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Class overview
Name	1651 Programme Group
Builders	Peter Pett I, Radcliffe Portsmouth Dockyard Chatham Dockyard Deptford Dockyard
Operators	Commonwealth of England Kingdom of England
Preceded by	1650 Programme Group
Succeeded by	1652 Programme Group
Built	1651–1653
In service	1651–1709
Completed	3
Lost	2
Retired	1
General characteristics
Type	34-gun Fourth Rate
Tons burthen	410+0⁄94 bm
Sail plan	ship-rigged
Complement	150/1652, 160/1653
Armament	34 guns

The 1651 Programme of five 410-ton fourth-rate vessels was urged by the Council of State all speed should be made in completing the ships in May 1650. Initially five vessels were specified, three of 410 tons at 6.10.0d (accounting for inflation £1,100 per ton and two of 600 tons at £7.10.0d (accounting for inflation £1,200 per ton. The size of these vessels grew from the 1647 predecessors with 600 tonners being much broader. The three 410-ton vessels would be completed as 34-gun frigates (or fourth rates).

Design and specifications

Second Rate Vessel

The construction of the vessels was assigned to Portsmouth Dockyard with one vessel contracted to Peter Pett I of Ratcliff. The dimensional data was so varied that it will be listed on the individual vessels along with their gun armament composition.

Fourth Rates

This pair of two 600 ton Fourth Rate vessels, also known as the Ruby Group were part of the 1651 Programme. Initially five vessels were specified, three of 410 tons at 6.10.0d (accounting for inflation £1,100) per ton and two of 600 tons at £7.10.0d (accounting for inflation £1,200) per ton. The size of these vessels grew from the 1647 predecessors with 600 tonners being much broader. The two 600-ton vessels would be completed as 42-gun Fourth Rates.

Sixth Rates

On 5 December 1651, the Admiralty Committee issued an order to build three small vessels to ply the sands and flats for pirates. The three vessels would carry fourteen guns with a crew of 90 personnel. These vessels were sometimes referred to as gallies.

Ships of the 1651 Programme

Name	Rate	Builder	Launch Date	Remarks
Antelope (1652)	Second	Example	1652	Wrecked 30 September 1652
Laurel (1651)	Fourth	Portsmouth Dockyard	1651	Wrecked 30 May 1657
Sapphire (1651)	Fourth	Peter Pett I, Ratcliffe	1651	HMS added to name May 1660 Run aground 31 March 1670
Bristol (1653)	Fourth	Portsmouth Dockyard	1653	HMS added to name May 1660 Rebuilt at Deptford 1693 Captured by the French on 12 April 1709, then recaptured and sunk 25 April 1709
Ruby (1652)	Fourth	Fourth	Example	Example
Diamond (1652)	Fourth	Fourth	Example	Example
Pearl	Fifth	Example	Example	Example
Mermaid (1651)	Fifth	Example	Example	Example
Primrose	Fifth	Example	Example	Example
Nightingale	Fifth	Example	Example	Example
Drake	Sixth	Deptford Dockyard	1652	HMS added to name May 1660 Condemned 1690 and sold 1691
Merlin	Sixth	Chatham Dockyard	1652	HMS added to name May 1660 Taken by Dutch off Cadiz 13 October 1665
Martin	Sixth	Portsmouth Dockyard	1652	HMS added to name May 1660 Sold February 1667

References

• Winfield (2009), British Warships in the Age of Sail (1603 – 1714), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © Rif Winfield 2009, EPUB ISBN 978-1-78346-924-6
• Colledge (2020), Ships of the Royal Navy, by J.J. Colledge, revised and updated by Lt-Cdr Ben Warlow and Steve Bush, published by Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, Great Britain, © the estate of J.J. Colledge, Ben Warlow and Steve Bush 2020, EPUB ISBN 978-1-5267-9328-7
• Clowes (1898). The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to the Present. by William Laird Clowes, published by Sampson Low, Marston & Company, London. England, © 1898

Category:Frigates of the Royal Navy Category:Ships of the Royal Navy