HMS Sapphire (1675)

History
Royal Navy EnsignEngland
NameSapphire
Ordered30 September 1675
BuilderAnthony Deane, Harwich
LaunchedJune 1675
FateSunk on 11 September 1696
General characteristics
Class and type32-gun fifth rate
Tons burthen340 8194 bm
Length
  • 105 ft 8 in (32.2 m) (overall)
  • 89 ft (27.1 m) (keel)
Beam26 ft 10 in (8.2 m)
Draught13 ft 2 in (4.0 m)
Depth of hold10 ft (3.05 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement135/115/90
Armament
  • Under 1677 Establishment: 32/28
  • Lower deck: 18 x demi-culverins
  • Upper deck: 10 x sakers
  • Quarter deck: 4 x minions
  • Under 1685 Establishment: 28
  • 16 × 8 pdr sakers
  • 10 × minions
  • 2 × 3 pdrs

HMS Sapphire was a 32-gun fifth rate of the Royal Navy, scuttled at Bay Bulls, Newfoundland, Canada in 1696. It is currently a protected archaeological site. She was the only vessel of any size sunk in the Anglo-French wars in North America.[1]

  1. ^ "Sapphire, H.M.S.". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador. St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. 1994. p. 88.