HMS ''Russell'' was an 80-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 ...

, launched at

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...

on 3 June 1692. She was rebuilt according 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 ...

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of Dogs ...

, and was relaunched on 16 March 1709. Instead of mounting her 80 guns on two decks, as she had done as originally built, she now mounted them on three decks, but remained classified as a third rate. On 4 February 1729 she was ordered to be taken to pieces and rebuilt to 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 ...

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 ...

, from where she was relaunched on 8 September 1735. ''Russell'' was sunk as a breakwater in 1762.

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850''. Conway Maritime Press. . The Capture of the 'Glorioso', 8 October 1747

The Capture of the 'Glorioso', 8 October 1747

Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1690s ships Ships built in Deptford Ships built in Rotherhithe Ships built in Portsmouth {{UK-line-ship-stub