Maidstone Group

Before 1688 no sixth rate carried more than 20 guns. At the start of the Anglo-French War in 1688 the British captured four 20 plus gunned French vessels, that were rated by the French as sixth rates. The British Admiralty submitted a requirement to the Navy Board for a 'standard' sixth rate of 20 guns on the upper deck with four smaller guns on the quarterdeck. The vessel proposed by the Navy Board had an estimated cost of £1,676.10.0d[Note 1] per ship with another £2,513[Note 2] for materials for completion. Initially fourteen ships were ordered, Batch 1 of four vessels in July 1693, Batch 2 of eight vessels in spring 1694, Batch 3 of two vessels in March 1695 with a further four in 1696.[1] This first standardized group of sixth rates became known as the Maidstone Group.

Class overview
NameMaidstone Group
Builders
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded byNone
Succeeded byNightingale Group
Built1693–1697
In service1694–1719
Completed18
Lost11
Retired7
General characteristics
Type20-gun sixth rate
Tons burthen244+57⁄94 bm
Length
  • 93 ft 0 in (28.3 m) gundeck
  • 77 ft 8 in (23.7 m) keel for tonnage
Beam24 ft 4 in (7.4 m) for tonnage
Depth of hold10 ft 8 in (3.3 m)
Armament
  • initially as ordered
  • 20 x sakers on wooden trucks (UD)
  • 4 x 3-pdr on wooden trucks (QD)
  • 1703 Establishment
  • 20 x 6-pdrs on wooden trucks (UD)
  • 4 x 4-pdr on wooden trucks (QD)

Design and specifications

The initial order was for fourteen vessels spread over three building seasons with another four added in 1696. The construction of the vessels was evenly split between Dockyard-built vessels and contracted vessels. As with most vessels of this time period only order and launch dates are available. Each ship was built to a generalized specification with dimensional creep accruing in all vessels. The dimensional data listed here is the general specification, whereas the actual dimensions where known will be listed with each ship. The general specification called for a gundeck of 93 feet 0 inches (28.3 metres) with a keel length of 77 feet 8 inches (23.7 metres) for tonnage calculation. The breadth would be 24 feet 4 inches (7.4 metres) for tonnage with a depth of hold of 10 feet 8 inches (3.3 metres). The tonnage calculation would be 244+57⁄94.[2]

The initial gun armament would be twenty sakers mounted on wooden trucks located on the upper deck (UD) with a further four 3-pounders[Note 3] mounted on wooden trucks on the quarterdeck (QD). A saker or sacar was a muzzle loading smooth bore gun of 1,400 pounds in weight with a 31/2 inch bore firing a 51/2 pound shot with a 51/2 pound powder charge.[3] In 1703 the armament would be established at twenty 6-pounders mounted on wooden trucks on the upper deck with four 4-pounders on the quarterdeck.[4]

Ships of the Maidstone Group
NameBuilderLaunch dateRemarks
MaidstoneChatham Dockyard31 December 1693Sold 29 July 1714
JerseyDeptford Dockyard17 January 1694
  • renamed Margate 21 October 1698
  • Wrecked 9 October 1707
LizardChatham Dockyard19 March 1694lost with all hands 31 May 1696
NewportPortsmouth Dockyard7 April 1694taken by French 5 July 1696
FalconNicholas Barret, Shoreham28 September 1694taken by French 10 June 1695, retaken in 1703 and broken
QueenboroughSheerness Dockyard22 December 1694Sold 20 August 1719
SwanRobert & John Castle, Deptford13 September 1694Lost in tropical storm 17 August 1707
DrakeGeorge Fowler, Rotherhithe26 September 1694Lost with all hands 20 December 1694
SolebayEdward Snelgrove, Redhouse13 September 1694Wrecked 25 December 1709
SeahorseJohn Hayden, Limehouse27 September 1694Wrecked 14 March 1703
BidefordNicholas Barret, Harwich25 October 1695Wrecked 12 November 1699
PenzanceThomas Ellis, Shoreham22 April 1695Sold 24 September 1713
DunwichWilliam Collins & Robert Chatfield, Shoreham15 October 1695Sunk as breakwater at Plymouth 15 October 1714
OxfordThomas Ellis, Shoreham29 November 1695
  • renamed Newport 3 September 1698
  • Sold 29 July 1714
Lizard (ii)Sheerness Dockyard29 March 1697Sold 29 July 1714
FlamboroughChatham Dockyard10 July 1697Taken by French 10 October 1705 and scuttled
SeafordPortsmouth Dockyard15 October 1697Broken in August 1722
Deal CastleDeptford Dockyard6 November 1697Taken by French 3 July 1706

Notes
  1. A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £256,900 in today's money per ship.
  2. A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £385,100 in today's money per ship.
  3. "3-pounder" refers to the weight of the ball fired

Citations
  1. Winfield
  2. Winfield
  3. Winfield, Source and data, Guns
  4. Winfield

References
  • Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail (1603 – 1714), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 2009, EPUB ISBN 9781783469246, Chapter 6, The Sixth Rates, Vessels acquired from 18 December 1688, Sixth Rates of 20 guns and up to 26 guns, Maidstone Group
  • Colledge, 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, e ISBN 978-1-5267-9328-7 (EPUB)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.