Class overview
Name1651 Programme Group
Builders
Operators
  • English Flag Commonwealth of England
  • Royal Navy Ensign Kingdom of England
Preceded by1650 Programme Group
Succeeded by1652 Programme Group
Built1651–1653
In service1651–1709
Completed3
Lost2
Retired1
General characteristics
Type34-gun Fourth Rate
Tons burthen410+094 bm
Sail planship-rigged
Complement150/1652, 160/1653
Armament34 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).[1]

Design and specifications

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Second Rate Vessel

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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.[2]


Fourth Rates

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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[3].


Sixth Rates

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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

Notes

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Citations

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  1. ^ Winfield
  2. ^ Winfield
  3. ^ Winfield

References

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References

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  • 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