HMS Ruby (1708)

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

History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Ruby
Builder	Allin, Deptford Dockyard
Launched	25 March 1708
Renamed	HMS Mermaid, 1744
Fate	Sold, 1748
General characteristics
Class and type	1706 Establishment 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	707 bm
Length	130 ft (39.6 m) (gundeck)
Beam	35 ft (10.7 m)
Depth of hold	14 ft (4.3 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	50 guns: Gundeck: 22 × 18-pdrs Upper gundeck: 22 × 9-pdrs Quarterdeck: 4 × 6-pdrs Forecastle: 2 × 6-pdrs

HMS Ruby was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Joseph Allin the elder at Deptford Dockyard to the 1706 Establishment, and launched on 25 March 1708.

She achieved an unwelcome notoriety in March 1741 when her captain, Samuel Goodere, was convicted of murder at Bristol and subsequently hanged; he had enticed his elder brother, Sir John Dineley Goodere, 2nd Baronet, on board, and had caused him to be strangled in the purser's cabin.

Ruby was renamed HMS Mermaid in 1744, and was sold out of the service in 1748.

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.