List of Major English Warships of The English Civil War, The Commonwealth and Protectorate (1642-166
The interregnum between the execution of Charles I and the Restoration of royal authority in 1660 saw the full emergence of the ship-of-the-line and its employment during the first Anglo-Dutch War. During this period the English navy technically became first the Commonwealth Navy, later the Protectorate Navy and subsequently the Commonwealth Navy again; the prefix "HMS" is thus not applicable to any English warship during the Interregnum.
The following lists include ships of the line, i.e. vessels of the first, second, third and fourth rates which were judged fit to stand in the line of battle. Smaller warships of the fifth and sixth rates, and the even smaller unrated vessels, appear in the subsequent section.
Under the categorisation as amended in late 1653, the rates were based on the number of men in the established complement of a ship, as follows:
- First rate, 400 men and over.
- Second rate, 300 men and up to 399.
- Third rate, 200 men and up to 299.
- Fourth rate, 140 men and up to 199.
However, there were numerous exceptions, and ships changed their Rating from time to time.
- Number of main guns follows name (see rating system of the Royal Navy)
- The larger ships are listed in pages 159-160 of The Ship of the Line Volume I, by Brian Lavery, published by Conways, 1983, ISBN 0-85177-252-8, and more fully in British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1603-1714, by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6. Lesser warships ("below the line") are taken from A History of the Administration on the Royal Navy (sic!) 1509-1660, by Michael Oppenheim, published by the Bodley Head, 1896, as well as from Winfield's book.
- The frigates listed here are not the type of vessel known as frigates in the 18th and 19th centuries. The term in the 17th century signified a fast vessel, with low superstructure to give more stability.
Read more about this topic: List Of Early Warships Of The English Navy
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