View source for HMS Chatham (1691)

{{short description|Ship of the line of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Chatham}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2017}}
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|Ship country=[[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
|Ship flag=[[File:Naval Ensign of Great Britain (1707-1800).svg|60px|Royal Navy Ensign]]
|Ship name=HMS ''Chatham''
|Ship ordered=14 March 1690
|Ship builder=Robert Lee, Chatham Dockyard
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|Ship launched=20 October 1691
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|Ship fate=Sunk as breakwater, 1749
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|Header caption=as built<ref name="Winfield, BWAoS p.131">Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714, p.131.</ref>
|Ship class=50-gun [[fourth rate]] [[ship of the line]]
|Ship tons burthen=686<sup>54</sup>/<small>94</small> ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]])
|Ship length={{convert|126|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} (on the gundeck) {{convert|109|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (keel)
|Ship beam={{convert|34|ft|4|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
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|Ship hold depth={{convert|13|ft|4|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship sail plan=[[Full-rigged ship]]
|Ship propulsion=Sails
|Ship complement=
|Ship armament=*Lower deck: 22 × 12-pounders
*Upper deck: 18 × 8-pounders
*[[Quarterdeck|QD]]: 8 × 4-pounder guns
*[[Forecastle|Fc]]: 2 × 4-pounder guns
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|Header caption=after 1721 rebuild<ref name="Lavery, SoLv1 p170">Brian Lavery, Ships of the Line, Vol. 1, p. 170.</ref>
|Ship class=[[1719 Establishment]] 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
|Ship tons burthen=756 exact (bm)
|Ship length={{convert|134|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} (on the gundeck) {{convert|109|ft|8|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (keel)
|Ship beam={{convert|36|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship hold depth={{convert|15|ft|2|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship sail plan=[[Full-rigged ship]]
|Ship propulsion=Sails
|Ship complement=
|Ship armament=*Gundeck: 22 × 18-pounder guns
*Upper gundeck: 22 × 9-pounder guns
*[[Quarterdeck|QD]]: 4 × 6-pounder guns
*[[Forecastle|Fc]]: 2 × 6-pounder guns
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'''HMS ''Chatham''''' was a 50-gun [[fourth rate]] [[ship of the line]] of the [[Royal Navy]], the first of five such ships to be ordered in 1690 (the others were the [[HMS Centurion (1691)|''Centurion'']] and [[HMS Chester (1691)|''Chester'']] on 20 March - six days after the ''Chatham'' - and the [[HMS Norwich (1691)|''Norwich'']] and [[HMS Weymouth (1693)|''Weymouth'']] on 15 August). The ''Chatham'' was built by Master Shipwright Robert Lee at the [[Chatham Dockyard|eponymous dockyard]], and launched on 20 October 1691.<ref name="Winfield, BWAoS p.131" /> She was designed to the same lines as Lee's previous 50-gun ship, the [[HMS Sedgemoor (1687)|''Sedgemoor'']] of 1687 - her specification was for a length of 123 ft, breadth of 34ft 3in and depth in hold of 13ft 9in, although she measured very slightly more on completion.<ref name="Winfield, BWAoS p.131" />

Her original armament comprised 22 [[culverin]]s (16-pounders) on the lower deck, 18 x 8-pounders on the upper deck, and 10 [[minion (cannon)|minion]]s (4-pounders). She was later re-armed in accordance with the 1703 Establishment of guns, with 22 x 12-pounders on the lower deck, 22 x 6pounders on the upper deck, 8 more 6-pounders on the quarterdeck and 2 more on the forecastle. After re-building, she was armed in accordance with the 1716 Establishment of guns, with 22 x 18-pounders, 22 x 9-pounders and 6 x 6-pounders.

Under the command of Captain Robert Bokenham, on 14 January 1705 she took the 30-gun St Malo privateer ''Connetable'', and on 8 August 1705 she (along with the [[HMS Medway (1693)|''Medway'']]) captured the French 60-gun ''Auguste'', built in [[Brest, France|Brest]] in 1704, which the British took into service as {{HMS|Auguste|1705|6}}.

[[File:Captain Robert Harland, circa 1680-1751 RMG BHC2748.tiff|thumb|Captain Robert Harland, circa 1680–1751. In 1714 he commanded the ''Chatham'' (seen here in the background) in the Baltic under [[John Norris (Royal Navy officer)|Sir John Norris]], but retired soon after]]
She underwent a rebuild according to the [[1719 Establishment]] at [[Deptford]] from 1718 to 1721.

==Fate==
''Chatham'' served until September 1749, when she was sunk as a breakwater at Sheerness.<ref name="Lavery, SoLv1 p170" /> She was raised and taken to pieces there in May 1762.

==Citations==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
*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}}.
{{refend}}

{{1719 Establishment ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatham (1691)}}
[[Category:Ships of the line of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:1690s ships]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as breakwaters]]


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