HMS Litchfield (ship)
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 The R.P. Resor sinking, February 28, 1942. |
|
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Nationality: | British |
| Owners: | Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Builders: | |
| Captain: | Captain Matt. Barton[1] |
| Port of registry: | Harwich[2] |
| Laid down: | November 30, 1758 |
| Launched: | November 11, 1758 |
| Christened: | Not christened? |
| Maiden voyage: | April 10, 1912 |
| Fate: | Ran aground |
| General Characteristics | |
| Gross Tonnage: | ? GRT |
| Displacement: | ? long tons |
| Length: | ? ft 9 in (269 m) |
| Beam: | ? ft 6 in (28 m) |
| Draught: | ? ft 7 in (10.5 m) |
| Power: | None |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Speed: | Dictated by wind |
Contents |
[edit] Construction
[edit] Background
The HMS Litchfield left Ireland, presumably the port of Belfast, with a transport of British military agents for Île de Gorée. The purpose of the mission was to remove the Dutch military from the island. Before the 29th, the voyage had been smooth and orderly, with no reported problems.
[edit] Disaster
According to the testimony of Lieutenant Southerland, a survivor:
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The voyage was prosperous till the 29th, when at eight in the evening I took charge of the watch, and the weather turned out very squally, with rain. At nine, it was extremely dark, with much lightining, the wind was varying from S.W. to W.N.W. At half past nine, had a very hard squall. Captain Barton staid till ten; and then left orders to keep sight of the Commedore, and what make sail the weather would permit. At eleven the Commedore bearing south, but the squalls were coming so heavy, we were obliged to hand the main top-sail, and at twelve o' clock, we were under our courses. November 30th, at one in the morning, I left the deck in charge of the first lieutenant; the light, which we took to be the Commedore's, right ahead, bearing S. wind W.S.W. blowing very hard. At six in the morning I was awakened by a very great shock, and a confused noise of the men on deck. I ran up, thinking some ship had run afoul of us, for by my own reckoning, and that of every other person on the ship, we were at least 35 leagues distant from land; but, before I could reach the quarter-deck, the ship gave a great stroke upon the ground, and the sea broke over her. |
[edit] Notes
- A Commedore Keppel was on board. He was not responsible for the ship but was in charge of the British military supplies and men on the vessel.
- Richard Bending, of the famous British Bending family, died on this voyage.[3]
[edit] References
- Andrus, Starr. “The loss of His Majesty's Ship Litchfield, of Fifty guns, on the Coast of Barbary, on the 30th of November, 1758”, Remarkable Shipwrecks; Or, A Collection of Interesting Accounts of Naval Disasters, Jr. Printer John Russell, pp.109-120.
