Kent (ship, 1762)
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| Ship data | ||
| Surname | Kent | |
| Keel laying | April 24, 1759 | |
| Launching ( ship christening ) | March 31, 1763 | |
| Whereabouts | Sold in 1784 | |
| Shipyard | Deptford Dockyard , Deptford | |
| crew | approx. 550 officers and men | |
| Technical specifications | ||
| Type | Third tier ship of the line of the Bellona class | |
| Length on gun deck | 168 feet (= 51 m) | |
| Width on frame | 46 feet , 9 inches (= 14.2 m) | |
| Depth in the load | 19 feet , 9 inches (= 6 m) | |
| tonnage | 1604 long tons | |
| Armament | ||
| Main battery deck | 28 × 32 pounder | |
| Upper battery deck | 28 × 18 pounder | |
| Foredeck | 4 × 9 pounders | |
| Aft deck | 14 × 9 pounder | |
| Weight of a broadside | 781 pounds (359 kg) | |
The Kent was a 74-gun ship of the line, third rank, of the British Royal Navy . She belonged to the Bellona class . She provided a large part of her military career as a guard ship.
The ship
The ship was a fully rigged two - decker and closed off in the stern area with a transom . The transom ended at the side ends in the side galleries . Above the transom, there were three large stern lights that rounded off the traditional appearance of the stern area of a sailing warship of the time.
The hull was planked in Kraweel construction.
The Kent was equipped with 74 cannons , with the heavier calibers positioned as usual on the lower gun deck.
The ship was named after the English county of Kent .
history
The Kent was launched on March 26, 1762 in Deptford and was completed on July 8, 1762. The total cost was 39,756 pounds, 18 shillings and 3 pence.
Its first in command was Captain Robert Faulkner, who was called up in April 1762. Under him, the Kent was first used as a guard ship in October 1763. In 1763, Captain Edward Le Cras replaced his predecessor.
Until 1773, the ship acted repeatedly as a guard ship and went through several temporary decommissioning and re-commissioning under the captains Stephen Colby and Charles Feilding (1772) and had to endure some repairs.
On July 4, 1773 an accident occurred on board during a gun salute, in which a chest filled with approx. 180 kg of black powder exploded, killing eleven crew members and injuring dozens.
In 1773 and 1774 she was no longer used as a guard ship, but sailed on the high seas , then was finally equipped in Plymouth for a possible overseas mission , in which she did not participate.
It was made ready for withdrawal in June 1784 and sold in Plymouth on August 5, 1784 for £ 600.
literature
- Brian Lavery: The Ship of the Line. Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet, 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press, London 2003, ISBN 0-85177-252-8 .
- Brian Lavery: The 74-gun ship Bellona. Revised edition. Conway Maritime Press, London 2003, ISBN 0-85177-916-6 .
- David Lyon: The Sailing Navy List. All the Ships of the Royal Navy. Built, purchased and captured, 1688-1860. Conway Maritime Press, London 1997, ISBN 0-85177-864-X .
- Rif Winfield: British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714-1792. Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2007, ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6 .
References and comments
- ↑ Since the prefix HMS was not introduced for a large part of the ships of the Royal Navy until 1789 , it was simply called Kent
- ↑ For this classification, the one after Rif Winfield was used, according to which the Bellona class includes the ships Bellona , Superb , Kent , Dragon and Defense . According to Lavery, however, the Kent and Defense are counted to the Arrogant class, which differed from the Bellona class by a slightly different frame crack. The classification cannot be derived with absolute certainty from the historical documents and opens up the possibility of speculation and forming one's own opinion.
- ↑ The Cleveley painting, however, shows another ship; the Kent is not shown
- ↑ According to the naval report, a naval drummer sitting on the chest was catapulted overboard by the incident and is said to have not suffered any injuries