HMS Drake (1779)

HMS Drake was a 14-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was bought from a commercial builder during the early years of the American War of Independence, and went on to support operations in the English Channel and the Caribbean. At one stage she assisted an attack on a French-held island, an expedition commanded by a young Horatio Nelson. Laid up for a time after the end of the American War of Independence, she returned to service shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. Drake spent most of her time in Caribbean waters, until being declared unfit for service in 1800 and deleted from the navy lists.

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

History
Great Britain
NameHMS Drake
BuilderHenry Ladd, Dover
LaunchedMay 1779
FateCondemned as unfit for service in September 1800
General characteristics
Class and typebrig-sloop
Tons burthen22073⁄94 bm
Length
  • 78 ft 10+1⁄2 in (24.0 m) (overall)
  • 59 ft 8 in (18.2 m) (keel)
Beam26 ft 4+1⁄2 in (8.0 m)
Depth of hold10 ft 9+1⁄2 in (3.3 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planTwo masted square rigged with a spanker on the main mast
Complement80
Armament14 × 4-pounder guns (replaced by 6-pounders by 1783) + 12 × 1⁄2-pounder swivel guns
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