HMS Barfleur was a 90-gun second-rate

Second-rate

In the British Royal Navy, a second rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th century second rates had fewer guns and were originally two-deckers or had only partially armed third gun decks. The term in no way implied...

 ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, designed by Sir Thomas Slade on the lines of the 100-gun ship Royal William

HMS Prince (1670)

HMS Prince was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Phineas Pett II at Deptford Dockyard and launched in 1670. A contemporary shipyard model and a drawing by Willem van de Velde the Elder give a good impression how she looked...

, and launched at Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...

 on 30 July 1768, at a cost of £49,222. In about 1780, she had another eight guns added to her quarterdeck, making her a 98-gun ship; she possessed a crew of approximately 750. Her design class

Barfleur class ship of the line

The Barfleur-class ships of the line were a class of four 90-gun second rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade.-Design:The design for the Barfleur class was based upon HMS Royal William.-Ships:...

 sisters were the Prince George

HMS Prince George (1772)

HMS Prince George was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 31 August 1772 at Chatham. During her career, she was upgraded to a 98-gun ship, through the addition of eight 12 pdr guns to her quarterdeck....

, Princess Royal

HMS Princess Royal (1773)

HMS Princess Royal was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 October 1773 at Portsmouth. During her career she was upgraded to a 98-gun ship, by the addition of eight 12 pdr guns to her quarterdeck....

, and Formidable

HMS Formidable (1777)

HMS Formidable was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 20 August 1777 at Chatham. During her career, her armament was increased to 98-guns....

. She was a ship of long service and many battles.

In June 1773, King George III

George III of the United Kingdom

George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...

 reviewed the British fleet at Spithead

Spithead

Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...

. Barfleur, under Captain Edward Vernon, was on this occasion the flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 of the fleet commander, Vice-Admiral Thomas Pye

Thomas Pye

Sir Thomas Pye was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, and the American War of Independence...

.

She distinguished herself as the flagship of Rear-Admiral Samuel Hood

Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood

Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood was a British Admiral known particularly for his service in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars...

 on the Leeward Islands

Leeward Islands

The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...

 station during the American War of Independence. Under Captain John Knight

John Knight (Royal Navy officer)

Sir John Knight, KCB was a senior British Royal Navy officer during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries most noted for his activities as a post captain during the American and French Revolutionary Wars...

, she was flagship at the indecisive action of 28 April 1781 off Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

 against the French fleet of Rear-Admiral Comte de Grasse, at which Barfleur lost 5 men killed.

She next took part in the battles of the Chesapeake

Battle of the Chesapeake

The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American War of Independence that took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1781, between a British fleet led by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas...

, St. Kitts

Battle of St. Kitts

The Battle of Saint Kitts, also known as the Battle of Frigate Bay, was a naval battle that took place on 25 and 26 January 1782 during the American Revolutionary War between a British fleet under Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood and a larger French fleet under the Comte de Grasse.-Background:When Hood...

 and the Saintes

Battle of the Saintes

The Battle of the Saintes took place over 4 days, 9 April 1782 – 12 April 1782, during the American War of Independence, and was a victory of a British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney over a French fleet under the Comte de Grasse forcing the French and Spanish to abandon a planned...

. At the Battle of the Chesapeake

Battle of the Chesapeake

The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American War of Independence that took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1781, between a British fleet led by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas...

 on 5 September 1781, under Captain Alexander Hood

Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport

|-...

 (later Lord Bridport), she was again the flag of Samuel Hood, second in command to Rear-Admiral Thomas Graves, 1st Baron Graves

Thomas Graves, 1st Baron Graves

|-|-...

. The battle was lost to the French under de Grasse, which had a profound effect on the outcome of the American war.

She saw further action in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, taking part in Richard Howe

Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe

Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe KG was a British naval officer, notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was the brother of William Howe and George Howe.Howe joined the navy at the age of thirteen and served...

's victory at the Glorious First of June

Glorious First of June

The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...

 as the flagship of Rear-Admiral (W) George Bowyer

Sir George Bowyer, 5th Baronet

Admiral Sir George Bowyer, 5th and 1st Baronet was a British naval officer and politician.Bowyer was the third son of Sir William Bowyer, 4th Baronet and born in Denham, Buckinghamshire...

, with Captain Cuthbert Collingwood

Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood

Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently as Nelson's successor in commands.-Early years:Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne...

 in 1794. In this battle she engaged the French Indomptable

French ship Indomptable (1789)

Indomptable was an 80-gun ship of the line in the French Navy.She took part in the Glorious First of June on 29 May 1794, engaging the English Barfleur and Orion simultaneously, after which the Indomptable, having lost her masts, was towed to Brest by the Brutus .In 1795, she served in the...

 on 29 May and took a major part in the general action of 1 June, with a total loss of 9 killed and 25 wounded.

She later saw action under Lord Bridport

Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport

|-...

 at the Battle of Groix

Battle of Groix

The Second Battle of Groix was a naval engagement that took place on 23 June 1795 during the French Revolutionary War off the west coast of France....

. In 1797 she was with Admiral Sir John Jervis

John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent

Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom...

 at the Battle of Cape St Vincent

Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797)

In the Battle of Cape St Vincent a British fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeated a larger Spanish fleet under Admiral Don José de Córdoba near Cape St. Vincent, Portugal.-Origins:...

.

Her final battle was fought under Admiral Sir Robert Calder

Robert Calder

Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, KCB was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.-Early life:...

 at the Battle of Cape Finisterre

Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)

In the Battle of Cape Finisterre off Galicia, Spain, the British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder fought an indecisive naval battle against the Combined Franco-Spanish fleet which was returning from the West Indies...

 in 1805.

After the conclusion of the Napoleonic wars, Barfleur spent some years in ordinary

Reserve fleet

A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....

 at Chatham, and was finally broken up there in January 1819.