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HMS Bonaventure (1650)

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History
Royal Navy EnsignGreat Britain
NamePresident
BuilderPeter Pett I, Deptford Dockyard
Launched1650
RenamedHMS Bonaventure, 1660
FateBroken up in 1711
General characteristics as built[1]
Class and type38-gun fourth rate frigate
Tons burthen462 (bm)
Length100 ft (30.5 m) (keel)
Beam29 ft 6 in (9.0 m)
Depth of hold12 ft 8 in (3.9 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament38 guns (1660); 48 guns (1677)
General characteristics after 1683 rebuild[2]
Class and type40-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen550 bm
Length124 ft 10 in (38.0 m) (gundeck)
Beam31 ft 10 in (9.7 m)
Depth of hold12 ft 6 in (3.8 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament40 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1699 rebuild[3]
Class and type46-54-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen597 (bm)
Length125 ft 5 in (38.2 m) (gundeck)
Beam33 ft 1+12 in (10.1 m)
Depth of hold12 ft 5 in (3.8 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament46-54 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1711 rebuild[4]
Class and type1706 Establishment 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen703 bm
Length130 ft (39.6 m) (gundeck)
Beam35 ft (10.7 m)
Depth of hold14 ft (4.3 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 50 guns:
  • Gundeck: 22 × 18-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 22 × 9-pounder guns
  • QD: 4 × 6-pounder guns
  • Fc: 2 × 6-pounder guns
General characteristics after 1722 rebuild[5]
Class and type1719 Establishment 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen764 (bm)
Length134 ft (40.8 m) (gundeck)
Beam36 ft (11.0 m)
Depth of hold15 ft 2 in (4.6 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 50 guns:
  • Gundeck: 22 × 18-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 22 × 9-pounder-guns
  • QD: 4 × 6-pounder guns
  • Fc: 2 × 6-pounder guns

President was a 38-gun fourth rate frigate of the Royal Navy, originally built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England by Peter Pett I at Deptford Dockyard, and launched in 1650.[1]

After the Restoration in 1660, she was renamed HMS Bonaventure after a previous ship built in 1653 that had been blown up three years later.[6] She took part in the Battle of Dover in 1652 during the First Anglo-Dutch War. She was widened in 1663, and by 1677 her armament had been increased to 48 guns.[1] In 1683 she underwent her first rebuild, relaunching as a 40-gun fourth rate ship of the line.[2] Bonaventure was rebuilt a second time in 1699 at Woolwich Dockyard, relaunching as a fourth rate of between 46 and 54 guns.[3] Her third rebuild took place at Chatham Dockyard, where she was rebuilt as a 50-gun fourth rate to the 1706 Establishment, relaunching on 19 September 1711. She was renamed HMS Argyll prior to the Jacobite rising of 1715,[4] and on 27 January 1720 she was ordered to be taken to pieces at Woolwich for what was to be her final rebuild.

A Prospect of the United British and Dutch Fleets as they lay at Spit-Head in the year 1729, Argyll (position 2) at anchor.

She was relaunched as a 50-gun fourth rate to the 1719 Establishment on 5 July 1722,[5] and saw much service in home and Atlantic waters. She was employed on blockade duties during the War of the Austrian Succession, and in 1741 Argyll captured five Spanish coasters, and with the assistance of two other warships cut free five captured British warships that were docked in north-western Spain.

In 1742 Argyll served to escort convoys of East Indiamen from St. Helena to England.[7] In 1745 she returned to Britain by way of escorting a convoy and was paid off in 1746. After the conclusion of the war in 1748, Argyll was towed to Harwich and scuttled as part of a breakwater.[5]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 160.
  2. ^ a b Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 163.
  3. ^ a b Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 167.
  4. ^ a b Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 168.
  5. ^ a b c Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 170.
  6. ^ Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol.1, p. 158.
  7. ^ "Whitehall, September 18". The London Gazette. No. 8154. 14 September 1742. p. 6. On the 16th Instant in the Morning, his Majesty's ships the Argyl and Lynn, in Company of the following seven East India Ships, viz. Northampton, Queen Caroline ... arrived safe off Dover.

References

[edit]
  • 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.