English ship Dartmouth (1655)
A fifth-rate warship being refitted, sketched by Willem van de Velde the Younger, believed to be Dartmouth | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| England | |
| Name | Dartmouth |
| Operator |
|
| Ordered | 28 December 1654 |
| Builder | Portsmouth Dockyard |
| Cost | £1,693-5-0d |
| Launched | 22 September 1655 |
| Commissioned | 1655 |
| Fate | Wrecked 9 October 1690 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | 22-gun fifth-rate frigate |
| Tons burthen | 26062⁄94 tons bm |
| Length | 80 ft (24.4 m) (keel) |
| Beam | 24 ft 9 in (7.5 m) |
| Draught | 12 ft (3.7 m) |
| Depth of hold | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 100 in 1660, 110 in 1666, 135 in 1685 |
| Armament |
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The Dartnouth was a fifth-rate warship of the Commonwealth of England's naval forces, one of six such ships ordered on 28 December 1654, all six from the state dockyards (the others were Norwich, Pembroke, Cheriton, Wakefield, and Oxford). She was built by Master Shipwright John Tippetts at Portsmouth Dockyard, and was launched on 22 September 1655 as a 22-gun fifth rate. She cost £1.693-5-od to build (or £6.10.0d per ton for a total of 2601⁄2 tons bm. She was named Dartmouth to commemorate the capture of that town by Parliamentary forces under Thomas Fairfax in January 1646.
Her length was recorded as 80 feet 0 inches (24.4 metres) on the keel for tonnage calculation. The breadth was 24 feet 9 inches (7.5 metres) with a depth in hold of 10 ft 0 in (3.0 m). The tonnage was thus calculated at 26062⁄94 bm tons.
She was originally armed with 22 guns, comprising 18 demi-culverins on the single gundeck and 4 sakers on the quarterdeck. At the Restoration in 1660 she was taken into the Royal Navy as HMS Dartmouth. By 1665 she actually carried 28 guns, comprising the 18 demi-culverins on the gundeck, and 10 sakers on the quarterdeck.