HMS Dunkirk was a 60-gun fourth rate 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...

, built at Woolwich Dockyard

Woolwich Dockyard

Woolwich Dockyard was an English naval dockyard founded by King Henry VIII in 1512 to build his flagship Henri Grâce à Dieu , the largest ship of its day....

 to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment

1745 Establishment

The 1745 Establishment was the third and final formal establishment of dimensions for ships to be built for the Royal Navy. It completely superseded the previous 1719 Establishment, which had subsequently been modified in 1733 and again in 1741...

 as amended in 1750, and launched on 22 July 1754.

Career

HMS Dunkirk was sent to America in 1755, along with several other ships, under Vice-Admiral Edward Boscawen

Edward Boscawen

Admiral Edward Boscawen, PC was an Admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall. He is known principally for his various naval commands throughout the 18th Century and the engagements that he won, including the Siege of Louisburg in 1758 and Battle of Lagos...

. On 5 June she spotted four French ships which were bound for Canada under the command of Admiral Bois de la Mothe. Dunkirk, and several other ships gave chase. Dunkirk came alongside the 64-gun Alcide

French ship Alcide (1742)

Alcide was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1742.The captain of the vessel was Toussaint Hocquart, for the re-enforcement campaign that was sent to Canada in May of 1755....

 and requested the captain meet with the Vice-Admiral, who was then about three miles away. After the captain of the Alcide refused, the Dunkirk opened fire

Action of 8 June 1755

The Action of 8 June 1755 was a naval battle between France and Great Britain early in the French and Indian War. The British captured the third-rate French ships Alcide and Lys off Cape Race, Newfoundland in the Gulf of St. Lawrence...

. Soon afterwards, came alongside the French at which Alcide struck her colours. The Alcide had been carrying 900 troops and the governor of Louisbourg. The general of those troops was killed and 30,000 pounds sterling captured. In the battle, another French vessel, the Lys was captured by .

Dunkirk was placed on harbour service in 1778, and eventually sold out of the navy in 1792.

However, she is among the vessels credited with a capture on 23 December 1781. According to the London Gazette. she was in company with , , and at the capture of the Dutch ship De Vrow Esther.