HMS Southsea Castle (1697)

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History
English Red Ensign 1620.svg England
NameHMS Southsea Castle
Namesake Southsea Castle
Ordered24 December 1696
Builder Deptford Dockyard
Launched6 November 1697
CommissionedNovember 1697
FateWrecked on Île-à-Vache off the coast of Hispaniola, 12 November 1699
General characteristics
Class and type32-gun fifth rate
Tons burthen38771⁄94 tons (bm)
Length
  • 108 ft 0 in (32.92 m) gundeck
  • 89 ft 9 in (27.36 m) keel for tonnage
Beam28 ft 6 in (8.69 m)
Depth of hold10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail plan Full-rigged ship
Complement145
Armament
  • as built 32 guns
  • 4/4 × demi-culverins (LD)
  • 22/20 × 6-pdr guns (UD)
  • 6/4 × 4-pdr guns (QD)

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.

Contents

She was the second vessel to bear the name Southsea Castle since it was used for a 32-gun fifth rate built by Knowles of Redbridge on 1 August 1696 and wrecked on Dove Sand on 15 September 1697.

Construction and specifications

She was ordered on 24 December 1696 to be built at Deptford Dockyard under the guidance of Master Shipwright Fisher Harding. She was launched on 6 November 1697. Her dimensions were a gundeck of 108 feet 0 inches (32.92 metres) with a keel of 89 feet 9 inches (27.36 metres) for tonnage calculation with a breadth of 28 feet 6 inches (8.69 metres) and a depth of hold of 10 feet 9 inches (3.28 metres). Her builder's measure tonnage was calculated as 38771⁄94 tons (burthen). [1]

The gun armament initially was four demi-culverins [2] [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 [3] [Note 2] with ten or eleven guns per side. The gun battery would be completed by four 4-pounder guns [4] [Note 3] on the quarterdeck (QD) with two to three guns per side. [5]

Commissioned service 1698-99

She was commissioned in 1697 under the command of Captain Thomas Swanson. In 1699 Captain Thomas Stepney was assigned as her commander for service at Jamaica. [1]

Loss

She was wrecked along with HMS Bideford on Île-à-Vache, off the coast of Hispaniola, on 12 November 1699. [1]

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. 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, Southsea Castle
  2. ↑ Lavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, culverins, page 101
  3. ↑ Lavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, The 6-pounder, page 102
  4. ↑ Lavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, Minion or 4-pounder, page 103
  5. ↑ 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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