Ramillies-class ship of the line

The Ramillies-class ships of the line were a class of nine 74-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade.

Loss of HMS Ramillies by Robert Dodd
Class overview
Name	Ramillies class
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Canada class
Succeeded by	Albion class
In service	4 September 1762 – 1817
Completed	9
Lost	5
General characteristics
Type	Ship of the line
Length	168 ft 6 in (51.36 m) (gundeck) 138 ft 3+3⁄8 in (42.148 m)(keel) (first group) 138 ft 1 in (42.09 m) (keel) (second group)
Beam	46 ft 9 in (14.25 m) (first group) 46 ft 11 in (14.30 m) (second group)
Propulsion	Sails
Complement	550
Armament	74 guns: Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs Quarterdeck: 14 × 9 pdrs Forecastle: 4 × 9 pdrs
Notes	Ships in class include: Ramillies, Monarch, Magnificent, Marlborough, Terrible, Russell, Invincible, Robust, Prince of Wales

Design

The draught for the Ramillies class was very similar to that of the Bellona class and subsequent Arrogant class, with the only real differences to be found in the shape of the underwater hull. There were two distinct sub-groups; four ships were built in the Royal Dockyards to the original design, approved on 25 April 1760 – although the name-ship Ramillies had originally been ordered as a Bellona-class unit. Slade subsequently amended his design for the ships which were to be built by commercial contractors – this modified design, with slightly amended dimensions, being approved on 13 January 1761.

Ships

First group

Dockyard-built ships:

• HMS Ramillies

Builder: Chatham Dockyard

Ordered: 1 December 1759

Laid down: 25 August 1760

Launched: 25 April 1763

Completed: November 1763

Fate: Abandoned and burned off Newfoundland, 21 September 1782.

• HMS Monarch

Builder: Deptford Dockyard

Ordered: 22 November 1760

Laid down: 2 June 1761

Launched: 20 July 1765

Completed: 24 September 1765

Fate: Broken up at Chatham, March 1813

• HMS Magnificent

Builder: Deptford Dockyard

Ordered: 16 December 1761

Laid down: 15 April 1762

Launched: 20 September 1767

Completed: September 1778

Fate: Wrecked off Brest, 25 March 1804.

• HMS Marlborough

Builder: Deptford Dockyard

Ordered: 4 December 1762

Laid down: 3 June 1763

Launched: 26 August 1767

Completed: 1 December 1767

Fate: Wrecked off Belle Île, 4 November 1800

Second (modified) group

Contract-built ships:

• HMS Terrible

Builder: John Barnard, Harwich

Ordered: 1 January 1761

Laid down: February 1761

Launched: 4 September 1762

Completed: 18 December 1762

Fate: Burned following the Battle of the Chesapeake, 11 September 1781

• HMS Russell

Builder: Thomas West, Deptford

Ordered: 1 January 1761

Laid down: June 1761

Launched: 10 November 1764

Completed: 6 January 1765 at Woolwich Dockyard

Fate: Sold out of the service in the East Indies, 1811

• HMS Invincible

Builder: John and William Wells, Deptford

Ordered: 12 October 1761

Laid down: December 1761

Launched: 9 March 1765

Completed: February 1777 at Chatham Dockyard.

Fate: Wrecked off Yarmouth, 16 March 1801

• HMS Robust

Builder: John Barnard, Harwich

Ordered: 16 December 1761

Laid down: February 1762

Launched: 25 October 1764

Completed: 10 December 1764

Fate: Broken up at Portsmouth, January 1817

• HMS Prince of Wales

Builder: Henry Bird and Roger Fisher, Milford Haven

Ordered: 16 December 1762

Laid down: March 1762

Launched: 4 June 1765

Completed: 22 December 1770 at Plymouth Dockyard

Fate: Broken up at Plymouth, August 1783

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.