HMS Deptford (1687)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Deptford.

History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Deptford
Ordered	15 September 1682
Builder	Thomas Shish (until his death in December 1685), then Joseph Lawrence, Woolwich Dockyard
Launched	June 1687
Fate	Broken up 1726
General characteristics as built [1]
Class & type	50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	615 bm
Length	125 ft (38.1 m) (on the gundeck), 103 ft (31.4 m) (keel)
Beam	33 ft 6 in (10.2 m)
Depth of hold	13 ft 11 in (4.2 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	50 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1700 rebuild [1]
Class & type	46- to 54-gun fourth-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	669 bm
Length	128 ft 4 in (39.1 m) (on gundeck), 106 ft 9 in (32.5 m) (keel)
Beam	34 ft 4 in (10.5 m)
Depth of hold	13 ft 5 in (4.1 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	46-54 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1719 rebuild [1]
Class & type	1706 Establishment 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	710 tons
Length	131 ft (39.9 m) (on the gundeck) 109 ft 6 in (33.4 m) (keel)
Beam	35 ft (10.7 m)
Depth of hold	14 ft (4.3 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	50 guns: Gundeck: 22 × 18-pdrs Upper gundeck: 22 × 9-pdrs Quarterdeck: 4 × 6-pdrs Forecastle: 2 × 6-pdrs

HMS Deptford was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Woolwich Dockyard in 1687. ^[2] This was the second of three 50-gun ships ordered in 1682/3.

Armament

All three ships ordered in 1682/3 (all were launched in 1687) were intended to carry 54 guns each - twenty-two 24-pounders on the lower deck, the same number of demi-culverins (9-pounders) on the upper deck, and ten demi-culverin drakes on the quarterdeck. However, each was completed with just 50 guns in wartime service and 44 guns in peacetime.

Rebuilding

She underwent her first rebuild at Woolwich in 1700 (having been ordered "to repair" on 7 June 1699) as a fourth rate of between 46 and 54 guns. ^[1] Her second rebuild took place at Portsmouth Dockyard, where she was reconstructed as a 50-gun fourth rate to the 1706 Establishment from 1717 and relaunched on 19 June 1719. ^[1] She was captained in 1710 by Sir Tancred Robinson. ^[3]

Deptford was taken to pieces at Plymouth in 1726, and a replacement of the same name built (as a 60-gun ship) at Deptford Dockyard in 1729–1732. ^[1]

Notes

1. Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603–1714 p120.
2. Lavery 1983, p. 162.
3. Harrison, Simon. "Sir Tancred Robinson (d. 1754)". Three Decks - Warships in the Age of Sail. Retrieved 3 December 2013.

References

• Lavery, Brian (1983). The Ship of the Line: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Vol. 1. Conway Maritime Press. p. 224. ISBN   0-85177-252-8.
• Winfield, Rif (1997), The 50-Gun Ship: A Complete History. Chatham Publishing (1st edition); Mercury Books (2nd edition 2005). ISBN   1-845600-09-6.
• Winfield, Rif (2009), British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603–1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN   978-1-84832-040-6.