HMS Drake
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Twenty ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Drake after Sir Francis Drake or after the drake. The most notable are:
- The 6th Rate Drake was captained by John Tyrrell (Oakley) after being appointed by King Charles II of England on 16 January 1678.
- The 12-gun sloop Drake, purchased in 1770, was renamed Resolution in 1771, and served James Cook on his second and third voyages of discovery in the Pacific.
- The 20-gun sloop Drake, launched in 1777, fought in the American Revolutionary War, and was captured by the American sloop Ranger in 1778 off the coast of Northern Ireland, just a few miles out from the town of Carrickfergus in Belfast Lough.
- Drake, launched in 1901, was the lead ship of her class of armoured cruiser. She served in World War I and was sunk in 1917 by U-79. Her wreck in Church Bay, Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland is a favourite with divers.
- Drake is the name now given to HMNB Devonport.
References
- J. J. Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy, Greenhill Books, 1987.
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