HMS Francis (1666)
{{Short description|British warship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2022}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=England |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Kingdom of England|naval}} |Ship name=HMS Francis |Ship namesake= |Ship owner= |Ship operator= |Ship registry= |Ship route= |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=Royal Dockyard, Harwich |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched=1666 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=19 July 1666 |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport= |Ship identification= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship captured= |Ship fate=Wrecked in West Indies on 1 August 1684 |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class=16/14=gun, Sixth Rate |Ship tons burthen=140 40/94 bm |Ship displacement= |Ship length={{convert|66|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} keel for tonnage |Ship beam={{convert|20|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} for tonnage |Ship draught={{convert|8|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship hold depth={{convert|9|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship sail plan= |Ship range= |Ship complement= |Ship sensors= |Ship armament=
|Ship armor= |Ship aircraft= |Ship notes= }} |
HMS Francis was built by Anthony Deane during his tenure as the Master Shipwright at Harwich Dockyard under the 1665 Programme. She was commissioned in July 1666, she was Allin's squadron in the Mediterranean and participated in the blockade of Salé (a North African port for the Barbary pirates) in October 1668, she was guardship at Sheerness between 1671 and 1674 and had service in the Channel. She was sent to the Leeward Islands in 1683 where she was lost in a hurricane in August 1684.Winfield
Francis was the fifth named vessel since its introduction for a discovery vessel in 1578 and wrecked in 1583.Colledge
Design and specifications
Her construction dates little is known other than Her launch date. She was launched at Harwich Dockyard in 1666 (probably in late July or early August). Her keel length reported for tonnage was {{convert|66|ft|0|in|m|abbr=off}}. Her breadth was {{convert|20|ft|0|in|m|abbr=off}} as reported for tonnage with her depth of hold of {{convert|9|ft|2|in|m|abbr=off}}. Her draught was only {{convert|8|ft|8|in|m|abbr=off}}. Her tonnage was calculated as 140 40/94 tons.Winfield
Her initial armament was listed as fourteen to sixteen 6-pounder muzzle-loading smoothbore guns mounted on trucks. By 1671 this was changed to fourteen minions and two 3-pounder smoothbore guns. A minion cannon was a muzzle-loading smoothbore 1,000-pound gun with a {{frac|3|1|2}}-inch bore firing a 4-inch shot with a 4-pound powder charge. The guns were also mounted on wooden trucks.Winfield, Source and data, Guns
Commissioned service
She was commissioned on 19 July 1666 under Captain William Burstow, RN for service in the Mediterranean. She was with Allin's squadron at the blockade of Salé with HMS Garland from 25 September to 5 October 1668.She returned to Home Waters in 1670 as Captain Burstow's commission ended on 24 January 1670 as guardship at Sheerness.Winfield Captain Thomas Willshaw, RN was in command from 6 July 1671 until 16 April 1672.Winfield Captain William Jaccques, RN was her commander from 20 April 1672 to 4 February 1673. Her last commander as guardship was Captain Thomas Page who took command on 19 February 1673 until his death on 21 April 1674.Winfield On 29 September 1676 Captain Henry Carverth, RN took command for service in Home waters until 30 April 1678. She was on Channel Service under Captain William Collins, RN from 26 May 1678 until 21 July 1679.Winfield Her final commander, Captain Charles Carlisle, RN assumed command on 17 January 1683 for service in the Leeward Islands.Winfield
Loss
Francis was wrecked in a hurricane in the Leeward Islands on 1 August 1684.Winfield
Notes
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Citations
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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 2 May 1660, 1665 Progeamme, Roebuck
- 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), Section R (Roebuck)
{{Anthony Deane Group Royal Navy Vessels}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis (1666)}}
Category:Corvettes of the Royal Navy