1745 Establishment facts for kids
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HMS Royal George at right, shown fictitiously at the launch of HMS Cambridge
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Quick facts for kids Class overview |
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| Operators: | |
| Preceded by: | 1719 Establishment |
| Succeeded by: |
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| Built: | 1747–66 |
The 1745 Establishment was a set of rules for building ships for the Royal Navy (Britain's navy). It was the third and last official set of rules like this. These rules were meant to fix problems with older ship designs from the 1719 Establishment.
However, the ships built under the 1745 rules still had issues. Because of these problems, big changes happened in how the navy was managed. This led to the end of these strict "establishment" rules for shipbuilding around 1751.
Why New Ship Rules Were Needed
For a long time, British shipbuilding didn't change much. This was because of earlier rules like the 1706 and 1719 Establishments. Ships stayed about the same size, even when other countries like France were building much bigger and better warships.
For example, a British 70-gun ship in 1706 was about 150 feet long. By 1733, it was still only about 151 feet. But a French 70-gun ship captured in 1748 was over 173 feet long! This meant British ships were often smaller and less powerful than their enemies'.
In 1742, the government changed, and so did the leaders of the Board of Admiralty (the group that ran the navy). A new leader, the Earl of Winchilsea, tried to make some improvements. They even tried making some ships larger.
Later, in 1744, the Duke of Bedford became the new head of the Admiralty. He worked closely with Rear-Admiral George Anson. A big naval battle in 1744, the Battle of Toulon, showed how many problems British ships had. Some ships couldn't even open their lower gunports because they were too close to the water!
Naval officers complained that British 70-gun ships were "little superior" to French 52-gun ships. Many blamed Sir Jacob Acworth, who had been the main ship designer (Surveyor of the Navy) since 1715.
How the 1745 Rules Were Made
Before, the ship designers and builders decided on ship sizes. But in June 1745, the Admiralty took charge. They set up a committee to review new ideas for ship sizes. The main goal of these rules was to make all ships in the fleet more standard.
The new 1745 Establishment aimed to fix the problems and make British ships better. The Admiralty wanted to stop building 80-gun ships because they were hard to steer and unstable. Their lower guns were too close to the water. However, the committee disagreed, and 80-gun ships continued to be built.
Even with these disagreements, the Admiralty managed to make ships much larger than before. Also, some ship types that had been changed were brought back. For example, 64-gun ships became 70-gun ships again, and 58-gun ships became 60-gun ships.
New Design Process
In the past, the main ship designer (Surveyor of the Navy) only created designs for ships built by private companies. The shipyards themselves designed the ships they built. But with the 1745 Establishment, the Surveyor of the Navy became responsible for all ship designs. This meant all ships of the same type would look and perform more similarly.
Control over these new rules was also given to the Privy Council, a group of advisors to the King. This was done to prevent constant changes to the rules. Even though the Admiralty wanted 74-gun ships to replace 80-gun ships, they only managed to change one ship, Culloden, from an 80-gun to a 74-gun ship. It wasn't a very successful ship.
What Each Ship Type Was Like
The 1745 Establishment set specific sizes for each type of warship, from the largest 100-gun ships down to the smaller 20-gun ships. The number and type of guns on each ship generally followed the 1743 Establishment of Guns.
100-Gun First-Rate Ships
| General characteristics for 100-gun first rates | |
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| Type | 100-gun first rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1999 70⁄94 bm |
| Length |
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| Beam | 51 ft 0 in (15.5 m) |
| Depth of hold | 21 ft 6 in (6.6 m) |
| Complement | 850 officers and men |
These massive ships carried:
- 28 guns that fired 42-pound cannonballs on the lowest deck.
- 28 guns that fired 24-pound cannonballs on the middle deck.
- 28 guns that fired 12-pound cannonballs on the upper deck.
- 12 guns that fired 6-pound cannonballs on the quarter deck.
- 4 guns that fired 6-pound cannonballs on the forecastle (front of the ship).
90-Gun Second-Rate Ships
| General characteristics for 90-gun second rates | |
|---|---|
| Type | 90-gun second-rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1730 77⁄94 bm |
| Length |
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| Beam | 48 ft 6 in (14.8 m) |
| Depth of hold | 20 ft 6 in (6.2 m) |
| Complement | 750 officers and men |
These ships carried:
- 26 guns (32-pounders) on the lower deck.
- 26 guns (18-pounders) on the middle deck.
- 26 guns (12-pounders) on the upper deck.
- 10 guns (6-pounders) on the quarter deck.
- 2 guns (6-pounders) on the forecastle.
80-Gun Third-Rate Ships
| General characteristics for 80-gun third rates | |
|---|---|
| Type | 80-gun third-rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1585 2⁄94 bm |
| Length |
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| Beam | 47 ft 0 in (14.3 m) |
| Depth of hold | 20 ft 0 in (6.1 m) |
| Complement | 650 officers and men |
These ships carried:
- 26 guns (32-pounders) on the lower deck.
- 26 guns (18-pounders) on the middle deck.
- 24 guns (9-pounders) on the upper deck.
- 4 guns (6-pounders) on the quarter deck.
- No guns on the forecastle.
70-Gun Third-Rate Ships
| General characteristics for 70-gun third rates | |
|---|---|
| Type | 70-gun third-rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1414 36⁄94 bm |
| Length |
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| Beam | 45 ft 0 in (13.7 m) |
| Depth of hold | 19 ft 4 in (5.9 m) |
| Complement |
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These ships were originally reduced to 64 guns under earlier rules. But the 1745 Establishment brought them back to 70 guns. They carried:
- 26 guns (32-pounders) on the lower deck.
- 28 guns (18-pounders) on the upper deck.
- 12 guns (9-pounders) on the quarter deck.
- 4 guns (9-pounders) on the forecastle.
60-Gun Fourth-Rate Ships
| General characteristics for 60-gun fourth rates | |
|---|---|
| Type | 60-gun fourth-rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1191 41⁄94 bm |
| Length |
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| Beam | 42 ft 8 in (13.0 m) |
| Depth of hold | 18 ft 6 in (5.6 m) |
| Complement | 420 officers and men |
Like the 70-gun ships, these were reduced to 58 guns before 1745. The new rules restored them to 60 guns. They carried:
- 24 guns (24-pounders) on the lower deck.
- 26 guns (12-pounders) on the upper deck.
- 8 guns (6-pounders) on the quarter deck.
- 2 guns (6-pounders) on the forecastle.
50-Gun Fourth-Rate Ships
| General characteristics for 50-gun fourth rates | |
|---|---|
| Type | 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1052 47⁄94 bm |
| Length |
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| Beam | 41 ft 0 in (12.5 m) |
| Depth of hold | 17 ft 0 in (5.2 m) |
| Complement | 350 officers and men |
These ships carried:
- 22 guns (24-pounders) on the lower deck.
- 22 guns (12-pounders) on the upper deck.
- 4 guns (6-pounders) on the quarter deck.
- 2 guns (6-pounders) on the forecastle.
44-Gun Fifth-Rate Ships
| General characteristics for 44-gun fifth rates | |
|---|---|
| Type | 44-gun fifth-rate ship |
| Tons burthen | 814 7⁄94 bm |
| Length |
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| Beam | 37 ft 6 in (11.4 m) |
| Depth of hold | 16 ft 0 in (4.9 m) |
| Complement | 280 officers and men |
These ships carried:
- 20 guns (18-pounders) on the lower deck.
- 20 guns (9-pounders) on the upper deck.
- 4 guns (6-pounders) on the quarter deck.
- No guns on the forecastle.
20- or 24-Gun Sixth-Rate Ships
| General characteristics for 24-gun sixth rates | |
|---|---|
| Type | 24-gun sixth-rate ship |
| Tons burthen | 508 32⁄94 bm |
| Length |
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| Beam | 32 ft 0 in (9.8 m) (1745) |
| Depth of hold | 11 ft 0 in (3.4 m) (1745) |
| Complement | 160 officers and men |
These smaller ships carried:
- 2 guns (9-pounders) on the lower deck (at the back).
- 20 guns (9-pounders) on the upper deck.
- 2 guns (3-pounders) on the quarter deck.
- No guns on the forecastle.
Problems and the End of an Era
When the first ships built under the 1745 Establishment were used, it became clear they still weren't great. Captains complained that they didn't sail well. The Admiralty asked the Privy Council for permission to change the designs in 1750. Changes were made, especially to the 90, 80, and 60-gun ships.
By 1752 and again in 1754, more changes were needed. The Admiralty even tried to hide some proposed changes, like making 70-gun ships 2 feet longer, hoping they would be approved more easily. But it was clear that the 1745 Establishment ships were a big disappointment.
In 1755, Joseph Allin, the main ship designer, retired. The Admiralty quickly appointed Thomas Slade and William Bateley as the new designers. Soon after, two new 70-gun ships were ordered based on Slade's designs. These ships were much larger than previous 70-gun ships.
These new ships were actually the first of the 74-gun ships, which became very important. This marked the end of the 70-gun ship type in the navy. The time of very strict and unchanging shipbuilding rules in Britain finally ended. Anson, who was now the head of the Admiralty, reorganized the Navy Board. He made sure that the people in charge would support the Admiralty's goals instead of fighting against them.
