Weymouth (60)
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Origin and History
The ship was built by Thomas Slade at Plymouth dockyard from 1748 to 1752 and launched on February 18 1752.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- since May 1756: captain Nicholas Vincent (dismissed his ship on June 18 1758)
- from June 18 1758 : captain John Stukley Somerset
- from March 1759: captain sir William Baird
- from 1760 to July 1765: captain Richard Collins
The ship was broken up on February 12 1772.
Service during the War
On April 27 1755, the ship was part of admiral Boscawen's squadron who set sail for the entrance of the gulf of the Saint-Laurent, near the southern coast of Newfoundland, to intercept the French reinforcement for Canada. In September, it captured the French Indiaman “Astrée”
In June 1757, the ship was part of the squadron under the command of commodore Stevens which left England for India.
On March 24 1758, Stevens' squadron reached Madras (actual Chennai) and joined with vice-admiral Pocock's squadron in the Hooghly river. It then took an active part to the operations on the coast of Coromandel. On April 29, she was among Pocock's ships who took part to the combat of Cuddalore. At the beginning of the engagement, her captain mistook the signal for the line and did not close up to the ships ahead of him. Finally, passing to windward of the Newcastle (50), the ship got into line ahead of her and quickly obliged the Moras (44) to bear away. After the combat, Pocock's squadron was forced to return to Madras to refit. At the end of May, the squadron made an unsuccessful attempt to relieve Fort St. David who finally surrendered on June 2. On June 6, Pocock had been informed that Fort St. George near Madras was likely to be invested. He made for Madras, where he brought his defaulting captains to court-martial. On June 18, captain Nicholas Vincent of the Weymouth was dismissed his ship. On July 25, Pocock's squadron sailed from Madras, intending to engage the French squadron of d'Aché near Pondicherry. On August 3, the ship took part to the victorious combat of Negapatam.
On September 10 1759, the ship took part in the battle of Pondicherry. After the battle, on September 11, the ship towed the badly damaged Tiger (60).
In 1762, the ship took part to the successful expedition against Manila.
To do: more details on the campaigns from 1760 to 1762
Characteristics
| Guns | 60
| ||||||||
| Crew | 420 | ||||||||
| Length at gundeck | 150 ft (45.7 m) | ||||||||
| Width | 42 ft 8 in (13.0 m) | ||||||||
| Depth | 18 ft 6 in (5.6 m) | ||||||||
| Displacement | 1,198 long tons (1217.2 t) |
References
Blasco, Manuel, British 3rd Rates, 3 Decks Wiki
Phillips, M., Michael Phillip's Ships of the Old Navy
- HMS Weymouth (1752)
N.B.: the section Service during the War is derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
