HMS Deal Castle was a 20-gun post ship of the Royal Navy, launched on 20 January 1756. Built at Blackwall and fitted out at Deptford by Adam Hayes, the vessel was commissioned in 1754 and completed in March 1756, after which she was primarily active in the English Channel and North Sea. Her initial commander was Captain Edward Hughes. The ship’s first notable engagement occurred on 18 July 1760 when she captured the French privateer Le Faucon. During 1762, she served in escorting a convoy of troop carriers to Senegal and engaged briefly with the French ship Le Signe. In 1763, she was recommissioned under Captain Digby Dent and spent three years operating in the Mediterranean, including a diplomatic mission to Cadiz. Between 1766 and 1768, HMS Deal Castle underwent repairs and was recommissioned at Chatham Docks, relaunching in April 1768 for service in North America. She was refitted again in 1772, and in April 1773, she was deployed to the Leeward Islands, returning to England in 1775. The following year, she was refitted at Portsmouth and assigned to Newfoundland, but by December 1777, her station was shifted back to the Leeward Islands. HMS Deal Castle played a role in the Battle of Martinique on 17 April 1780 under Captain William Fooks, participating alongside Admiral George Rodney. The following day, Captain Fooks transferred to HMS Greyhound, with James Hawkins-Whitshed taking command of the vessel. Her service ended in tragedy when she was wrecked off Puerto Rico during the Great Hurricane of 1780 on 11 October, a storm that claimed the lives of 22,000 people and sank 13 other Royal Navy vessels, with only three of HMS Deal Castle’s 160 crew members perishing. Hawkins-Whitshed subsequently took command of HMS Ceres.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.