HMS Drake (1694)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Drake.

History
England
Name	HMS Drake
Ordered	2 May 1694
Builder	George Fowler, Rotherhithe
Launched	26 September 1694
Commissioned	26 September 1694
Fate	Lost with all hands on 20 December 1694
General characteristics
Type	20-gun Sixth Rate
Tons burthen	253+6⁄94 bm
Length	93 ft 0 in (28.3 m) gundeck 77 ft 8 in (23.7 m) keel for tonnage
Beam	24 ft 9 in (7.5 m) for tonnage
Depth of hold	10 ft 8 in (3.3 m)
Armament	initially as ordered 20 × sakers on wooden trucks (UD) 4 × 3-pdr on wooden trucks (QD) 1703 Establishment 20 × 6-pdrs on wooden trucks (UD) 4 × 4-pdr on wooden trucks (QD)

HMS Drake was a member of the standardized 20-gun sixth rates built at the end of the 17th century. After commissioning she was lost within three months on the Irish Coast in a storm on 20 December 1694.[1]

Drake was the second named vessel since it was used for a 16-gun vessel launched at Deptford in 1653 and sold at Jamaica in 1691.[2]

Construction

She was ordered in the Second Batch of eight ships to be built under contract from George Fowler of Rotherhithe. She was launched on 26 September 1694.[3]

Commissioned service

She was commissioned on 26 September 1694 under the command of Captain John Stapleton, RN.[4]

Loss

HMS Drake was wrecked with the loss of all hands on the Irish Coast in a storm on 20 December 1694.[5]

Citations

1. Winfield
2. Colledge
3. Winfield
4. Winfield
5. Winfield

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 18 December 1688, Sixth Rates of 20 guns and up to 26 guns, Maidstone Group, Drake
• 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 D (Drake)