HMS Duke (1777)

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

HMS Duke was a 98-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 October 1777 at Plymouth.^[1]

Duke
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Duke
Ordered	18 June 1771
Builder	Plymouth Dockyard
Laid down	October 1772
Launched	18 October 1777
Fate	Broken up, 1843
General characteristics [1]
Class & type	Duke-class ship of the line
Tons burthen	194328⁄94 (bm)
Length	177 ft 6 in (54.10 m) (gundeck)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Depth of hold	21 ft 2 in (6.45 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	98 guns: Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs Middle gundeck: 30 × 18 pdrs Upper gundeck: 30 × 12 pdrs Quarterdeck: 8 × 12 pdrs Forecastle: 2 × 12 pdrs

The Battle of the Saints, 12 April 1782, by Nicholas Pocock. Dominating the left foreground the ‘'Duke'’ is moving in to break the line and engage two French ships

She was named after the Duke of Cumberland of Culloden fame and had a figurehead of the Duke.^[2]

She was at the Battle of Ushant in July 1778 and the Battle of the Saintes' (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), or Battle of Dominica, that took place 9 April 1782 – 12 April 1782, during the American Revolutionary War. Under command of Captain Alan Gardner (later Baron Gardner) she served in the white squadron under overall control of Admiral George Rodney.^[2]

Duke was employed on harbour service from 1799, and was broken up in 1843.^[1]