Burford-class ship of the line

Class overview
Name	Burford
Operators	Royal Navy
In service	1757–1785
Completed	3
Retired	3
General characteristics
Type	68-gun third-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	1,426 87⁄94 (bm)
Length	162 ft 1 in (49.4 m) (gundeck)
Beam	44 ft 8 in (13.6 m)
Depth of hold	19 ft 8 in (6.0 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	520
Armament	68 muzzle-loading, smoothbore guns: Lower gundeck: 26 × 32 pdr guns Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdr guns Forecastle: 2 × 9 pdr guns Quarter deck: 12 × 9 pdr guns

Scale plan of the HMS Dorsetshire, a Burford-class ship

The Burford class were three 68-gun third-rate ships of the line designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Joseph Allin. The Burford ships were almost the last "70-gun" (in practice 68-gun) ships designed by Allin. They were built to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1754.

Ships

• HMS Burford

Builder: Chatham Dockyard

Ordered: 15 January 1754

Laid down: 30 October 1754

Launched: 5 May 1757

Fate: Sold to be broken up, 1785

• HMS Dorsetshire

Builder: Portsmouth Dockyard

Ordered: 15 January 1754

Laid down: 22 June 1754

Launched: 13 December 1757

Fate: Broken up, 1775

• HMS Boyne

Builder: Plymouth Dockyard

Ordered: 13 May 1758

Laid down: 9 August 1758

Launched: 31 May 1766

Fate: Broken up, 1783

References

• Lavery, Brian (1984). The Ship of the Line. Vol. 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650-1850. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
• Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.