HMS Vigilant was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 6 October 1774 at Bucklers Hard.[1]

Vigilant
History
Great Britain
NameHMS Vigilant
Ordered14 January 1771
BuilderAdams, Bucklers Hard
Laid downFebruary 1771
Launched6 October 1774
FateBroken up, 1816
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeIntrepid-class ship of the line
Tons burthen1347 bm
Length159 ft 6 in (48.62 m) (gundeck)
Beam44 ft 4 in (13.51 m)
Depth of hold19 ft (5.8 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 64 guns:
  • Gundeck: 26 × 24 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 26 × 18 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 10 × 4 pdrs
  • Forecastle: 2 × 9 pdrs

By 1779 she had been deemed unseaworthy by the navy. She was stripped of her sails and used as a floating battery to support the amphibious landing of British Army troops on Port Royal Island, South Carolina prior to the Battle of Beaufort.[2] From 1799 she served as a prison ship, and was broken up in 1816.[1]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 181.
  2. ^ Rowland et al, p. 216

References

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  • 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.
  • Rowland, Lawrence; Moore, Alexander; Rogers, George (1996). The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina: 1514–1861. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-57003-090-1. OCLC 194626437.
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