HMS ''Ipswich'' was a 70-gun

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Rating When the rating system was f ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, launched at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

on 19 April 1694. She was rebuilt by

Joseph Allin Joseph Allin was an 18th-century shipbuilder to the Royal Navy. His works merge with those of his namesake son who was also a Master Shipwright at Portsmouth Dockyard and later Surveyor to the Navy at which point he became Sir Joseph Allin. Jo ...

the younger at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

according to the

1719 Establishment The 1719 Establishment was a set of mandatory requirements governing the construction of all Royal Navy warships capable of carrying more than 20 naval long guns. It was designed to bring economies of scale through uniform vessel design, and e ...

, relaunching on 30 October 1730. In 1743 she was part of a small three-vessel squadron sent to the Bay of Ajaccio under Vice-Admiral Thomas Mathews to investigate reports that a single Spanish

was anchored there for repairs. On reaching the Bay the squadron, comprising ''Ipswich'', and the fireship , encountered and overwhelmed the 70-gun Spanish warship ''Isidoro''. The Spanish vessel was set on fire by her crew to avoid her being captured, and sank in the bay.Clowes 1898, p. 273 ''Ipswich'' was hulked in 1757, and broken up in 1764.

Notes

References

* * Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850''. Conway Maritime Press. . Ellis, C. Hamilton (n.d.)"Ships: a Pictorial History from Noah's Ark to The U.S.S> United States". Peebles Press. Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1690s ships Ships built in Harwich {{UK-line-ship-stub