HMS ''Falmouth'' was a 50-gun

fourth-rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

ship of the line built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

in the first decade of the 18th century. The ship participated in several battles during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

(1701–15) and the

War of Jenkins' Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear, or , was a conflict lasting from 1739 to 1748 between Britain and the Spanish Empire. The majority of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations largely ended by 1742. It is con ...

(1739–48).

Description

''Falmouth'' had a length at the gundeck of and at the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

. She had a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a depth of

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Ferm ...

of . The ship's

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on ''tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically r ...

was 700 tons burthen. Officially rated at 50 guns, her armament consisted of 22 twelve-pounder guns on the lower gundeck and 22 six-pounder guns on the upper deck. On the quarterdeck were 8 six-pounder guns with another pair on the

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...

. The ship had a crew of 185–280 officers and ratings. When rebuilt in 1724, ''Falmouth'' had a length at the gundeck of and at the keel. She had a beam of and a depth of hold of . The ship's tonnage was 760 tons burthen. Her armament was upgraded and now consisted of 22 eighteen-pounder guns on the lower gundeck and 22 nine-pounder guns on the upper deck. The number of six-pounder guns on the quarterdeck was reduced to four, but the pair on the forecastle were retained. The ship now had a crew of 280 officers and ratings.

Construction and career

''Falmouth'' was the third ship in the Royal Navy to be named after the eponymous port.Colledge, p. 49. Built to the

1706 Establishment The 1706 Establishment was the first formal set of dimensions for ships of the Royal Navy. Two previous sets of dimensions had existed before, though these were only for specific shipbuilding programs running for only a given amount of time. In c ...

design, the ship was ordered on 8 February 1707. She was built at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich in north-west Kent, where many ships were built from the early 16th century until th ...

under the direction of Master Shipwright Richard Stacey, and was launched on 26 February 1708Winfield 2009, p. 404. On 14 May 1724 ''Falmouth'' was ordered to be taken to pieces and rebuilt according to the

1719 Establishment The 1719 Establishment was a set of mandatory requirements governing the construction of all Royal Navy warships capable of carrying more than 20 naval long guns. It was designed to bring economies of scale through uniform vessel design, and en ...

, from where she was relaunched on 3 April 1729.

Notes

References

* *Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650–1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *Winfield, Rif (2009) ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603–1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.'' Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Falmouth (1708) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1700s ships