HMS Colchester (1694)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Colchester.

History
England
Name	HMS Colchester
Ordered	16 November 1693
Builder	Sir Henry Johnson, Blackwall Yard
Launched	23 October 1694
Commissioned	10 December 1694
Fate	Wrecked in Whitesand Bay, Cornwall, 16 January 1704
General characteristics
Class and type	50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	696 72⁄94 bm
Length	131 ft 4 in (40.0 m) (gundeck) 111 ft 8 in (34.0 m) (keel)
Beam	34 ft 3 in (10.4 m)
Depth of hold	13 ft 7 in (4.1 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	50 guns: Lower gundeck 22 x 12 pdr guns Upper dundeck 20 x 8 pdr demi-culverin3 Quarterdeck 6 x 6 pdr sakers Forecastle 2 x 6 pdr sakers

HMS Colchester was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, ordered to be built by commercial contract by Sir Henry Johnson on 16 November 1693 (along with her sistership, the Romney - the contract for both ships was signed on 23 February 1694), and both ships were launched at the contractor's Blackwall Yard on 23 October 1694. The Colchester was commissioned on 10 December 1694 under Captain Frederick Weighman, for service in the West Indies.

She was wrecked in a storm - while on passage from Ireland to Plymouth - at Whitesand Bay, Sennen Cove, Cornwall on 16 January 1704 with the loss of approximately 170 lives including the captain (David Wavell).

References

• Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
• Winfield, Rif (1997), The 50-Gun Ship: A Complete History. Chatham Publishing (1st edition); Mercury Books (2nd edition 2005). ISBN 1-845600-09-6.
• Winfield, Rif (2009) British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.