HMS Worcester (1769)

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

HMS Worcester was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 17 October 1769 at Portsmouth,^[1] and was the fourth ship to bear the name.

Worcester
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Worcester
Ordered	16 November 1765
Builder	Portsmouth Dockyard
Laid down	6 May 1766
Launched	17 October 1769
Fate	Broken up, 1816
Notes	Participated in: Battle of Cuddalore
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Worcester-class ship of the line
Tons burthen	137949⁄94 (bm)
Length	159 ft (48 m) (gundeck)
Beam	44 ft 6 in (13.56 m)
Depth of hold	19 ft 10 in (6.05 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	64 guns: Gundeck: 26 × 24 pdrs Upper gundeck: 26 × 18 pdrs Quarterdeck: 10 × 4 pdrs Forecastle: 2 × 9 pdrs

In 1783, Worcester took part in the Battle of Cuddalore.^[2]

She was broken up in Deptford in 1816, after having been hulked in 1788.^[1] She is best known as the ship on which Lord Nelson won an acting commission in 1776 as the fourth lieutenant.^{[citation needed]}

In fiction

A 74-gun ship by the name of HMS Worcester featured in The Ionian Mission by Patrick O'Brian. Despite the events of the novel taking place during this ship's lifetime, the Worcester of the novel is described as being one of the 'forty-thieves'—a name ascribed to the ships of the later, and somewhat infamous Surveyors' class of third rates, sometimes also known as the Vengeur class.

Notes

1. Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 181.
2. Clowes, William Laird (1996) [1900]. The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, Volume III. London: Chatham Publishing. p. 563. ISBN 1-86176-012-4.

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.