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HMS Norwich (1693)

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History
Royal Navy EnsignGreat Britain
NameHMS Norwich
Ordered5 August 1692 (contracted)
BuilderRobert & John Castle, Deptford
Launched24 August 1693
RenamedHMS Enterprise, 1744
FateBroken up, 1771
General characteristics as built[1]
Class and type50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen618 194 bm
Length123 ft 8 in (37.7 m) (gundeck) 101 ft 6 in (30.9 m) (keel)
Beam33 ft 10 in (10.3 m)
Depth of hold13 ft 6.5 in (4.1 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament50 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1718 rebuild[2]
Class and type1706 Establishment 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen703 bm
Length130 ft (39.6 m) (gundeck)
Beam35 ft (10.7 m)
Depth of hold14 ft (4.3 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 50 guns:
  • Gundeck: 22 × 18 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 22 × 9 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 4 × 6 pdrs
  • Forecastle: 2 × 6 pdrs

HMS Norwich was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford (a commercial yard, not the Royal Dockyard) on 24 August 1693.[1][3] The last of seven 50-gun ships ordered during 1692, she was given the name of Norwich following the loss of the previous 50-gun ship of that name (which had been launched in 1691) on 6 October 1692.[4]

She arrived at Chatham Dockyard on 15 October 1712 to be rebuilt according to the 1706 Establishment, relaunching on 20 May 1718. In 1744 she was reduced to a 44-gun fifth rate and renamed HMS Enterprise on 23 May 1744.[2]

Engagements

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HMS Norwich took part in the destruction of the fortress of San Lorenzo el Real Chagres (22-24 March 1740), in Panama, as part of a squadron commanded by Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon during the War of Jenkins' Ear.

At 3 pm on 22 March 1740, the English squadron, composed of the ships Strafford, Norwich, Falmouth and Princess Louisa, the frigate Diamond, the bomb vessels Alderney, Terrible and Cumberland, the fireships Success and Eleanor, and transports Goodly and Pompey, under Vernon's command, began to bombard the Spanish fortress. Given the overwhelming superiority of the English forces, Captain Don Juan Carlos Gutiérrez Cevallos surrendered the fort on 24 March, after resisting for two days. In 1743 as part of a squadron commanded by Commodore Charles Knowles participated in the failed attacks to La Guayra and Puerto Cabello.

On 23 May 1744 she was renamed as HMS Enterprise and reduced to 44-guns. She patrolled the Caribbean until the end of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1748, when she was laid up in ordinary.

Enterprise was recommissioned in 1756 at the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, again for service in the West Indies and North America and resumed her duties as Atlantic convoy escort. In 1762 she was present at the siege and capture of Havana, Cuba, an action involving nearly 60 warships and transports enough for more than 16,000 troops.

Enterprise was decommissioned in January 1764 and was broken up in 1771 at Sheerness.[2]

Plan of a furnace for the 1718 rebuild

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p164.
  2. ^ a b c Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p168.
  3. ^ "British Fourth Rate ship of the line 'Norwich' (1693)". Threedecks. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  4. ^ Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail p.132.

References

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  • Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
  • Winfield, Rif (1997), The 50-Gun Ship: A Complete History. Chatham Publishing (1st edition); Mercury Books (2nd edition 2005). ISBN 1-845600-09-6.
  • Winfield, Rif (2009), British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603–1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK; Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.