HMS Director was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 9 March 1784 at Gravesend.[1] She was laid down speculatively in November 1779, and ordered by the Navy the following year.

HMS Director
History
Great Britain
NameHMS Director
Ordered2 August 1780
BuilderClevely, Gravesend
Laid downNovember 1779
Launched9 March 1784
FateBroken up, Chatham, January 1801
Notes
General characteristics [1]
Class and type64-gun St Albans-class ship of the line
Tons burthen1388 (bm)
Length159 ft (48.5 m) (gundeck)
Beam44 ft 4 in (13.5 m)
Depth of hold18 ft 10 in (5.7 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • Gundeck: 26 × 24-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 26 × 18-pounder guns
  • QD: 10 × 4-pounder guns
  • Fc: 2 × 9-pounder guns
Director, raking the Dutch flagship Vrijheid, during the Battle of Camperdown, 11 October 1797

In 1797 Director was under the command of Captain William Bligh. In early 1797 he surveyed the Humber, preparing a map of the stretch from Spurn to the west of Sunk Island. In May, the crew mutinied during the Nore mutiny.[2] The mutiny was not triggered by any specific actions by Bligh. On 12 October she took part in the Battle of Camperdown, where she captured the Dutch commander, Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter, and his flagship, Vrijheid.

H.M.S. Director 1784, at St Helena with a view of Jamestown

Fate

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Director was decommissioned in July 1800 and broken up at Chatham in January 1801.[1]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 182.
  2. ^ The Naval Mutinies of 1797

References

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  • Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
  • Winfield, Rif (2005) British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793-1817 - Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.
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