Sir John Williams (1700 – c.1784) was a British shipbuilder and designer who rose to be

Surveyor of the Navy The Surveyor of the Navy, originally known as Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy, held overall responsibility for the design of British warships from 1745. He was a principal commissioner and member of the Navy Board from the inauguration of tha ...

, the highest position in British naval architecture.

Life

Heresies of Sea Power - The Royal Sovereign

He was born in 1700 the grandson of a John Williams who designed HMS ''Crescent'' in 1642. In 1762 he was a Master Shipwright in

Sheerness Dockyard Sheerness Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960. Location In the Age of Sail, the Royal Navy would often establish shore ...

. His only named ship construction is . In June 1765 he was appointed

Surveyor to the Navy The Surveyor of the Navy, originally known as Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy, held overall responsibility for the design of British warships from 1745. He was a principal commissioner and member of the Navy Board from the inauguration of that ...

, working alongside

Thomas Slade Sir Thomas Slade (1703/4 – 1771) was an English naval architect best known for designing the Royal Navy warship HMS Victory, HMS ''Victory'', which served as Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalg ...

. This role was based in the Admiralty and involved the master planning of the British fleet and strategic planning of harbour improvements. In April 1778, he was joined at the Admiralty by Edward Hunt. He left in December 1784 his position being filled by John Henslow.

Ships designed

* Portland-class ship (1766) 50-gun ships * Swan-class ship-sloop (1766) 14-gun sloops of which at least 25 were built *

Amazon-class frigate Four classes of frigate of the Royal Navy have been named the ''Amazon'' class: *The frigates of 1773, made up of 32-gun fifth rates with a main battery of 12-pounder guns, it comprised eighteen ships; ''Amazon'', ''Ambuscade'' and ''Thetis'' w ...

(1770) thirty-three 32-gun

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 launched from 1773 * Enterprise-class frigate (1771) twenty-seven 28-gun

s launched from 1773 *

HMS Vengeance Eight ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Vengeance''. * was a 28-gun sixth rate captured from the French in 1758 and sunk as a breakwater in 1766. * was a 74-gun third rate launched in 1774. She became a prison ship in 1808 and was b ...

(1771) 74-gun

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 ...

launched in 1774 * Experiment-class ship (1772) a series of 50-gun ships *

Sphinx-class post ship The ''Sphinx''-class sailing sixth rates were a series of ten post ships built to a 1773 design by John Williams. Although smaller than true frigates, post ships were often referred to incorrectly as frigates by sea officers, but not by the Adm ...

(1773) a series of ten 20-gun post ships * HMS Royal Sovereign (1774) 100-gun

not launched until 1786 and Collingwood's flagship at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

* HMS Montagu (1775) 74-gun

launched in 1779 * Porcupine-class post ship (1776) ten 24-gun post ships * HMS Jupiter (1776) 50-gun ship launched in 1778. * Alert-class cutter (1776) a series of 14-gun cutters * Sprightly-class cutter (1776) a series of 10-gun cutters *

HMS Childers (1778) HMS ''Childers'' was a brig-sloop of the British Royal Navy, initially armed with 10 carriage guns which were later increased to 14 guns. The first brig-sloop to be built for the Navy, she was ordered from a commercial builder during the earl ...

a 10-gun sloop *

Flora-class frigate The ''Flora''-class frigates were 36-gun sailing frigates of the fifth rate produced for the Royal Navy. They were designed in 1778 by Sir John Williams in response to an Admiralty decision to discontinue 32-gun, , vessels.Winfield pp. 203 - 204 ...

(1778) a series of four 36-gun frigates * L'Experiment (1779) 50-gun ship of the line * HMS Latona (1779) 38-gun frigate launched in 1781 * HMS Unicorn (1781) 20-gun ship (redesign of the "Unicorn Prize") * HMS Raven (1782) 18-gun sloop (redesign of HMS Ceres?) * HMS Pigmy (1782) 14-gun cutter *

HMS Blonde Eleven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Blonde'': * was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate. A British squadron under Captain John Elliot in met a French squadron under Captain François Thurot in the ''Maréchal de Belle-Isle'' on 2 ...

(1783) 32-gun frigate launched in 1787

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, James 1700 births 1784 deaths Surveyors of the Navy