HMS Coventry was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, one of five such ships authorised on 16 November 1693 (three to be built in different Royal Dockyards and two to be built by commercial contract). The Coventry was built by Master Shipwright Fisher Harding at Deptford Dockyard and launched there on 20 April 1695.[1]
| History | |
|---|---|
 England | |
| Name | HMS Coventry |
| Ordered | 16 November 1693 |
| Builder | Fisher Harding, Deptford Dockyard |
| Launched | 20 April 1695 |
| Captured | 24 July 1704 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type | 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 667 81⁄94 bm [2] |
| Length | 106 ft (32.3 m) (keel) |
| Beam | 34 ft 5 in (10.5 m) |
| Depth of hold | 13 ft 6 in (4.1 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament |
|
The French 54-gun ships Auguste and Jason, at that date operating as privateers, captured the Coventry (then commanded by Captain Henry Lawrence, and escorting a convoy outbound for Newfoundland) on 24 July 1704 about 200 miles southwest of the Isles of Scilly.[1][3][4]
On 6 May 1709, Portland recaptured Coventry at Bastimentos (near Puerto Bello), but she was not taken back into British service and was instead broken up.[1][5]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b c d Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1603-1714, p.135.
- ^ The tonnage is officially recorded at 670 bm, but the calculation from her dimensions show this was a clerical approximation, and the precise figure should be 667 81⁄94 bm.
- ^ David J. Hepper, British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail 1650-1859 (Jean Boudriot Publications, Rotherfield, East Sussex, 1994) ISBN 0-948864-30-3.
- ^ Roche (2005), p.57.
- ^ Roche (2005), p.134.
References
edit- 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.
- Roche, Jean-Michel (2005) Dictionnaire des Bâtiments de la Flotte de Guerre Française de Colbert à nos Jours. (Group Retozel-Maury Millau), Vol. 1.
- Winfield, Rif (1997), The 50-Gun Ship: A Complete History. Chatham Publishing (1st edition); Mercury Books (2nd edition 2005). ISBN 1-845600-09-6.
- Winfield, Rif (2009) British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.
See also
edit
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