HMS Thunderer (1760)
HMS Thunderer was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 19 March 1760 at Woolwich.[1] She earned a battle honour in a single-ship action off Cadiz with the French ship Achille (64 guns) in 1761, during the Seven Years' War.
 Model of a 74-gun ship, 3rd rate, circa 1760. Thought to be either HMS Hercules or HMS Thunderer from 1760. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Great Britain | |
| Name | Thunderer |
| Ordered | 15 July 1756 |
| Builder | Woolwich Dockyard |
| Launched | 19 March 1760 |
| Fate | Wrecked, 1780 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type | Hercules-class ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 160933⁄94 (bm) |
| Length | 166 ft 6 in (50.75 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam | 46 ft 6 in (14.17 m) |
| Depth of hold | 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament |
|
She foundered in the Great Hurricane of 1780 in the West Indies,[1] reportedly 90 miles east of Jamaica on the Formigas Banks with the loss of all 617 on board.[2] Among the lost sailors were the Captain, Robert Boyle-Walsingham (1736–1780), and Midshipman Nathaniel Cook (1764–1780), the second child of Captain James Cook.
Two cannons attributed to the ship are displayed at a rum cake factory on Grand Cayman Island. A plaque states that they were recovered in 1984 by the research vessel Beacon.[2]
Notes
- Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p176.
- Tippin, pp. 45–50
External links
Media related to HMS Thunderer (ship, 1760) at Wikimedia Commons
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.
- Tippin, G. Lee; Humphreys, Jr., Herbert (1989). In search of the Golden Madonna: the treasure finders of the RV Beacon. Daring Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-93893-686-2.