HMS Looe (1696)

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History
English Red Ensign 1620.svg England
NameHMS Looe
Ordered1 April 1695
Builder Plymouth Dockyard
Launched5 August 1696
Commissioned1697
FateWrecked in Baltimore Bay, Ireland 30 April 1697
General characteristics as built
Class and type32-gun fifth rate
Tons burthen38480⁄94 tons (bm)
Length
  • 110 ft 0 in (33.53 m) gundeck
  • 93 ft 0 in (28.35 m) keel for tonnage
Beam28 ft 0 in (8.53 m)
Depth of hold11 ft 0 in (3.35 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail plan Full-rigged ship
Complement145/110
Armament
  • as built 32 guns
  • 4/4 × demi-culverins (LD)
  • 22/20 × 6-pdr guns (UD)
  • 6/4 × 4-pdr guns (QD)

HMS Looe was a 32-gun fifth rate built at Plymouth Dockyard in 1695/96. Shortly after commissioning she was wrecked in Baltimore Bay, Ireland on 30 April 1697.

Contents

She was the first vessel to bear the name Looe in the English and Royal Navy. [1]

Construction and specifications

She was ordered on 1 April 1695 to be built at Plymouth Dockyard under the guidance of Master Shipwright Elias Waffe. She was launched on 5 August 1696. Her dimensions were a gundeck of 110 feet 0 inches (33.53 metres) with a keel of 93 feet 0 inches (28.35 metres) for tonnage calculation with a breadth of 28 feet 0 inches (8.53 metres) and a depth of hold of 11 feet 0 inches (3.35 metres). Her builder’s measure tonnage was calculated as 38480⁄94 tons (burthen). [2]

The gun armament initially was four demi-culverins [3] [Note 1] on the lower deck (LD) with two pairs of guns per side. The upper deck (UD) battery would consist of between twenty and twenty-two 6-pounder guns [4] [Note 2] with ten or eleven guns per side. The gun battery would be completed by four 4-pounder guns [5] [Note 3] on the quarterdeck (QD) with two to three guns per side. [6]

Commissioned service 1697

She was commissioned in 1697 under the command of Captain Richard Paul for service in the English Channel. [2]

Loss

She was wrecked in Baltimore Bay, Ireland on 30 April 1697. [2]

Notes

  1. ↑ A demi-culverin 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 6-pounder was a Dutch gun used to replace the saker
  3. ↑ A minion renamed the 4-pounder 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. ↑ Colledge (2020)
  2. 1 2 3 Winfred 2009, Ch 5, The Fifth Rates, Vessels acquired from 16 December 1688, Fifth Rates of 32 and 36 guns, 1694 Programme, Looe
  3. ↑ Lavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, culverins, page 101
  4. ↑ Lavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, The 6-pounder, page 102
  5. ↑ Lavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, Minion or 4-pounder, page 103
  6. ↑ Winfred 2009, Ch 5, The Fifth Rates, Vessels acquired from 16 December 1688, Fifth Rates of 32 and 36 guns, 1694 Programme

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References

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