HMS Deal Castle (1697)

History
England
Name	HMS Deal Castle
Ordered	24 December 1696
Builder	Royal Dockyard, Deptford
Launched	6 November 1697
Commissioned	28 October 1697
Captured	3 July 1706
Fate	By French privateer on 3 July 1706
General characteristics
Type	20-gun Sixth Rate
Tons burthen	240+3⁄9 bm
Length	91 ft 11 in (28.0 m) gundeck 77 ft 8 in (23.7 m) keel for tonnage
Beam	24 ft 1.25 in (7.3 m) for tonnage
Depth of hold	10 ft 9.5 in (3.3 m)
Armament	initially as ordered 20 × sakers on wooden trucks (UD) 4 × 3-pdr on wooden trucks (QD) 1703 Establishment 20 × 6-pdrs on wooden trucks (UD) 4 × 4-pdr on wooden trucks (QD)

HMS Deal Castle was a member of the standardized 20-gun sixth rates built at the end of the 17th century. After she was commissioned she was in Newfoundland, the West Indies, the Irish Sea, Jamaica, and back to Home Waters. She was captured by the French in 1706.^[1]

Deal Castle was the first ship in the Royal Navy.^[2]