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History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Chatham
Ordered	14 March 1690
Builder	Robert Lee, Chatham Dockyard
Launched	20 October 1691
Fate	Sunk as breakwater, 1749
General characteristics as built
Class and type	50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	686/94 (bm)
Length	126 ft (38.4 m) (on the gundeck) 109 ft 6 in (33.4 m) (keel)
Beam	34 ft 4 in (10.5 m)
Depth of hold	13 ft 4 in (4.1 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	Lower deck: 22 × 12-pounders Upper deck: 18 × 8-pounders QD: 8 × 4-pounder guns Fc: 2 × 4-pounder guns
General characteristics after 1721 rebuild
Class and type	1719 Establishment 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	756 exact (bm)
Length	134 ft (40.8 m) (on the gundeck) 109 ft 8 in (33.4 m) (keel)
Beam	36 ft (11.0 m)
Depth of hold	15 ft 2 in (4.6 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	Gundeck: 22 × 18-pounder guns Upper gundeck: 22 × 9-pounder guns QD: 4 × 6-pounder guns Fc: 2 × 6-pounder guns

HMS Chatham was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, the first of five such ships to be ordered in 1690 (the others were the Centurion and Chester on 20 March - six days after the Chatham - and the Norwich and Weymouth on 15 August). The Chatham was built by Master Shipwright Robert Lee at the eponymous dockyard, and launched on 20 October 1691. She was designed to the same lines as Lee's previous 50-gun ship, the Sedgemoor of 1687 - her specification was for a length of 123 ft, breadth of 34ft 3in and depth in hold of 13ft 9in, although she measured very slightly more on completion.

Her original armament comprised 22 culverins (16-pounders) on the lower deck, 18 x 8-pounders on the upper deck, and 10 minions (4-pounders). She was later re-armed in accordance with the 1703 Establishment of guns, with 22 x 12-pounders on the lower deck, 22 x 6pounders on the upper deck, 8 more 6-pounders on the quarterdeck and 2 more on the forecastle. After re-building, she was armed in accordance with the 1716 Establishment of guns, with 22 x 18-pounders, 22 x 9-pounders and 6 x 6-pounders.

Under the command of Captain Robert Bokenham, on 14 January 1705 she took the 30-gun St Malo privateer Connetable, and on 8 August 1705 she (along with the Medway) captured the French 60-gun Auguste, built in Brest in 1704, which the British took into service as HMS Auguste.

She underwent a rebuild according to the 1719 Establishment at Deptford from 1718 to 1721.

Fate

Chatham served until September 1749, when she was sunk as a breakwater at Sheerness. She was raised and taken to pieces there in May 1762.

Citations

1. ^ Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714, p.131.
2. ^ Brian Lavery, Ships of the Line, Vol. 1, p. 170.

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 (1997), The 50-Gun Ship: A Complete History. Chatham Publishing (1st edition); Mercury Books (2nd edition 2005). ISBN 1-845600-09-6.
• 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.

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