Lyon's Whelp
In 1628, the very wealthy Duke of Buckingham built a private fleet of 10 three-masted, armed full rigged pinnaces, each of which carried the name Lion's Whelp. At least one Lion's Whelp participated in the English attempt to relieve the Huguenot citadel of La Rochelle during the Anglo-French War. Little information has survived about the careers of the other Lion's Whelps and they disappear from the historical record in 1654. Important documents about their finance and construction have survived and made a lasting contribution to our understanding of the Navy Royal during the early 17th century.
Lion's Whelp, 1628 |
|
| Career (England) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Lion's Whelp |
| Ordered: | February 28, 1628 |
| Laid down: | March 1628 |
| Launched: | late July, 1628 |
| Acquired: | Duke of Buckingham, July, 1628; Royal Navy, 1632 |
| Commissioned: | 1632 |
| In service: | 1628 to 1628 to 1654 |
| Out of service: | 1628 to 1628 to 1654 |
| Fate: | Various |
| Notes: | John Graves built eighth and ninth Whelps. Phineas Pett's certificates of works done have survived for all Whelps except the ninth. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | 3-masted pinnace, auxiliary oared warship |
| Displacement: | 186 tons 180 long tons (183 t) |
| Beam: | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sweeps (two oars between each cannon port). |
| Armament: | 9 broadside cannons, 2 sternchase gunports |
| Notes: | The Whelps were classed as ships "of the sixth rank" |
Read more about Lyon's Whelp: Introduction, The Earl of Nottingham, Warrants, Contracts, and Shipbuilders, The Anglo-French War, A Lion's Whelp To Massachusetts, Appendix: 10 Lion's Whelps
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