HMS ''Royal Oak'' 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 ...

, built by Jonas Shish at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

and launched in 1674. She was one of only three Royal Navy ships to be equipped with the Rupertinoe naval gun.Spencer, p.351; Endsor, p.9. Life aboard her when cruising in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

in 1679 is described in the diary of

Henry Teonge Henry Teonge (18 March 1621, at Wolverton, Warwickshire – 21 March 1690, at Spernall, Warwickshire) was an English cleric and Royal Navy chaplain who kept informative diaries of voyages he made in 1675–1676 and 1678–1679. Life Teonge was ...

. She was rebuilt at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...

in 1690 as a 70-gun third rate. On 24 August 1704, ''Royal Oak'' participated in the

Battle of Vélez-Málaga A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, in the centre division of the combined

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

fleet under Admiral

George Rooke Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke (1650 – 24 January 1709) was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and again at the Battle of Schooneveld during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. As a captain, ...

Attaque d'une Escadre Angloise dans la Manche

She was rebuilt a second time at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich in north-west Kent, where many ships were built from the early 1 ...

, relaunching on 14 May 1713 as a 70-gun third rate built to the

1706 Establishment The 1706 Establishment was the first formal set of dimensions for ships of the Royal Navy. Two previous sets of dimensions had existed before, though these were only for specific shipbuilding programs running for only a given amount of time. In c ...

. She fought off Forbin's squadron during the action of 2 May 1707, and was also present in the Battle at The Lizard. Under the command of Captain Thomas Kempthorne, ''Royal Oak'' took part in the

Battle of Cape Passaro The Battle of Cape Passaro, also known as Battle of Avola or Battle of Syracuse, was a major naval battle fought on 11 August 1718 between a fleet of the British Royal Navy under Admiral Sir George Byng and a fleet of the Spanish Navy under R ...

on 11 August 1718 as part of Admiral Sir George Byng's fleet. On 8 March 1737 she was ordered to be taken to pieces 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 ...

, and rebuilt by

Peirson Lock Peirson Lock (c.1690–1755) was a shipbuilder and designer for the Royal Navy who was Master Shipwright of Plymouth Dockyard from 1726 to 1742, and of Portsmouth Dockyard from 1742 to 1755. History He was born around 1690. In 1716 he was a ...

as a 70-gun ship according to the 1733 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 ...

. She was relaunched on 29 August 1741. Captain Philip Vincent took command and the ship was assigned to the Mediterranean with Rear Admiral

Richard Lestock Admiral Richard Lestock (22 February 1679 – 17 December 1746) was an officer in the Royal Navy, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral. He fought in a number of battles, and was a controversial figure, most remembered for his part in the def ...

's squadron. Vincent was succeeded by Captain Edmund Willams, Captain Charles Long and finally Captain James Hodsall. ''Royal Oak'' was converted to serve as a prison ship at Plymouth in 1756.Ships of the Old Navy, ''Royal Oak'' (1741) The ship was the scene of an incident in January 1759 in which a French prisoner, Jean Manaux, told the warden that his fellow prisoners were forging passes. His fellow prisoners discovered this and, on 25 January, dragged him to a remote part of the ship, gave him approximately 60 strokes with a large iron thimble tied to a rope, then beat him to death after he struggled from his bonds. They dismembered his body in an attempt to dispose of it. At an inquest ashore the next day, one of the prisoners provided information on the murder, which resulted in the hanging of Charles Darras, Louis Bourdec, Fleurant Termineu, Pierre Pitroll and Pierre Lagnal on April 25 at

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. ''Royal Oak'' was broken up in 1763.

Notes

References

* Endsor, Richard. (2009) ''Restoration Warship: The Design, Construction and Career of a Third Rate of Charles II's Navy.'' London: Anova Books. * Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . * Michael Phillips
''Royal Oak'' (64) (1741)
Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 9 December 2007. * Spencer, Charles. (2007) ''Prince Rupert: The Last Cavalier.'' London: Phoenix.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Oak (1674) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Prison ships 1670s ships