HMS Milford (1695) explained

HMS Milford was a 32-gun fifth rate built under contract by William Hubbard of Ipswich in 1694/95.

She was the second vessel to carry the name Milford since it was used for a 32-gun fifth rate built at Woolwich Dockyard on 30 March 1690 and captured by the French in the North Sea in November 1693.^[1]

Construction and specifications

She was ordered on 17 May 1694 to be built under contract by William Hubbard of Ipswich. She was launched on 6 March 1695. Her dimensions were a gundeck of 107feet with a keel of 90feet for tonnage calculation with a breadth of 28feet and a depth of hold of 10feet. Her builder's measure tonnage was calculated as 386 tons (burthen).^[2]

The gun armament initially was four demi-culverins^{[3] [4]} on the lower deck (LD) with two pair of guns per side. The upper deck (UD) battery would consist of between twenty and twenty-two 6-pounder guns^{[5] [6]} with ten or eleven guns per side. The gun battery would be completed by four 4-pounder guns^{[7] [8]} on the quarterdeck (QD) with two to three guns per side.^[9]

Commissioned Service 1695-1697

HMS Milford was commissioned in 1695 under the command of Captain Thomas Lyell for service in the North Sea on Fishery protection.

Loss

She was taken by five French ships while on passage from Greater Yarmouth to Holland on 7 January 1697. She was incorporated into French Service as the Milfort until 1720.

References

• Winfield (2009), British Warships in the Age of Sail (1603 – 1714), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 2009, EPUB
• Colledge (2020), 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, EPUB
• Lavery (1989), The Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War 1600 – 1815, by Brian Lavery, published by US Naval Institute Press © Brian Lavery 1989,, Part V Guns, Type of Guns
• Clowes (1898), The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to the Present (Vol. II). London. England: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, © 1898

Notes and References

1. Colledge (2020)
2. Winfred 2009, Ch 5, The Fifth Rates, Vessels acquired from 16 December 1688, Fifth Rates of 32 and 36 guns, 1694 Programme, Milford
3. Lavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, culverins, page 101
4. A demi-culverin was a gun of 3,400 pounds with a four-inch bore firing a 9.5-pound shot with an eight-pound powder charge
5. Lavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, The 6-pounder, page 102
6. A 6-pounder was a Dutch gun used to replace the saker
7. Lavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, Minion or 4-pounder, page 103
8. A minion renamed the 4-pounder was a gun of 1,000 pounds with a 3.5-inch bore firing a 4-pound shot with a 4-pound powder charge.
9. Winfred 2009, Ch 5, The Fifth Rates, Vessels acquired from 16 December 1688, Fifth Rates of 32 and 36 guns, 1694 Programme