HMS Kent (1762)

HMS Kent was a 74-gun Bellona-class third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Thomas Slade and built by Adam Hayes at Deptford Dockyard and launched on 23 March 1762 .^[1]

Service history

She was launched at a cost of £40,000.^[2]

In 1774, a chest containing perhaps as much as 400 lb (180 kg) of gunpowder exploded during saluting, killing eleven and injuring 34, and causing the marine drummer sitting on the chest to be blown overboard. The marine reportedly suffered no injuries as a result.^[3]In 1775 Kent was briefly under the command of John Jervis.^[4]

She was sold out of the service at Plymouth in 1784 for £600.^[1]

Notable Commanders

Captain Robert Faulknor 1762/3
Captain Edward Vernon briefly in 1763
Captain Charles Fielding 1772 to 1775
Captain John Jervis briefly in 1775
Captain James Cook 1775

Notes

^ a b c Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p176.
^ "British Third Rate ship of the line 'Kent' (1762)".
^ Ships of the Old Navy, Kent.
^ Winfield 2007, p.332

References

Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
Michael Phillips. Kent (74) (1762). Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714 to 1792. London: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781844157006.

External links

Media related to HMS Kent (ship, 1762) at Wikimedia Commons