English tonnage calculations

Sorry for all the math, but it is unavoidable in this sort of analysis. Before the Restoration, the burden calculation used until the end of the age of sail was formulated. That formula was:

LK = length on the keel

LGD = length on the gundeck

B = Beam

D = Depth in hold

Burden in tons = LK x B x B/2 x 1/94

This is often simplified as:

Burden in tons = LK x B x B / 188

The "Beam/2" is a normalized depth, instead of using a true depth in hold, as had previously been the custom. The next step after that, was to use a calculated length of keel, based on the length on the gundeck and the beam:

LK = LGD - 2/5 x B

Now there were both a normalized length on the keel and a normalized depth. Only the length on the gundeck and the beam determined the burden. I believe that eventually, the real length of keel was used, after 1688.

To look at the history of calculations, we have some useful data. There is a list of ships from 1590-1591 that has dimensions and burden in tons. Let us use the famous Ark Royal as our example:

LK	100 ft
Beam	36 ft
Depth	15 ft
Burden	540 tons

So let us look at the burden calculation:

540 tons = 100 ft x 36 ft x 15 ft x 1/100

This calculation holds true for all the ships in the list.

Now, let us look at the Prince Royal, as built in 1610:

LK	115 ft
Beam	43.5 ft
Depth	18 ft
Burden	1200 tons

So let us look at the burden calculation:

1200 tons = 115 ft x 43.5 ft x 18 ft x 4/3 x 1/100 (rounded from 1200.6 tons)

The only variation for this formula formula was that the burden might be rounded to one or two digits, rather than giving an exact number (such as 700 tons or 650 tons). For example, the Constant Reformation was nominally 750 tons, but the actual product was 752.6 tons.

Given our knowledge of formulas, we can now estimate the dimensions of ships for which we only have burdens. For many of the hired or purchased ship from 1642 to 1660, we only know burdens. Let us estimate the dimensions for the English ship, the Cygnet, purchased in 1643.

233 tons = LK x B x D x 4/3 x 1/100

Using some factors from examples, we can estimate each of the dimensions:

LK = LGD x 0.8

B = LGD x 0.25

D = B x 0.4

For the Cygnet, that gives the following:

Burden = LK x B x D x 4/3 x 0.01 = (LGD x 0.8) x (LGD x 0.25) x (B x 0.4) x (4/3) x 0.01 =

Burden = (LGD x 0.8) x (LGD x 0.25) x ((LGD x 0.25) x 0.4) x (4/3) x 0.01 =

Burden = LGD x LGD x LGD x (0.8 x 0.25 x 0.25 x 0.4 x 1.333 x 0.01) =

Burden = LGD x LGD x LGD x 0.000267

This simplifies to:

LGD = (Burden / 0.000267)1/3

So for the Cygnet, the LGD = (239 / 0.000267)1/3 = 96.37ft or 96ft-4in (about)

The LK = LGD / 1.25 = 96.37 / 1.25 = 77.096ft = 77ft-1in (about)

The Beam = LGD / 4 = 96.37 / 4 = 24.09ft = 24ft-1in (about)

The Depth = Beam x 0.4 = 24.09 x 0.4 = 9.636ft = 9ft-8in (about)

So let's test the result: Burden = 77.096 x 24.09 x 9.636 x 4/3 x 1/100 = 238.6, which is finally right!

Anyway, that is my system for estimating. If you change the proportions, the factors change, but the system stays the same, for this earlier period. For the later period, we are reduced to looking at example ships, as the formula doesn't tell us what the real depth was. (I kept making the error of using the LGD in the last calculation, and couldn't figure out why it came out wrong. I just figured out what I had done)

The Battle of Portland (28 February-2 March 1653)

I now suspect that after being wounded on the first day, and having his flagship heavily attacked, that Robert Blake was reluctant to press the fight to the Dutch. At the end of the first day, after having gone on the attack and having been repulsed, the Dutch went into defensive mode.

The Dutch formed a crescent around their convoy, and facing the English. As it was, English frigates picked off merchant ships. On the last day, two warships were also taken. The Dutch had been reduced to about 30 warships that still had ammunition. If the English had pressed an attack, they could have destroyed the remnants of the main Dutch fleet, and taken the convoy. Instead, at nightfall, the English let the Dutch escape. There was a threat of a storm and they were near the French coast. The English pilots were reluctant to enter the shallows, while the Dutch, with their shallow draft ships used the shallows to escape.

I had often wondered why the English accepted action at the start of the Four Days Battle

An 18th Century British admiral would never have accepted battle when he had such an inferior force as the English had at the Four Days Battle. Frank Fox's book, A Distant Storm: the Four Days Battle of 1666 provides the answer, as best as it is possible to know. George Monck, by then, the Duke of Albemarle, had decided before ever encountering the Dutch to give battle. He could easily have justified withdrawing, as he knew that reinforcements would soon be ready. The fleet was also reduced due to Prince Rupert being sent to intercept a suspected French raid on Ireland. Instead of withdrawing, Albemarle fought.

The clinching point was as the English came up on the Dutch fleet, they found that the Dutch were anchored. The English had caught the Dutch completely by surprise. Such opportunities seldom are presented. The English swept down on the anchored Dutch fleet. Cornelis Tromp was the first to recognize what had happened. The ships of his squadron cut their anchor cables and set sail, as quickly as possible. The last time I spoke with Frank Fox, he mentioned the Blue flag from the Fighting Instructions. Albemarle used it, in this instance, to mean "fall into line in my wake". After that, Albermarle suddenly ordered the "Bloody Flag" raised on the fore. At that signal, the English ships swept in for an attack. Then the battle started.

Good sources about Dutch ships

On page 355, Vol.I, of Jan Glete's book, Navies and Nations, in Note 10, he talks about a list of about 40 ships hired by the Directors in 1652 to 1653. As far as I can tell, there is no single list. Instead, there are many separate documents, from various dates, starting from early 1652 up until mid-1653 or so. The reference is: "Erste Afdeeling, Directies, Equipering Oorlogsschepen, Algemeen Rijksarchief, The Hague. Mr. Ron van Maanen had originally pointed out this archive to Jan Glete.

There are many other references to documents and letters in the archives in Dr. Johan E. Elias' 6-volume book, Schetsen uit de geschiedenis van ons zeewezen. Dr. Elias had thought that J.C. De Jonge had missed a great deal of material, when he compiled Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, originally in the 1840's. Schetsen is filled with references to documents that Dr. Elias saw in the early 20th Century (at least from 1916 to 1930). Rick van Velden was able to find a few of them, but I would think that a large number remain unseen for the last 70 or 80 years. We really need to find them and make that information available. I am convinced that if we had the time and resources to do the research, we could fill in most gaps in our knowledge of Dutch ships during the First Anglo-Dutch War. I have already mentioned the Hendrick de Raedt pamphlet. That has the prospect of being very useful, if we could obtain a copy.

The best picture I have seen of the Sovereign of the Seas (1637)

Teemu koivumäki has the best picture I have seen of the Sovereign of the Seas (1637).

If you are not familiar with his site, Sailing Warships: List of Sailing Warships from 17th. to 19th. Century, you need to be. There is no other source available, in print or on the Web, that has as much information in one place. He has had many contributors, including myself.

I contributed to the Dutch ship section, especially that for the Directors' ships during the First Anglo-Dutch War. Professor Jan Glete pointed out that there was information in the Nationaal Archief, in the Hague, for about 40 Directors' ships. Rick van Velden was able to find much of what Prof. Glete had seen about 20 years ago, as well as a few documents that Prof. Glete had not seen.

More Dutch ships: Eenhoorn (1625) and Eendracht (1639)

This is more information transcribed from the "Staet van Oorlogh te Water voor den Jaere 1654", from July 1654. Two interesting ships were the Eenhoorn (the patriarch, being the oldest Dutch warship) and the Eendracht. Both belonged to the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier. I believe that the Eenhoorn dimensions may differ from that published by Vreugendhil. The Eenhoorn was a vessel of 200 lasts. Both ships were armed with an odd assortment of guns. They were whatever was available, apparently. During this period, the Dutch struggled to obtain sufficient guns.

Admiralty:	Noorderkwartier
Ship:	Eenhoorn
Date built:	1625
Captain:	Jan Janszoon Heck
Guns:	30
Length:	125 feet
Beam:	29 feet
Hold:	13 feet (estimated)
Iron Guns:	13-10pdr, 7-12pdr, 4-8pdr, 2-6pdr, 2-4pdr, and 2-3pdr

Admiralty:	Noorderkwartier
Ship:	Eendracht
Date built:	1639
Captain:	Jan Janszoon Heck
Guns:	41
Length:	130 feet
Beam:	32 feet
Hold:	12 feet
Brass Guns:	4-24pdr, 2-18pdr, 4-12pdr, 2-9pdr, 4-6pdr, and 2-4pdr
Iron Guns:	8-18pdr, 8-12pdr, and 7-8pdr

The Kasteel van Medemblick in July 1654

This is a very minor bit of information, but it still information that is not generally available. In particular, I have not seen the gun list in print, although the dimensions have been previously published.

Admiralty:	Noorder-Kwartier
Ship:	Casteel van Medemblick
Date built:	1640
Captain:	Captain Houttuijn
Guns:	28
Length:	120 feet
Beam:	27 feet
Hold:	11 feet
Brass Guns:	2-6pdr
Iron Guns:	10-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 6-4pdr, 2-3pdr

Some notes about English ships from the 17th Century, from Frank Fox

Frank Fox is the reigning expert about English ships from the 17th Century. I will try to paraphrase some of what he has said about English ships:

With respect to armaments, the official establishments can't be relied upon. They weren't followed for various reasons, often the availability of the needed guns. Real surveys are the only thing that can be trusted. Some of those were published in Adrian Caruana's book, History of English Sea Ordnance, 1523-1875, in the first volume. The guns used included the light-weight "drakes" and "cuts", for demi-culverins, sakers, and minions.

With respect to manning, both the English and the Dutch wanted to man the guns on both sides in the first two wars. They allocated fewer men per gun than in later times. The establishments in the first and second wars are minimums. If they could find them, supernumeraries were allocated. At Lowestoft, that was about 20 men per ship.

The English allocated 40 shot per gun, plus some special types for the medium and small guns. At the Four Days Battle, they actually carried 50 shot per gun.

With respect to ballast, very few ships carried iron ballast, due to the expense. For example, the galley-frigates carried iron ballast, as well as other ships "built for speed". The other ships usually carried coal or shingle ballast (the Dutch were reduced to using sand, which is very problematic, when it gets wet). Some examples of ballast carried are: the Royal Katherine, 145 tons; the Prince of 1670, 206 tons; and the Lennox of 1678, 325 tons. Frank says that the latter was required due to the increase in height of gunports above the water. Unballasted, the ships had a high center of gravity, which had to be compensated by increased ballast.

Some reflections on the Battle of Portland

Tromp attacked Blake, and a group of ships with him that were protecting his ship, the Triumph. This was in the opening moves of the battle. At first light on the first day, Tromp could see two groups of ships to his South. due South, he could see a group of a dozen or so ships, with William Penn's flag on one. Two miles to the East, was another group of similar size, with John Lawson in command.

In between were a half dozen ships. One was the Triumph, with Robert Blake and Richard Deane jointly in command. The rest of the English fleet was 5 or 6 miles to the leeward. The wind was from the Northwest. The Dutch charged directly downwind. Jan Evertsen went for Lawson, Tromp went for Blake, Pieter Florissen tried to go into the gap between Blake and Penn. De Ruijter charged directly at Penn. Lawson intended to tack to the West and sail South of Blake. He intended to then tack back towards Blake and attack from the Southwest. Penn tacked back towards Blake, having been on a Westerly course, at the start.

As I said, De Ruijter charged into Penn's group of ships. They boarded the Assistance, the Prosperous, the Oak, and the Sampson was sunk. The Assistance was John Bourne's flagship. He was Rear-Admiral of the Blue. The Sampson was a Dutch prize (the Sampson van Hoorn, captured while on fishery protection duties in July 1652, off the East coast. The Oak was also a Dutch prize (evidently an Akerboom, perhaps merchant).

Unfortunately for De Ruijter and the Dutch, John Lawson now arrived and recaptured the Assistance, Prosperous, and Oak. They also broke through the circle of Dutch ships around Blake, and broke the Dutch attack.

This first encounter happened right South of Portland Bill. Blake had started his voyage from Beachy Head, and tacked down the Channel, mostly against the wind. By the morning of the first day, the wind had shifted to the Northwest.

As darkness fell on the first day, the Dutch withdrew to the North, to cover their convoy from attacks by Monck's frigates. In the course of the first day's battle, Jan Evertsen's squadron had suffered dearly. He lost 8 ships. Four were sunk: the ship of Captain Cleydyck (Kleijdijck) (30 guns); the Kroon Imperiaal (34 guns), the ship of Cornelis Janszoon Poort; the Engel Gabriel (36 guns), the ship of Isaak Sweers; the Arche Troijane (28 guns), the ship of Abraham van Campen, and probably Sipke Fockes' ship, which was apparently called the Groote Sint Lucas (28 guns).

Schelte Wichelma's ship, the Frisia, blew up. Almost all of the ships that blew up in the Anglo-Dutch wars were probably caused by in sufficient care when handling gun powder. Another possible cause is that a ship can catch fire, and blow up. Apparently, it was possible to have a lot of powder dust in the air, that could be explosive, if there was a spark. It is almost impossible for a hit by a single shot to cause a ship to explode (like the battlecruisers at Jutland or the Hood in 1941).

Three more were captured: the Wapen van Holland (30 guns), commanded by Hendrick de Munnich; the East Indiaman, the Vogelstruis (40 guns), commanded by Cornelis Adriaanszoon Cruijck; and Cornelis Loncke's ship, the Faam (30 guns).

That was all by the end of the first day.

At the end of the third day, there were about 35 Dutch ships protecting the convoy, fighting to keep the marauding English frigates away. Two Dutch warships were lost on that last day: the Vergulde Haan (36 guns) and the Groote Liefde (38 guns).

The Rotterdam ship Schiedam

On February 26, 1652, the Schiedam was in service with the Rotterdam Admiralty. The Schiedam was commanded by Marinus Juynbol. At this time, she carried 26 guns. The dimensions were the same as the Gorcum: 116ft x 27ft x 11ft. On this date, she was engaged in convoying merchant ships to Rouen. I have not seen any further references to the Schiedam after this date. The only published reference I have seen to the Schiedam is in a note on page 81 of Volume VI of Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen. This is another one of those mysteries which we probably will never solve, although we could be surprised.

More about the Battle of Portland (28 February to 2 March 1653, New Syle)

I have been reading the Onstelde-Zee (1654) pages about the Battle of Portland (with some difficulty). Now, I have open my copy of Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen. I am looking at the Dutch ship losses and captains killed.

Rotterdam captains killed:

Corstiaen Corstiaenszoon, Prins te Paard (38 guns)

Quirijn van den Kerckhoff, Maria (26 guns)

Hendrick de Munnick, Wapen van Holland (30 guns)(burnt)

Amsterdam captains killed:

Augustijn Balck, Vrijheid (44 guns)

Joris van der Zaan, Campen (42 guns)

Cornelis Janszoon Poort, Kroon Imperiaal (34 guns), Director's ship (sunk)

Jacob Sijvertszoon Spanheijm, Elias (34 guns), Director's ship

Sipke Fockes, Groote Sint Lucas (28 guns), Director's ship (captured)

Dirck Schey, Achilles (28 guns)

Abraham van Campen, Arche Troijane (28 guns), Director's ship (sunk)

Noorderkwartier captain killed:

Pieter Aldertszoon, Burcht (24 guns)

Zeeland captains killed:

Joost Banckert, Liefde (26 guns)

Johannes Regermorter

, a ship (30 guns), a Middelburg Directors ship

Johannes Michelszoon, a fast storeship

East India Company captain killed:

Cornelis Adriaanszoon Cruijck, Vogelstruis (44 guns) (captured)

In addition to this list, which is from Jan Evertsen's journal, we know that the Friesland ship, Frisia, commanded by Schelte Wichelma, blew up, and he was almost certainly killed.

Captain Lambert Pieterszoon

In early 1652, Lambert Pieterszoon commanded the Amsterdam Director's ship, the Nassouw van den Burgh. I have seen his ship called the Hector, although not in the documents that I have from the Nationaal Archief, in the Hague. The first dated document that I have seen showed her in service on 12 March 1652.

The Nassouw was a substantial ship with dimensions 130ft x 32ft x 12ft with a height between the main deck and the upper deck of 7ft. Her armament was quite mixed, being 4-24pdr, 14-12pdr, 10-8pdr, 4-6pdr, and 2-3pdr.

We know that Lambert Pieterszoon joined Witte de With's fleet on 29 September 1652, as part of a group of seven ships. On 10 October, it was reported to Witte de With that Captain Pieterszoon had sailed to the Texel, without orders. Later, on 2 December 1652, he was in Maarten Tromp's squadron, prior to the Battle of Dungeness. Interestingly enough, there is a mention that Lambert Pieterszoon's ship was in company with Jan Evertsen, in a group of 8 ships that had been scattered by a storm. My question is what happened to Lambert Pieterszoon? Was he killed at Dungeness, or what happened to him? We find no further mention of him, after that last date.

I wonder if the March 1653 list in De Jonge's book is only for home waters

I am working on filling in more of the March 1653 list that is outlined in Vol.I of Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen. I have the Rotterdam Admiralty section filled in pretty completely, and have started on the Amsterdam Admiralty and Director's ships. My reaction is to wonder if there is a place in the list for the ships in the Mediterranean. The list was made right around the time of the Battle of Livorno (14 March 1653, New Style).

I am making good use of my list that I compiled to aid me in building scenarios for First Anglo-Dutch Wars battles. That list is ordered by captain's last name, and lists ships every time there is a new captain. That is because that most published lists for the Dutch only list captains and not ship names.

I believe that I can make more progress filling out the March 1653 list

Apparently, I have learned enough in the last five months to be able to finally come close to filling out the March 1653 list from Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen. What I just posted for Rotterdam is just part of that list. The list shows the state of the Dutch navy just after the Battle of Portland and prior to the Battle of the Gabbard.

Rotterdam ships in March 1653

This is an attempt to understand the March 1653 list published by J. C. de Jonge, in the appendix to Volume I of Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen. We must assume that this list was compiled after the Battle of Portland. The reason that we might believe this is because at the time this list was compiled, 8 Directors' ships had been sunk or captured.  We might be sceptical of de Jonge's list, but there is no other comprehensive listing, so the list needs to be examined. The main problem is that there doesn't seem to be "room" in the list for all the ships we know about.

 

 

Admiralty of the Maas (Rotterdam)

 

 

State's ship	Hired ship	Ship Name	Guns	Sailors	Soldiers
x		Brederode	54	200	50	Lt. Adm. Tromp
x		Gelderland	40	110	30	Michiel Franszoon van den Bergh
x		Prinses Louise	36	124	46	Abel Roelants
x		Dolphijn	32	95	30	Paulus van den Kerckhoff
x		Gorcum	30	95	30	Willem Adriaanszoon Warmont
x		Rotterdam	30	80	20	Jan Aertszoon Verhaeff
x		Gulden Beer	24	80	20	Jan de Haes
x		Utrecht	22	80	20	Leendert Haexwant
x		Overijssel	22	80	20	Dirck Vijch
x		Brander		14
x		Brander		14
x		Adviesjacht	6	15
	x	Hollandia	26	80	20	Ernest Adriaanszoon de Bertrij
	x	Roskam	26	80	20	Corstiaen Eldertszoon
	x	Maria	26	80	20	(Quirijn van den Kerckhoff killed at Portland)

 

Rotterdam Admiralty Losses to Date

 

 

State's ship	Hired ship	Ship Name	Guns	Sailors	Soldiers	Captain	Where Lost
x		Prinses Roijaal Marie	36				Taken in an English port on the outbreak of the war
x		Wapen van Holland	26			Hendrick de Munnich
x			26
x		Gelderland	30	131		Dirck Juynbol	Burnt at the Battle of Dungeness
x			26
x		Nijmegen	26			Paulus van den Kerckhoff	Sunk while returning from Brazil in June 1652

A more in depth look at the Sint Jeronimus

This ship was mentioned in Jan Glete's notes, although I do not have a copy of the document from the archives. This analysis is based on what seemed like the most likely identification. I had really hoped to find the original of this and several other documents, so that I could read for myself what was there. Sadly, Rick van Velden, at the Nationaal Archief, did not find pages.

 

St. Jeronimus

Length                   Beam                      Depth in Hold              [Directors]

116 feet                  28 feet                    11 feet

 

This was a Medemblik Directors' ship commanded by Jan Pieterszoon Renaren [1DW1, p.263]. As this was the only Medemblik Director's ship, at the beginning of the war, the St. Jeronimus seems to have been Captain Renaren's ship.  In mid-1652, the ship carried 30 guns and had a crew of 110 men [1DW1, p.263].  Captain Renaren's ship joined Witte de With's fleet, prior to the Battle of the Kentish Knock [1DW2, p.351]. The ship was paid off in November 1652.  The ship's crew mutinied and would not go to sea, again, in a ship they said was in such disrepair [Schetsen IV, p.27].  Tromp had the ship towed into port to be paid off [1DW3, p.47]. 

 

Sources

 

[Directors]  Jan Glete's notes about a document that he describes in his book, Navies and Nations, in note 10 on page 355, in Volume I.  We don't have the actual inventory number, but this in an archive that he does list: 

Eerste Afdeling, Directies, Oorlogschepen, Algemeen Rijksarchief, The Hague.

 

 

[Schetsen]  Elias, Johan E., Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen, 6-vols., Martinus Nijhoff,

                's-Gravenhage, 1916-1930.

[1DW1] Ed. Gardiner, Dr. S.R., First Dutch War, Vol.I, Navy Records Society, London, 1898.

 

[1DW2] Ed. Gardiner, Dr. S.R., First Dutch War, Vol.II, Navy Records Society, London, 1899.

 

[1DW3] Ed. Gardiner, Dr. S.R., and Atkinson, C.T., First Dutch War, Vol.III, Navy Records Society,

                London, 1905.