HMS Ardent was a Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 64-gun third rate. This ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 was launched on 21 December 1782 at Bursledon

Bursledon

Bursledon is a village on the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It is located within the borough of Eastleigh. Close to the city of Southampton, Bursledon has a railway station, a marina, dockyards and the Bursledon Windmill. Nearby villages include Swanwick, Hamble-le-Rice, Netley and Sarisbury...

, Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

.

In 1784 she was under the command of Captain Harry Harmood, serving as a guard ship at Portsmouth.

In 1793 she was under the command of Captain Robert Manners Sutton, sailing with Vice-Admiral. Lord Hood

Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood

Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood was a British Admiral known particularly for his service in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars...

 at Toulon in August. She was part of a force detached under Robert Linzee

Robert Linzee

Robert Linzee was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary War, and the Napoleonic War....

 to take part in the attack on Corsica in September.

Fate

In April 1794 Ardent was stationed off the harbour of Villa Franca

Villa Franca

Villa Franca is a village in the Ñeembucú department of Paraguay.- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...

, Corsica, to watch two French frigates. It is presumed that she caught fire and blew up. Berwick

HMS Berwick (1775)

HMS Berwick was a 74-gun Elizabeth-class third rate of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard on 18 April 1775, to a design by Sir Thomas Slade. She fought the French at the Battle of Ushant and the Dutch at the Battle of Dogger Bank...

 encountered some wreckage while cruising in the Gulf of Genoa

Gulf of Genoa

The Gulf of Genoa is the northernmost part of the Ligurian Sea. The width of the gulf is about 125 km, from the city of Imperia in the west to La Spezia in the east. The largest city on the its coast is Genoa, which has an important port....

in the summer that suggested fire and an explosion. A part of Ardent's quarter deck with some gunlocks deeply embedded in it was found floating in the area, as was splinter netting driven into planking. No trace was ever found of her crew of 500.

External links

• Phillips, Michael. Ships of the Old Navy - HMS Ardent (1782).http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/info.php?ref=0197). Retrieved 16 August 2007.