HMS Bideford (1756)

History
Great Britain
NameHMS Bideford
Ordered30 October 1754
BuilderAdam Hayes, Deptford Dockyard
Laid down9 January 1755
Launched6 July 1758 at Buckler's Hard
Completed2 March 1756 at Deptford Dockyard
CommissionedFebruary 1756
In service1756–1761
FateWrecked off North Norfolk, December 1761
General characteristics
Class & type20-gun Bideford-class sixth-rate frigate
Tons burthen402 8594 bm
Length
  • 105 ft 0 in (32.0 m) (gun deck)
  • 85 ft 7 in (26.1 m) (keel)
Beam29 ft 9 in (9.1 m)
Depth of hold9 ft 2 in (2.8 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement160
Armament20 × 9-pounder guns

HMS Bideford was a 20-gun sixth-rate frigate of the Royal navy that saw service during the early part of the Seven Years' War between Britain and France. Built to a design copied from Le Tygre, a French vessel captured in 1747, she was launched in 1757 as a privateer-hunter in the English Channel and Bay of Biscay. Active for four years, she secured seven victories at sea over French vessels. She was wrecked on Haisborough Sands off North Norfolk on 31 December 1761.