HMS ''Thunderer'' was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

, launched on 19 March 1760 at Woolwich. She earned a battle honour in a single-ship action off Cadiz with the French ship ''Achille'' (64 guns) in 1761, during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...

. She foundered in the Great Hurricane of 1780 in the West Indies, reportedly 90 miles east of Jamaica on the Formigas Banks with the loss of all 617 on board.Tippin, pp. 45–50 Among the lost sailors were the Captain, Robert Boyle-Walsingham (1736–1780), and

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

Nathaniel Cook (1764–1780), the second child of Captain James Cook. Two

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder duri ...

s attributed to the ship are displayed at a rum cake factory on Grand Cayman Island. A plaque states that they were recovered in 1984 by the research vessel ''Beacon''.

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* * Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Hercules-class ships of the line Ships built in Woolwich 1760 ships Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea Maritime incidents in 1780 {{UK-line-ship-stub