HMS Hercules (1759)

HMS Hercules was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 15 March 1759 at Deptford Dockyard.[1]

Model of a 74-gun ship, third rate, circa 1760. Thought to be either HMS Hercules or HMS Thunderer from 1760.
History
Great Britain
Name: HMS Hercules
Ordered: 15 July 1756
Builder: Deptford Dockyard
Launched: 15 March 1759
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1784
General characteristics [1]
Class and type: Hercules-class ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1608​34⁄94 (bm)
Length: 166 ft 6 in (50.75 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 46 ft 6 in (14.17 m)
Depth of hold: 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Armament:
  • 74 guns:
  • Lower gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs
  • Quarter deck: 14 × 9 pdrs
  • Forecastle: 4 × 9 pdrs

The ship took part as part of Admiral Rodney's fleet in the Battle of the Saintes under the command of Captain Henry Savage[2] on 12 April 1782 against a French fleet, where she suffered six killed and 18 wounded. She was the third ship of the second wave in the part of the British line of battle and the first to hit the French flagship the Ville de Paris.[3] Savage commanded from an armchair on the main deck due to his suffering from gout. Savage was injured in the chair, but following treatment below deck reappeared in the chair in bandages.[4]

She was sold out of the service in 1784.[1]

Notes
  1. Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p176.
  2. Famous Fighters of the Fleet, Edward Fraser, 1904, p.108
  3. Willis, Fighting Ships 1750-1850, p. 50
  4. Famous Fighters of the Fleet, Edward Fraser, 1904, p.109

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.
  • Willis, Sam (2007) Fighting Ships 1750-1850 Quercus. ISBN 1-84724-171-9.
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