Action of 8 April 1740 The Action of 8 April 1740 was a battle between the Spanish third rate " Princesa " ( nominally rated at 70 guns , but carrying 64 ) under the command of Don Parlo Augustino de Gera , and a squadron consisting of three British 70 - gun third rates ; , and , under the command of Captain Colvill Mayne of " Lenox " . The Spanish ship was chased down and captured by the three British ships , after which she was acquired for service by the Royal Navy . Background . On 25 March 1740 news reached the Admiralty that two Spanish ships had sailed from Buenos Aires , and were bound for Spain . Word was sent to Portsmouth and a squadron of three ships , consisting of the 70 - gun ships , and , under the command of Captain Colvill Mayne of " Lenox " , were prepared to intercept them . The ships , part of Sir John Balchen ' s fleet were briefly joined by and , and the squadron sailed from Portsmouth at 3am on 29 March , passing down the English Channel . " Rippon " and " St Albans " fell astern on 5 April , and though Mayne shortened sail , they did not come up . On 8 April Mayne ' s squadron was patrolling some 300 miles south - west of The Lizard when a ship was sighted to the north . Battle . The British came up and found her to be the " Princesa " , carrying 64 guns and a crew of 650 under the command of Don Parlo Augustino de Gera . They began to chase her at 10am , upon which she lowered the French colours she had been flying and hoisted Spanish ones . Mayne addressed his men saying ' When you received the pay of your country , you engaged yourselves to stand all dangers in her cause . Now is the trial ; fight like men for you have no hope but in your courage . ' After a two and half hour chase the British were able to come alongside and exchange broadsides , which eventually left the Spanish ship disabled . The British then raked her until she struck her colours . The Spanish ship had casualties of 33 killed and around 100 wounded , while eight men were killed aboard " Kent " , another eight aboard " Orford " , and another one aboard " Lenox " . Total British wounded amounted to 40 , and included Captain Durell of " Kent " , who had one of his hands shot away . According to the Spanish version , the ship Princesa was seriously damaged before the combat . The Spanish ship Princesa begun a hard battle against the three English ships chasing her . The combat lasted 6 hours . The Princesa caused serious damages to the HMS Lenox and obliged the HMS Kent to leave the battle , but could not face the encounter against the HMS Oxford and surrendered . There were 70 killed and 80 wounded on board of the Princesa , which was taken to Portsmouth for reparation . Afterward , she was used by the Royal Navy . Aftermath . " Princesa " was brought into Portsmouth on 8 May 1740 . An Admiralty order of 21 April 1741 authorised her purchase , and this was duly done on 14 July 1741 for the sum of £5 , 418 . 11 . 6¾d . After a great repair she was fitted at Portsmouth between July 1741 and March 1742 , for a total sum of £36 , 007 . 2 . 10d . Her spirited resistance to three ships of equal rating attracted much comment . A contemporary description noted that she was larger than any British first rate and carried unusually large guns , many of them brass . She was described as the finest ship in the Spanish Navy , with her high build allowing her to open her lower gunports in conditions that meant that her opponents could not . She was renamed HMS Princess and served in the Royal Navy until she was finally sold for breaking up on 30 December 1784 at Portsmouth .