Summary
HMS Ramillies was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 15 April 1763 at Chatham Dockyard.[1]
 Loss of HMS Ramillies by Robert Dodd artist
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | HMS Ramillies |
| Ordered | 1 December 1759 |
| Builder | Chatham Dockyard |
| Launched | 15 April 1763 |
| Fate | Burned, 1782 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type | Ramillies-class ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1619 (bm) |
| Length | 168 ft 6 in (51.36 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam | 46 ft 9 in (14.25 m) |
| Depth of hold | 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament | |
Career edit
Ramillies took part in the action of 9 August 1780, when a convoy she was escorting fell prey to a Spanish squadron. 55 merchantmen were captured, but she managed to escape.[2]
In 1782 she was the flagship of a fleet under Admiral Thomas Graves off Newfoundland. Ramillies was badly damaged in a violent storm of 1782, and was finally abandoned and burned on 21 September 1782.[3]
On 16–19 September, she was escorting a convoy from Jamaica when they were hit by the storm. Frantic efforts were made to save her. All anchors, cannon, and masts were shipped over the side. The hull was bound together with rope, officers and men manned the pumps for 24 hours a day for 3 days. However despite all the water continued to rise. The exhausted crew were rescued by nearby merchantmen, and the last man, Captain Sylverius Moriarty,[4] set her on fire as he left.
Robert Dodd painted a series of four documenting the tragedy. "The demise of the Ramillies" comprises: "A Storm coming on", "The Storm increas'd", "The Ramillies Water Logg'd with her Admiral & Crew quitting the Wreck", and "The Ramillies Destroyed". In 1795 a set of four coloured mezzotints were engraved and published by Jukes from his shop at No.10 Howland Street.[5][6]
-
"A Storm Coming On" -
"The Storm increas'd. Distressed situation of the Ramillies when Day broke with the Dutton Store Ship foundering" -
"The Ramillies Water Logg'd with her Admiral & Crew quitting the Wreck", -
"Ship abandoned in abating storm" -
"Blowing up of the wreck"
Notes edit
- ^ a b Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p177.
- ^ Lacour-Gayet (1905), p. 318.
- ^ The sinking[permanent dead link]
- ^ Sylverius Moriarty
- ^ Paintings "The demise of the Ramillies" Archived 18 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Ramillies Destroyed
References edit
- Lacour-Gayet, Georges (1905). La marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XVI. Paris: Honoré Champion. OCLC 763372623.
- 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.
External links edit
