Bristol had a length at the gundeck of 146 feet (44.5 m) and 119 feet 9 inches (36.5 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 40 feet 7 inches (12.4 m), a draught of 15 feet 7 inches (4.7 m) at deep load and a depth of hold of 17 feet 6 inches (5.3 m). The ship's tonnage was 1,049 9⁄94 tons burthen. Bristol was armed with twenty-two 24-pounder cannon on her main gundeck, twenty-two 12-pounder cannon on her upper gundeck, and four 6-pounder cannon on the quarterdeck and another pair on the forecastle. The ship had a crew of 350 officers and ratings.[1]
During the American War of Independence, she was CommodoreSir Peter Parker's flagship during the attack on Sullivan's Island on 28 June 1776 and was heavily damaged during the battle. On 19 May 1778 she recaptured ship "Isabella" that has been captured by a privateer. On 20 May she recaptured ship "Swift". both off Punta Manati, Cuba. On 21 May recaptured schooner "William" and captured
sloop "Aurora", both off Bahia de Bueno Vista, Cuba.[3] Later in the war, she was stationed off Jamaica, and fought at the Battle of Cuddalore.
In December 1782 she was escorting a convoy of East Indiamen when they stopped at the island of Trindade. There she found Captain Philippe d'Auvergne of HMS Rattlesnake, which had wrecked there on 12 October 1781. Bristol took the survivors with her to India.
After 1794 she was used as a prison ship (lying in Gillingham Reach, in the County of Kent),[4] and was broken up in June 1810 at Sheerness.[5]
Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-84415-700-6.