1693 Programme Group

The 1693 Programme of fifth rates were derived from the 1698 programme vessels as demi-batterie ships. The concept was to have one tier of ordnance flush on the upper deck for use in all weathers on a freeboard of at least seven feet. The ordnance would be arranged with a minimum of ten gun ports on the upper deck. The lower deck would be provided with four ports for heavier guns that could only be used in calm weather. For added propulsion ten oar ports per side would be provided with a central loading port. Four more 32-gun vessels to these specifications were ordered in early 1693 with three to be built by Contract and one in dockyard.[1]

Class overview
Name1693 Programme Group
Builders
  • Woolwich Dockyard
  • Thomas Ellis, Shoreham
  • Richard Barrett, Shoreham
  • Mrs Ann Wyatt, Rdebridge (Southampton)
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded byCharles Galley (1676)
Succeeded by1694 Programme Group
Built1693-1694
In service1694-1741
Completed4
Lost1
Retired3
General characteristics
Type32-gun fifth rate
Tons burthen354+44⁄94 bm
Length
  • 103 ft 9 in (31.6 m) gundeck
  • 85 ft 0 in (25.9 m) keel for tonnage
Beam28 ft 0 in (8.5 m) for tonnage
Depth of hold10 ft 6 in (3.2 m)
Sail planship-rigged
Armament
  • as Built
  • 4/8 x 4 demi-culverines on wooden trucks (LD)
  • 22/20 x sakers on wooden trucks (UD)
  • 6/4 x 4 minions on wooden trucks (QD)
  • 1703 Establishment
  • 8/4 x 4 9-pdr guns on wooden trucks (LD)
  • 22/20 x 6-pdr guns on wooden trucks (UD)
  • 6/4 x 4-pdr guns on wooden trucks (QD)

Design and specifications

As with most vessels of this time period only order and launch dates are available. The dimensional data listed here is the specification data and the acceptable design creep will be listed on each individual vessel. The gundeck was 103 feet 9 inches (31.6 metres) with a keel length of 85 feet 0 inches (25.9 metres) for tonnage calculation. The breadth would be 28 feet 0 inches (8.5 metres) with a depth of hold of 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m). The tonnage calculation would be 354+44⁄94 tons.[2] The ships would be sail powered carrying a ship-rigged sail plan. Also there was a provision for ten oar ports per side located between the gun ports on the lower deck.[3]

The gun armament initially was four demi-culverines[Note 1] mounted on wooden trucks 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 sakers[Note 2] guns mounted on wooden trucks with ten or eleven guns per side. The gun battery would be completed by four to six minions[Note 3] guns mounted on wooden trucks on the quarterdeck (QD) with two to three guns per side. In the 1703 Establishment the old gun designations would be replaced by a system that designated the guns by the weight of shot fired. The demi-culverines would become known as 9-pounders, the Sakers as 6-pounders and the minions as 4-pounders. Therefore, their armament as of 1703 for Shoreham and Sorlings would be listed as four 9-pounder guns on the lower deck (LD), twenty 6-pounder 19 hundredweight (cwt) guns on the upper deck (UD) with four 4-pounder 12 cwt guns on the quarterdeck (QD). For Scarborough (renamed Milford) and Winchelsea would be rerated as 36-gun vessels with an increase in the 9-pounders to eight guns. The 4-pounders would be removed in 1714.[4]

Ships of the 1693 Programme Group
NameBuilderLaunch dateRemarks
Shoreham (1694)Thomas Ellis, Shoreham6 January 1694
  • rebuilt as 1719 Establishment sixth rate in 1724
Scarborough (1694)Woolwich Dockyard3 March 1690
  • taken by French on 18 July 1694
  • retaken 15 February 1697 and renamed Milford
  • Rebuilt at Deptford 1705
Sorlings (1694)Richard Barrett, Shoreham19 March 1694
  • Taken by French 20 October 1705
  • Retaken February 1711 and sold
Winchelsea (1694)Mrs Ann Wyatt, Redbridge13 August 1694
  • Taken by French 6 June 1706

Notes
  1. A demi-culverine 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 sacar or saker was a gun of 1,400 pounds with a 3.5 inch bore firing a 5.5 pound shot with an 5,5 pound powder charge.
  3. A minion was a gun of 1,000 pounds with a 3.5 inch bore firing a 4 pound shot with an 4 pound powder charge.

Citations
  1. Winfred 2009
  2. Winfield 2009
  3. Winfield 2009
  4. Winfield 2009

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, Chapter 5, The Fifth Rates, Vessels acquired from 16 December 1688, Fifth Rates of 32 and 36 guns, 1693 Programme
  • 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, Chapter 6, Sixth Rates, Sixth Rates of 20 or 24 guns, Vessels acquired from 1 August 1714, 1719 Establishment 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, EPUB ISBN 978-1-5267-9328-7
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