1649 Programme Group

Class overview
Name	1649 Programme Group
Builders	Portsmouth Dockyard Deptford Dockyard
Operators	Commonwealth Of England Kingdom of England Royal Navy
Preceded by	1647 Programme Group
Succeeded by	1650 Programme Group
Built	1649 - 1650
In service	1650 - 1711
Completed	2
Lost	1
Retired	1
General characteristics
Type	38-gun Fourth Rate
Sail plan	ship-rigged
Complement	150/1652, 160/1653
Armament	38 guns

The 1649 Programme of four 370 ton Fourth Rate vessels was approved by Parliament on 9 January 1647. The ships were to carry a minimum of 32 guns in peacetime and 38 guns in wartime. Each vessel would have 11 pairs lower deck gun ports and eventually an equal number on the upper deck with two pairs on the quarterdeck. The vessels would actually have varying number of guns and the dimensional data would vary considerably. Three vessels were ordered in December 1645.

Design and specifications

The construction of the vessels was assigned to Chatham, Woolwich and Deptford dockyards. The ships would be built under the supervision of the Master Shipwrights of each Dockyard. As with most vessels of this time period only launch years are available. The dimensional data was so varied that it will be listed on the individual vessels along with their gun armament.

Ships of the 1649 Programme Group

Name	Builder	Launch date	Remarks
Portsmouth (1649)	Portsmouth Dockyard	1649	captured by French and blown up July 1689
President (1650)	Deptford Dockyard	1650	Renamed Bonaventure 1660 Rebuilt at Chatham in 1663 Rebuilt at Portsmouth 1690 Rebuilt at Woolwich 1699 Broken at Chatham 1711

References

• British Warships in the Age of Sail (1603 – 1714), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © Rif Winfield 2009, EPUB ISBN 978-1-78346-924-6, Chapter 4, The Fourth Rates - 'Small Ships', Vessels acquired from 24 March 1603, 1649 Programme
• 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, © the estate of J.J. Colledge, Ben Warlow and Steve Bush 2020, EPUB ISBN 978-1-5267-9328-7