Roebuck class ship
Encyclopedia
The Roebuck class ship was a class of twenty 44-gun sailing two-decker
Two-decker
A two-decker is a sail warship which carried her guns on two fully armed decks. Usually additional guns were carried on the upper works , but this was not a continuous battery, so were not counted....
warships 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...
. The class carried two complete decks of guns, a lower battery of 18-pounders and an upper battery of 9-pounders. This battery enabled the vessel to deliver a broadside of 285 pounds. Most were constructed for service during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
but continued to serve thereafter. By 1793 five were still on the active list. Ten were hospital ships, troopships or storeships. As troopships or storeships they had the guns on their lower deck removed. Many of the vessels in the class survived to take part in the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. In all, maritime incidents claimed five ships in the class and war claimed three.
Classification
The Royal Navy classed the Roebuck class as fifth rates like frigates but did not classify them as frigates. Although sea officers sometimes casually described them and other small two-deckers as frigates, the Admiralty officially never referred to them as frigates. By 1750, the Admiralty strictly defined frigates as ships of 28 guns or more, carrying all their main battery (24, 26 or even 28 guns) on the upper deck, with no guns or openings on the lower deck (which could thus be at sea level or even lower). A frigate might carry a few smaller guns - 3-pounders or 6-pounders, later 9-pounders - on their quarterdeck and (perhaps) on the forecastle. The Roebuck-class ships were two-deckers with complete batteries on both decks, and hence not frigates.Design and construction
The Admiralty assigned the contract for Roebuck to Chatham Dockyard on 30 November 1769. Some seven years after the design was first produced, the Admiralty re-used it for a second batch of nineteen ships. The Admiralty ordered them to meet the particular requirements of the American War of Independence for vessels suitable for coastal warfare in the shallow seas off North America (where deeper two-deckers could not sail). The first five vessels of the class, and the later Guardian, had two rows of stern lights (windows), like larger two-deckers though actually there was just the single level of cabin behind. Most, if not all, of the other ships of the class - from Dolphin onwards - had a 'single level' frigate-type stern.Ships in class
PROTOTYPE- Roebuck
- Builder: Chatham DockyardChatham DockyardChatham 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...
- Ordered: 30 November 1769
- Laid down: October 1770
- Launched: 24 April 1774
- Completed: 4 August 1775
- Fate: Broken up at Sheerness in July 1811.
- Builder: Chatham Dockyard
WARTIME BATCH
- Romulus
- Builder: Henry Adams, Bucklers HardBucklers HardBucklers Hard is a hamlet situated on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the English county of Hampshire.- Overview :With its Georgian cottages running down to the river, Bucklers Hard is part of the 9,000 acre Beaulieu Estate...
- Ordered: 14 May 1776
- Laid down: July 1776
- Launched: 17 December 1777
- Completed: 7 April 1778 at Portsmouth Dockyard
- Fate: Captured by a French squadron consisting of a ship of the line, two frigates and a cutter, off the Chesapeake 19 February 1781.
- Builder: Henry Adams, Bucklers Hard
- Actaeon
- Builder: Randall & Co, RotherhitheRotherhitheRotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
- Ordered: 3 July 1776
- Laid down: July 1776
- Launched: 29 January 1778
- Completed: 17 April 1778 at Deptford Dockyard
- Fate: Sold to be broken up 30 April 1802
- Builder: Randall & Co, Rotherhithe
- Janus
- Builder: Robert Batson, LimehouseLimehouseLimehouse is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is on the northern bank of the River Thames opposite Rotherhithe and between Ratcliff to the west and Millwall to the east....
- Ordered: 24 July 1776
- Laid down: 9 August 1776
- Launched: 14 May 1778
- Completed: 11 August 1778 at Deptford Dockyard
- Fate: Renamed Dromedary 1788 as storeship. Wrecked near Trinidad in August 1800 but with no loss of life.
- Builder: Robert Batson, Limehouse
- Charon (i)
- Builder: John Barnard, HarwichHarwichHarwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
- Ordered: 9 October 1776
- Laid down: January 1777
- Launched: 8 October 1778
- Completed: 23 January 1779 at Sheerness Dockyard
- Fate: She was trapped at the YorktownSiege of YorktownThe Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...
so her stores, men and guns were taken ashore; on 10 October 1781 heated shot from a French battery set her on fire.
- Builder: John Barnard, Harwich
- Dolphin
- Builder: Chatham DockyardChatham DockyardChatham 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...
- Ordered: 8 January 1777
- Laid down: 1 May 1777
- Launched: 10 March 1781
- Completed: 11 May 1781
- Fate: Broken up in July 1817
- Builder: Chatham Dockyard
- Ulysses
- Builder: John Fisher, LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
- Ordered: 16 April 1777
- Laid down: 28 June 1777
- Launched: 14 July 1779
- Completed: 2 January 1780 at Plymouth Dockyard
- Fate: Sold to be broken up 11 January 1816
- Builder: John Fisher, Liverpool
- Endymion
- Builder: Edward Greaves, LimehouseLimehouseLimehouse is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is on the northern bank of the River Thames opposite Rotherhithe and between Ratcliff to the west and Millwall to the east....
- Ordered: 2 February 1778
- Laid down: 18 March 1778
- Launched: 28 August 1779
- Completed: 5 November 1779 at Woolwich DockyardWoolwich DockyardWoolwich 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....
- Fate: Wrecked on an uncharted rock off Turks Island on 20 August 1790 with the loss of one man.
- Builder: Edward Greaves, Limehouse
- SerapisHMS Serapis (1779)HMS Serapis was a Royal Navy two-decked, Roebuck-class fifth rate. Daniel Brent built her at Greenland South Dockyard, Rotherhithe and launched her in 1779. She was armed with 44 guns . Serapis was named after the god Serapis in Greek and Egyptian mythology...
(i)- Builder: Randall & Co, RotherhitheRotherhitheRotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
- Ordered: 11 February 1778
- Laid down: 3 March 1778
- Launched: 4 March 1779
- Completed: 6 May 1779 at Deptford Dockyard
- Fate: Taken by American Bonhomme RichardUSS Bonhomme Richard (1765)|-External links:** Clive Cussler recounts his elusive search for the Bonhomme Richard....
, assisted by other vessels, and transferred to the French who employed her as a privateer; wrecked 1781 off Madagascar.
- Builder: Randall & Co, Rotherhithe
- Assurance
- Builder: Randall & Co, RotherhitheRotherhitheRotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
- Ordered: 20 May 1778
- Laid down: 11 June 1778
- Launched: 20 April 1780
- Completed: 15 July 1780 at Deptford Dockyard
- Fate: Broken up in March 1815
- Builder: Randall & Co, Rotherhithe
- ArgoHMS Argo (1781)HMS Argo was a 44-gun fifth-rate Roebuck-class ship of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1781 from Howdon Dock. She was the largest vessel that had been launched on the River Tyne...
- Builder: John Baker & Co, Howden Pans, NewcastleNewcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
- Ordered: 26 February 1779
- Laid down: 18 August 1779
- Launched: 8 June 1781
- Completed: 15 October 1781 at Chatham DockyardChatham DockyardChatham 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...
- Fate: Sold to be broken up 11 January 1816
- Builder: John Baker & Co, Howden Pans, Newcastle
.
- DiomedeHMS Diomede (1781)HMS Diomede was a 44-gun fifth rate built by James Martin Hillhouse and launched at Bristol on 18 October 1781. She belonged to the Roebuck class of vessels specially built during the American Revolutionary War for service in the shallow American coastal waters...
- Builder: James Martin HilhouseHilhouseHilhouse was a shipbuilder in Bristol, England who built merchantman and men-of-war during the 18th and 19th centuries...
, BristolBristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007... - Ordered: 14 August 1779
- Laid down: March 1780
- Launched: 18 October 1781
- Completed: 14 March 1782 at Bristol
- Fate: Wrecked off TrincomaleeTrincomaleeTrincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
, 2 August 1795.
- Builder: James Martin Hilhouse
- Mediator
- Builder: Thomas Raymond, NorthamNorthamNortham is the name of a number of places around the world:* Northam, Devon - a town in Devon, England.* Northam railway station* Northam, Hampshire - A district of the city of Southampton, England...
, Southampton - Ordered: 3 December 1779
- Laid down: July 1780.
- Launched: 30 March 1782
- Completed: 15 June 1782 at Portsmouth Dockyard
- Fate: Renamed Camel 1788 as storeship. Broken up in December 1810.
- Builder: Thomas Raymond, Northam
- Resistance
- Builder: Edward Greaves, LimehouseLimehouseLimehouse is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is on the northern bank of the River Thames opposite Rotherhithe and between Ratcliff to the west and Millwall to the east....
- Ordered: 29 March 1780
- Laid down: April 1781
- Launched: 11 July 1782
- Completed: 17 September 1782 at Deptford Dockyard
- Fate: Blew up (believed struck by lightning) off SumatraSumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
24 July 1798; four survivors.
- Builder: Edward Greaves, Limehouse
- GladiatorHMS Gladiator (1783)HMS Gladiator was a 44-gun fifth-rate Roebuck-class ship of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 20 January 1783 by Henry Adams of Bucklers Hard. She spent her entire career on harbour service, never putting to sea. Even so, her crew earned prize money for the seizure of two Russian and five...
- Builder: Henry Adams, Bucklers HardBucklers HardBucklers Hard is a hamlet situated on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the English county of Hampshire.- Overview :With its Georgian cottages running down to the river, Bucklers Hard is part of the 9,000 acre Beaulieu Estate...
- Ordered: 13 July 1780
- Laid down: April 1781
- Launched: 20 January 1783
- Completed: February 1783 at Portsmouth Dockyard
- Fate: Broken up in August 1817
- Builder: Henry Adams, Bucklers Hard
- Serapis (ii)
- Builder: James Martin Hillhouse, BristolBristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
- Ordered: 13 July 1780
- Laid down: May 1781
- Launched: 7 November 1782
- Completed: December 1782 at Bristol
- Fate: Sold to be broken up at Jamaica on 17 July 1826
- Builder: James Martin Hillhouse, Bristol
- Experiment
- Builder: Robert Fabian, East Cowes, Isle of Wight
- Ordered: 13 July 1780
- Laid down: June 1781
- Launched: 27 November 1784
- Completed: 11 January 1785 at Portsmouth Dockyard
- Fate: Sold to be broken up 8 September 1836
- GuardianHMS Guardian (1784)HMS Guardian was a 44-gun Roebuck-class fifth-rate two-decker of the Royal Navy, later converted to carry stores. She was completed too late to take part in the American War of Independence, and instead spent several years laid up in ordinary, before finally entering service as a store and convict...
- Builder: Robert Batson, LimehouseLimehouseLimehouse is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is on the northern bank of the River Thames opposite Rotherhithe and between Ratcliff to the west and Millwall to the east....
- Ordered: 11 August 1780
- Laid down: December 1780
- Launched: 23 March 1784
- Completed: 20 May 1784 at Deptford Dockyard
- Fate: Collided with iceberg 24 December 1789 and of the 40 men and passengers who set out in boats, 10 survived; Guardian, with the remaining 61 crew, convicts and passengers, arrived at Cape TownCape TownCape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
in sinking condition 21 February 1790 and beached on 12 April during a gale; remains sold to be broken up 8 February 1791.
- Builder: Robert Batson, Limehouse
- Regulus
- Builder: Thomas Raymond, NorthamNorthamNortham is the name of a number of places around the world:* Northam, Devon - a town in Devon, England.* Northam railway station* Northam, Hampshire - A district of the city of Southampton, England...
, Southampton - Ordered: 20 October 1780
- Laid down: June 1781
- Launched: 10 February 1785
- Completed: 10 March 1785 at Portsmouth Dockyard
- Fate: Broken up in March 1816
- Builder: Thomas Raymond, Northam
- Charon (ii)
- Builder: James Martin Hillhouse, BristolBristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
- Ordered: 19 September 1781
- Laid down: May 1782
- Launched: 17 May 1783
- Completed: 5 February 1784 at Plymouth Dockyard
- Fate: Broken up in December 1805
- Builder: James Martin Hillhouse, Bristol