HMS Phoenix (1759)

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The Phoenix and the Rose engaged by the enemy's fire ships and galleys on Aug. 16, 1776. Engraving by Dominic Serres after a sketch by Sir James Wallace
Career (Great Britain)
Name: HMS Phoenix
Ordered: 5 January 1758
Builder: John & Robert Batson, Limehouse
Laid down: February 1758
Launched: 25 June 1759
Completed: By 26 July 1759
Fate: Foundered on 4 October 1780
General characteristics
Class & type: 40-gun fifth rate frigate
Tons burthen: 842 67/94 bm
Length: 140 ft 9 in (42.90 m) (gundeck)
116 ft 8 in (35.56 m) (keel)
Beam: 36 ft 9.75 in (11.2205 m)
Depth of hold: 15 ft 11.5 in (4.864 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Complement: 280
Armament:

44 guns:
Lower gundeck: 20 × 18-pounder guns
Upper gundeck: 20 × 9-pounder guns

Quarterdeck: 4 × 6-pounder guns

HMS Phoenix was a 44-gun[1][2] fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy.

She saw service during the American War of Independence under Captain Hyde Parker, Jr.[2] She, along with HMS Rose and three smaller ships launched an attack on New York City on 12 July 1776.[1] During that attack, Phoenix and the other ships easily passed patriot defences and bombarded urban New York for two hours.[3] This action largely confirmed continental fears that British naval superiority would allow the Royal Navy to act with relative impunity when attacking deep-water ports.[3]

The Phoenix was lost on 4 October 1780 in a storm.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Chernow, Ron (2011). Washington: A Life. Penguin Books. p. 238. ISBN 978-0143119968. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Naval Documents of The American Revolution Vol. 5 Part 5. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1970. p. 1043. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 Fischer, David (2004). Washington's Crossing. Oxford. pp. 83–84. ISBN 9780195181593. 
  4. Lettens, Jan. "HMS Phoenix (+1780)". Retrieved 7 September 2013. 
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