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HMS Charles (1668)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Charles and HMS St George.

Portrait of the English ship Charles, circa 1776 by Willem van de Velde the Elder
History
Royal Navy EnsignGreat Britain
NameHMS Charles
BuilderChristopher Pett and Jonas Shish, Deptford Dockyard
Launched10 March 1668
RenamedHMS St George, 1687
FateBroken up, 1774
General characteristics as built[1]
Class and type96-gun first-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen1229 bm
Length128 ft (39 m) (keel)
Beam42 ft 6 in (12.95 m)
Depth of hold18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament96 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1701 rebuild[2]
Class and type90-gun second-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen1470 bm
Length162 ft 6 in (49.53 m) (gundeck)
Beam45 ft 5 in (13.84 m)
Depth of hold18 ft 7 in (5.66 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament90 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1740 rebuild[3]
Class and type1733 proposals 90-gun second-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen1655 bm
Length166 ft (51 m) (gundeck)
Beam47 ft 9 in (14.55 m)
Depth of hold19 ft 6 in (5.94 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 90 guns:
  • Gundeck: 26 × 32 pdrs
  • Middle gundeck: 26 × 18 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 26 × 9 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 10 × 6 pdrs
  • Forecastle: 2 × 6 pdrs

HMS Charles was a 96-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Christopher Pett at Deptford Dockyard until his death in March 1668, then completed by Jonas Shish after being launched in the same month. Her name was formally Charles the Second, but she was known simply as Charles, particularly after 1673 when the contemporary Royal Charles was launched.[1]

Charles was renamed HMS St George in 1687 and reclassified as a second rate in 1691. In 1699–1701 she was rebuilt at Portsmouth Dockyard as a 90-gun second rate.[2] In 1707, she belonged to Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet. Under the command of Captain James Lord Dursley,[4] she saw action during the unsuccessful Battle of Toulon and was present during the great naval disaster off the Isles of Scilly when Shovell and four of his ships (Association, Firebrand, Romney and Eagle) were lost, claiming the lives of nearly 2,000[5] sailors. St George also struck rocks off Scilly, but got off.

St George was taken to pieces at Portsmouth in 1726 to be rebuilt again. On 4 September 1733, St George was ordered to be rebuilt to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment. She was relaunched on 3 April 1740.[3]

She was eventually broken up in September 1774.[3]

Plan of the attack against Basseterre, Guadeloupe by a squadron of Royal Navy ships of war commanded by Commodore Moore on 22 January 1759 - also the encampments of the British. Shows St George
A drawing of the beakhead bulkhead of the English second-rate Charles, circa 1676 by van de Velde the Elder

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Lavery, Ships of the Line Vol. 1, p. 161.
  2. ^ a b Lavery, Ships of the Line Vol. 1, p. 166.
  3. ^ a b c Lavery, Ships of the Line Vol. 1, p. 170.
  4. ^ James Herbert Cooke, The Shipwreck of Sir Cloudesley Shovell on the Scilly Islands in 1707, From Original and Contemporary Documents Hitherto Unpublished, Read at a Meeting of the Society of Antiquaries, London, 1 February 1883
  5. ^ Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Fourth Estate Ltd., London 1998, p. 6, ISBN 1-85702-571-7

References

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  • 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.
  • Winfield, Rif (2009) British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.
  • Winfield, Rif (2007) British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
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