Pearl was a fifth-rate warship of the Commonwealth of England's naval forces, one of four such ships built under the 1651 Programme (the other three were , and ).
Construction She was built under contract at Peter Pett's shipyard at Ratcliffe, and was launched about June 1651. Her length on the gundeck was with a keel length of for tonnage calculation. The breadth was with a depth in hold of . The tonnage was thus 285 bm tons. She was completed at an initial contract cost of £1,852.10.0dThe cost accounting for inflation of approximately £ in reference to today. (or £6.10.0d per ton for the anticipated 280 tons bm)The cost accounting for inflation of approximately £ in reference to today. per ton.
Service She was originally armed with 22 guns, comprising 18 demi-culverins on the single gundeck and 4 sakers on the quarterdeck, but by 1653 she had 26 guns (seemingly 4 more sakers added). After commissioning she took part in the Battle of the Kentish Knock on 28 September 1652, in the Battle of Portland in 18 February 1653 and the Battle of the Gabbard in June 1653; later she was in Blake's fleet in the Mediterranean, including the Battle of Porto Farino off Tunis on 4 April 1655.
After the Stuart Restoration in 1660 she was taken into the new English Royal Navy, becoming HMS Pearl. By 1665 she still was nominally a 26-gun fifth rate but she actually carried only sixteen demi-culverins, six sakers and two minions. Under the 1677 Establishment as a 30-gun vessel she carried eighteen demi-culverins,A demi-culverin was a gun of with a bore firing a shot with an powder charge. eight sakersA sacar or saker was a gun of with a bore firing a shot with a 5.5-pound powder charge. and four minions.A minion was a gun of with a 3.5-inch bore firing a shot with a 4-pound powder charge. She was a 28-gun vessel under the 1685 Establishment with twelve demi-culverins, ten 6-pounders, four saker cutts and two 3-pounders.
The Pearl took part in the Battle of Texel on 11 August 1673. In August 1688 she was re-classified as a fireship, but was reconverted to a fifth rate in 1689. She was sunk as a foundation (breakwater) at Sheerness Dockyard on 6 August 1697.
Notes
Citations
References Rif Winfield (2009), British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603 – 1714, by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 2009, , EPUB , Chapter 5, The Fifth Rates Jim Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy, by James J. Colledge, revised and updated by Lt Cdr Ben Warlow and Steve Bush, published by Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, Great Britain, © 2020, EPUB , Section M (Mermaid)