HMS Swiftsure (1750) explained

HMS Swiftsure was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched in 1755 and in active service during the Seven Years' War. After a distinguished career at sea she was decommissioned in 1763 and sold into private hands ten years later.

Construction

Swiftsure was built at Deptford Dockyard to the specifications of the 1745 Establishment, and launched on 25 May 1750.

Naval service

Swiftsure was commissioned into the Royal Navy in August 1755, under Captain Augustus Keppel. In 1756 her command was transferred to Captain Matthew Buckle, and she was assigned first to the fleet under Admiral Henry Osborn, and then to that of Edward Boscawen. In company with she engaged and captured the French ship of the line in 1758, and towed her to join the fleet of Admiral Osborn at Cartagena.^[1]

In 1759 she was again with Admiral Boscawen at Lagos, and at Quiberon Bay later that year, and at the capture of Belle Île in 1761.^[2]

She was sold on 2 June 1773.^[2]

References

Bibliography

• • Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850. Conway Maritime Press. .
• Book: Winfield, Rif. British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates . Seaforth. 2007. 9781844157006.

Notes and References

1. Famous Fighters of the Fleet, Edward Fraser, 1904 p.33
2. Winfield 2007, p. 54