History
Royal Navy EnsignEngland
NameHMS Looe
Ordered24 December 1696
BuilderPortsmouth Dockyard
Launched15 October 1697
Commissioned1697
FateWrecked in Scratchwell Bay 12 December 1705
General characteristics as built
Class and type32-gun fifth rate
Tons burthen38963⁄94 tons (bm)
Length
  • 108 ft 1 in (32.94 m) gundeck
  • 89 ft 8 in (27.33 m) keel for tonnage
Beam28 ft 7 in (8.71 m)
Depth of hold11 ft 1 in (3.38 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement145/110
Armament
  • as built 32 guns
  • 4/4 x demi-culverins (LD)
  • 22/20 x 6-pdr guns (UD)
  • 6/4 x 4-pdr guns (QD)

HMS Looe was a 32-gun fifth rate built by Portsmouth Dockyard in 1696/97. She was first employed off the Irish coast. She went to Newfoundland in 1702. On her return she was wrecked on the Isle of Wight in December 1705.

She was the second vessel to bear the name Looe since it was used for a 32-gun fifth rate built at Plymouth in 1696 and wrecked in Baltimore Bay, Ireland on 30 April 1697.[1]

Construction and Specifications

She was ordered on 24 December 1696 to be built at Portsmouth Dockyard under the guidance of Master Shipwright William Bagwell. She was launched on 15 October 1697. Her dimensions were a gundeck of 108 feet 1 inch (32.94 metres) with a keel of 89 feet 8 inches (27.33 metres) for tonnage calculation with a breadth of 28 feet 7 inches (8.71 metres) and a depth of hold of 11 feet 1 inch (3.38 metres). Her builder's measure tonnage was calculated as 38963⁄94 tons (burthen).[2]

The gun armament initially was four demi-culverins[3][Note 1] on the lower deck (LD) with two pair of guns per side. The upper deck (UD) battery would consist of between twenty and twenty-two 6-pounder guns[4][Note 2] with ten or eleven guns per side. The gun battery would be completed by four 4-pounder guns[5][Note 3] on the quarterdeck (QD) with two to three guns per side.[6]

Commissioned Service 1697-1705

HMS Looe was commissioned in 1697 under Captain Robert Arris for service on the Irish coast. In Late 1702 she was under Captain Timothy Bridges for Captain John Leake's Squadron for a deployment to Newfoundland. The squadron sailed on 23 July from Plymouth arriving at the Bay of Bulls (St John's) on August 27. There being no French vessels, he collect several small prizes. By the Enf of October he took twenty-nine ships, burnt two and demolished St Peter's Fort.[7][2]

Loss

While returning with a homebound convoy she was wrecked in Scratchwell Bay on the Ilse of Wight on 12 December 1705. Eight member of her crew were drowned in the mishap.[2]

Notes

  1. ↑ A demi-culverin was a gun of 3,400 pounds with a four inch bore firing a 9.5 pound shot with an eight pound powder charge
  2. ↑ A 6-ponder was a Dutch gun used to replace the saker
  3. ↑ A minion renamed the 4-pounder was a gun of 1,000 pounds with a 3.5 inch bore firing a 4 pound shot with an 4 pound powder charge.

Citations

  1. ↑ Colledge (2020)
  2. 1 2 3 Winfred 2009, Ch 5, The Fifth Rates, Vessels acquired from 16 December 1688, Fifth Rates of 32 and 36 guns, 1694 Programme, Looe
  3. ↑ Lavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, culverins, page 101
  4. ↑ Lavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, The 6-pounder, page 102
  5. ↑ Lavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, Minion or 4-pounder, page 103
  6. ↑ Winfred 2009, Ch 5, The Fifth Rates, Vessels acquired from 16 December 1688, Fifth Rates of 32 and 36 guns, 1694 Programme
  7. ↑ Clowes (1898), Chapter XXIV, page 501

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
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