1. Construction

2. Seven Years' War

3. Inter-war period

4. American Revolutionary War

5. Notes

6. References
    Bibliography 

7. External links

HMS Liverpool was a 28-gun {{sclass-|Coventry|frigate|0}} sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Launched in 1758, she saw active service in the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. She was wrecked in Jamaica Bay, near New York, in 1778.

Construction

Contracts for Liverpool{{'}}s construction were issued on 3 September 1756 to commercial shipwrights John Gorill and William Pownall. As Gorill and Pownall's shipyard was in the city of Liverpool, Admiralty determined that this would also be the name of the vessel herself. It was stipulated that work should be completed within eleven months for a 28-gun vessel measuring approximately 590{{nbsp}}tons burthen. Subject to satisfactory completion, Gorill and Pownall would receive a modest fee of £8.7s per ton {{ndash}} the lowest for any Coventry-class vessel {{ndash}} to be paid through periodic imprests drawn against the Navy Board.^[3][4]{{efn|Gorill and Pownall's £8.7s fee per ton compared favourably with an average £9.0s per ton sought by Thames River shipwrights to build 24-gun Royal Navy vessels over the previous decade,^[4] and was far less than the average £9.0s per ton for all Coventry-class vessels built in private shipyards between 1756 and 1765.^[5]}} Private shipyards were not subject to rigorous naval oversight, and the Admiralty therefore granted authority for "such alterations withinboard as shall be judged necessary" in order to cater for the preferences or ability of individual shipwrights, and for experimentation with internal design.^[1][2]

Navy frigates were routinely fitted out and armed at Royal Dockyards, but Liverpool received her guns while still at the builder's yard. These comprised 24 nine-pounder cannons to be located along her gun deck, supported by four three-pounder cannons on the quarterdeck and twelve {{fraction|1|2}}-pounder swivel guns ranged along her sides.^[1]

The vessel was named after the city of Liverpool in North West England. In selecting her name the Board of Admiralty continued a tradition, dating to 1644, of using geographic features; overall, ten of the nineteen Coventry-class vessels, were named after well-known regions, rivers or towns.^[6][7] With few exceptions the remainder of the class were named after figures from classical antiquity, following a more modern trend initiated in 1748 by John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich in his capacity as First Lord of the Admiralty.^[6][7]{{efn|The exceptions to these naming conventions were {{HMS|Hussar|1757|2}}, {{HMS|Active|1758|2}} and the final vessel in the class, {{HMS|Hind|1785|2}}^[6][8]}}

In sailing qualities Liverpool was broadly comparable with French frigates of equivalent size, but with a shorter and sturdier hull and greater weight in her broadside guns. She was also comparatively broad-beamed which provided ample space for provisions, the ship's mess and a large magazine for powder and round shot.{{efn|Liverpool{{'}}s dimensional ratios 3.57:1 in length to breadth, and 3.3:1 in breadth to depth, compare with standard French equivalents of up to 3.8:1 and 3:1 respectively. Royal Navy vessels of equivalent size and design to Liverpool were capable of carrying up to 20 tons of powder and shot, compared with a standard French capacity of around 10 tons. They also carried greater stores of rigging, spars, sails and cables, but had fewer ship's boats and less space for the possessions of the crew.^[9]}} Taken together, these characteristics would enable Liverpool to remain at sea for long periods without resupply.^[9][10] She was also built with broad and heavy masts, which balanced the weight of her hull, improved stability in rough weather and made her capable of carrying a greater quantity of sail. The disadvantages of this comparatively heavy design were a decline in manoeuvrability and slower speed when sailing in light winds.^[11]

Her designated complement was 200, comprising two commissioned officers {{ndash}} a captain and a lieutenant {{ndash}} overseeing 40 warrant and petty officers, 91 naval ratings, 38 Marines and 29 servants and other ranks.^[12]{{efn|The 29 servants and other ranks provided for in the ship's complement consisted of 20 personal servants and clerical staff, four assistant carpenters an assistant sailmaker and four widow's men. Unlike naval ratings, servants and other ranks took no part in the sailing or handling of the ship.^[12]}} Among these other ranks were four positions reserved for widow's men {{ndash}} fictitious crew members whose pay was intended to be reallocated to the families of sailors who died at sea.^[12]

Seven Years' War

In March 1760 she was reassigned to convoy protection duties, between Britain and colonial outposts in the East Indies and North America.^[3][14] After two years she was again reassigned, as a support vessel for the Royal Navy's loose blockade of the port of Brest. In this role Liverpool was responsible for carrying messages between the blockading ships, and watching for French attempts to leave port. On 25 April 1762, while still engaged in these duties, the frigate encountered and overwhelmed Le Grand Admiral, a privateer from Bayonne. This was Richard Knight's last engagement as captain of Liverpool; in June 1762 he surrendered his command and returned to England. In Knight's absence, Liverpool secured her fifth victory at sea with the capture of French privateer Le Jacques.^[1]

Inter-war period

Liverpool underwent a "great repair" between March 1766 and April 1767, and was re-commissioned in March 1767. She was subsequently ordered to Newfoundland. After two years service there, she journeyed to the Mediterranean, remaining there until her eventual return for paying off in Chatham, England in March 1772.

American Revolutionary War

Liverpool was re-commissioned in July 1775, shortly after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Command was given to Captain Henry Bellew, with the frigate setting sail for North America on 14 September.^[1] On 26 August 1776 she was on patrol off Nova Scotia when she encountered two rebel schooners, USS Warren and USS Lynch. The American vessels fled in separate directions, with Bellew electing to follow Warren. After a short chase the American schooner was overhauled and captured; she was transformed into a ship's tender for Liverpool and her crew kept under guard until September when they were transferred to {{HMS|Milford|1759|6}} along with Warren{{'}}s guns.^[15]{{efn|Warren was retained as ship's tender for Milford until December 1776, when she was destroyed after running aground off Portsmouth, New Hampshire.^[15]}}

In 1777, Liverpool was added to a fleet under the overall command of Viscount Howe. On 11 February 1778, she was wrecked in Jamaica Bay, Long Island.^[1]

Notes

References

Bibliography

• {{cite book|last=Baugh|first=Daniel A.|title=British Naval Administration in the Age of Walpole|year=1965|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, New Jersey|isbn=9780691624297}}
• {{cite book|last=Rodger|first=N. A. M.|title=The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy|year=1986|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=0870219871}}
• {{cite book | last = Winfield| first = Rif|title = British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates | publisher = Seaforth| year = 2007|isbn=9781844157006}}

External links

• {{Commons cat inline|HMS Liverpool (ship, 1758)|HMS Liverpool (1758)}}

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