English ship Dragon (1647)
1647 fourth-rate frigate
Dragon was a 38-gun fourth rate of the English Navy; she became part of the Royal Navy after the Restoration, built by the Master Shipwright Henry Goddard at Chatham and launched in 1647. She was the first frigate to be built at Chatham (the term 'frigate' during this period referred to a vessel designed for fast sailing, with a low superstructure, rather than a role which did not develop until the following century).
Dragon was the fourth named vessel since it was used for a ship of 100 ton bm, in service from 1512 to 1514
Construction and specifications
She was built at Chatham Dockyard under the guidance of Master Shipwright Henry Goddard. She was the first 'frigate' built at Chatham and launched in 1647. Her dimensions were gundeck 120 feet 0 inches (36.6 metres) with 96 feet 0 inches (29.3 metres)for keel with a breadth of 28 feet 6 inches (8.7 metres) and a depth of hold of 14 feet 3 inches (4.3 metres). Her tonnage was 414+72⁄94 tons.
Her gun armament in 1647 was 38 (wartime)/32 (peacetime) guns. In 1666 her armament was 42 (wartime)/32 (peacetime) and consisted of twenty-two culverins, twenty demi-culverines, eight sakers. In 1677 her armament was established as 46 guns consisting of twenty-two culverins, twenty 6-pounder guns(sakers), and four sakers on the quarterdeck. Her manning was 150 personnel in 1652 and rose to 160 a year later.
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