''Princesa'' was a 70-gun, two deck,

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

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

, launched in 1750. She fought at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1780, where she was captured by Admiral

George Rodney Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the ...

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 ...

. She was then recommissioned in England as the

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 ...

HMS ''Princessa''. On 12 April 1782 she was the flagship of the blue squadron 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 ...

with Admiral

Francis Samuel Drake Sir Francis Samuel Drake, 1st Baronet (1729 – 19 October 1789) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the Seven Years' War and the American War of Independence, rising to the rank of Rear-admiral of the Red. Family and the Seven ...

on board (but under overall control of Admiral

of the white squadron.Famous Fighters of the Fleet, Edward Fraser, 1904, p.106 From 1784 she was employed 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 ...

, and she was broken up in 1809.

Notes

References

* Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . Princesa (1750) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1750 ships {{UK-line-ship-stub