HMS Stirling Castle (1742)

	French Firerafts Attacking the British Fleet off Quebec, 28 June 1759 by Samuel Scott. The left foreground of the picture is taken up with the anchored British fleet in which Saunders' flagship, Stirling Castle, is in starboard-quarter view in the foreground just left of centre.
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Stirling Castle
Ordered	6 August 1739
Builder	Chatham Dockyard
Launched	24 April 1742
Fate	Scuttled on 14 September 1762
Notes	Participated in:; Battle of Toulon; Battle of Havana;
General characteristics
Class and type	1733 proposals 70-gun third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	1225
Length	151 ft (46.0 m) (gundeck)
Beam	43 ft 5 in (13.2 m)
Depth of hold	17 ft 9 in (5.4 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	70 guns:; Gundeck: 26 × 24 pdrs; Upper gundeck: 26 × 12 pdrs; Quarterdeck: 14 × 6 pdrs; Forecastle: 4 × 6 pdrs;

HMS Stirling Castle was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment, and launched on 24 April 1742.^[1]

Whilst under the command of Captain Thomas Cooper, Stirling Castle took part in the Battle of Toulon on 11 February 1744. Stirling Castle was the lead ship in Rear-Admiral William Rowley's van division of Admiral Thomas Mathews' fleet that engaged the France-Spanish fleet. After the battle several officers were court-martialed, including Captain Cooper who appeared on 12 May at Port Mahon, where he was dismissed the service. He was immediately restored to his former rank and command however, as the charges against him were not deemed detrimental to either his professional honour or his ability as a sea officer.^[2]

On 15 April 1746, Stirling Castle captured the 24-gun frigate Volage. However, Oriflamme recaptured her the day after.^[3]

She took part in the Battle of Havana in 1762.^[4] Shortly afterwards Stirling Castle was declared unserviceable and was stripped and scuttled in the upper reaches of Havana harbour on 14 September 1762, on the orders of Admiral George Pocock.^[4]

Notes

^ ^a ^b Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p171.
^ Ships of the Old Navy, Stirling Castle.
^ Roche (2005), p. 473, volume 1.
^ ^a ^b Winfield. British Warships. p. 49.

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.
Michael Phillips. Stirling Castle (70) (1742). Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. pp. 372–373. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-295-5.

[Lavery,_SoLv1_p171-1] Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p171.

[SoN,_Stirling-2] Ships of the Old Navy, Stirling Castle.

[FOOTNOTERoche2005473volume_1-3] Roche (2005), p. 473, volume 1.

[Winfield-4] Winfield. British Warships. p. 49.

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