Dublin-class ship of the line

The Dublin-class ships of the line were a class of seven 74-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade, although the design evolved during the construction period.

A Dublin-class ship of the line in a light breeze by Charles Brooking
Class overview
Name	Dublin
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	1745 Establishment
Succeeded by	Hercules class
In service	6 May 1757 – 1802
Completed	7
Lost	2
General characteristics
Type	Ship of the line
Tons burthen	1,54687⁄94 bm
Length	165 ft 6.5 in (50.457 m) (gundeck) 134 ft 6 in (41.00 m) (keel)
Beam	46 ft 6 in (14.17 m)
Depth of hold	19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Complement	550
Armament	74 guns: Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounders Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pounders Quarterdeck: 14 × 9-pounders Forecastle: 4 × 9-pounders
Notes	Ships in class include: Dublin, Norfolk, Shrewsbury, Lenox, Mars, Resolution, Warspite.

Design

The Dublin-class ships were the first 74-gun ships to be designed for the Royal Navy, and marked the beginning of a more dynamic era of naval design than that in the ultra-conservative Establishment era preceding it.

Slade's original draught was approved on 26 August 1755 when the first two orders were transmitted to Deptford Dockyard. The design measured 164 ft 6 in (50.14 m) on the gundeck, some 4½ feet longer than the preceding 70-gun ships of the 1745 Establishment (although only 2 feet longer than the final 70-gun design - HMS Burford and HMS Dorsetshire ordered in 1754). The design measured 133 ft 5.5 in (40.678 m) on the keel and 46 ft 6 in (14.17 m) in breadth, to give a bm tonnage of 1,53489⁄94. However before any of these ships had been begun Slade modified the design to give a revised length of 165 ft 6.5 in (50.457 m) on the gundeck and 134 ft 6 in (41.00 m) on the keel, resulting in an increased tonnage of 1,54687⁄94. Moreover the final design was eventually 135 ft 2 in (41.20 m) on the keel, resulting in an increased tonnage of 1,55469⁄94.

The two 1754 orders had made provision for an additional (14th) pair of 32-pounder guns on the lower deck compared with the 13 pairs of the 70-gun ships of the 1745 Establishment, but had only mounted fourteen 9-pounder guns on the quarterdeck (12) and forecastle (2) to retain a total of 70; the Dublin class ships were actually fitted with eighteen 9-pounders on the quarterdeck (14) and forecastle (4); they were nominally ordered as 70-gun ships (although always designed to carry 74), but redesignated as 74-gun during construction on 1 November 1755.

Two further units originally intended to be to the Dublin class design were ordered on 11 January 1757. These would have been of the same dimensions as the design mentioned above except that an amended draught on 17 March altered the keel length to 135 ft 6 in (41.30 m) and the BM tonnage would consequently have been 1,55840⁄94 bm. However on 21 May this was dramatically replaced by a larger design of 1,79335⁄94 bm tons, derived from the draught of the ex-French prize HMS Invincible, mounting 24-pounders instead of 18-pounders on the upper deck (but with the same armament as the Dublin class on other decks). These two ships finally emerged as HMS Valiant and HMS Triumph.

Ships

As with all wooden warships, these ships when completed and measured had slightly different dimensions (and hence BM tonnage) from the design dimensions, and the final measurements are listed below.

• HMS Dublin

Builder: Deptford Dockyard

Ordered: 26 August 1755

Laid down: 18 November 1755

Launched: 6 May 1757

Completed: 1 July 1757

Actual dimensions as completed:

Length on gundeck: 165 ft 6 in (50.44 m)

Length on keel: 134 ft 4 in (40.94 m)

Breadth: 46 ft 9 in (14.25 m)

Depth in hold: 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)

Actual tonnage as completed: 1,56163⁄94 bm

Fate: Broken up, May 1784

• HMS Norfolk

Builder: Deptford Dockyard

Ordered: 26 August 1755

Laid down: 18 November 1755

Launched: 28 December 1757

Completed: 23 February 1758

Actual dimensions as completed:

Length on gundeck: 165 ft 6 in (50.44 m)

Length on keel: 134 ft 4.75 in (40.9639 m)

Breadth: 46 ft 8 in (14.22 m)

Depth in hold: 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)

Actual tonnage as completed: 1,55677⁄94 bm

Fate: Broken up, December 1774

• HMS Shrewsbury

Builder: Wells & Company, Deptford

Ordered: 28 October 1755

Laid down: 14 January 1756

Launched: 23 February 1758

Completed: 2 May 1758 at Deptford Dockyard

Actual dimensions as completed:

Length on gundeck: 166 ft 1 in (50.62 m)

Length on keel: 135 ft 2.5 in (41.212 m)

Breadth: 47 ft 1 in (14.35 m)

Depth in hold: 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)

Actual tonnage as completed: 1,59431⁄94 bm

Fate: Condemned and scuttled at Jamaica 12 June 1783

• HMS Lenox

Builder: Chatham Dockyard

Ordered: 28 October 1755

Laid down: 8 April 1756

Launched: 25 February 1758

Completed: 26 May 1758

Actual dimensions as completed:

Length on gundeck: 165 ft 5.25 in (50.4254 m)

Length on keel: 134 ft 5 in (40.97 m)

Breadth: 47 ft 0 in (14.33 m)

Depth in hold: 19 ft 8.5 in (6.007 m)

Actual tonnage as completed: 1,57937⁄94 bm

Fate: Sunk as breakwater, 1784; later raised and broken up May 1789

• HMS Mars

Builder: Woolwich Dockyard

Ordered: 28 October 1755

Laid down: 1 May 1756

Launched: 15 March 1759

Completed: 12 April 1759

Actual dimensions as completed:

Length on gundeck: 165 ft 6 in (50.44 m)

Length on keel: 134 ft 4 in (40.94 m)

Breadth: 46 ft 8 in (14.22 m)

Depth in hold: 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)

Actual tonnage as completed: 1,55610⁄94 bm

Fate: Sold to be broken up, August 1784

• HMS Warspite

Builder: Thomas West, Deptford

Ordered: 14 November 1755

Laid down: November 1755

Launched: 8 April 1758

Completed: 27 July 1758 at Deptford Dockyard

Actual dimensions as completed:

Length on gundeck: 165 ft 9.5 in (50.533 m)

Length on keel: 134 ft 11.25 in (41.1290 m)

Breadth: 46 ft 11 in (14.30 m)

Depth in hold: 19 ft 9.5 in (6.033 m)

Actual tonnage as completed: 1,57984⁄94 bm

Fate: Broken up, November 1801

• HMS Resolution

Builder: Henry Bird, Northam, Southampton

Ordered: 24 November 1755

Laid down: December 1755

Launched: 14 December 1758

Completed: 23 March 1759 at Portsmouth Dockyard

Actual dimensions as completed:

Length on gundeck: 165 ft 6 in (50.44 m)

Length on keel: 134 ft 3 in (40.92 m)

Breadth: 46 ft 10.5 in (14.288 m)

Depth in hold: 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)

Actual tonnage as completed: 1,5695⁄94 bm

Fate: Wrecked, 20 November 1759 during Battle of Quiberon

References

• Lavery, Brian (1983) The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
• Lyon, David (1993) The Sailing Navy List. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-617-5
• Winfield, Rif (2007) British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1714 – 1792. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-295-5