HMS Africa was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched by William Barnard at Barnard's Thames Yard in Deptford on 11 April 1781. Construction and design Africa was a 64-gun third-rate Inflexible-class ship of the line designed by John Williams. Her class was a smaller version of the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Albion designed by Sir Thomas Slade which in turn was influenced by the 1719 Establishment design of the 90-gun ship of the line HMS Neptune. Africa was ordered on 11 February 1778 to be built at Deptford Dockyard by Adams and Barnard and approved for construction on 29 February. She was laid down on 2 March and launched on 11 April 1781 with the following dimensions: along the gun deck, at the keel, with a beam of and a depth in the hold of . She measured 1,414 tons burthen. The fitting out process for Africa was completed at the Deptford and Woolwich dockyards in July. The lead ship of Africas class, HMS Inflexible, was launched in 1780 and opinions of her sailing qualities were so low that it was decided that no more ships of the design would be built after 1780. The next planned ship of the class, HMS Diadem, was instead built to the Intrepid-class design, and Africa and her sister ships were only completed to the deprecated design because by the time of Inflexibles trials they had already been laid down. Service American Revolutionary War Africa was commissioned by Captain Thomas Newnham in March 1781. In January of the following year command of the ship changed to Captain Robert McDowell and under him she sailed to the East Indies in the squadron of Commodore Sir Richard Bickerton on 6 February 1782. As such Africa fought in the unsuccessful Battle of Cuddalore on 20 June 1783. With the American Revolutionary War having ended in September she returned home to Britain where she was paid off in May 1784. The ship was then put in ordinary at Plymouth Dockyard in June. Africa was briefly commissioned for one month by Captain James Kempthorne in November 1790 but this was her only service until the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1792. French Revolutionary Wars The ship was recommissioned for this war under Captain Roddam Home in November 1793, under whom she sailed to Nova Scotia on 18 May 1794.