HMS ''Tiger'' or ''Tygre'' was a 60-gun

fourth rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

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 at

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 ...

to the draught specified by the

1745 Establishment The 1745 Establishment was the third and final formal establishment of dimensions for ships to be built for the Royal Navy. It completely superseded the previous 1719 Establishment, which had subsequently been modified in 1733 and again in 1741 ...

and launched on 23 November 1747.Lavery 2003, p.173.

Naval service

''Tiger'' was commissioned in December 1747 under Captain Charles Saunders, as a reinforcement for the British fleet then in action against France in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

. She was assigned to a squadron under the overall command of Admiral Peter Warren, but saw no active engagement in her first months at sea. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in April 1748, and ''Tiger'' was returned to Deptford for service as a

guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

. Charles Steevens replaced Saunders as ''Tiger''s captain in 1749, but the vessel remained at Deptford until she was decommissioned in November 1752.Winfield 2007, p. 130 Two months later, in January 1753, ''Tiger'' was restored to her duties as a guard ship but relocated to

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 ...

. Command was transferred to Captain Samuel Marshall, and then to Captain Thomas Latham in early 1754. In early 1754 the vessel was assigned to the protection of British merchant interests in the East Indies. A British-Portuguese-Indian naval force attacks the fort of Geriah, 1756

A British-Portuguese-Indian naval force attacks the fort of Geriah, 1756

In the British anti-piracy campaign of 1756 , , and ''Tiger'' carried 300 Indo-Portuguese Topazes to capture the fortress of Gheriah on 14 February 1756.Pocock, T., ''Battle for Empire - The very first world war 1756-63.'', London 1988 Capture de Chandernagor en 1757 par la Royal Navy

Capture de Chandernagor en 1757 par la Royal Navy

In 1756 war broke out between France and Great Britain, and Colonel Robert Clive of the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

and Admiral Charles Watson of the British Navy bombarded and captured

Chandannagar Chandannagar french: Chandernagor ), also known by its former name Chandernagore and French name Chandernagor, is a city in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is headquarter of the Chandannagore subdivision and is part ...

on 23 March 1757. In order to take the Fort d'Orleans guarding the town, ''Tiger'' and ''Kent'' managed to edge up the Hooghly river, although the French had tried to block it with sunken ships, booms and chains. When they were close to the fort, they opened fire with all guns, but took a great punishment from the French in the process.

Fate

''Tiger'' was converted to serve as a

hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

in 1760, and in 1765 she was sold out of the Navy.

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850''. Conway Maritime Press. . * Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1747 ships {{UK-line-ship-stub