The 1650 Programme of six 510 ton Fourth Rate vessels was initiated by the Council of State on 16 November 1649. On 2 January 1650 the Admiralty Committee confirmed that six 'frigrates' had been ordered at a cost of 6.10.0d per ton. The ships would be built under contract with the exception of one ship built in Dockyard. The ships were all named by 16 August 1650 and launched by the end of the year. Each ship was to carry initially 34 guns and 150 men. This would increase over time^[1]

Design and specifications

The construction one vessels was assigned to Deptford dockyard with the remainder contracted to private builders. The contract dimensional data was keel of 100 ft 0 in (30.48 m) breadth 31 ft 0 in (9.45 m) and a builder's measure tonnage of 511+16⁄94 tons at a contract price of 6.10.0d^{[Note 1]} per ton. The ships were to have 34 guns and a manning level of 150, however, this was increased to 40 and 44 guns with 180 personnel. The guns would be culverins^{[2][Note 2]} on the lower deck (LD), demi-culverines^{[3][Note 3]} on the upper deck and sakers^{[4][Note 4]} on the quarterdeck (QD).^[5]

Ships of the 1650 Programme Group