HMS Ardent (1764)

Capture of HMS Ardent by the frigates Junon and Gentille
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Ardent
Ordered	16 December 1761
Builder	Blades, Hull
Laid down	15 January 1762
Launched	13 August 1764
Commissioned	October 1773
Captured	17 August 1779, by French Navy
France
Name	Ardent
Acquired	1779
Captured	14 April 1782, by Royal Navy
Notes	Participated in: Battle of the Saintes
Great Britain
Name	HMS Ardent, later Tiger
Acquired	14 April 1782
Renamed	28 August 1783
Fate	Sold out of the service, 10 June 1784
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Ardent-class ship of the line
Tons burthen	137932⁄94 (bm)
Length	160 ft (49 m) (gundeck); 131 ft 8 in (40.13 m) (keel)
Beam	44 ft 4.5 in (13.526 m)
Depth of hold	19 ft (5.8 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	500 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]