The Hercules class ships of the line were a class of two 74-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade.
== Design == The Hercules-class ships were a development on Slade's previous two designs: the Dublin-class, and the subsequent one-off HMS Hero.
== Ships == HMS Hercules Builder: Deptford Dockyard Ordered: 15 July 1756 Launched: 15 March 1759 Fate: Sold out of the service, 1784 HMS Thunderer Builder: Woolwich Dockyard Ordered: 15 July 1756 Launched: 19 March 1760 Fate: Wrecked, 1780
Citations
== References == Lavery, Brian (1984). The Ship of the Line. Vol. 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650-1850. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8. Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.