HMS Guernsey (1696)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Guernsey.

Plan of the 1740 rebuild
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Guernsey
Ordered	12 September 1695
Builder	Sir Henry Johnson, Blackwall Yard
Launched	6 July 1696
Fate	Sold, 2 February 1786
General characteristics as built[1][2]
Class and type	50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	680 12⁄94 bm
Length	131 ft 9 in (40.2 m) (gundeck) 109 ft (33.2 m) (keel)
Beam	34 ft 3 in (10.4 m)
Depth of hold	13 ft 6 in (4.1 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	50 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1717 rebuild[3][4]
Class and type	1706 Establishment 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	706 5⁄94 bm
Length	130 ft (39.6 m) (on gundeck) 107 ft 4 in (32.7 m) (keel)
Beam	35 ft (10.7 m)
Depth of hold	14 ft (4.3 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	50 guns: Gundeck: 22 × 18 pdrs Upper gundeck: 22 × 9 pdrs Quarterdeck: 4 × 6 pdrs Forecastle: 2 × 6 pdrs
General characteristics after 1740 rebuild[5][6]
Class and type	1733 proposals 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	862 81⁄94 bm
Length	134 ft (40.8 m) (on gundeck) 108 ft 6 in (33.1 m) (keel)
Beam	38 ft 8 in (11.8 m)
Depth of hold	15 ft 9 in (4.8 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	50 guns: Gundeck: 22 × 18 pdrs Upper gundeck: 22 × 9 pdrs Quarterdeck: 4 × 6 pdrs Forecastle: 2 × 6 pdrs

HMS Guernsey was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, one of four ordered in September 1694 (Blackwall and Guernsey on 12 September and Nonsuch and Warwick on 25 September) to be built by commercial contracts; eight further ships of this type were ordered on 24 December (six to be built by contract and two in Royal Dockyards). The Guernsey was built by Sir Henry Johnson's Blackwall Yard and launched on 6 July 1696.[1][2]

She was ordered on 16 May 1716 to be rebuilt according to the 1706 Establishment at Woolwich Dockyard, where she arrived on 24 June 1716. Work commenced on 7 September and she was re-launched on 24 October 1717.[4] On 23 February 1737 orders were issued for Guernsey to be taken to pieces and rebuilt again at Chatham Dockyard to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment. Work commenced in March 1738 and she was re-launched on 11 August 1740, and remained in active service until 1769 when she was hulked, being finally sold for break-up on 2 February 1786.[6]

Guernsey was sold out of the navy in 1786.[6]

The Guernsey; before a light breeze

Notes

1. Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714, p.136.
2. Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 164.
3. Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792, p.144.
4. Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 168.
5. Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792, p.147.
6. Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 171.

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.
• Winfield, Rif (1997), The 50-Gun Ship: A Complete History. Chatham Publishing (1st edition); Mercury Books (2nd edition 2005). ISBN 1-845600-09-6.
• Winfield, Rif (2009) British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.
• Winfield, Rif (2007) British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.