HMS St Albans (1687)

History
Royal Navy EnsignEngland
NameHMS St Albans
Ordered29 April 1682
BuilderJohn Shish (to his death in October 1686), then Fisher Harding, Deptford Dockyard
LaunchedJune 1687
Commissioned22 October 1688
FateWrecked at Kinsale on 8 December 1693
General characteristics [1]
Class and type50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen615 bm
Length128 ft 4 in (39.1 m) (gundeck), 107 ft 3 in (32.7 m) (keel)
Beam32 ft 10.5 in (10.0 m)
Depth of hold13 ft 3 in (4.0 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement280 in war, 185 in peacetime
Armament50 guns of various weights of shot

HMS St Albans was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, launched at Deptford Dockyard in 1687.[1] One of only three 50-gun ships to be built during James II's brief reign (all three completed with an unusual "square tuck" stern), she was first commissioned on 22 October 1688 under Captain William Constable, and joined Lord Dartmouth's fleet in that month. The ship fought in the Battle of Bantry Bay on 1 May 1689 (under Captain John Layton), at the capture of a French 36-gun ship on 18 July 1690 off Rame Head and in the Battle of Barfleur on 24 May 1692 (under Captain Richard FitzPatrick) and in the Battle of Placentia, Newfoundland on 16-21 September 1693 (under Captain Thomas Gillam).[1]

  1. ^ a b c Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603–1714 p120.