HMS Centurion (1732)
Model of the Centurion, made in 1748
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| History | |
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 Great Britain
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| Name: | HMS Centurion |
| Ordered: | 17 October 1729 |
| Builder: | Portsmouth Dockyard |
| Laid down: | 9 September 1729 |
| Launched: | 6 January 1732 |
| Fate: | Broken up, 1769 |
| Notes: |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 1005 bm |
| Length: | 144 ft (43.9 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 40 ft (12.2 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 16 ft 5 in (5.0 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Armament: |
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HMS Centurion was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Portsmouth Dockyard and launched on 6 January 1732. At the time of Centurion's construction, the 1719 Establishment dictated the dimensions of almost every ship being built. Owing to concerns over the relative sizes of British ships compared to their continental rivals, Centurion was ordered to be built 1 ft (0.3 m) wider across the beam than the Establishment prescribed. HMS Rippon was similarly built to non-Establishment dimensions at the same time.
Centurion was commissioned in 1734 under the command of Captain Francis Dansays. She served in the Channel Fleet, and took part in Sir John Norris's expedition to Lisbon in 1736, under the command of Captain George Proctor. On the outward voyage she carried John Harrison, who was trialling his first marine timekeeper 'H1'. Proctor died at Lisbon on 4 October 1736, and was succeeded as commander by Captain John Durell.
Captain George Anson took command in December 1737, and led a small squadron to the African coast, then to Jamaica, before arriving back in England in late 1739. She then underwent a refit at Portsmouth, at a cost of £4,791.4.8d, between August 1739 and January 1740 to prepare for a special mission to harass Spanish shipping along the coast of South America and interdict the Manila galleons.
With the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession, Anson was placed in charge of a squadron of six ships, consisting of the Centurion, Gloucester 50, Severn 50, Pearl 40, Wager 28, and the sloop Trial 8, plus two store ships Anna and Industry, and instructed to sail to Manila and capture the Spanish colony. Another squadron was to be despatched under Captain Cornwall, which would sail to Manila via Cape Horn. The two squadrons would intercept Spanish shipping as they sailed, and on their rendezvousing at Manila, would refit, replenish and await further orders.
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Wikipedia