HMS Chester (1708)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Chester.

History
Royal Navy EnsignGreat Britain
NameHMS Chester
BuilderRosewell, Chatham Dockyard
Launched18 October 1708
FateBroken up, 1749
General characteristics [1]
Class and type1706 Establishment 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen704 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 Chester was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the 1706 Establishment of dimensions, and launched on 18 October 1708.[1] Chester was placed on harbour service in 1743 and was broken up in 1749.[1]

The Capture of the Spanish galleon St Joseph, 23 September 1739, Chester (left, and Canterbury (right side)

Chester along with HMS Canterbury, during the War of Jenkins' Ear captured the Spanish Caracca St Joseph on 23 September 1739. The St Joseph was probably the most valuable single prize of the war.[2]

  1. ^ a b c Lavery, Ships of the Line vol. 1, p. 168.
  2. ^ https://books.google.%7Cco.uk/books?id=Y5WCAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1732&lpg British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers ..., by Rif Winfield, published 2007