HMS Albion was a 74-gun third-rate

Third-rate

In the British Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks . Years of experience proved that the third rate ships embodied the best compromise between sailing ability , firepower, and cost...

 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...

. She was launched on 16 May 1763 at Deptford

Deptford

Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...

, being adapted from a design of the old 90-gun ship which had been built in 1730, and was the first ship to bear the name. She was the first of a series of ships built to the same lines, which became known as the .

She saw her first action in the American War of Independence in July 1779 at the indecisive Battle of Grenada

Battle of Grenada

The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American War of Independence in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy.-Origins:...

, when the British Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Byron

John Byron

Vice Admiral The Hon. John Byron, RN was a Royal Navy officer. He was known as Foul-weather Jack because of his frequent bad luck with weather.-Early career:...

 managed to avoid defeat from superior French forces.

Albion's next action was a year later on 17 April 1780, when British and French fleets met in the Battle of Martinique

Battle of Martinique (1780)

The Battle of Martinique, also Combat de la Dominique, took place on April 17, 1780 during the American War of Independence in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy.-Origins:...

. A month later, on 15 May, the fleets met again and after a few days of manoeuvring the head of the British line confronted the rear-most French warships. Albion, leading the vanguard of the British fleet suffered heavy casualties, but with little to show for it. Just four days later the two fleets clashed for the third time but again it was indecisive with Albion heavily engaged as before, suffering numerous casualties in the process.

In 1794 Albion was consigned to the role of a 60-gun floating battery armed with heavy carronades and moored on the Thames Estuary

Thames Estuary

The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...

.

In April 1797, while heading to a new position in the Swin Channel, she ran aground. Two days later, during salvage efforts, her back broke, and she was completely wrecked.