HMS Swiftsure (1621) facts for kids
HMS Swiftsure captured, by Willem van de Velde the Younger
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Quick facts for kids History |
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 England |
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| Name | HMS Swiftsure |
| Builder | Burrell, Deptford |
| Launched | 1621 |
| Captured | By the Dutch on 1 June 1666 |
| Notes |
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 Dutch Republic |
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| Acquired | 1666 |
| Renamed | Oudshoorn |
| Notes |
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| General characteristics as built | |
| Class and type | 42-gun Great ship |
| Tons burthen | 876 |
| Length | 106 ft (32 m) (keel) |
| Beam | 35 ft 10 in (10.92 m) |
| Depth of hold | 16 ft 9 in (5.11 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament | 42 guns of various weights of shot |
| General characteristics after 1654 rebuild | |
| Class and type | 60-gun third rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 898 |
| Length | 118 ft (36 m) (keel) |
| Beam | 37 ft 10 in (11.53 m) |
| Depth of hold | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament | 60 guns of various weights of shot |
HMS Swiftsure was a 42-gun great ship of the English Royal Navy, built by Andrew Burrell at Deptford and launched in 1621.
She was rebuilt in 1654 at Woolwich by Christopher Pett as a 60-gun third rate ship of the line.
In May 1660, during the English restoration, she seems to have carried Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester from Scheveningen to Dover.
She was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir William Berkeley at the Four Days' Battle against the Dutch in 1666. Berkeley led the van of the English fleet on the first day of the battle, 1 June, but outsailed his squadron into the midst of the Dutch, and was surrounded. After a fierce battle in which Berkeley was killed, Swiftsure was captured. The Dutch renamed her the Oudshoorn (70 cannon) and changed the quartergalleries to hide her identity. She fought in the Battle of Solebay in 1672 under the command of Thomas Tobias.
