HMS Yarmouth (1745) facts for kids
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Plan of Yarmouth
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Quick facts for kids History |
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 Great Britain |
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| Name | HMS Yarmouth |
| Ordered | 16 June 1742 |
| Builder | Deptford Dockyard |
| Laid down | 25 November 1742 |
| Launched | 8 March 1745 |
| Commissioned | February 1745 |
| In service |
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| Honours and awards |
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| Fate | Broken up, April 1811 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | 1741 proposals 64-gun third rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1359 38⁄94 bm |
| Length |
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| Beam | 44 ft 3 in (13.5 m) |
| Depth of hold | 19 ft (5.8 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 480 |
| Armament |
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HMS Yarmouth was a powerful warship of the Royal Navy. She was a "64-gun third rate ship of the line". This means she was a large sailing ship designed to fight in a line formation during naval battles. She carried 64 cannons.
Yarmouth was built at Deptford Dockyard in England. Her design was a bit of an experiment. The Navy wanted to see if making ships a little longer would make them better. So, Yarmouth was built 6 feet longer than similar ships. She was launched on March 8, 1745.
She began her service in February 1745. Captain Roger Martin was her first commander. Later, in 1747, under Captain Piercy Brett, Yarmouth joined a group of ships led by George Anson. They fought in the First Battle of Cape Finisterre.
After some years, Yarmouth became a "guardship" in 1763. This meant she protected important naval bases like Chatham and Sheerness. In 1777, she was sent to the Leeward Islands during the American Revolutionary War. By 1781, her number of guns was reduced to 60. She served until 1811, when she was taken apart.
Yarmouth vs. USS Randolph
One of Yarmouth's most famous moments happened on March 7, 1778. She was attacked by two American ships: the 36-gun frigate Randolph and the 20-gun sloop General Moultrie.
The Battle Begins
Even though the American ships had fewer and smaller guns, they managed to damage Yarmouths two topmasts and part of her bowsprit. The Randolph tried to "rake" Yarmouth. This means firing cannons from the front or back of their ship down the length of Yarmouths deck. This would cause huge damage.
The Randolph could fire three broadsides (all the cannons on one side) for every one Yarmouth fired. However, Randolph's 12-pounder cannonballs struggled to break through Yarmouths strong hull. Yarmouths 18-pounder and 32-pounder cannons, on the other hand, could easily pierce the American ships.
A Sudden Explosion
During the fight, the Randolph suddenly exploded! This likely happened because a cannonball hit her gunpowder storage area, called the magazine. Almost everyone on board died, except for four crew members. Pieces of the destroyed Randolph landed on Yarmouth's decks, including the American flag.
Yarmouth had to fix her two damaged topmasts, but she didn't suffer much other harm. Five of her sailors were killed, and twelve were wounded. After the Randolph exploded, the General Moultrie quickly sailed away.
Rescuing Survivors
A few days later, on a Thursday, Yarmouth was chasing another ship. A sailor high up on the mast spotted something strange in the water. He couldn't tell what it was at first. Using a spy-glass, he saw four men who looked like they were standing on the water.
It took Yarmouth two to three hours to reach them. The men were on a small, makeshift raft. They were brought aboard and turned out to be the four survivors from the Randolph! They explained that they were in a small cabin when their ship blew up. They were thrown into the water. They managed to tie together floating pieces of wreckage to make a raft. They were very lucky to survive five nights at sea, catching rainwater in a blanket to drink.
