HMS Poole (1696)

HMS Poole was a 32-gun fifth rate built by Joseph Nye & George Moore of East Cowes on the Isle of Wight in 1695/96. She spent the first part of her career on trade protection and counter piracy patrols. After 1719 she was converted to a fireship. She was finally sunk as a breakwater at Harwich in July 1737.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Poole.

History
Royal Navy EnsignEngland
NameHMS Poole
Ordered5 June 1695
BuilderJoseph Nye & George Moore, East Cowes
Launched6 August 1696
Commissioned1696
FateSunk as a breakwater at Harwich by AO 8 July 1737
General characteristics as built
Class and type32-gun fifth rate
Tons burthen38143⁄94 tons (bm)
Length
  • 108 ft 6 in (33.07 m) gundeck
  • 90 ft 1.5 in (27.47 m) keel for tonnage
Beam28 ft 2.5 in (8.60 m)
Depth of hold10 ft 7 in (3.23 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)

She was the first vessel to bear the name Poole in the English and Royal Navy.[1]

Construction and Specifications

She was ordered on 5 June 1695 to be built under contract by Joseph Nye & George Moore of East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. She was launched on 6 August 1696. Her dimensions were a gundeck of 108 feet 6 inches (33.07 metres) with a keel of 90 feet 1.5 inches (27.47 metres) for tonnage calculation with a breadth of 28 feet 2.5 inches (8.60 metres) and a depth of hold of 10 feet 7 inches (3.23 metres). Her builder's measure tonnage was calculated as 38143⁄94 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

HMS Poole was commissioned during 1696 under the command of Captain James Worthington until he drowned at Harwich on 16 October 1697. In October he was replaced by Captain John Cranby until his death on 19 December 1702. She sailed with Vice-Admiral Matthew Aylmer's Fleet to the Mediterranean for the suppression of piracy. With the Fleet they were off Lisbon in 1698 then sailed into the Mediterranean in 1699, patrolling off Tunis, Tripoli, and Algier.[7] She was off Cape Verde in 1700. She returned to Home Waters and patrolled of Dunkirk in the summer of 1701 as part of Captain Basil Beaumont Squadron.[8] In 1703 she was under Captain Robert Hughes then sailed to the Mediterranean in September 1703. She returned to Home Waters and patrolled in the North Sea in 1704. In 1705 she was under the command of Captain Edward Windsor patrolling off Guinea, Africa. Around October 1706 she was under Captain Galfridus Walpole until 1709. She was sailing with Hardy's squadron to the Mediterranean in 1708. She joined Sir George Byng's Fleet in 1709. In 1711 Captain William Gray was in command patrolling in Irish Waters.[2]

She was converted to a fireship of 8 guns with a crew of 50 personnel at Portsmouth by Admiralty Order (AO) 14 April 1719 at a cost of £1,615.19.0.75d[Note 4] from April to August 1719. She was recommissioned in 1719 under the command of Commander Isaac Townsend, followed by Commander Henry Medley in February 1720 for service in the Baltic Sea With Sir John Norris's Fleet. The sailed to the Baltic on 16 April and returned on 20 October 1720.[9] Around February 1721 she was under Commander John Trevor in the Baltic Sea. She returned and was surveyed in January 1722. She underwent a great repair at Deptford from February 1723 to April 1724 at a cost of £3,517.9.9d.[Note 5] She was recommissioned around February 1726 under Commander William Hervey (promoted to Captain in June 1727) to sail with Sir Charles Wager's Fleet to the Baltic. The Fleet returned to Home Waters anchoring at Gunfleet on 1 November 1726 without having fired a shot in anger.[10] She again was fitted as a fireship for £1,592.0.4d[Note 6] cost to the hull only between April and May 1729. She was recommissioned around February 1734 under the command of Commander Gilbert Wallis for service with Sir John Norris's Fleet. The Fleet was off the Tagus by Lisbon, Portugal in 1735 to subdue Spanish hostile action against Portugal.[11] In March 1737 she came under Commander John Forbes. She was again converted to a fireship for £840.19.1.25d[Note 7] by AO 18 February 1737.[2]

Disposition

She was sunk as a breakwater at Harwich under AO 8 July 1737.[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.
  4. A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £275,100 in today's money
  5. A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £583,800 in today's money
  6. A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £239,200 in today's money
  7. A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £143,100 in today's money

Citations
  1. Colledge (2020)
  2. Winfred 2009, Ch 5, The Fifth Rates, Vessels acquired from 16 December 1688, Fifth Rates of 32 and 36 guns, 1694 Programme, Poole
  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, pages 497-498
  8. Clowes (1898, Chapter XXIV, page 501-502
  9. Clowes (1898), Chapter XXVII, pages 41-42
  10. Clowes (1898), Chapter XXVII, pages 43
  11. Clowes (1898), Chapter XXVII, pages 49

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
  • Winfield (2007), British Warships in the Age of Sail (1714 – 1792), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 2007, EPUB ISBN 978-1-78346-925-3
  • 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
  • Clowes (1898), The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to the Present (Vol. III). London. England: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, © 1898
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