HMS ''Success'' was a 20-gun

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 Fr ...

ship launched in 1740 as the first government contract for the Blaydes Yard in Hull. She had a crew of 140 men. She had several famous commanders over her lifetime.

History

She was commissioned in October 1739 at a cost of £4800 and launched July 1740 under the command of Captain Bradwarden Thomas who took her over the

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New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. There in October 1742 command passed to Captain Jack Wickham who sailed her to

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

in 1743. In June 1744 she went to

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

. From January to May 1746 she underwent repairs at

Sheerness Dockyard Sheerness Dockyard also known as the Sheerness Station was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960. Location In the Age of Sail, the Roy ...

. She went under further alterations and repair 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 (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

bringing total costs to £7000 over her original build cost and did not return to action until June 1749 when she returned to New England. After three years service she returned for further repair at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...

which were completed May 1754 at a cost of a further £7000. Under command of Captain

John Rous John Rous (21 May 1702 – 3 April 1760) was a privateer and then an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during King George's War and the French and Indian War. Rous was also the senior naval officer on the Nova Scotia station during Father ...

she was part in the

Battle of Fort Beausejour 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 ...

off the

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coast in May 1755. In August 1755 the ship attacked several French-owned fishing boats and destroyed harbour facilities at Codroy, Newfoundland. In 1757 she was stationed at

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

and command transferred to Captain

Paul Henry Ourry Captain Paul Henry Ourry (1719–1783) was a Royal Navy officer and British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1763 to 1775. Early life Ourry was the second son of Louis Ourry, a Huguenot of Blois and his wife Anne Louise Beauvais, ...

who took her on the Louisburg Expedition but departed prior to the Siege of Louisburg. In 1758 she had a fourth refit, again at Deptford which was completed in March. In June 1758 still under command of Captain Ourry she attacked

St Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

before joining a convoy to

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

where command changed to Captain George Watson (d.1774). In 1761/2 she had a fifth repair and upgrade, again at Deptford, costing over £5000. She then returned to South Carolina with Captain John Botterell. She was paid off in February 1764 but had three further captains, the last

Skeffington Lutwidge Admiral Skeffington Lutwidge (13 March 1737 – 15/16 August 1814) was an officer of the Royal Navy, who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He had a particular connection wi ...

leaving her in August 1775. She was broken in

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

in May 1779. This exercise reused as much material as possible for other ships. The ship's logbook of 1747 to 1752 plus the private logbook of midshipman John Gauntlett covering the period 1754 to 1756 are held at the National Archive, Kew.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Success (1740) 1740 ships