Thomas Slade

Sir Thomas Slade, painting by an unknown artist

Sir Thomas Slade (* 1703 / 04 ; † February 1771 ) was a British naval architect , most famous for the construction of the HMS Victory , Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805th

Like almost all masters of British sailing ship construction, Thomas Slade also began as a shipbuilder in the royal naval shipyards . In 1744 he became the assistant shipbuilder at Woolwich Dockyard . On November 22, 1750 he became the shipbuilder in charge of the Plymouth Dockyard and thus responsible for all ship constructions and repairs in this shipyard. On May 27, 1752 he went back briefly as the shipbuilder in charge to Woolwich and from there on June 17, 1752 to the Deptford Dockyard and finally on March 15, 1753 to the Chatham Dockyards , where he stayed until August 5, 1755 .

In August 1755 he was appointed chief naval expert by the First Lord of the Admiralty George Anson and remained so until his death in February 1771. In the first years he shared the office with William Bately . When he retired in June 1765, he was replaced by John William , who Slades was formally a colleague of the same rank, although this was older and much more experienced.

During his tenure, Slade drew up a "general blueprint" which was used as a template for the "74-gun ships" and frigates of the Royal Navy . His 74er design, beginning with the Dublin class , represented a real further development of the British warships of the time, built as a counterpart to the "74s" of the French Navy, some of which were captured by the British in 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession were. At least 46 "74s" were created from Slade's blueprint; the last launch was in 1789.

credentials

• The Billy Ruffian: The Bellerophon and the Downfall of Napoleon (2003) - David Cordingly, Bloomsbury, USA.
• British Napoleonic Ship-Of-The-Line (2001) - Angus Konstam [Tony Bryan, illustrator], Osprey Publishing.
• British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714 to 1792 (2007) - Rif Winfield, Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6 .
• British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793 to 1817 (2005) - Rif Winfield, Chatham Publishing.
• The 74-gun ship Bellona (1985) - Brian Lavery. ISBN 0-85177-368-0 .
• Thomas Slade: Oxford Biography Index entry . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved August 3, 2008 .