History | |
---|---|
England | |
Name | Fairfax |
Namesake | Thomas Fairfax |
Builder | Peter Pett, Deptford |
Launched | 1650 |
Fate | Accidentally burnt, 1653 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type | Speaker-class frigate |
Tons burthen | 7458⁄94 (bm) |
Length | 116 ft (35.4 m) (keel) |
Beam | 34 ft 9 in (10.6 m) |
Draught | 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) |
Depth of hold | 14 ft 4 in (4.4 m) |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Complement |
|
Armament | 52 guns of various weights of shot |
Fairfax was a 52-gun third-rate Speaker-class frigate of the Commonwealth of England, built by Peter Pett at Deptford Dockyard and in service from 1650 to 1653. [1]
Fairfax was commissioned in 1650 under Captain William Penn, then serving as Commonwealth's Vice Admiral for the Irish coast. In mid-1650 she saw action against French ships in the English Channel. Later that year her command was transferred to Captain John Lawson. [2]
In 1651, Captain Penn was assigned to the role of Admiral in the Mediterranean, and chose Fairfax as his flagship. After an uneventful year of service, command was again transferred to Captain Lawson, under whose direction Fairfax participated in the Battle of Dover, and the Battle of Portland in the following year. [2]
On 18 February 1653, Fairfax was accidentally set alight and burned beyond repair at Chatham Dockyard. [2]
Bristol was a 44-gun fourth rate vessel of the Commonwealth of England built under the 1651 Programme. She arrived too late for the First Anglo-Dutch War, however, was an active participant in the Second Anglo-Dutch War though in the Third she was no longer used as a line-of battle vessel and reverted to a role of cruising against privateers. She was lost in this role in the English Channel when she was captured by the French. Two weeks she was recaptured by the English and sank in 1709.
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