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HMS Colchester (1694)

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Ship of the line of the Royal Navy For other ships with the same name, see HMS Colchester.

History
Royal Navy EnsignEngland
NameHMS Colchester
Ordered16 November 1693
BuilderSir Henry Johnson, Blackwall Yard
Launched23 October 1694
Commissioned10 December 1694
FateWrecked in Whitesand Bay, Cornwall, 16 January 1704
General characteristics
Class and type50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen696 72⁄94 bm
Length131 ft 4 in (40.0 m) (gundeck) 111 ft 8 in (34.0 m) (keel)
Beam34 ft 3 in (10.4 m)
Depth of hold13 ft 7 in (4.1 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 50 guns:
  • Lower gundeck 22 x 12 pdr guns
  • Upper dundeck 20 x 8 pdr demi-culverin3
  • Quarterdeck 6 x 6 pdr sakers
  • Forecastle 2 x 6 pdr sakers

HMS Colchester was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, ordered to be built by commercial contract by Sir Henry Johnson on 16 November 1693 (along with her sistership, the Romney - the contract for both ships was signed on 23 February 1694), and both ships were launched at the contractor's Blackwall Yard on 23 October 1694. The Colchester was commissioned on 10 December 1694 under Captain Frederick Weighman, for service in the West Indies.

She was wrecked in a storm - while on passage from Ireland to Plymouth - at Whitesand Bay, Sennen Cove, Cornwall on 16 January 1704 with the loss of approximately 170 lives including the captain (David Wavell).

Notes

  1. ^ Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1603-1714, p.134.
  2. Larn, Richard; Larn, Bridget (1997). Shipwreck Index of the British Isles. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping.

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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