Prince Royal arriving at Vlissingen in Holland in 1613. Detail of a painting from 1623 by the Dutch artist Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom. | |
History | |
---|---|
England | |
Name | Prince Royal |
Ordered | November 1607 |
Builder | Phineas Pett I, Woolwich Dockyard |
Laid down | 20 October 1608 |
Launched | 25 July 1610 |
Fate | Burnt, 3 June 1666 by the Dutch |
Notes | |
General characteristics as built [1] | |
Class and type | 55-gun royal ship |
Tons burthen | 1200 |
Length | 115 ft (35 m) (keel) |
Beam | 43 ft 6 in (13.26 m) |
Depth of hold | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Armament | 55 guns (in 1624) of various weights of shot including 51 carriage-mounted heavy guns and 4 light port-pieces (anti-personnel weapons) |
General characteristics after 1641 rebuild [2] | |
Class and type | 70-gun ship |
Tons burthen | 1187 tons |
Length | 115 ft (35 m) (keel) |
Beam | 43 ft 6 in (13.26 m) |
Depth of hold | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Armament | 70 guns of various weights of shot, increased to 88 in 1653 (wartime) then back to 80 in 1660 (peacetime) |
General characteristics after 1663 rebuild [3] | |
Class and type | 92-gun first-rate ship of the line |
Tons burthen | 1432 tons |
Length | 132 ft (40 m) (keel) |
Beam | 45 ft 2 in (13.77 m) |
Depth of hold | 18 ft 10 in (5.74 m) |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Armament | 92 guns of various weights of shot |
The Prince Royal was a 55-gun royal ship of the English Royal Navy. It was later rebuilt and renamed HMS Resolution.
The Prince Royal was built by Phineas Pett I at Woolwich and launched in 1610. [1] The ship's fittings were carved by Sebastian Vicars, and painted and gilded by Robert Peake and Paul Isackson between Easter and Michaelmas 1611. [4] Prince Henry took his cousin Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg to see the ship being built. [5] Princess Elizabeth sailed on The Prince Royal from Margate to Ostend in April 1613. [6]
She was the first ship of the line with three complete gun decks, although when first completed the upper deck carried no guns in the waist, and was stepped down aft because of the large amount of sheer (the manner in which the decks rose towards the stern and bow). In 1621 a refit saw the removal of this step-down, with all three gun decks now being continuous.
From 1639 to 1641 the Prince Royal was rebuilt by Peter Pett at Woolwich as a 70-gun first-rate ship. [2] During the time of the Commonwealth of England, she was named Resolution and fought in most battles of the First Anglo-Dutch War. By 1660 she was carrying 80 guns, and with the English Restoration of King Charles II she resumed the name Royal Prince. In 1663 she was rebuilt again at Woolwich Dockyard by Sir Phineas Pett II as a 92-gun first-rate ship of the line. [3]
In 1665, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, she served as the flagship of Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich at the Battle of Lowestoft on 3 June. A year later in 1666, she was Vice-Admiral George Ayscue's flagship in the Four Days Battle, on the third day of which (3 June by the Julian calendar then used in England) she ran aground on the Galloper Sand. When Dutch fireships surrounded the stranded ship, the crew panicked and Ayscue was forced to surrender to Lieutenant-Admiral Cornelis Tromp who was aboard the Gouda. The Dutch managed to free the ship from the shoal, but found her steering to be irreparably damaged. In accordance with standing orders issued by the States-General of the Netherlands, Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter ordered the Prince Royal to be burned, to prevent her recapture.
Sovereign of the Seas was a 17th-century warship of the English Navy. She was ordered as a 90-gun first-rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, but at launch was armed with 102 bronze guns at the insistence of the king. It was later renamed HMS Sovereign, and then HMS Royal Sovereign at the Restoration of Charles II.
Royal Charles was an 80-gun first-rate three-decker ship of the line of the English Navy. She was built by Peter Pett and launched at Woolwich Dockyard in 1655, for the navy of the Commonwealth of England. She was originally called Naseby, named in honour of Sir Thomas Fairfax's decisive 1645 victory over the Royalist forces during the English Civil Wars. She was ordered in 1654 as one of a programme of four second rates, intended to carry 60 guns each. However, she was altered during construction to mount a complete battery of guns along the upper deck, and so was reclassed as a first rate.
HMS Royal Katherine was an 84-gun full-rigged second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched in 1664 at Woolwich Dockyard. Her launching was conducted by Charles II and attended by Samuel Pepys. Royal Katherine fought in both the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars and afterwards, the War of the Grand Alliance before entering the dockyard at Portsmouth for rebuilding in 1702. In this rebuilding, she was upgraded to carry more guns, 90 in total, and served in the War of the Spanish Succession during which she was renamed Ramillies in honour of John Churchill's victory at the Battle of Ramillies. She was rebuilt again in 1742–3 before serving as the flagship of the ill-fated Admiral John Byng in the Seven Years' War. Ramillies was wrecked at Bolt Tail near Hope Cove on 15 February 1760.
HMS Monmouth was a 66-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, and was likely named for James, Duke of Monmouth. She served from 1667 to 1767, winning ten battle honours over a century of active service. She was rebuilt a total of three times during her career—each time effectively becoming a completely new ship.
HMS Duke was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 13 June 1682 at Woolwich Dockyard.
Ark Royal was an English galleon, originally ordered for Sir Walter Raleigh and later purchased by the crown for service in the Tudor navy. She was used as the English flagship in a number of engagements, including the battles that resulted in the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and had a long career spanning over 50 years. Her fame led to a number of later warships of the Royal Navy being named Ark Royal in her honour, including a number of flagships of the fleet.
HMS Prince was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Phineas Pett the Younger at Deptford Dockyard and launched in 1670.
HMS Britannia was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Phineas Pett II at Chatham Dockyard, and launched on 27 June 1682.
HMS Royal Sovereign was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard and launched in July 1701. She had been built using some of the salvageable timbers from the previous Royal Sovereign, which had been destroyed by fire in 1697.
HMS St Andrew was a 96-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Christopher Pett at Woolwich Dockyard under the supervision of Christopher Pett until his death in March 1668, completed by Jonas Shish, and launched in 1670. Commanded by George Churchill, she took part in the 1692 victory over the French navy at Barfleur & La Hogue.
HMS Woolwich was a 54-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Phineas Pett III at Woolwich Dockyard and launched in 1675. She underwent a rebuild in 1702.
Victory was a great ship of the English Navy, launched in 1620 and in active service during the seventeenth century's Anglo-Dutch Wars. After an seventy-year naval career, she was broken up at Woolwich Dockyard in 1691 and her timbers reused in other vessels.
HMS Swiftsure was a 42-gun great ship of the English Royal Navy, built by Andrew Burrell at Deptford and launched in 1621.
The English ship Speaker was a 50-gun third-rate. Speaker was built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England by Christopher Pett at Woolwich Dockyard and launched in 1650. At the Restoration she was renamed HMS Mary. She was the prototype of the Speaker-class.
The ship that became the first HMS Resolution was a 50-gun third-rate frigate built under the 1652 Programme for the navy of the Commonwealth of England by Sir Phineas Pett at Ratcliffe, and launched in 1654 under the name Tredagh.
HMS Assistance was one of six 40-gun fourth-rate frigates, built for the Commonwealth of England under the 1650 Programme, after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 she was incorporated into the navy of the Kingdom of England. During her time in the Commonwealth Navy she partook in the First Anglo-Dutch war being present in the battles of Kentish Knock, Portland and The Gabbard. In the Mediterranean she was present at the Battle of Santa Cruz and the bombardment of Porto Farina, In the Second Anglo-Dutch War she was involved in the Battle of Lowestoft, Battle of Vagen and the St James Day Fight. She did not participate in fleet actions after this. She spent the rest of her service life undergoing several rebuilds and plying the waters as a cruiser protecting British trade and projecting British sovereignty. After nearly 95 years of Service she was sunk as a break water at Sheerness at the end of 1745.
The Richard was a 70-gun second-rate ship of the line of the navy of the Commonwealth of England, built by the Master Shipwright Christopher Pett at Woolwich Dockyard, and launched in 1658. She was named after Richard Cromwell, to honour his appointment as the Protector in succession to his late father Oliver Cromwell.
HMS Captain was a 70-gun third rate built at Woolwich Dockyard in 1677/78. After sitting in Ordinary for ten years she was in active commission for the War of the English Succession fighting at Beachy Head and Barfleur. She was in Ordinary until 1706 when she was rebuilt. She was in active commission for the last half of the War of Spanish Succession but fought in no major engagements. She was at the Battle of Passero I 1718. She was rebuilt in 1720/22. She made two forays in to the Baltic though the bulk of her late career was spent as guardship at Portsmouth. She was hulked in 1740 and finally broken in 1762.
HMS Grafton was a 70-gun third rate built at Woolwich Dockyard in 1677/79. She was delivered to Chatham and placed in Ordinary in 1679. She was commissioned in 1683 to participate in the evacuation of Tangier, Morocco. She served during the War of the English Succession fighting in the Battles of Beachy Head and Barfleur. She was rebuilt in 1699/1701. She was in active commission during the War of Spanish Succession. She fought in the Battle of Vigo, the capture of Gibraltar and the Battle of Velez Malaga. She was taken by the French in 1707 and incorporated into the French Navy. Finally, being broken at Brest in 1744.
HMS Kent was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line built by Sir Henry Johnson of Blackwall in 1677/79. She served during the War of English Succession 1699 to 1697, participating in the Battle of Barfleur. She was rebuilt in 1697/99. She served during the War of Spanish Succession 1702 to 1712 and partook in the Battles of Vigo and Velez-Malaga. She partook in the Battle of Passaro then served during the short war with Spain, December 1718 to February 1720. She was rebuilt in 1722/26. She spent the next thirteen years as a guard ship at Portsmouth. In the 1740s she was off Cape Finisterre then in the West Indies. She returned home and was finally broken in 1744.