HMS Ramillies (1763)

HMS Ramillies was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched in 1763. She was built at Woolwich Dockyard and designed by Sir Thomas Slade. Ramillies served extensively during the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary Wars.

Her most notable actions included the Battle of Ushant in 1778, under the command of Captain Robert Digby, and the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781, under Captain Sir John Knight. During the latter engagement, she sustained heavy damage while engaging the French fleet.

Ramillies also participated in the relief of Gibraltar in 1782 under Admiral Lord Howe.

In 1790, Ramillies underwent a Great Repair at Portsmouth.

She served as the flagship of Admiral William Cornwallis's squadron during the blockade of Brest in 1794 and 1795.

Ramillies was wrecked off the Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, in February 1796 after running aground in bad weather. A court-martial exonerated her captain and officers, attributing the loss to inaccurate charts and thick fog. Many of the crew were rescued.