HMS ''Kent'' 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 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 ...

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 ...

and launched on 23 March 1762 .

Service History

She was launched at a cost of £40,000. In 1774, a chest containing perhaps as much as of gunpowder exploded during saluting, killing eleven and injuring 34, and causing the marine drummer sitting on the chest to be blown overboard. The marine reportedly suffered no injuries as a result.Ships of the Old Navy, ''Kent''. In 1775 ''Kent'' was briefly under the command of John Jervis.Winfield 2007, p.332 She was sold out of the service 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 1784 for £600.

Notable Commanders

* Captain Robert Faulknor 1762/3 *Captain

Edward Vernon Admiral Edward Vernon (12 November 1684 – 30 October 1757) was an English naval officer. He had a long and distinguished career, rising to the rank of admiral after 46 years service. As a vice admiral during the War of Jenkins' Ear, in 1 ...

briefly in 1763 *Captain

Charles Fielding Charles Fielding (also known as Charles Feilding; 2 July 1738 – 11 January 1783) was a British naval officer who was the initiator of the Affair of Fielding and Bylandt in the run-up to the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. He attained the "rank" of Co ...

1772 to 1775 *Captain John Jervis briefly in 1775 *

Captain James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

1775

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *Michael Phillips
''Kent'' (74) (1762)
Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 15 November 2008. *

External links

* Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Bellona-class ships of the line 1762 ships Non-combat internal explosions on warships {{UK-line-ship-stub