HMS Falmouth (1693)

HMS Falmouth was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line built for Royal Navy in the 1690s. The ship participated in several battles during the Nine Years' War of 1688–97 and the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1715), including the Action of August 1702. She was captured by the French in 1704.

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

History
England
Name: Falmouth
Namesake: Falmouth
Ordered: 1 January 1693
Builder: Snelgrove, Limehouse
Launched: 25 June 1693
Commissioned: 1693
Captured: 4 August 1704, by the French
Fate: Wrecked, 1706
General characteristics [1]
Class and type: 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 610​63⁄94 (bm)
Length: 124 ft (37.8 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 33 ft 7.5 in (10.2 m)
Depth of hold: 13 ft 9 in (4.2 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Complement: 476–520
Armament: 80 guns of various weights of shot

Description

Falmouth had a length at the gundeck of 124 feet (37.8 m) and 101 feet 6.5 inches (30.9 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 33 feet 7.5 inches (10.2 m), and a depth of hold of 13 feet 9 inches (4.2 m). The ship's tonnage was 610 ​63⁄94 tons burthen. Records of Falmouth's original armament have not survived, but one of her sister ships was armed with 21 culverins, 18 eight-pounder cannon and 10 minions while another had 22 twelve-pounder guns, 22 six-pounder guns and 6 minions in 1696. In 1703, her armament consisted of 22 twelve-pounder guns on the lower gundeck and 22 six-pounder guns on the upper deck. On the quarterdeck were 8 six-pounder guns with another pair on the forecastle. The ship had a crew of 160–230 officers and ratings.[2]

Construction and career

Falmouth was the second ship in the Royal Navy to be named after the eponymous port.[3] The ship was ordered on 1 January 1652 and contracted out to Edward Snelgrove in Limehouse. She was launched on 25 June 1693 and commissioned that same year.[4]

The ship took part in the Action of August 1702 and on the fourth and fifth days of the battle supported Admiral John Benbow's attacks when other members of the squadron failed to do so.[5] On 4 August 1704 she was attacked by two French privateers. There was a vigorous exchange of fire during which Falmouth's captain, Thomas Kenney, was killed. Falmouth was then surrendered to the French.[6]

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See also

Notes
  1. Lavery, vol.1, p 164.
  2. Winfield, pp. 377, 381.
  3. Colledge, p. 122.
  4. Winfield, p. 381.
  5. Regan 2001, p.146
  6. Charnock 2012, p.102

References
  • Charnock, John (2012). Biographia Navalis, or Impartial memoirs of the Lives and Characters of Officers of the Navy of Great Britain, From the Year 1660 to the Present Time. 3. Andrews. ISBN 9781781506073.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650–1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
  • Regan, Geoffrey (2001). Geoffrey Regan's Book of Naval Blunders. André Deutsch. ISBN 0-233-99978-7.
  • Winfield, Rif (2009) British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603–1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.
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