&sq=Google&lang=en&file=File:HMS_Vengeance_(1774)_(cropped).jpg) Contemporary engraving of a Royal Oak-class ship, similar to Sultan
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | HMS Sultan |
| Ordered | 14 January 1771 |
| Builder | Barnard, Harwich |
| Laid down | March 1771 |
| Launched | 23 December 1775 |
| Renamed | Suffolk (25 October 1805) |
| Fate | Broken up, 1816 |
| Notes | |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Royal Oak-class ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1614 73⁄94 (bm) |
| Length | 168 ft 6 in (51.36 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam | 46 ft 11 in (14.30 m) |
| Depth of hold | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 600 |
| Armament |
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HMS Sultan was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 23 December 1775 at Harwich. Built to take part in the American Revolutionary War, her departure was delayed due to a shortage of crew and it was 9 June 1778 before she finally sailed as part of a squadron led by Rear-Admiral John Byron. In September she was with Richard Howe's fleet, blockading the French in Boston and in 1779, transferred to the West Indies, where she took part in the Battle of Grenada that July. Almost a year later, on 20 June 1780, she was involved in a short action off the coast of the Dominican Republic with a superior French force.
Following a refit at Plymouth, Sultan was sent to join Sir Edward Hughes' fleet in the East Indies, arriving from England on 30 March in time to fight in the battles of Providien, Negapatam and Trincomalee. Her last action was at Cuddalore in 1783 and she returned to England in 1784 as Hughes' flagship.
In July 1794, Sultan was recommissioned as a hospital ship in Portsmouth harbour where, in January 1797, she was converted for use as a prison ship. Renamed Suffolk on 25 October 1805, she remained a prison ship until 1815 when she was laid up in ordinary and in 1816, broken up.