HMS ''Suffolk'' was a 74-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 on 22 February 1765 at

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...

. She was designed by William Bateley, based on the principles of his earlier , and was the only ship built to her draught.

Service history

''Suffolk'' under command of Rear Admiral

Joshua Rowley Vice-Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley, 1st Baronet (1 May 1734 – 26 February 1790) was a Royal Navy officer who was the fourth son of Admiral Sir William Rowley. Sir Joshua was from an ancient English family, originating in Staffordshire (England) ...

saw action off Guadeloupe island on the night of 21–22 December 1779 when three French

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s, ''La Fortunée'' (42 guns), ''La Blanche'' (36 guns), and ''L'Ellis'' (28 guns) were captured. On 4 May 1794 Captain Peter Rainier, with ''Suffolk'', a 64-gun ship, and four or five frigates, undertook to escort a convoy to India. In November they arrived at

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

. In July, ''Suffolk'', now under Captain Robert Lambert, , and transports, sailed from Madras, joined en route by , for

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

to take

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

and other Dutch settlements on the island. On 16 February 1796 Rear-admiral Peter Rainier arrived with a squadron, including ''Suffolk'', off Amboyna, on the Dutch controlled

Molucca islands The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West Melanesi ...

and landed troops who were able to take possession without facing any resistance. Then on 7 March, the squadron arrived off Banda-Neira and again landed troops, this time taking possession after facing only a little resistance. The Admiral found in the Treasury at Amboyna, 81,112

Rixdollar Rixdollar is the English term for silver coinage used throughout the European continent (, , , ). The same term was also used of currency in Cape Colony and Ceylon. However, the Rixdollar only existed as a coin in Ceylon. Unissued remainder bankn ...

s, and in store of

clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or Aroma compound, fragrance in fin ...

s; in the Treasury at Banda-Neira 66,675 Rixdollars, and of

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...

, of mace, and merchandise and other stores. Estimates suggest that each of the captains in Rainier's squadron received £15,000 in prize money. What is perhaps more interesting and of greater long-term significance is that on this voyage, ''Suffolk'' was taking part in an experiment under the auspices of the

Sick and Hurt Board The Sick and Hurt Commissioners (also known as the Sick and Hurt Board, but formally and fully titled The Commissioners for taking Care of Sick and Wounded Seamen and for the Care and Treatment of Prisoners of War) were responsible for medical ser ...

. At the suggestion of Rear Admiral Gardner, and in defiance of civilian medical opinion the Admiralty implemented a long-term trial of citrus fruit as a remedy for

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...

. Lemon juice was issued on board ''Suffolk'' on her twenty-three-week, non-stop voyage to India. The daily ration of two-thirds of an ounce mixed in grog contained just about the minimum daily intake of 10 mg

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...

. There was no serious outbreak of scurvy. The following year the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

adopted a general issue of lemon juice to the whole fleet. At

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

a serious mutiny broke out on ''Suffolk'' on 15 January 1798. However, it was suppressed. On 4 February 1802 ''Suffolk'' was at

St Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

and expected to sail for England in company with ,''

Lloyd's List ''Lloyd's List'' is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when the final print issue, number 60,850, was published), and i ...

'
№4241.
/ref> which too was returning England from the Indies.

Fate

''Suffolk'' was broken up in 1803.

Notes

References

* Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Suffolk (1765) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1765 ships