HMS Queen was a three-deck 90-gun second-rate

Second-rate

In the British Royal Navy, a second rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th century second rates had fewer guns and were originally two-deckers or had only partially armed third gun decks. The term in no way implied...

 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...

 of the 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...

, launched on 18 September 1769 at Woolwich Dockyard

Woolwich Dockyard

Woolwich Dockyard was an English naval dockyard founded by King Henry VIII in 1512 to build his flagship Henri Grâce à Dieu , the largest ship of its day....

. She was designed by William Bateley, and was the only ship built to her draught. Her armament was increased to 98 guns in the 1780s.

Service

Queen fought at the First Battle of Ushant

Battle of Ushant (1778)

The Battle of Ushant took place on 27 July 1778, during the American War of Independence, fought between French and British fleets 100 miles west of Ushant, a French island at the mouth of the English Channel off the north-westernmost point of France...

 under Keppel

Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel

Admiral Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel PC was an officer of the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the War of American Independence...

 in 1778, and the Second Battle of Ushant

Battle of Ushant (1781)

The Second Battle of Ushant was a naval battle fought between French and British squadrons near Ushant on 12 December 1781, during the American War of Independence.-Battle:...

 under Kempenfelt

Richard Kempenfelt

Richard Kempenfelt was a British rear-admiral who gained a reputation as a naval innovator. He is best known for his victory against the French at the Second Battle of Ushant and for his death when the HMS Royal George accidentally sank at Portsmouth the following year.He was born at Westminster...

 in 1781. In 1794 she fought in the Glorious First of June

Glorious First of June

The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...

 under Howe

Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe

Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe KG was a British naval officer, notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was the brother of William Howe and George Howe.Howe joined the navy at the age of thirteen and served...

, where she served as Rear-Admiral Alan Gardner

Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner

Admiral Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner was a British Royal Navy officer and peer of the realm. He became one of the Georgian era's most dashing frigate captains and, ultimately, a respected senior admiral.-Naval career:...

's flagship. During the battle Queen sustained significant damage, and her commanding officer, Captain John Hutt

John Hutt (Royal Navy officer)

Captain John Hutt was an officer of the British Royal Navy who served with distinction during the American Revolutionary War and died in 1794 from severe wounds received during the battle of the Glorious First of June, the first major naval battle of the French Revolutionary Wars...

, was amongst those killed.

After the Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....

 in 1805, the demand for the large three-decker first and second rates diminished. Consequently, in 1811 the Admiralty had Queen razee

Razee

A razee or razée is a sailing ship that has been cut down to reduce the number of decks. The word is derived from the French vaisseau rasé, meaning a razed ship.-Sixteenth century:...

d to become a two-decker third rate of 74 guns.