1637 Group
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | 1637 Group |
| Builders |
|
| Operators | English Navy Royal Kingdom of England |
| Preceded by | English ship Mary Rose (1623) |
| Succeeded by | 1646 Programme |
| Built | 1637 |
| In service | 1637 - 1668 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Lost | 1 |
| Retired | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Small Ship |
| Tons burthen | 32358⁄94 tons bm initially, then after girdling 35762⁄94 tons bm |
| Length | 90 ft 0 in (27.4 m) keel |
| Beam | 26 ft (7.9 m) initially, later 27 ft 4 in (8.3 m) |
| Depth of hold | 13 ft 0 in (4.0 m) initially, later 11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Sail plan | ship-rigged |
| Complement | 120 in 1652, 140 in 1653 |
| Armament | 30 guns initially, later 32 or 34 |
The 1637 Group of warships for the Navy Royal of King Charles I consisted of two 300 ton 'pinnaces' (early frigates) intended to carry fourteen pieces of ordnance and sixteen banks of oars, which were ordered on 12 December 1636. These vessels as built would carry thirty pieces of ordnance with ten pairs of ports on the gundeck, with two pairs of lighter guns forward and four pairs aft on the upper deck. The waist would be unprotected until two more pairs of gun ports were added later. Their measurements would compare favourably to the 'frigate' type vessels built a decade later. Their proportions (their keel length to beam ratio of 3.46 : 1) anticipated by nearly a decade the true frigates like the Constant Warwick. Their initial deployment was to the coast of Morocco, where both ships participated in an attack against the Barbary corsairs of Salé.