HMS Saint Patrick was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy. In 1665, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the Navy Committee of Parliament adopted a supplement to their 1664 Programme which provided for one third rate (Warspite) and three fourth rates. The King's chronic financial worries led to the cancellation of the contracts for two of the fourth rates, but the remaining vessel, awarded to Bristol shipbuilder Francis Bayley, was completed in barely a year at the contract price of £6 per ton, measuring slightly larger than her contract dimensions of 100 ft keel length and 32 ft 6 in breadth. Launched in May 1666 at Bristol, the ship proved an outstanding success as a fast, weatherly sailing warship.[1]

History
Royal Navy EnsignEngland
NameHMS Saint Patrick
Ordered15 April 1665 (contract)
BuilderFrancis Bayley, Bristol
Launched9 May 1666
Commissioned10 June 1666
Captured5 February 1667, by Dutch Navy
Dutch Navy EnsignDutch Republic
NameZwanenburg
Acquired5 February 1667
General characteristics [1]
Class and type50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen621
Length102 ft (31 m) (keel)
Beam33 ft 10 in (10.31 m)
Depth of hold14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armamentnominally 50 guns; actually carried 48 guns comprising 20 × 24-pounders, 2 culverins, 22 demi-culverins and 4 sakers

Commissioned a month after her launch under Captain Robert Saunders, the Saint Patrick joined Sir Robert Robinson's squadron on Christmas Day 1666. However, less than nine months after being launched, she was captured off the North Foreland on 5 February 1667 by the Dutch 34-gun Delft and 28-gun Shakerlo, after a battle which left Saunders and 8 of his crew dead and another 16 wounded. She was commissioned by the Dutch Navy later in 1667 as the Zwanenburg.[1]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p161.

References

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  • Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
  • Winfield, Rif (2009) British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1603 - 1714. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.