HMS Milford was a 32-gun fifth rate built under contract by William Hubbard of Ipswich in 1694/95.
She was the third vessel to carry the name Milford since it was first used for a similar vessel in 1660. Her predecessor was a 32-gun fifth rate built at Woolwich Dockyard on 30 March 1690 and captured by the French in the North Sea in November 1693.Colledge (2020)
Construction and specifications She was ordered on 17 May 1694 to be built under contract by William Hubbard of Ipswich. She was launched on 6 March 1695. Her dimensions were a gundeck of with a keel of for tonnage calculation with a breadth of and a depth of hold of . Her builder's measure tonnage was calculated as 386 tons (burthen).Winfred 2009, Ch 5, The Fifth Rates, Vessels acquired from 16 December 1688, Fifth Rates of 32 and 36 guns, 1694 Programme, Milford
The gun armament initially was four demi-culverinsLavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, culverins, page 101A demi-culverin was a gun of 3,400 pounds with a four-inch bore firing a 9.5-pound shot with an eight-pound powder charge on the lower deck (LD) with two pair of guns per side. The upper deck (UD) battery contained between twenty and twenty-two 6-pounder gunsLavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, The 6-pounder, page 102A 6-pounder was a Dutch gun used to replace the saker, with ten or eleven guns per side. The gun battery would be completed by four 4-pounder gunsLavery (1989), Part V, Ch 18, Minion or 4-pounder, page 103A minion renamed the 4-pounder was a gun of 1,000 pounds with a 3.5-inch bore firing a 4-pound shot with a 4-pound powder charge. on the quarterdeck (QD), with two to three guns per side.Winfred 2009, Ch 5, The Fifth Rates, Vessels acquired from 16 December 1688, Fifth Rates of 32 and 36 guns, 1694 Programme
Commissioned Service 1695-1697 HMS Milford was commissioned in 1695 under the command of Captain Thomas Lyell for service in the North Sea on Fishery protection.
Loss She was taken by five French ships while on passage from Great Yarmouth to Holland on 7 January 1697. She was incorporated into French Service as Le Milfort until 1720.
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Citations
References
Winfield (2009), British Warships in the Age of Sail (1603 – 1714), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 2009, EPUB Colledge (2020), Ships of the Royal Navy, by J.J. Colledge, revised and updated by Lt Cdr Ben Warlow and Steve Bush, published by Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, Great Britain, © 2020, EPUB Lavery (1989), The Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War 1600 – 1815, by Brian Lavery, published by US Naval Institute Press © Brian Lavery 1989, , Part V Guns, Type of Guns Clowes (1898), The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to the Present (Vol. II). London. England: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, © 1898