English ship Basing (1654)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Basing and HMS Guernsey.

History
England [1]
Name	Basing
Namesake	Basing House, Hampshire
Operator	Navy of the Commonwealth of England   Royal Navy (from 1660)
Ordered	1 October 1653
Builder	Jonas Shish, Walberswick, Suffolk
Launched	26 April 1654
Commissioned	1654
Renamed	Guernsey in 1660
Fate	Sunk as a foundation 1694
General characteristics as built 1654
Type	22-gun fifth rate
Tons burthen	25540⁄94 bm
Length	91 ft 0 in (27.7 m) (on gundeck), 80 ft 0 in (24.4 m) keel for tonnage
Beam	24 ft 6 in (7.5 m) for tonnage
Draught	12 ft (3.7 m)
Depth of hold	10 ft 0 in (3.0 m)
Sail plan	ship-rigged
Complement	100 in 1660, 110 in 1666, 130 in 1673
Armament	As built 1654 18 x demi-culverins (UD) 4 x sakers (QD)

Basing was a fifth-rate warship of the Commonwealth of England's naval forces, one of six such ships built under the 1653 Programme (the others were Islip, Colchester, Fagons, Selby, and Grantham). She was built by contract with Master Shipwright Jonas Shish at his yard at Walberswick (near Southwold), Suffolk, and was launched on 26 April 1654 as a 22-gun Fifth rate. She was named Basing after the victory of Parliamentary forces under Oliver Cromwell in capturing the house of that name in Hampshire in 1645 after a protracted siege.

Her length was recorded as 91 feet 6 inches (27.9 metres) on the gundeck and 80 feet 0 inches (24.4 metres) on the keel for tonnage calculation. The breadth was 24 feet 6 inches (7.5 metres) with a depth in hold of 10 ft 0 in (3.0 m). The tonnage was thus calculated at 25540⁄94 bm tons. ^[1]

She was originally armed with 22 guns, comprising 18 demi-culverins on the single gundeck and 4 sakers on the quarterdeck. At the Restoration in 1660 she was taken into the Royal Navy and renamed as HMS Guernsey. By 1665 she actually carried 26 guns, comprising 16 demi-culverins on the gundeck and 10 sakers on the quarterdeck. The Guernsey took part during the Second Anglo-Dutch War in the Battle of Lowestoft and the Battle of Vagen during 1665. In the Third Anglo-Dutch War she fought at the Battle of Texel in 1673. She was finally taken to pieces in 1693. ^[1]

Citations

1. Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714, p.155.

References

• Rif Winfield (2009), British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603 – 1714, by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 2009, ISBN   978-1-84832-040-6, EPUB ISBN   978-1-78346-924-6, Chapter 5, The Fifth Rates
• Jim Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy, by James J. Colledge, revised and updated by Lt Cdr Ben Warlow and Steve Bush, published by Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, Great Britain, © 2020, EPUB ISBN   978-1-5267-9328-7.