HMS ''Prince George'' was a 90-gun

second-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns ...

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 ...

, launched on 31 August 1772 at

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

. During her career, she was upgraded to a 98-gun ship, through the addition of eight 12- pounder () guns to her quarterdeck. In 1780, ''Prince George'' was part of Rodney's fleet at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent. On 12 April 1782 she was seventh in line in the attack on the French fleet at 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 Williams. She fought at the

Battle of Groix The Battle of Groix was a large naval engagement which took place near the island of Groix off the Biscay coast of Brittany on 23 June 1795 ( 5 messidor an III) during the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle was fought between elements of the ...

in 1795. In 1807, ''Prince George'', under Captain Woodley Losack, was in the West indies in the squadron under the command of Rear-Admiral

Alexander Cochrane Admiral of the Blue Sir Alexander Inglis Cochrane (born Alexander Forrester Cochrane; 23 April 1758 – 26 January 1832) was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars and achieved the rank of admiral. He had previously captain ...

. The squadron captured the ''Telemaco'', ''Carvalho'' and ''Master'' on 17 April 1807. In December ''Prince George'' participated in Cochrane's expedition that captured the Danish islands of St Thomas on 22 December and Santa Cruz on 25 December. The Danes did not resist and the invasion was bloodless.

Fate

''Prince George'' was converted to serve as a

sheer hulk A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Hulk may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or to refer to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipment ...

in 1832. In 1835 she was used in a series of gunnery trials as a target ship, the results of which contributed to the rapid introduction of the shell firing gun.Brown, Before the Ironclad, p133f The ''Prince George'' was broken up in 1839.

Gallery

File:L'Arrive du Prince Quillaume Henry a Nouvelle York (NYPL Hades-1785675-1650660).jpg, Prince William Henry arrives on the ''Prince George'' in New York on 16 Oct 1781. File:His Royal Highness Prince William Henry, Serving as Midshipman on board His Majesty's Ship Prince George B0076 PAH5531.jpg, His Royal Highness

Prince William Henry Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, (25 November 1743 – 25 August 1805), was a grandson of King George II and a younger brother of George III of the United Kingdom. Life Youth Prince William Henry was born at Leicester ...

, serving as Midshipman on board His Majesty's Ship ''Prince George'', .

References

Sources

* * Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Barfleur-class ships of the line 1772 ships {{UK-line-ship-stub