History
Royal Navy EnsignEngland
NameHMS Fowey
Ordered16 March 1703
BuilderChatham Dockyard
Launched10 March 1705
Commissioned1705
Captured14 April 1709
FateTaken by two French 40-gun ships off Cape Gato, Spain
General characteristics as built
Class and type32-gun fifth rate
Tons burthen41192⁄94 tons (bm)
Length
  • 108 ft 5 in (33.05 m) gundeck
  • 89 ft 0 in (27.13 m) keel for tonnage
Beam29 ft 6 in (8.99 m)
Depth of hold13 ft 0 in (3.96 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-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)
Notesthe demi-culverins would be changed for 12-pdr guns later

HMS Fowey was a 32-gun fifth rate built at Chatham Dockyard in 1703/05. She spent her career in the Mediterranean and was taken by the French off Cape Gato, Spain in April 1709.

She was the second named vessel since it was used for a 32-gun fifth rate built by Burgess & Briggs of Shoreham and taken by the French off the Scilly Islands on 1 August 1704.[1]

Construction and Specifications

She was ordered on 16 March 1703 to be built at Chatham Dockyard under the guidance of Master Shipwright Robert Shortiss. She was launched on 10 March 1705. Her dimensions were a gundeck of 108 feet 0 inches (32.92 metres) with a keel of 89 feet 0 inches (27.13 metres) for tonnage calculation with a breadth of 29 feet 6 inches (8.99 metres) and a depth of hold of 13 feet 0 inches (3.96 metres). Her builder's measure tonnage was calculated as 41192⁄94 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 1705-1709

She was commissioned in 1705 under the command of Captain Charles Parsons for service in the Mediterranean. Captain Parsons was killed on the 11 February 1706. Captain Richard Lestock took command on 29 April 1706 and she sailed for Home Waters in September 1706. She returned to the Mediterranean to join Admiral John Leake's Fleet during the winter of 1707/08.[2]

Loss

She was taken by two French 40-gun vessels of Capr Gato, Spain on 14 April 1709.[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.

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, Tartar Group, Fowey
  3. ↑ Lavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, demi-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, Tartar Group

References

  • Winfield (2009), British Warships in the Age of Sail (1603 – 1714), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 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, © 2020, EPUB ISBN 978-1-5267-9328-7
  • Lavery (1989), The Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War 1600 - 1815, by Brian Lavery, published by US Naval Institute Press © Brian Lavery 1989, ISBN 978-0-87021-009-9, Part V Guns, Type of Guns
  • Clowes (1898), The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to the Present (Vol. II). London. England: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, © 1898
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