HMS Europa (1765)

HMS Europa (1765) image
History
Great Britain
NameHMS Europa
Ordered16 December 1761
BuilderHenry Adams, Lepe
Laid downFebruary 1762
Launched21 April 1765
CompletedBy 5 May 1765
RenamedHMS Europe on 9 January 1778
FateBroken up in July 1814
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeExeter-class ship of the line
Tons burthen1370 (bm)
Length158 ft 9 in (48.39 m) (gundeck)
Beam44 ft (13 m)
Depth of hold19 ft 1 in (5.82 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • Gundeck: 26 × 24-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 26 × 18-pounder guns
  • QD: 10 × 4-pounder guns
  • Fc: 2 × 9-pounder guns

HMS Europa was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 21 April 1765 at Lepe, Hampshire. She was renamed HMS Europe in 1778, and spent the rest of her career under this name.[2]

Completed too late to see service in the Seven Years' War, most of Europe's service took place during the American War of Independence, supporting fleet movements and serving as the flagship for a number of admirals, including John Montagu, Molyneux Shuldham and Mariot Arbuthnot. During her time in North American waters she took part in the attack on Saint Pierre and Miquelon in 1778, and the battles of Cape Henry on 16 March and the Chesapeake in 1781.

Her last notable commanders as the war drew to a close were John Duckworth and Arthur Phillip, the latter taking her to the East Indies before returning after the conclusion of the war. Europe was then reduced to ordinary in the draw down of the navy following the end of hostilities, and was not reactivated on the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. She only returned to service in 1796, recommissioning as a prison ship based at Plymouth, in which role she served out the remainder of the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars, finally being broken up in 1814.

  1. ^ Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p178.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Winfield90-1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).