HMS Lynn (1696)

Last updated

History
English Red Ensign 1620.svg England
NameHMS Lynn
Ordered3 May 1695
BuilderThomas Ellis, Shoreham
Launched24 April 1696
Commissioned1696
FateSold to Francis Sheldon 16 April 1713
General characteristics as built
Class and type32-gun fifth rate
Tons burthen3735294 tons (bm)
Length
  • 107 ft 9.5 in (32.85 m) gundeck
  • 88 ft 0 in (26.82 m) keel for tonnage
Beam28 ft 3 in (8.61 m)
Depth of hold10 ft 8.5 in (3.26 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail plan Full-rigged ship
Complement145/110
Armament
  • as built 32 guns
  • 4/4 x demi-culverins (LD)
  • 22/20 x 6-pdr guns (UD)
  • 6/4 x 4-pdr guns (QD)

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.

Contents

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

Construction and Specifications

She was ordered on 16 February 1694 to be built under contract by Mr. Flint of Plymouth. She was launched on 20 April 1695. Her dimensions were a gundeck of 109 feet 0 inches (33.22 metres) with a keel of 88 feet 0 inches (26.82 metres) for tonnage calculation with a breadth of 28 feet 8 inches (8.74 metres) and a depth of hold of 10 feet 6 inches (3.20 metres). Her builder’s measure tonnage was calculated as 3846294 tons (burthen). [2]

The gun armament initially was four demi-culverins [3] [Note 1] on the lower deck (LD) with two pair 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 1696-1712

HMS Lynn was commissioned in 1696 under the command of Captain Horatio Townsend for service in Irish Waters in 1697. In 1698 she went to the West Indies where Captain Townsend died on 12 March 1699. Captain Edmund Letchmere took command following his death on 16 March 1699 and was assigned to Sir George Rooke's Fleet. Captain Letchmere was reappointed on 9 July 1700 then again on 26 May 1701. Captain John Watkins was in command in 1702. Between 1704 and 1705 Captain George Martin was in Command in the Leeward Islands. On 16 July 1706 Captain Sir George Forbes, the Earl of Grannard was assigned command. Captain Archibald Hamilton was in command at Barbados on 12 January 1707. On 28 February 1709 she was assigned Captain Henry Blinston as her commander for service in the Mediterranean. She sailed with Baker's squadron on the Portuguese coast in 1712. [2]

Disposition

She was sold to Francis Sheldon for £195 [Note 4] on 16 April 1713. [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-ponder 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 an 4 pound powder charge.
  4. A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £30,900 in today's money

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, Lynn
  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 the 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 Winchelsea was a 32-gun fifth rate vessel built under contract at Redbridge (Southampton) in 1693/94. After commissioning she was employed for trade protection in the North Sea, guard ship at Plymouth, briefly with Shovell's Fleet in the Channel and a brief visit to the West Indies. While on fisheries protection in the Channel she was taken by the French off Hastings in June 1706.

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 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.

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