&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Portrait_of_the_%27Constant_Warwick%27_RMG_PY1877.jpg) The Constant Warwick, drawn by Willem van de Velde the Elder
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| History | |
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&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Flag_of_The_Commonwealth.svg){kind=small} Commonwealth of England | |
| Name | Constant Warwick |
| Builder | Peter Pett I, Ratcliff |
| Launched | 1645 |
| Acquired | 20 January 1649 |
| Commissioned | 1650 |
| Honours and awards |
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&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:English_Red_Ensign_1620.svg){kind=small} Kingdom of England | |
| Name | Constant Warwick |
| Acquired | May 1660 |
| Honours and awards |
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| Captured | 12 July 1691 |
| Fate | Captured by the French |
| General characteristics as built | |
| Class and type | 32-gun fourth-rate |
| Length | 85 ft 0 in (25.91 m) (keel) |
| Beam | 26 ft 5 in (8.05 m) |
| Depth of hold | 13 ft 2 in (4.01 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | ship-rigged |
| Complement |
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| Armament |
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| General characteristics by 1660 | |
| Class and type | 32-gun fourth-rate |
| Tons burthen | 341.25 tons |
| Length | 88 ft (27 m) (keel) |
| Beam | 27 ft 0 in (8.23 m) |
| Depth of hold | 12 ft 8 in (3.86 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | ship-rigged |
| Armament | 34 guns |
| General characteristics after 1666 rebuild | |
| Class and type | 42-gun fourth-rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 379.8 tons |
| Length | 90 ft (27 m) (keel) |
| Beam | 28 ft 2 in (8.59 m) |
| Depth of hold | 12 ft 8 in (3.86 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament | 42 guns - comprising 20 demi-culverins, 18 sakers (6-pounder guns) and 4 light sakers (5-pounder guns) |
Constant Warwick was a 32-gun privateer, built in 1645 as a private venture between the Earl of Warwick and Sir William Batten. Hired for service in the Parliamentarian navy during the First English Civil War, her captain William Batten defected to the Royalists during the 1648 Second English Civil War. After her crew mutinied in November 1648, she returned to England and was purchased by Parliament on 20 January 1649. Described as an "incomparable sailer", she was noted for her sharpness and fine lines, and is considered by some as the first true frigate of the Royal Navy. Mainly used for patrolling, she was captured by the French in 1691.[1][2]
Constant Warwick was the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear that name.[3]