HMS Buckingham (1751): Difference between revisions

{{short description|Ship of the line of the Royal Navy}}

{{Other ships|HMS Buckingham}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}

{{Use British English|date=December 2017}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}

{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image=HMSBuckingham.jpg

{{Infobox ship career

|Ship flag=[[File:Naval Ensign of Great Britain (1707-1800).svg|60px|Royal Navy Ensign]]

|Ship builder=John Hollond, [[Deptford Dockyard]]

|Ship laid down=26 January 1746

|Ship launched=30 April 1751

|Ship commissioned=May 1755

|Ship renamed=HMS ''Grampus'', 1777

|Ship fate=Sank, Atlantic Ocean, 11 November 1779

{{Infobox ship characteristics

|Header caption=

|Ship class=[[1745 Establishment]] 70-gun [[third-rate]] [[ship of the line]]

|Ship tons burthen=1435 {{fraction|62|94}} ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]])

|Ship length=*{{convert|160|ft|0|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (gundeck)

*{{convert|131|ft|4|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (gundeck)

|Ship beam={{convert|45|ft|4|in|m|1|abbr=on}}

|Ship sail plan=[[Full-rigged ship]]

|Ship propulsion=

|Ship complement=520

|Ship armament=*70 guns:

*Upper deck: 28 × 18 pdrs

'''HMS ''Buckingham''''' (later renamed '''HMS Grampus''') was a 70-gun [[third-rate]] [[ship of the line]] of the [[Royal Navy]], built at [[Deptford Dockyard]] by John Holland to the draught specified by the [[1745 Establishment]], and in active service during the [[Seven Years' War]] with France.<ref name=Winfield>Winfield 2007, pp.54–55</ref> With a crew of 520 she was one of the largest ships in the Navy at that time.

==Service==

[[File:Aanval van een Engels schip op drie Franse schepen bij Sint Eustatius, 1758, RP-P-OB-84.508.jpg|thumb|Attack of an English ship, the ''Buckingham'', on three French ships near [[Sint Eustatius|St. Eustatius]], 1758]]

She was launched at Deptford in May 1751 at a cost of £29,000 then taken to [[Chatham Dockyard]] for fitting out to [[Royal Navy]] specification (including addition of guns) at a cost of around £8000. She was commissioned and formally brought into service in 1755 and put under command of Captain [[Michael Everitt]] who sailed her to the Mediterranean with Admiral [[John Byng]]'s fleet. On 20 May 1756 she took place in the [[Battle of Minorca (1756)|Battle of Minorca]]. Immediately after the battle command passed to Captain [[Edward Pratten]] who took her to the [[Leeward Islands]] immmedialy after repairs at Chatham. In May 1757 command passed to [[Richard Tyrell]].

In 1756/57 [[Temple West]] served as her Flag Officer.

On 3 November 1758, ''Buckingham'' under the command of [[Richard Tyrell]] joined with {{HMS|Weazel|1745|6}} to engage three French warships off the coast of [[Montserrat]], the 74-gun ''Florissant'' and two [[frigate]]s (''Egrette'' and ''Atalante''),<ref name="RCIN 732083">{{cite web |last1=Paton |first1=Richard |title=Gaudeloupe, 1758 |url=https://militarymaps.rct.uk/the-seven-years-war-1756-63/gaudeloupe-1758-to-captain-tyrrell-commander-of-his |website=The Royal Collection Trust |access-date=12 July 2021 |quote=To Captain Tyrrell Commander of His Majesty’s Ship BUCKINGHAM 66 Guns. 472 MEN. / This Representation of his Attacking and defeating the Florisant the L’Egrette and L’Atalante, Three French Ships of War, convoying Dutch... 1760}}</ref> carrying 38 and 28 guns. The battle lasted for four hours with both ''Buckingham'' and ''Florissant'' taking considerable damage. ''Florissant'' was able to disentangle from ''Buckingham'' and sail off before the British could board her.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Particulars of the Engagement... |work=St. Christopher's Gazette |date=10 November 1758}}</ref>

In January 1759 she went to [[Martinique]] where on 16th she took part in the [[Battle of Martinique (1759)|Battle of Martinique]] and capture of [[Guadeloupe]] on 20th. A few days after command passed to Captain [[Lachlan Leslie]] and then passed to [[Peter Parker (Royal Navy)|Peter Parker]] in May.

In 1771 ''Buckingham'' was converted to a [[storeship]] at [[Chatham Dockyard]], and in 1777 was renamed '''HMS Grampus''', under Captain [[Ambrose Reddall]]. Her armament was reduced to 30 guns and her crew reduced to 230 men.

American Revolution: On 15 April 1778 she sailed from [[Newport, Rhode Island]] taking General [[John Burgoyne]] and some of his Officers back to England, arriving in early May. Early on in the voyage they recaptured a prize on the [[Grand Banks]] that had been taken by [[USS Revenge (1777)|USS Revenge]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/publications/naval-documents-of-the-american-revolution/NavalDocumentsOfTheAmericanRevVol12_8JUN2015.pdf |title=NAVAL DOCUMENTS OF The American Revolution |publisher=history.navy.mil |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>

Command passed in October 1778 to [[George Anson Byron]], she sailed for [[Jamaica]] on 26 December 1778 to resupply the Royal Navy garrison. In April 1779 her command was transferred to Commander [[Thomas Stanhope Bennett]], who sailed her to [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] to collect supplies of timber. She was leaking badly on her return voyage to England, and foundered on 11 November 1779 while crossing the North Atlantic Ocean.<ref name=Winfield/> Commander Bennett and the crew perished.

{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===

* {{cite book | last = Winfield| first = Rif|title = British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates | publisher = Seaforth| location=Barnsley, United Kingdom|year = 2007|isbn=9781844157006}}

[[Category:1751 ships]]