1689 Programme Group

Last updated

Class overview
Name1689 Programme Group
Builders
OperatorsNaval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy
Preceded by Mermaid (1651)
Succeeded by 1693 Programme Group
Built1689–1691
In service1690–1741
Completed5
Lost3
Retired2
General characteristics
Type32-gun fifth rate
Tons burthen356+70⁄94 bm
Length
  • 105 ft (32 m) gundeck
  • 92 ft (28 m) keel for tonnage
Beam27 ft (8.2 m) for tonnage
Depth of hold10 ft (3 m)
Sail plan ship-rigged
Armament
  • as built
  • 4 × 4 demi-culverines on wooden trucks (LD)
  • 20 × sakers on wooden trucks (UD)
  • 4 × 4 minions on wooden trucks (QD)
  • 1703 Establishment
  • 4 × 4 9-pdr guns on wooden trucks (LD)
  • 22/20 × 6-pdr guns on wooden trucks (UD)
  • 6/4 × 4-pdr guns on wooden trucks (QD)

The 1689 Programme of fifth rates were devised by Admiral the Earl of Torrington (Arthur Herbert) as the prototype demi-batterie ships of the Royal Navy. The concept was to have one tier of ordnance flush on the upper deck for use in all weathers on a freeboard of at least seven feet. The ordnance would be arranged with a minimum of ten gun ports on the upper deck. The lower deck would be provided with four ports for heavier guns that could only be used in calm weather. For added propulsion ten oar ports per side would be provided with a central loading port. Five new 32-gun vessels to these specifications were ordered from Naval Dockyards in June 1689. [1]

Contents

Design and specifications

The construction of the vessels was assigned to Royal dockyards. As with most vessels of this time period only order and launch dates are available. The dimensional data listed here is the specification data and the acceptable design creep will be listed on each individual vessel. The gundeck was 105 feet (32 metres) with a keel length of 92 ft (28 m) for tonnage calculation. The breadth would be 27 ft (8.2 m) with a depth of hold of 10 ft (3 m). The tonnage calculation would be 356+70⁄94 bm. [2] The ships would be sail powered carrying a ship-rigged sail plan. Also there was a provision for ten oar ports per side located between the gun ports on the upper deck. [3]

The gun armament initially was four demi-culverines [Note 1] mounted on wooden trucks on the lower deck (LD) with two pair of guns per side. The upper deck (UD) battery would consist of between twenty and twenty-two sakers [Note 2] guns mounted on wooden trucks with ten or eleven guns per side. The gun battery would be completed by four to six minions [Note 3] guns mounted on wooden trucks on the quarterdeck (QD) with two to three guns per side. In the 1703 Establishment the old gun designations would be replaced by a system that designated the guns by the weight of shot fired. The demi-culverines would become known as 9-pounders, the sakers as 6-pounders and the minions as 4-pounders. Therefore, their armament as of 1703 would be listed as four 9-pounder guns on the lower deck (LD), twenty 6-pounder 19 hundredweight (cwt) guns on the upper deck (UD) with four 4-pounder 12 cwt guns on the quarterdeck (QD). The 4-pounders would be removed in 1714. [4]

Ships of the 1689 Programme Group

NameBuilderLaunch dateRemarks
Experiment (1689) Chatham Dockyard17 December 1689
  • Reduced to sixth rate 1717
  • rebuilt as 1719 Establishment sixth rate in 1724
Pembroke (1690) Deptford Dockyard3 March 1690
  • taken by French on 23 February 1694 and ran ashore
Milford (1690) Woolwich Dockyard18 March 1690
  • taken by French 1 December 1693
Portsmouth (1690) Portsmouth Dockyard13 May 1690
  • Taken by French 11 October 1696
Sheerness (1691) Sheerness Dockyard6 March 1691
  • Reduced to sixth rate 1717
  • broken at Deptford 7 March 1730

Notes

  1. ↑ A demi-culverine was a gun of 3,400 pounds with a four-inch bore firing a 9.5-pound shot with an eight-pound powder charge.
  2. ↑ A sacar or saker was a gun of 1,400 pounds with a 3.5-inch bore firing a 5.5-pound shot with a 5.5-pound powder charge.
  3. ↑ A minion was a gun of 1,000 pounds with a 3.5-inch bore firing a 4-pound shot with a 4-pound powder charge.

Citations

  1. ↑ Winfred 2009
  2. ↑ Winfield 2009
  3. ↑ Winfield 2009
  4. ↑ Winfield 2009

Related Research Articles

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HMS Winchelsea was a 32-gun fifth rate vessel built under contract at Redbridge (Southampton) in 1693/94. After commissioning she was employed for trade protection in the North Sea, guard ship at Plymouth, briefly with Shovell's Fleet in the Channel and a brief visit to the West Indies. While on fisheries protection in the Channel she was taken by the French off Hastings in June 1706.

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HMS Fowey was a 32-gun fifth rate built by Mr. Flint of Plymouth in 1695/96. She was employed in trade protection and counter-piracy patrols in Home Waters and North America. She was in on the capture of a 50-gun Frenchman while returning from Virginia. She was taken by the French off the Scilly Islands in August 1704.

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HMS Hastings was a 32-gun fifth rate built by Isaac Betts of Woodbridge in 1696/98. She was employed in convoy service, trade protection and counter piracy patrols. She was wrecked off Greater Yarmouth in February 1707.

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HMS Fowey was a 32-gun fifth rate built at Chatham Dockyard in 1703/05. She spent her career in the Mediterranean and was taken by the French off Cape Gato, Spain in April 1709.

References

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