal Navy, who rose to the rank of captain, becoming the second Hydrographer of the Navy, a Superintendent of Chronometers and a Commissioner on the Boar ...

was an officer on Hercules in 1782.

Notes

References

* Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . * Willis, Sam (2007) ''Fighting Ships 1750-1850'' Quercus. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hercules (1759) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Hercules-class ships of the line 1759 ships Ships built in Deptford