HMS Dorsetshire (1694)

HMS Dorsetshire, the first Royal Navy ship to be named after the county of Dorset, was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Southampton on 8 December 1694.[1]

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Dorsetshire.

History
Royal Navy EnsignGreat Britain
NameHMS Dorsetshire
BuilderWinter, Southampton
Launched8 December 1694
FateSold, 1749
General characteristics as built[1]
Class and type80-gun third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen1,176
Length153 ft 4.5 in (46.7 m) (gundeck)
Beam42 ft (12.8 m)
Depth of hold18 ft (5.5 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament80 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1712 rebuild[2]
Class and type1706 Establishment 80-gun third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen1,289
Length156 ft (47.5 m) (gundeck)
Beam43 ft 6 in (13.3 m)
Depth of hold17 ft 8 in (5.4 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 80 guns:
  • Gundeck: 26 × 32 pdrs
  • Middle gundeck: 26 × 12 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 24 × 6 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 4 × 6 pdrs

Dorsetshire came under the command of Edward Whitaker in 1704 and she was at the capture of Gibraltar (but out of commission). Whitaker then took the ship to play a part in the Battle of Málaga the same year.[3]

She was rebuilt according to the 1706 Establishment at Portsmouth Dockyard, and relaunched on 20 September 1712. As built, Dorsetshire had carried her 80-gun armament on two decks, but during this rebuild they were redistributed over a third gundeck, although she continued to be classified as a third rate.[2]

Dorsetshire continued to serve until 1749, when she was sold out of the navy.[2]

Notes
  1. Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 163.
  2. Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 167.
  3. J. K. Laughton, ‘Whitaker, Sir Edward (1660?–1735)’, rev. J. D. Davies, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 28 April 2013

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.


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