HMS Chesterfield (1745)

HMS Chesterfield was a 44-gun fifth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, which saw active service in both the War of Jenkins' Ear and the Seven Years' War. Launched in 1745 during a period of war with France, Chesterfield was assigned to the fleet on patrol in the Western Approaches to the British Isles, and later to the protection of British interests in West Africa. Her crew mutinied in October 1748, but returned the vessel to Navy control in early 1749.[1]

History
Royal Navy EnsignGreat Britain
NameHMS Chesterfield
Ordered23 May 1744
BuilderJohn Quallett, Rotherhithe
Laid down2 June 1744
Launched31 October 1745
Completed25 January 1746 at Deptford Dockyard
CommissionedNovember 1745
In service
  • 1745–1749
  • 1755–1762
Honours and
awards
Battle of Minorca (1756)
FateWrecked off Cuba, July 1762
General characteristics
Class and type44-gun fifth-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen719 3894 bm
Length
  • 127 ft 5 in (38.8 m) (gundeck)
  • 102 ft 8.25 in (31.3 m) (keel)
Beam36 ft 3.5 in (11.1 m)
Depth of hold15 ft 5 in (4.70 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement280 officers and crew
Armament
  • 44 guns comprising:
  • Upper deck: 20 × 9-pounder guns
  • Gundeck: 20 × 18-pounder guns
  • Quarterdeck: 4 × 6-pounder guns

Decommissioned in 1749, Chesterfield was restored to service when Britain declared war on France in 1755 for duty in the Mediterranean, North America and the Caribbean. After several years of convoy duty she was wrecked in the Old Bahama Channel, near Cuba, on 24 July 1762.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Winfield 2007, p.171

Bibliography

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  • Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 9781844157006.