1755 - Revolution at the Admiralty

In the situation of latent war between Britain and France in North America, two master shipwrights, Thomas Slade, 52, and William Bately, about 55, are jointly appointed as Surveyors of the Navy, replacing Joseph Allin who has fallen ill. Slade, Master Shipwright of Deptford dockyard since 1753, has enjoyed a very quick ascent since 1750, having held the position of Master Shipwright at Plymouth, Woolwich and Chatham successively. On his own, Bately has been Assistant Surveyor since 1749.

¤ As of 1745, the Surveyor has taken charge of overall warship design. Until then, he was in charge of design for the only ships ordered to private shipbuilders and of overall supervision of shipbuilding and repairing.

Immediately, a new and sounder system comes to replace the Establishment. The plans are now drawn at the unique place of Surveyor's office and transmitted to the different dockyards appointed for building units of a given class of ships. In the same time, designs are intended to be fruitfully multiplied in order to reach an ideal by trial and error.

Slade swiftly tackles his new responsibility and plays the new game rules. He produces the design of a new 70-gun ship within three weeks from his inauguration. This new 70 is actually a 74 which nobody dares to recognize as such in a rather conservative board, though committed to moving this step forward. The capture of the French 74s Invincible and Terrible, of the 64 Fougueux, and of the Spanish 70 Princessa during the previous war has unveiled their advantages.

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LINK WITH PREVIOUS CHRONICLES

1739 - Birth in France of a new man-of-War, the 74

1745 - New Establishment in Britain

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IN RETROSPECT FROM TODAY

Note A - on Slade & Bately's career.

Slade will hold the position until his death, sixteen years later. Bately will retire after ten years.

Note B - on Slade's production.

Amongst a large number of ships, Slade will design in 1758 the famous 100-gun Victory, launched in 1765, which will be Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar, 46 years after her launch.

He also designs three classes of 90s -Sandwich in 1755, London in 1759, Barfleur in 1762 -, ten classes of 74s - Dublin in 1755, Hero in 1756, Hercules in 1756, Bellona in 1757, Arrogant in 1758, Ramillies in 1759. Albion in 1759, Egmont in 1765, Elizabeth in 1765, Culloden in 1769 -, five classes of 64s - Asia in 1758, Essex in 1759, St Albans in 1760, Ardent in 1761, Worcester in 1765 -, and one class of 60s - Edgar in 1756. His activity during the Seven Years war is awesome.

From his designs, Britain will build one 100, two 98s, eleven 90s, sixty 74s, twenty 64s and three 60s - 97 ships of the line, launched between 1757 and 1811, 94 before 1784 - an incredible score. He is the great figure of British naval architecture.

Note C - on Bately's production

Bately produces the design of a 90, of four classes of 74s, and of one class of 64, which resulted in a 90, seven 74s and four 64s - 12 ships of the line.

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SUGGESTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brian Lavery - The Ship of the Line - London, 1983

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CREDIT

Unknown Painter - portrait of Thomas Slade - oil on canvas, circa 1765 - © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich