View source for HMS Weymouth (1736)

{{short description|Ship of the line of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Weymouth}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2019}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Weymouth (1736); Medway (1742); Dragon (1736); Dreadnought (1742); Nottingham (1745) RMG J3987.jpg
|Ship caption=''Weymouth''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
|Ship flag=[[File:Naval Ensign of Great Britain (1707-1800).svg|60px|Royal Navy Ensign]]
|Ship name=HMS ''Weymouth''
|Ship ordered=6 January 1733
|Ship builder=Peirson Lock, [[Plymouth Dockyard]]
|Ship laid down=September 1733
|Ship launched=31 March 1736
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=27 July 1739
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=*1739{{ndash}}1741
*1744{{ndash}}1745
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Wrecked, 16 February 1745
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[1719 Establishment#1733 proposals|1733 proposals]] 60-gun [[fourth rate]] [[ship of the line]]
|Ship tons burthen=1065 {{fraction|35|94}} [[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]]
|Ship length=*{{convert|144|ft|0|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (gundeck)
*{{convert|116|ft|10|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (keel)
|Ship beam={{convert|41|ft|5|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship hold depth={{convert|16|ft|11|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship sail plan=[[Full-rigged ship]]
|Ship propulsion=Sails
|Ship complement=400 (420 from 1743)
|Ship armament=*60 guns:
*Upper deck: 26 × 9-pdrs
*Lower deck: 24 × 24-pdrs
*[[Quarterdeck]]: 8 × 6-pdrs
*[[Forecastle]]: 2 × 6-pdrs
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Weymouth''''' was a 60-gun [[fourth rate]] [[ship of the line]] of the [[Royal Navy]], launched in 1736 and in service during the [[War of the Austrian Succession]]. Initially stationed in the Mediterranean, she was assigned to the Navy's Caribbean fleet in 1740 and participated in [[Battle of Cartagena de Indias]] in 1741. Decommissioned later that year, she was restored to active service in the Caribbean in 1744. A navigational error on 16 February 1745 brought her too close to the shore of [[Antigua]], where she was wrecked upon a submerged reef. Three of ''Weymouth''{{'}}s officers were subsequently found guilty of negligence, with two required to pay substantial fines and the third sentenced to a two-year jail term.

==Description==
''Weymouth'' was designed according to the [[1719 Establishment#1733 proposals|1733 proposals]] of the [[1719 Establishment]] of dimensions.<ref name="Lavery, SoLv1 p171">Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 171.</ref> As built, she was {{convert|144|ft|5|in|m|1|abbr=on}} long with a {{convert|116|ft|10|in|m|1|abbr=on}} keel, a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|41|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}}, and a [[Hold (ship)|hold]] depth of {{convert|16|ft|11|in|m|1|abbr=on}}. She was armed with twenty-four [[24-pounder long gun|24-pounder cannons]] located along her gundeck, supported by 26 [[naval long gun|nine-pounders]] on the upper deck and ten 6-pounders ranged along the [[quarterdeck]] and the [[forecastle]].<ref name=Winfield123>Winfield 2007, p.123</ref> The designated complement was 400, comprising four [[Officer (armed forces)#Commissioned officers|commissioned officers]] {{ndash}} a [[Captain (naval)|captain]] and three [[lieutenant (navy)|lieutenants]] {{ndash}} overseeing 63 [[Warrant officer|warrant]] and [[petty officer]]s, 219 [[naval rating]]s, 67 [[Royal Marines|Marines]] and 47 servants and other ranks. The 47 servants and other ranks provided for in the ship's complement consisted of 30 personal servants and clerical staff, six assistant carpenters, two assistant sailmakers, a steward's mate and eight [[widow's man|widow's men]]. ''Weymouth''{{'}}s marines were headed by a [[Captain (armed forces)|captain]] and [[second lieutenant]], with four [[non-commissioned officer]]s, a [[Drummer (military)|drummer boy]] and 60 [[Private (rank)|private soldiers]].<ref name=Rodger348>Rodger 1986, pp.348{{ndash}}351</ref>

==Construction and career==
''Weymouth'', named after the [[Weymouth, Dorset|eponymous port]], was ordered on 6 January 1733. She was [[keel laying|laid down]] in September at [[Plymouth Dockyard]] and was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 31 March 1736. Completed on 27 July 1739 at the cost of [[pound sterling|£]]14,963, she [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] under the command of [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] [[Lord Aubrey Beauclerk]], but he was replaced by Captain Thomas Trefusis in July and the ship was sent to the Mediterranean. The following year the ship was commanded by Captain Charles Knowles and participated in the Battle of Cartagena de Indias in March 1741.<ref name=Winfield123/>

===Loss===
''Weymouth'' was recommissioned for active service on 10 June 1744, under the command of Captain Warwick Calmady. Calmady had recently transferred aboard from the [[sixth-rate]] {{HMS|Lively|1740|6}} which had been [[paid off]] at [[Spithead]] the previous day. He brought most of ''Lively''{{'}}s crew with him, as ''Weymouth'' was short-handed while [[in ordinary]]. the next four months were spent in [[fitting out]] ''Weymouth'' for action at sea. She put to sea on 18 November 1744 to join a squadron under vice-admiral [[Thomas Davers]], which was escorting a merchant convoy destined for the Caribbean.<ref name=May>{{cite journal|last=May|first=W.E.|title=The Wreck of the Weymouth|journal=The Mariner's Mirror|volume=48|issue=3|year=1962|pages=207–215|publisher=Society for Nautical Research|location=Portsmouth, United Kingdom|doi=10.1080/00253359.1962.10657697}}</ref>

On 17 February 1745, shortly before 01:00, ''Weymouth'' grounded after having sailed from [[English Harbour]], Antigua on 13 February. All her guns and stores were removed, before ''Weymouth'' finally broke up on 22 February. Her commanding officer was court-martialed over the loss on 18–19 February, and acquitted. The pilot who was embarked on ''Weymouth'' was sentenced to two years at the [[Marshalsea]] prison.<ref>Ships of the Old Navy, ''Weymouth''.</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
*{{cite book|last=Lavery|first=Brian|year=2003|title=The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650–1850|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London, UK|isbn=0851772528}}
*{{cite book|last1=Winfield|first1=Rif|title=British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates|date=2007|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=9781844157006}}

{{1719 Establishment ships|1733}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weymouth (1736)}}
[[Category:Ships of the line of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:1730s ships]]