HMS Eagle (1679)

HMS Eagle was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard on 31 January 1679.[1][3]

History
Great Britain
Name: HMS Eagle
Builder: Furzer, Portsmouth Dockyard
Launched: 31 January 1679
Fate: Wrecked, 22 October 1707
General characteristics as built[1]
Class and type: 70-gun third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1047 bm
Length: 156 ft 6 in (47.7 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 40 ft 6 in (12.3 m)
Depth of hold: 17 ft (5.2 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Armament: 70 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1699 rebuild[2]
Class and type: 70-gun third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1099 bm
Length: 156 ft 6 in (47.7 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 40 ft 8 in (12.4 m)
Depth of hold: 17 ft 3 in (5.3 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Armament: 70 guns of various weights of shot

She underwent a rebuild at Chatham Dockyard in 1699, retaining her armament of 70 guns. She was captained by James Wishart and served at the Battle of Cadiz and the Battle of Vigo Bay in 1702[4] when there was a raid on Spanish silver.

Under the command of Captain Robert Hancock,[5] Eagle was lost with all hands off the Scilly Isles on 22 October 1707[2][6] when a disastrous navigational error sent Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet through dangerous reefs while on their way from Gibraltar to Portsmouth. Four ships (Eagle, Association, Firebrand and Romney) were lost, with nearly 2,000[7] sailors. The Scilly naval disaster was one of the greatest maritime disasters in British history. It was largely as a result of this disaster that the Board of the Admiralty instituted a competition for a more precise method to determine longitude.

Notes

References

  • Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
  • Michael Phillips. Eagle (70) (1679). Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 7 November 2008.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.