Editing HMS Defence (1763) (section)

{{Short description|74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy}}
{{Other ships|HMS Defence}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:Pocock Glorious First of June1.jpg
|Ship caption=HMS ''Defence'' at the [[Battle of the Glorious First of June]] 1794, dismasted and with severe injury to the hull, by [[Nicholas Pocock]]
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=Great Britain
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Kingdom of Great Britain|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Defence''
|Ship ordered=15 December 1758
|Ship builder=[[Israel Pownoll]], [[Plymouth Dockyard]]
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=31 March 1763
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship notes=*Participated in:
*[[Battle of Cape St Vincent (1780)|Battle of Cape St Vincent]]
*[[Battle of Cuddalore (1783)|Battle of Cuddalore]]
*[[Glorious First of June]]
*[[Battle of the Nile]]
*[[Battle of Trafalgar]]
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Wrecked, 24 December 1811
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption={{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=43}}
|Ship class={{sclass|Bellona|ship of the line}}
|Ship tons burthen=1,603{{small|{{frac|8|94}}}} ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]])
|Ship length={{convert|168|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} (gundeck)
|Ship beam={{convert|46|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|21|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship hold depth={{convert|19|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship sail plan=[[Full-rigged ship]]
|Ship complement=
|Ship armament=*Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns
*Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pounder guns
*[[Quarterdeck|QD]]: 14 × 9-pounder guns
*[[Forecastle|Fc]]: 4 × 9-pounder guns
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Defence''''' was a 74-gun {{sclass|Bellona|ship of the line|0}} [[third-rate]] [[ship of the line]] of the [[Royal Navy]], built by Israel Pownoll and launched on 31 March 1763 at [[HMNB Devonport|Plymouth Dockyard]]. She was one of the most famous ships of the period, taking part in several of the most important naval battles of the [[French Revolutionary War|French Revolutionary]] and [[Napoleonic wars]]. In 1811 she was wrecked off the coast of [[Jutland]] with the loss of almost her entire crew.