History
English FlagCommonwealth of England
NameMartin
OrderedDecember 1651
BuilderPortsmouth Dockyard
Launched1652
Commissioned1652
RenamedHMS Martin May 1660
Honours and
awards
  • Dover 1652
  • Portland 1653
  • Gabbard 1653
Royal Navy EnsignKingdom of England
NameHMS Martin
AcquiredMay 1660
CommissionedSeptember 1660
Honours and
awards		Lowestoft 1665
FateSold in February 1667
General characteristics as built
Class and type14-gun sixth rate
Tons burthen12723⁄94 tons (bm)
Length64 ft 0 in (19.51 m) keel for tonnage
Beam19 ft 4 in (5.89 m)
Draught8 ft 0 in (2.44 m)
Depth of hold7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement
  • 50 in 1660
  • 60/50/35 in 1666
Armament
  • as built 14/12 guns
  • 14 guns in 1666
  • 6 x demi-culverins
  • 4 x sakers
  • 2 x minions
  • 2 x falcons

The English ship Martin was a 14-gun sixth rate vessel built under the 1651 Programme at Portsmouth Dockyard for the Commonwealth of England in 1651/52. Her service in the Commonwealth Navy was very active. She participated in the Battles of Dover, Portland and the Gabbard. She was with Robert Blake at Porto Farina. She was the main vessel at the Capture of Jamaica in 1655. With the Restoration she became HMS Martin. During the Second Anglo-Dutch War she was in the initial battle of Lowestoft then the Battle of Vagen. She was sold in February 1667.

She was the second ship to bear this name since it was used for a vessel captured in 1651 and sold in 1653.[1]

She was awarded the Battle Honours Dover 1652,[2] Portland 1653,[3] Gabbard 1653,[4] and Lowestoft 1665[5]

Construction and Specifications

On 5 December 1651, the Admiralty ordered that three small vessels be built. She was to be built at Deptford Dockyard under the guidance of Master Shipwright Phineas Pett. She was launched in 1652. Her dimensions were a keel of 85 feet 0 inches (25.91 metres) for tonnage calculation with a breadth of 18 feet 0 inches (5.49 metres) and a depth of hold of 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 metres). Her builder's measure tonnage was calculated as 14646⁄94 tons (burthen). Her draught was 9 feet 0 inches (2.74 metres).[6][7]

The initial manning of the ship was a crew of 90 personnel by the end of 1653. In 1660 the crew had dropped to 60 personnel and in 1666 had risen to 70 personnel. In 1677 the establishment for her crew was stated as 75/65/45 personnel dependent on wartime or peacetime and the number of guns carried. Her initial gun armament was established as 14 guns in 1653. By 1660 her armament was 14 guns wartime and 12 guns for peacetime. In 1666 Establishment her armament was 12 guns. Her actual armament in 1666 was 14 guns: six demi-culverins,[8][Note 1] four sakers,[9][Note 2] two minions[10][Note 3] and two falcons.[11][Note 4][6]

Commissioned Service

Martin was commissioned in 1652 under the command of Captain Robert Clarke, Jr. She participated in the Battle of Dover[2] with Robert Blake on 19 May 1652.[12] In 1653 she was under Captain John Vessey. She participated in the Battle off Portland[3] on 18 February 1653.[13] She followed this action with the Battle of the Gabbard Sand[4] between 2 and 3 June 1653 as a member of Red Squadron, Centre Division.[14] She was in action off the Vlie on 17 June 1652 where Captain John Vessey was killed. Captain William Vessey took command after the action in 1653. She spent the winter of 1653/54 in the Downs at the mouth of the River Thames. She was assigned to William Penn's Fleet for an expedition to the West Indies. The Fleet of 38 ships, four small ships and three thousand troops sailed on Christmas Day arriving at Barbados on 29 January. Their objective was to attack and capture Hispaniola (present day Santo Dominica). After the failure of General Robert Venables, the land force commander, Admiral Penn left and sailed on to Jamaica. He took command of the attack, transferring his Flag to Martin to assail the town of Port Royal. Between the 10th and the 17th, the Navy captured all of Jamaica[15] without the General taking any part in the operation. When Admiral Penn sailed for Home, Martin was one of the sixteen vessels left behind.[16] In 1654 Captain John Blythe was her commander sailing with Vice-Admiral William Goodson's Squadron in the West Indies in 1656. The remaining ships returned Home on 18 April 1657.[17] In 1659 she was under Captain William Burrough into 1660.[6]

After the Restoration of the Monarchy she was under the command of Captain William Poole as HMS Martin. With HRH King Charles II renaming the English Navy as the Royal Navy on the Restoration of the Monarchy, all English ships were given the right to bear the letters 'HMS' or 'His Majesty's Ship' before their name. In 1661 she was under Captain Bennett sailing with the Earl of Sandwich's Squadron at Tangier, Morocco. On 4 April 1664 she was commissioned under the command of Captain Edward Grove, followed by Captain William Tickle on 3 December 1664 until his death on 25 June 1665. Captain Richard White took command on 27 May 1665. She participated in the Battle of Lowestoft[5] as a member of Red Squadron, Van Division on 3 June 1665.[18] On 16 June 1665 she was under the command of William Kempthorne. She participated in the Battle of Vagen at Bergen, Norway on 2 August 1665. During the fight she lost one crew member killed with one wounded.[6]

Disposition

She was sold as useless in February 1667.

Notes

  1. ↑ The demi-culverin was a 9-pounder gun
  2. ↑ most guns between the 8-pdr and 51⁄4-pdr were known as sakers
  3. ↑ The minion was a 4-pdr gun
  4. ↑ These were obsolete guns carried as anti-personnel weapons

Citations

  1. ↑ Colledge (2020), Section M (Martin)
  2. 1 2 Thomas (1998), Battle and Campaign Honours, Section D, Dover
  3. 1 2 Thomas (1998), Battle and Campaign Honours, Section P, Portland
  4. 1 2 Thomas (1998), Battle and Campaign Honours, Section G, Gabbard
  5. 1 2 Thomas (1998), Battle and Campaign Honours, Section L, Lowestoft
  6. 1 2 3 4 Winfred 2009, Ch 6, The Sixth Rates, Vessels acquired from 24 March 1603, 1651 Programme, Martin
  7. ↑ Clowes (1898), Chapter XX, page 108
  8. ↑ Lavery (1989), Part V: Guns, The Demi-culverin, page 101
  9. ↑ Lavery (1989), Part V: Guns, The Saker, page 102-103
  10. ↑ Lavery (1989), Part V: Guns, The Minion, page 103
  11. ↑ Lavery (1989), Part V: Guns, Falcons, Falconets and Robinets, page 103
  12. ↑ Winfield (2009), Fleet Actions, 1.1 Battle of Dover
  13. ↑ Winfield (2009), Fleet Actions, 1.5 Battle off Portland
  14. ↑ Winfield (2009), Fleet Actions, 1.7 Battle of the Gabbard
  15. ↑ Thomas (1998), Battles No Honour Awarded, Section J, Capture of Jamaica
  16. ↑ Clowes (1898), Chapter XXI, pages 204-208
  17. ↑ Clowes (1898), Chapter XXI, page 209
  18. ↑ Winfield (2009), Fleet Actions, 3.1 Battle of Lowestoft

References

  • Winfield (2009), British Warships in the Age of Sail (1603 – 1714), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 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, © 2020, EPUB ISBN 978-1-5267-9328-7
  • Lavery (1989), The Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War 1600 - 1815, by Brian Lavery, published by US Naval Institute Press © Brian Lavery 1989, ISBN 978-0-87021-009-9, Part V Guns, Type of Guns
  • Clowes (1898), The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to the Present (Vol. II). London. England: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, © 1898
  • Thomas (1998), Battles and Honours of the Royal Navy, by David A. Thomas, first published in Great Britain by Leo Cooper 1998, Copyright © David A. Thomas 1998, ISBN 085052-623-X (EPUB)
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