For the truly numbers-oriented naval history folks, not a large crowd I admit, there is this. Like the Roman Empire before it, the British Empire was a marvel of administrative record keeping. That such information, at this level of detail, could be available approximately 250 years after the fact, is a wonder.
I sometimes think that most of what future historians will have to go on from our era is a lot of styrofoam floating across what used to be Florida, and cat videos.
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Sheer draft of the actual ship, from Britain’s National Archives, by kind permission of the HMS Falcon group
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And now the numbers…by permission of the good people at ThreeDecks.org… The Falcon’s history, and statistics.
OVERALL |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominal Guns | 14 | BWAS-1714 | |
| Nationality | Great Britain | ||
| Operator | The Royal Navy | ||
| Ordered | 1768/10/27 | BWAS-1714 | |
| Keel Laid Down | 1769/04 | BWAS-1714 | |
| Launched | 1771/06/15 | BWAS-1714 | |
| How acquired | Purpose built | BWAS-1714 | |
| Shipyard | Portsmouth Dockyard | BWAS-1714 | |
| Ship Class | Swallow Class | ||
| Designed by | Thomas Slade | BWAS-1714 | |
| Constructor | Thomas Bucknall | BWAS-1714 | |
| Category | Unrated | BWAS-1714 | |
| Ship Type | Ship-Sloop | ||
| Foundered | 1779/09/20 | BWAS-1714 | |
Dimensions |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimension | Measurement | Type | Metric Equivalent | BWAS-1714 |
| Length of Gundeck | 95′ 0″ | Imperial Feet | 28.956 | |
| Length of Keel | 78′ 0″ | Imperial Feet | 23.7744 | |
| Breadth | 27′ 1 ½” | Imperial Feet | 8.2423 | |
| Depth in Hold | 13′ 0″ | Imperial Feet | 3.9624 | |
| Burthen | 308 58⁄94 | Tons BM | ||
Armament |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1771/06/15 | Broadside Weight = 45 Imperial Pound
( 20.4078 kg) |
BWAS-1714 | ||
| Upper Gun Deck | 14 | British 6-Pounder | ||
| Upper Gun Deck | 12 | British 1/2-Pound Swivel | ||
Crew Complement |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | # of Men | Notes | Source |
| 1768 | 125 | Design Complement | ? |
Commanders |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Rank | Name | Source |
| 1771/01/21 | 1774 | Commander | Cuthbert Bains | BWAS-1714 |
| 1774/10 | 1777/02/16 | Commander | John Linzee | BWAS-1714 |
| 1777/02/16 | 1778/02/07 | Commander | The Hon. Thomas Windsor | BWAS-1714 |
| 1778/02/07 | 1778/08/05 | Commander | Harry Harmood | BWAS-1714 |
| 1778/11/24 | 1779/09/20 | Commander | Richard Lock† | BWAS-1714 |
Commissioned Officers |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Rank | Name | Source |
| 1773 | 1774/08 | Acting Lieutenant | Bartholomew James | B110 |
Petty Officers |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Rank | Name | Source |
| 1771/05 | 1773 | Midshipman | Bartholomew James | B110 |
| 1774/11/18 | 1777/02/14 | Midshipman | William Robert Broughton | ref:616 |
Service History |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Source | ||
| 1769/04 | Began building at Portsmouth Dockyard | BWAS-1714 | ||
| 1771/06/15 | Completed building at Portsmouth Dockyard at a cost of £7209.8.6d | BWAS-1714 | ||
| 1771/08/01 | Sailed for the Leeward Islands | BWAS-1714 | ||
| 1774 | Ordered home and paid off? | BWAS-1714 | ||
| 1774/10 | Recommissioned | BWAS-1714 | ||
| 1774/10 | Began fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard | BWAS-1714 | ||
| 1774/11 | Completed fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard at a cost of £2031.14.3d | BWAS-1714 | ||
| 1775/02/26 | Sailed for North America | BWAS-1714 | ||
| 1777/12/10 | Took the Unrated Sloop Schuyler | |||
| 1778/06/24 | Took the Privateer Mehitabel by boat attack at sandford, CT | |||
| 1778/06/24 | Took the Privateer Brig General Arnold by boat attack at sandford, CT | |||
| 1778/08/05 | Sunk to avoid capture at Rhode Island | BWAS-1714 | ||
| 1778/11 | Raised and recommissioned | BWAS-1714 | ||
| 1779/09/20 | Lost with all hands | BWAS-1714 | ||
Kinsmen and Kinswomen 