HMS Northumberland (1750)

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

HMS Northumberland was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Plymouth Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment, and launched on 1 December 1750.^[1]

Northumberland
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Northumberland
Ordered	22 June 1744
Builder	Thomas Fellowes (1744–1746) Benjamin Slade (1746–1750) Thomas Slade (1750)
Laid down	14 August 1744
Launched	1 December 1750
Commissioned	January 1753
Renamed	HMS Leviathan, 13 September 1777
Fate	Foundered, 27 February 1780
Notes	Storeship from 1777
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	1745 Establishment 70-gun third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	141456⁄94(bm)
Length	160 ft (48.8 m) (gundeck) 160 ft (48.8 m) (keel)
Beam	45 ft (13.7 m)
Depth of hold	19 ft 4 in (5.9 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	520
Armament	70 guns: Gundeck: 26 × 32 pdrs Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs Quarterdeck: 12 × 9 pdrs Forecastle: 4 × 9 pdrs

During the Seven Years' War, Northumberland was the flagship of Lord Alexander Collville from 1753 to 1762, and under the captaincy of William Adams until 1760 and Nathaniel Bateman from 1760 to 1762.^[2] Future explorer James Cook served as ship's master from 1759 to 1761.^[3]

Northumberland was later classified as a storeship and was renamed Leviathan on 13 September 1777. She foundered on 27 February 1780 whilst sailing from Jamaica to Britain.^[4]

Notes

1. Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 173.
2. Robson 2009, p.97
3. Robson 2009, p. 95
4. Ships of the Old Navy, Northumberland.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• 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.
• Robson, John (2009). Captain Cook's War and Peace. University of New South Wales Press. p. 95. ISBN 9781742231099.
• Phillips, Michael. Northumberland (70) (1750). Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
• Winfield, Rif (2007) British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1714–1792. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.