_RMG_J4012.jpg) Superb | |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg) France | |
| Name | Superbe |
| Builder | Lorient |
| Launched | 12 December 1708 |
| Captured | 29 July 1710 by the Royal Navy |
.svg) Great Britain | |
| Name | HMSSuperb |
| Commissioned | 23 September 1710 |
| Decommissioned | 1732 |
| Honours & awards | Battle of Cape Passaro (1718) |
| Fate | Broken up in 1733 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | 64-gunthird-rateship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1,02023⁄94 (bm) |
| Length | 143 ft 6 in (43.74 m) |
| Beam | 40 ft 2 in (12.24 m) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 365 |
| Armament | 56/58/64 guns |
HMSSuperb was a 64-gunthird-rateship of the line of the BritishRoyal Navy. She had previously beenSuperbe, a 56-gun warship of theFrench Navy, until her capture offLizard Point byHMS Kent in July 1710. Commissioned into the Royal Navy in September 1710, HMSSuperb served throughoutQueen Anne's War and theWar of the Quadruple Alliance, during which she participated in theBattle of Cape Passaro in 1718. She was broken up in 1732.
Superbe was designed by Pierre Blaise Coulomb and constructed between August 1708 and March 1709 atLorient, a French naval base on the coast ofBrittany in north-west France.[1] She was launched on 12 December 1708 and measured 143 ft 6 in (43.74 m) along her gundeck, had a beam of 40 ft 2 in (12.24 m) anddrew from 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m) at thebow, to 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m) at thestern.[2] With a depth in the hold of 15 ft 6.5 in (4.737 m), she had a capacity of 1,02023⁄94 tons (bm).[3]
On 29 July 1710Superbe was captured offThe Lizard by HMSKent. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMSSuperb on 23 September 1710 and sailed under Commander, later Captain,William Elford.[4] In 1711 she passed to CaptainJames Moneypenny and was ordered to the Mediterranean.[3] In September 1712, HMSSuperb together withHMS Cornwall,Mary andLion, assisted AdmiralJohn Jennings with the landing of troops atBarcelona before being sent toGenoa with dispatches.[5] In May 1713 she sailed withHMS Ormonde fromSicily toLeghorn viaNaples[6][7] before being ordered home later that year.[3]
On 24 September 1716, while anchored inThe Downs offDeal,Superb was blown off station in a violent storm. She returned without serious damage, however, on 3 October.[8][9]
In 1717 HMSSuperb was in the Baltic commanded by CaptainGeorge Saunders, but by the middle of the following year she was back in the Mediterranean after a refit atChatham.[3] Under Captain Strensham Master, and attached toGeorge Byng's fleet,Superb spent the next few months cruising and delivering dispatches before playing an active role in theBattle of Cape Passaro.
On 10 August 1718 the British were off theCalabrian coast when they spotted two vessels, which they presumed to be Spanish scouts. Hoping they would lead to the main fleet, Byng ordered his ships to follow and they located the enemy at around noon. On seeing the British, the Spanish fleet turned away. To prevent losing contact with the enemy during the night, Byng sent his four fastest ships on ahead. HMSSuperb,Kent,Grafton andOrford kept up with the Spanish fleet, who were rowing their heaviest ships in the light wind.[10] When dawn broke the following morning, the Spanish discovered the proximity of the British and split their fleet; sending the smaller vessels, store ships, bomb ketches and fire ships towards the shore. In response, Byng sent eight ships in pursuit, includingHMS Canterbury andHMSArgyll. MeanwhileSuperb,Kent,Grafton andOrford, were ordered to overtake the remaining, larger, Spanish ships, which includedReal San Felipe (St Philip the Royal) with Vice-Admiral Castagneta aboard.[10] At around 1300hrs,Superb engaged the enemyflagship and two others, and a running battle ensued. After two hoursKent joined the fight andSuperb was able to force the Spanish admiral tosurrender.[10] In total, 17 Spanish ships were either taken or destroyed by the British fleet.[10]
On 3 April 1719, HMSSuperb andHMSDragon (previously HMSOrmonde), then inMenorca, were sent by Admiral Byng to join Captain Cavendish, who was charged with making peace with the Moors.[11] While en route to rejoin Byng at Naples in August 1719 HMSSuperb captured an 8-gun Spanish privateer.[12]
In April 1720,Superb was sent back toWoolwich for substantial repairs and subsequently served under CaptainArthur Field as a guard ship atSheerness and then at Chatham.[3] She was fitted out atPortsmouth before being sent to theWest Indies in 1725, where she later joined AdmiralFrancis Hosier's fleet and during theAnglo-Spanish War took part in the unsuccessfulblockade of Porto Bello. In 1726 Commander, later Captain, John Price took command. He died in December 1727.[13] CaptainEdward St Lo succeeded Price, initially just as captain of the ship but then also as commodore of the squadron, but St Lo also died while in command, on 22 April 1729. Captain Peter Solgard took over andSuperb returned to home waters at the end of hostilities, where she remained for the rest of her career.[3]
Superb was taken to Woolwich in October 1732 to be rebuilt or repaired, but was instead broken up there in September 1733. The nameSuperb was given to a new ship, the larger but lower-rated 60-gunHMS Superb, launched in 1736.[4] This ship served in the Mediterranean for much of her career but also took part in thecapture of Louisburg in 1745.
Differences between dates quoted in text and theLondon Gazette are due to the adoption of theGregorian calendar in 1752.
Media related toHMS Superb (ship, 1710) at Wikimedia Commons