HMS Strafford (1735)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Strafford (1714).

History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Strafford
Ordered	4 September 1733
Builder	Chatham Dockyard
Launched	24 July 1735
Fate	Sunk as a breakwater, 1756
General characteristics
Class and type	1733 proposals 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	1,067 long tons (1,084.1 t)
Length	144 ft (43.9 m) (gundeck)
Beam	41 ft 5 in (12.6 m)
Depth of hold	16 ft 11 in (5.2 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full rigged ship
Armament	60 guns: Gundeck: 24 × 24 pdrs Upper gundeck: 26 × 9 pdrs Quarterdeck: 8 × 6 pdrs Forecastle: 2 × 6 pdrs

HMS Strafford was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment of dimensions at Chatham Dockyard, and was launched on 24 July 1735.

Engagements

HMS Strafford took part in the destruction of the fortress of San Lorenzo el Real Chagres (22-24 March 1740), in Panama, as part of a squadron commanded by Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon during the War of Jenkins' Ear.

At 3 pm on 22 March 1740, the English squadron, composed of the ships Strafford, Norwich, Falmouth and Princess Louisa, the frigate Diamond, the bomb vessels Alderney, Terrible and Cumberland, the fireships Success and Eleanor, and transports Goodly and Pompey, under Vernon's command, began to bombard the Spanish fortress. Given the overwhelming superiority of the English forces, Captain Don Juan Carlos Gutiérrez Cevallos surrendered the fort on 24 March, after resisting for two days.

Strafford served until 1756, when she was sunk as part of a breakwater.

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.