HMS Ardent (1764)

Capture of HMS Ardent by the frigates Junon and Gentille
History
Great Britain
NameHMS Ardent
Ordered16 December 1761
BuilderBlades, Hull
Laid down15 January 1762
Launched13 August 1764
CommissionedOctober 1773
Captured17 August 1779, by French Navy
French Royal Navy EnsignFrance
NameArdent
Acquired1779
Captured14 April 1782, by Royal Navy
Notes
Great Britain
NameHMS Ardent, later Tiger
Acquired14 April 1782
Renamed28 August 1783
FateSold out of the service, 10 June 1784
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeArdent-class ship of the line
Tons burthen13793294 (bm)
Length
  • 160 ft (49 m) (gundeck);
  • 131 ft 8 in (40.13 m) (keel)
Beam44 ft 4.5 in (13.526 m)
Depth of hold19 ft (5.8 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement500 officers and men
Armament
  • 64 guns:
  • Gundeck: 26 × 24-pounders
  • Upper gundeck: 26 × 18-pounders
  • Quarterdeck: 10 × 4-pounders
  • Forecastle: 2 × 9-pounders

HMS Ardent was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built by contract at Blaydes Yard in Hull according to a design by Sir Thomas Slade, and launched on 13 August 1764 as the first ship of the Ardent-class. She had a somewhat turbulent career, being captured by the French in the action of 17 August 1779, and then re-captured by Britain in 1782.[1]

  1. ^ a b Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 178.