English ship Gift (1652)
{{other ships|HMS Gift}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=France |Ship flag=File:Flag of France (1814–1830).svg |Ship name=Le Don de Dieu |Ship acquired= |Ship honours= |Ship captured=4 September 1652 |Ship fate=taken by Blake's Fleet off Dunkirk |Ship status= |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=Commonwealth of England |Ship flag=File:Flag of The Commonwealth.svg |Ship name=Gift |Ship acquired=4 September 1652 |Ship commissioned=1653 |Ship decommissioned= |Ship renamed=Great Gift 1658 |Ship honours=* Portland 1653
|Ship captured= |Ship fate=expended as fireship 25 July 1666 |Ship status= |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=Kingdom of England |Ship flag=File:English Red Ensign 1620.svg |Ship name=Great Gift |Ship acquired= |Ship honours=Orfordness 1666 |Ship captured=May 1660 |Ship fate=expended as Fireship 25 July 1666 |Ship status= |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class=38-gun fourth rate |Ship tons burthen={{frac|490|22|94}} bm |Ship length={{convert|98|ft|0|in|m|1|abbr=on}} keel for tonnage |Ship beam={{convert|30|ft|8|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|13|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |Ship hold depth={{convert|12|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |Ship sail plan=ship-rigged |Ship propulsion= |Ship complement=* 130 |Ship armament=* 36 1653
|Ship notes= }} |
Gift was a 38-gun fourth rate vessel captured from the French by the Commonwealth of England, She was captured on 4 September 1652 as the 36-gun Le Don de Gieu. She was commissioned into the Parliamentary Naval Force as Gift. During the First Anglo-Dutch War she partook in the Battle of Portland, the Battle of the Gabbard and the Battle of Scheveningen. She spent time fishery patrols and escorting convoys. She was converted to a fireship in 1666 and expended at the St James Fight on 25 July 1666.Winfield 5
Gift was the first named vessel in the English or Royal Navy.Colledge
Specifications
She was built as the French ship Le Don de Dieu. She was captured by Robert Blake's Fleet off Dunkirk on 4 September 1652. Her dimensions were {{convert|98|ft|0|in|m|1|abbr=off}}keel for tonnage with a breadth of {{convert|30|ft|8|in|m|1|abbr=off}} and a depth of hold of {{convert|12|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=off}}. Her builder's measure tonnage was calculated as {{frac|490|22|94}} tons. Her draught was {{convert|13|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=off}}. Her gun armament in 1653 was 36 guns and it was changed to 40 wartime and 32 peacetime. Her manning was 130 personnel.Winfield 5
Commissioned service
=Service in the Commonwealth Navy=
She was commissioned into the Commonwealth Navy in 1653 under the command of Captain Thomas Salmon.Winfield 5
==First Anglo-Dutch War==
During the First Anglo-Dutch War she partook in the Battle of Portland on 18 February 1653.Winfield 1 As a member of Blue Squadron, Center Division she took part in the Battle of the Gabbard on 2–3 June 1653.Winfield 2 With Captain Salmon being killed in battle Captain Edward Barnett took command. She then partook in the Battle of Scheveningen near Texel (as Gift Major) on the 31 of July 1653 as a member of the Blue Squadron, Van Division.Winfield 3 In 1654 Captain Samuel Dickson took command.Winfield 5
In 1655 she came under Captain Mark Harrison in to 1657. In 1658 she was renamed Great Gift and sometimes referred to as Gift Major to differentiate her from a Spanish prize now named Little Gift. In 1660 she was under Captain Jeffrey Dare for the North Sea Fishery.Winfield 5
=Service after the Restoration May 1660=
On 24 June 1660 she was under command of Captain George Batts until relieved by Captain George Bernard on 4 May 1661. Captain Jacob Reynolds took command on 5 July 1664 and sailed to Guinea in 1665. On her return she was converted to a fireship in 1666 crewed by 50 personnel and four guns. She was recommissioned on 26 June 1666 under Captain John Kelsey. She participated in the St James Day Battle on 25 june to 6 July 1666 as a fireship of Blue Squadron.Winfield 4Winfield 5
Loss
Gift was expended as a fireship at the St James Day Fight on 25 July 1666.Winfield 5
Citations
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References
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- British Warships in the Age of Sail (1603 – 1714), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © Rif Winfield 2009, EPUB {{ISBN|978-1-78346-924-6}}:
- Fleet Actions, 1.5 Battle of Portland
- Fleet Actions, 1.7 Battle of the Gabbard (north Foreland)
- Fleet Actions, 1.8 Battle of Scheveningen (near Texel)
- Fleet Actions, 3.4 Battle of Orfordness (the St James Day Battle)
- Chapter 4 Fourth Rates - 'Small Ships', Vessels acquired from 25 March 1603, Ex-French Prizes (1650-52), Gift
- 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, © the estate of J.J. Colledge, Ben Warlow and Steve Bush 2020, EPUB {{ISBN|978-1-5267-9328-7}}, Section G (Gift)
- 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
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