HMS Reserve (1650)
HMS Reserve was a 40-gun fourth-rate frigate of the English Royal Navy, originally built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England by Peter Pett II at Woodbridge, and launched in 1650. By 1677 her armament had been increased to 48 guns.[1]
| History | |
|---|---|
 England | |
| Name: | HMS Reserve |
| Builder: | Peter Pett II, Woodbridge |
| Launched: | 1650 |
| Fate: | Foundered, 1703 |
| General characteristics as built[1] | |
| Class and type: | Fourth-rate frigate |
| Length: | 100 ft (30.5 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 31 ft 1 in (9.5 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 12 ft 8 in (3.9 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament: | 40 guns (1660); 48 guns (1677) |
| General characteristics after 1701 rebuild[2] | |
| Class and type: | 46-54-gun fourth-rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 579 long tons (588.3 t) |
| Length: | 117 ft 6 in (35.8 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 33 ft 7.5 in (10.2 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 13 ft (4.0 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament: | 46-54 guns of various weights of shot |
In 1701 Reserve underwent a rebuild at Deptford, relaunching as a fourth-rate ship of the line of between 46 and 54 guns. She foundered off Yarmouth in 1703[2] and was lost, during the Great Storm of 1703. The captain and the purser were ashore, but Rear Admiral Beaumont and 268 other men were drowned. Only one man, whose name was Thomas Atkins, was saved. His escape was very remarkable - having first seen the rear admiral get onto a piece of her quarter-deck when the ship was breaking up, and then get washed off again, Atkins was tossed by a wave into HMS Stirling Castle, which sank soon after. From Stirling Castle he was swept into a boat by a wave, and was rescued.[3]
Notes
- Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p. 160.
- Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p. 167.
- Laker, J., "History of Deal", Deal, 1921, pp. 252-53
References
- Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.