HMS ''Terrible'' 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 ...

, built by

John Barnard John Edward Barnard, (born 4 May 1946) is an English engineer and racing car designer. Barnard is credited with the introduction of two new designs into Formula One: the carbon fibre composite chassis first seen in with McLaren, and the sem ...

and launched on 4 September 1762 at King's Yard in

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 ...

, as a sister ship to HMS ''Arrogant''. In the English Channel, on 15 April 1777, under Captain Richard Bickerton, she took an American

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

called the Rising States, Capt Thompson. In 1778 she fought at the

First Battle of Ushant The Battle of Ushant (also called the First Battle of Ushant) took place on 27 July 1778, and was fought during the American Revolutionary War between French and British fleets west of Ushant, an island at the mouth of the English Channel off ...

, and in 1781 ''Terrible'' (Capt. Finch) was part of Sir Thomas Graves' fleet at the

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1 ...

. During the course of the battle, she took heavy damage, and was

scuttled Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...

, or deliberately sunk, after the battle had ended.

Notable Commanders

Mariot Arbuthnot Admiral of the Blue Mariot Arbuthnot (1711 – 31 January 1794) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the American War of Independence. Early life A native of Weymouth, Dorset in England, Arbuthnot was the son of Robert Arbuthnot and Sarah ...

1770 to 1773 *

Sir Richard Bickerton, 1st Baronet Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton, 1st Baronet (23 June 172725 February 1792) was a British naval officer who finished his career as a rear admiral in the Royal Navy and was ennobled as the first Baronet Bickerton of Upwood. He served in sever ...

1776 to 1779 * John Leigh Douglas 1779 to 1780 *

John Thomas Duckworth Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB (9 February 1748 – 31 August 1817) was an English Royal Navy officer, colonial administrator and politician who served in the Seven Years' War, American War of Independence, French Revolutio ...

1780 to 1781 *

Henry Edwyn Stanhope Admiral Sir Henry Edwyn Stanhope, 1st Baronet (1754 – 20 December 1814) was a Royal Navy officer who became Commander-in-Chief, The Nore. Early life After initial education at a school in East Hill, Wandsworth, Henry Edwyn Stanhope was sent to ...

1781

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Ramillies-class ships of the line 1762 ships Ships built in Harwich Shipwrecks in the Chesapeake Bay Maritime incidents in 1781 {{UK-line-ship-stub