HMS Looe (1696)

Last updated

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 burthen3848094 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 3848094 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

Related Research Articles

HMS Southsea Castle was a 32-gun fifth rate built at Deptford Dockyard in 1694/95. She was assigned to the West Indies. She was wrecked along with HMS Bideford on Hispaniola in November 1699.

HMS Milford was a 32-gun fifth rate built under contract by William Hubbard of Ipswich in 1694/95.

HMS Shoreham was a 32-gun fifth rate vessel built under contract at Shoreham in 1693/94. During the War of the English Succession she was involved in the unsuccessful operation at Camaret Bay. At the end of the war she helped take half a French convoy off Ireland. She then deployed to North America and the West Indies. She was rebuilt as a 20-gun sixth rate to the 1719 Establishment in 1719/21. She served in the Baltic as a bomb vessel then reverted to a sixth rate. She participated in operations in the West Indies during the initial years of the War of Austrian Succession before being sold in 1744.

HMS Scarborough was a 32-gun fifth rate vessel built at Woolwich Dockyard in 1693/94. Shortly after commissioning she was taken by two French privateers and went under French service. She was recaptured in 1697 and renamed Milford. She spent some time off Africa then the West Indies. She was rebuilt in 1705. She was in the North Sea, the Mediterranean and finally the West Indies where she was wrecked in 1720.

HMS Sorlings was a 32-gun fifth rate vessel built under contract at Shoreham in 1693/94. After commissioning she spent her time in trade protection services between Home Waters, North America, West Indies and the Mediterranean. She was captured by the French in October 1705. Incorporated into the French Navy, she was loaned to the Privateering squadron at Dunkerque then recaptured by the British in 1711 and sold.

HMS Lyme was a 32-gun fifth rate built by Mr. Flint of Plymouth in 1694/95. She spent her career on counter piracy patrols and trade protection duties in Home Waters, the Mediterranean and in North America and the West Indies. She was rebuilt to the 1719 Establishment as a sixth rate in 1720/21. Her breaking was completed in January 1739.

HMS Hastings was a 32-gun fifth rate built under contract by Thomas Ellis of Shoreham in 1694/95. She spent her brief career on counter piracy patrols and trade protection duties in Home Waters. She was wrecked in a storm off Waterford in December 1697.

HMS Arundel was a 32-gun fifth rate built by Thomas Ellis of Shoreham in 1694/95. After commissioning she was used as a convoy escort, trade protection and counter piracy operations. Her main areas of operation were Irish Waters, the English Channel and convoy escorts to Newfoundland and the West Indies. She was sold in June 1713.

HMS Rye was a 32-gun fifth rate built at Sheerness Dockyard in 1694/96.

HMS Scarborough was a 32-gun fifth rate built under contract by James Parker of Southampton in 1695/96. She served in the trade protection and counter-piracy operations during her service. She was captured by the French, then recaptured by the British and renamed Garland, She was converted to a fireship for the Baltic then the Mediterranean. She was at the Battle of Passero in 1718. She was reduced to a 20-gun sixth rate in 1717. Rebuilt to the 1719 Establishment in 1721, she was finally sold in 1744.

HMS Lynn was a 32-gun fifth rate built under contract by Thomas Ellis of Shoreham in 1695/96. She spent her entire career on trade protection and anti-piracy patrols. Her service was in Home Waters North America, the West Indies and the East Indies. She was sold in 1713.

HMS Fowey was a 32-gun fifth rate built by Mr. Flint of Plymouth in 1695/96. She was employed in trade protection and counter-piracy patrols in Home Waters and North America. She was in on the capture of a 50-gun Frenchman while returning from Virginia. She was taken by the French off the Scilly Islands in August 1704.

HMS Southsea Castle was a 32-gun fifth rate built under contract by John Knowler of Redbridge (Southampton) in 1695/96.

HMS Gosport was a 32-gun fifth rate built by William Collins of Shoreham in 1695/96. She spent her career on counter piracy patrols and trade protection duties in Home Waters, in North America and the West Indies. She was captured by the French in 1706.

HMS Hastings was a 32-gun fifth rate built by Isaac Betts of Woodbridge in 1696/98. She was employed in convoy service, trade protection and counter piracy patrols. She was wrecked off Greater Yarmouth in February 1707.

HMS Lowestoffe was a 32-gun fifth rate built at Chatham Dockyard in 1696/97. She spent her career on counter piracy patrols and trade Protection duties. She participated in the capture of Port Royal in Nova Scotia. She was rebuilt in 1722/24 as a 20-gun sixth rate. She was sold in July 1744.

HMS Looe was a 32-gun fifth rate built by Portsmouth Dockyard in 1696/97. She was first employed off the Irish coast. She went to Newfoundland in 1702. On her return she was wrecked on the Isle of Wight in December 1705.

HMS Bridgewater was a 32-gun fifth rate built at Sheerness Dockyard in 1697/98.

HMS Ludlow was a 32-gun fifth rate built by Mrs. Anne Mundy of Woodbridge in 1697/98.

HMS Falcon was a 32-gun fifth rate built at Deptford Dockyard in 1703/04. Her initial assignment was with Sir Cloudesley Shovell's Fleet. She was then assigned to the Mediterranean where she was taken by the French in 1709.

References