HMS Cambridge (1695)
| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain
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| Name: | HMS Cambridge |
| Builder: | Harding, Deptford Dockyard |
| Launched: | 21 December 1695 |
| Fate: | Broken up, 1749 |
| General characteristics as built | |
| Class and type: | 80-gun third rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 1,194 |
| Length: | 156 ft (47.5 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 41 ft 11.5 in (12.8 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 17 ft (5.2 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Armament: | 80 guns of various weights of shot |
| General characteristics after 1715 rebuild | |
| Class and type: | 1706 Establishment 80-gun third rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 1,286 |
| Length: | 156 ft (47.5 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 43 ft 6 in (13.3 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 17 ft 8 in (5.4 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Armament: |
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HMS Cambridge was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford Dockyard on 21 December 1695. A combination of poor sailing qualities and a top-heavy structure kept her in reserve for many years. Finally brought into active service during the War of Jenkins' Ear, she played an undistinguished part in Sir John Norris' 1740 expedition to the Bay of Biscay, and at the Battle of Toulon in 1744.
From 1746 to 1748 she was again removed from service while consideration was given to rebuilding her with fewer guns. The investigation was inconclusive, and Cambridge was broken up at Chatham Dockyard in 1750.
Cambridge was constructed in 1695 as part of a program in experimental ship design. In 1690, Admiral Arthur Torrington advised the British Parliament that France was expanding its fleet and that the Royal Navy would soon be outgunned. In response the Parliament approved construction of a new generation of ships each carrying 80 guns instead of the traditional 74. Cambridge was one such vessel, built with the traditional two full-length gun decks of a 74-gun ship but topped with an additional half-length deck to increase her armament.
There were too flaws in Cambridge's design, which became apparent after launch. First, the weight of the additional half deck so increased her draught that her lower gun ports were at the waterline and opening them risked shipping a large quantity of seawater into the hull. Shifting the lower deck guns to the middle and upper decks accentuated the second flaw, which was a high centre of gravity that made Cambridge top-heavy and likely to heel over in strong winds.
To address these concerns, Cambridge was rebuilt at Woolwich Dockyard in 1713 according to the 1706 Establishment, with a slightly wider hull, heavier lower deck armament and a full upper deck to enable a more even distribution of guns. The work was overseen by shipwright Jacob Acworth, as one of his first duties as Surveyor of the Navy from April 1715. Acworth's design also lowered the mast yards almost to the level of the deck, in an effort to address the top-heaviness of her earlier design.
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