Vengeur class ship of the line
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Vengeur |
| Operators: |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by: | Swiftsure-class |
| Succeeded by: | Black Prince-class |
| In service: | 2 May 1809 - 1957 |
| Completed: | 40 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Ship of the line |
| Length: |
176 ft (53.6 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 47 ft 6 in (14.5 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Armament: |
74 guns:
|
| Notes: | Ships in class include: Ajax, Berwick, Rodney, Poictiers, Vigo, Cressy, Egmont, Armada, America, Vengeur, Conquestador, Edinburgh, Barham, Hogue, Duncan, Asia, Stirling Castle, Mulgrave, Cornwall, Dublin, Gloucester, Scarborough, Clarence, Anson, Pembroke, Rippon, Devonshire, Medway, Indus, Benbow, Cornwallis, Blenheim, Vindictive, Redoutable, Defence, Hercules, Pitt, Hero, Agincourt, Russell |
The Vengeur-class ships of the line were a class of forty 74-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy as a joint effort between the Surveyors of the Navy at the time. The Vengeur, sometimes referred to as the Surveyors' class of third rates, amongst other names, was the most numerous class of ships of the line ever built for the Navy. Due to some dubious practices, primarily in the commercial dockyards used for construction, this class of ships earned itself the nickname of 'Forty Thieves.' Around 1845 a number of these ships were converted into 'blockships', the current term for floating batteries, equipped with a steam/screw propulsion system. In this guise some of them saw action during the Crimean War.
Ships
- Builder: Portsmouth Dockyard
- Ordered: 15 January 1806
- Laid down: July 1808
- Launched: 30 November 1813
- Fate: Sold, 1871
- Builder: Brindley, Frindsbury
- Ordered: 1 October 1806
- Laid down: March 1807
- Launched: 7 March 1810
- Fate: Broken up, 1832
- Builder: King, Upnor
- Ordered: 1 October 1806
- Laid down: August 1807
- Launched: 9 December 1809
- Fate: Broken up, 1857
- Builder: Deptford Dockyard
- Ordered: 1 October 1806
- Laid down: April 1808
- Launched: 3 October 1811
- Fate: Broken up, 1865
- Builder: Ross, Rochester
- Ordered: 20 October 1806
- Laid down: April 1807
- Launched: 21 February 1810
- Fate: Broken up, 1865
- Builder: Blackburn, Turnchapel
- Ordered: 20 October 1806
- Laid down: February 1807
- Launched: 23 March 1810
- Fate: Sold, 1863
- Builder: Graham, Harwich
- Ordered: 20 October 1806
- Laid down: July 1807
- Launched: 19 June 1810
- Fate: Broken up, 1843
- Builder: Guillam, Northam[disambiguation needed]
- Ordered: 20 October 1806
- Laid down: August 1807
- Launched: 1 August 1810
- Fate: Sold, 1897
- Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
- Ordered: 29 December 1806
- Laid down: April 1809
- Launched: 26 January 1815
- Fate: Broken up, 1841
- Builder: King, Upnor
- Ordered: 23 June 1807
- Laid down: February 1808
- Launched: 1 January 1812
- Fate: Broken up, 1854
- Builder: Perry, Blackwall
- Ordered: 1 July 1807
- Laid down: August 1807
- Launched: 2 May 1809
- Fate: Broken up, 1864
- Builder: Perry, Blackwall
- Ordered: 1 July 1807
- Laid down: October 1807
- Launched: 11 September 1809
- Fate: Broken up, 1821
- Builder: Pitcher, Northfleet
- Ordered: 13 July 1807
- Laid down: October 1807
- Launched: 7 March 1810
- Fate: Sold, 1875
- Builder: Brent, Rotherhithe
- Ordered: 13 July 1807
- Laid down: November 1807
- Launched: 26 November 1811
- Fate: Sold, 1866
- Builder: Blackburn, Turnchapel, Plymouth
- Ordered: 13 July 1807
- Laid down: November 1807
- Launched: 11 April 1812
- Fate: Broken up, 1828
- Builder: Graham, Harwich
- Ordered: 13 July 1807
- Laid down: January 1808
- Launched: 29 March 1812
- Fate: Sold, 1836
- Builder: Brindley, Frindsbury
- Ordered: 13 July 1807
- Laid down: February 1808
- Launched: 2 December 1811
- Fate: Broken up, 1865
- Builder: Barnard, Deptford Wharf
- Ordered: 13 July 1808
- Laid down: March 1808
- Launched: 8 December 1809
- Fate: Sold, 1836
- Builder: Dudman, Deptford Wharf
- Ordered: 13 July 1807
- Laid down: August 1808
- Launched: 2 December 1811
- Fate: Broken up, 1863
- Builder: Dudman, Deptford Wharf
- Ordered: 31 July 1807
- Laid down: April 1809
- Launched: 19 December 1812
- Fate: Broken up, 1868
- Builder: Brent, Rotherhithe
- Ordered: 31 July 1807
- Laid down: May 1809
- Launched: 13 February 1812
- Fate: Sold, 1885
- Builder: Ross, Rochester
- Ordered: 12 August 1807
- Laid down: July 1808
- Launched: 31 December 1811
- Fate: Broken up, 1861
- Builder: Pitcher, Northfleet
- Ordered: 19 August 1807
- Laid down: December 1808
- Launched: 19 November 1812
- Fate: Sold, 1865
- Builder: Perry, Blackwall
- Ordered: 22 August 1807
- Laid down: January 1808
- Launched: 21 April 1810
- Fate: Broken up, 1867
- Builder: Steemson, Hull
- Ordered: 2 November 1807
- Laid down: March 1808
- Launched: 11 May 1812
- Fate: Broken up, 1851
- Builder: Perry, Wells & Green, Blackwall
- Ordered: 2 November 1807
- Laid down: June 1808
- Launched: 8 July 1811
- Fate: Broken up, 1839
- Builder: Blake & Scott, Bursledon
- Ordered: 2 November 1807
- Laid down: October 1808
- Launched: 8 August 1812
- Fate: Broken up, 1821
- Builder: Deptford Dockyard
- Ordered: 4 January 1808
- Laid down: August 1808
- Launched: 31 May 1813
- Fate: Broken up, 1865
- Builder: Wigram, Wells & Green, Blackwall
- Ordered: 17 May 1808
- Laid down: March 1809
- Launched: 27 June 1812
- Fate: Sold, 1905
- Builder: Barnard, Deptford Wharf
- Ordered: 30 May 1808
- Laid down: March 1809
- Launched: 16 January 1812
- Fate: Broken up, 1875
- Builder: Barnard, Deptford Wharf
- Ordered: 30 May 1808
- Laid down: February 1810
- Launched: 23 September 1812
- Fate: Broken up, 1869
- Builder: Pitcher, Northfleet
- Ordered: 11 June 1808
- Laid down: March 1808
- Launched: 27 February 1812
- Fate: Sold, 1884
- Builder: Brent, Rotherhithe
- Ordered: 11 June 1808
- Laid down: July 1808
- Launched: 3 February 1813
- Fate: Sold, 1892
- Builder: Chatham Dockyard
- Ordered: 23 March 1809
- Laid down: May 1812 as HMS Marathon, but renamed 3 January 1815
- Launched: 25 April 1815
- Fate: Burnt, 1857
- Builder: Chatham Dockyard
- Ordered: 16 May 1809
- Laid down: August 1812
- Launched: 5 September 1815
- Fate: Sold, 1865
- Builder: Portsmouth Dockyard
- Ordered: 17 April 1807
- Laid down: May 1813
- Launched: 13 April 1816
- Fate: Broken up, 1877
- Builder: Bombay Dockyard
- Ordered: 25 July 1810
- Laid down: 1811
- Launched: 12 May 1813
- Fate: Broken up, 1957
- Builder: Devonport Dockyard
- Ordered: 6 January 1812
- Laid down: May 1813
- Launched: 19 March 1817
- Fate: Sold, 1884
- Builder: Deptford Dockyard
- Ordered: 6 January 1812
- Laid down: July 1813
- Launched: 21 September 1816
- Fate: Renamed Wellington 4 December 1816. Sold, 1908
- Builder: Deptford Dockyard
- Ordered: 6 January 1812
- Laid down: August 1814
- Launched: 22 May 1822
- Fate: Broken up, 1865
Further ships were ordered to this design, including HMS Boscawen on 6 January 1812 and HMS Carnatic on 30 September 1814, but none of these were completed to this design.
In fiction
A fictitious member of this class of 74s, HMS Worcester, features largely in The Ionian Mission, one of the Aubrey-Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian.
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.
- Winfield, Rif (2008) British Warships in the Age of Sail. 1793 - 1817. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84415-717-4.
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