HMS Fortitude (1780)

Fortitude
History
Great Britain
NameHMS Fortitude
Ordered2 February 1778
BuilderRandall, Rotherhithe
Laid down4 March 1778
Launched23 March 1780
Honours &
awards
FateBroken up, 1820
General characteristics
Class & typeAlbion-class ship of the line
Tons burthen1645 bm
Length168 ft (51 m) (gundeck)
Depth of hold18 ft 10 in (5.74 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 74 guns:
  • Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pounder guns
  • Quarterdeck: 14 × 9-pounder guns
  • Forecastle: 4 × 9-pounder guns

HMS Fortitude was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by John Randall & Co. and launched on 23 March 1780 at Rotherhithe.

Under Captain Richard Bickerton, Fortitude served in the English Channel. In April 1781 she participated in the second relief of Gibraltar. In May 1781, during the Fourth Anglo–Dutch War, Vice-Admiral Hyde Parker's shifted his flag from HMS Victory to Fortitude. On 5 August, Fortitude fought in the Battle of Dogger Bank as Parker's flagship. After a desperate, bloody battle in which neither combatant gained any advantage, both sides drew off.