HMS Kent (1652)

HMS Kentish was a 40-gun fourth-rate frigate of the Commonwealth of England Navy, built by contract at Deptford (not in the Dockyard) and launched in November 1652.[1]

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Kent and HMS Kentish.

History
England
Name: Kentish
Ordered: 1 April 1652
Builder: Henry Johnson, Deptford
Launched: November 1652
Renamed: HMS Kent, 1660
Fate: Wrecked, 15 October 1672
General characteristics [1]
Class and type: Fourth-rate frigate
Tons burthen: 601 tons
Length: 107 ft (32.6 m) (keel)
Beam: 32 ft 6 in (9.9 m)
Depth of hold: 13 ft 6 in (4.1 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Complement: 180 in 1653
Armament: 40 guns in 1652; 46 guns by 1666

She was commissioned in early 1653 under Captain Jacob Reynolds and saw active service in the Battle of Portland on 18 February, and the Battle of the Gabbard from 2 June. Command was then passed to Captain Edward Witheridge, with Kentish returned to Chatham for the winter. In early 1654 she was assigned to the British squadron in the Mediterranean, where she remained until mid-1655.[2] Her most famous action was on 4 April 1655 when she attacked a squadron of Tunisian warships lying in Porto Farina, on the Barbary Coast. She defeated both the ships and the on-shore fort to win her third battle honour.

After the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, her name was changed to HMS Kent. She served in both the First and Second Dutch Wars with distinction and was involved in the Battle of Lowestoft and the St. James's Day Battle. She was wrecked in October 1672 off Cromer.[1]

Notes
  1. Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p160.
  2. Winfield 2009, p. 162

References
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
  • Winfield, Rif (2009) British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers & Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.
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