HMS Sultan was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line built for the Royal Navy, launched on 23 December 1775 at Harwich Dockyard. Constructed to participate in the American Revolutionary War, Sultan measured approximately 168.6 feet along the gun deck, with a beam of 46 feet 11 inches and a depth in the hold of 20 feet. Her tonnage was about 1,614 tons burthen. The ship featured a classic Royal Oak-Class design, which included a blunter bow and sharper stern, designed for better sailing in moderate conditions but somewhat less stable in strong winds. Her initial armament comprised twenty-eight 32-pounder guns on the lower deck, twenty-eight 18-pounders on the upper deck, with additional smaller guns on the forecastle and quarterdeck. The vessel's complement was around 600 men. Sultan's construction cost the Admiralty approximately £33,622, and her dimensions and armament made her a formidable vessel for fleet actions. She was commissioned in August 1777 under Captain John Wheelock and participated in major campaigns during the war. Her early service included a voyage to America in 1778, where she was part of Rear-Admiral John Byron’s squadron, and later joined Richard Howe’s fleet blockading French forces in Boston. Notable engagements include the Battle of Grenada in July 1779 and a short action off the Dominican Republic coast in June 1780, where she sustained minor casualties. Later, Sultan served in the East Indies under Sir Edward Hughes, participating in key battles such as Providien, Negapatam, Trincomalee, and Cuddalore between 1782 and 1783. Her last combat was at Cuddalore in June 1783. After returning to England in 1784, she was the flagship of Hughes. In 1794, Sultan was repurposed as a hospital ship and later converted into a prison ship, renamed Suffolk in 1805. She served in that capacity until 1815, after which she was laid up and eventually broken up in 1816. Her service record highlights her importance as a versatile vessel in both line-of-battle actions and later roles in support and prisoner management, exemplifying the adaptability of third-rate ships of her era.

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