British Fifth Rate frigate 'Sir Francis Drake' (1805)

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Santisima Trinidad (136) 1805-1805
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1st Rate Ship of the Line
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Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad (116) 1769-1805
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1st Rate Ship of the Line
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Sir Francis Drake
Nominal Guns	32	BWAS-1793
Nationality	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Operator	Royal Navy
Previously	British Merchant east indiaman 'Asia' (1797) (32) 1797-1805 British 32 Gun Merchant East Indiaman
Purchased	1805	BWAS-1793
Shipyard	Bombay - Maharashtra	BWAS-1793
Category	Fifth Rate	BWAS-1793
Ship Type	Frigate	BWAS-1793
Sailing Rig	Ship Rigged	BWAS-1793
Sold	13.10.1825	BWAS-1793
Becomes	Portugese Fifth Rate frigate 'Dona Maria II' (1831) (32) 1831-1850 Portugese 32 Gun 5th Rate Frigate

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentBWAS-1793
Length of Gundeck132' 3 ½"Imperial Feet40.2463
Length of Keel112' 4 ¼"Imperial Feet34.144
Breadth35' 5 ½"Imperial Feet10.6807
Depth in Hold14' 0 ½"Imperial Feet4.2799
Burthen751 ³⁰⁄₉₄Tons BM

Armament

1814Broadside Weight = 234 Imperial Pound ( 106.119 kg)BWAS-1793
Upper Gun Deck14 British 24-Pound Carronade
Quarterdeck4 British 24-Pound Carronade
Quarterdeck2 British 9-Pounder
Forecastle2 British 9-Pounder

Crew Complement

Date# of MenNotesSource
181488 BWAS-1793

9 Ship Commanders

DatesRankNameSource
10.1805 - 3.1806CommanderBWAS-17933.1806 - 1808CaptainBWAS-17931808 - 1811CaptainBWAS-17931812 - 8.1812CommanderBWAS-17938.1812 - 8.1813CaptainBWAS-179323.8.1813 - 1814CaptainBWAS-17931814MasterBWAS-179312.2.1817 - 11.1819CaptainNBD184912.1819 - 1822LieutenantBWAS-1793

2 Flag Officers

DatesRankNameSource
1817 - 2.1818Vice-Admiral of the White†BWAS-17932.1818 - 1819Vice-Admiral of the BlueBWAS-1793

3 Commissioned Officers

DatesRankNameSource
9.8.1811 - 6.1813LieutenantNBD184912.9.1824 - 8.10.1824Acting LieutenantNBD18498.10.1824 - 17.9.1825LieutenantNBD1849

3 Petty Officers

DatesRatingNameSource
1808 - 1811MidshipmanNBD18491810 - 9.8.1811MidshipmanNBD18491815 - 21.8.1815Midshipman†ref:1998

Service History

DateEventSource
10.1805Commissioned in the East Indies as a 12-pdr frigateBWAS-1793
13.8.1806RegisteredBWAS-1793
28.5.1813Arrived at DeptfordBWAS-1793
7.1813Began fitted as a storeship at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford BWAS-1793
9.1813Completed fitted as a storeship at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford BWAS-1793
1814Refitted as a Unrated Storeship
1817Flagship at NewfoundlandBWAS-1793
2.1817Began fitting as a Flagship at UnknownBWAS-1793
5.1817Completed fitting as a FlagshipBWAS-1793
13.10.1825Sold at Deptford to Mr. Young for £3,010BWAS-1793

Notes on Ship

Previously HEICo Asia, launched 1797 at Bombay

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

BWAS-1793Rif Winfield, Book

NBD1849O'Brien, Digital Book

ref:1998 Archive

Previous comments on this page

Posted by Tim Oakley on Thursday 27th of December 2018 18:54

Among the wounded in storming the town of Samanap, was Lieutenant Roch of the Sir-Francis-Drake's marines, who was speared twice by two natives, while resolutely endeavouring to wrest the colours out of the hands of a French officer.

Posted by AvM on Sunday 23rd of July 2017 17:57

Firstly she was "sold" to Argentine, where she have to be renamed 'Buenos Ayres'

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Recent comments to other pages

Date posted	By	Page
Wednesday 22nd of July 2026 04:24	F.F.	British First Rate ship of the line 'Santisima Trinidad' (1805) (136) 1805-1805 British 136 Gun 1st Rate Ship of the Line
Wednesday 22nd of July 2026 01:36	F.F.	Spanish First Rate ship of the line 'Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad' (1769) (116) 1769-1805 Spanish 116 Gun 1st Rate Ship of the Line
Tuesday 21st of July 2026 16:47	Jon Miller	British sloop 'Drake' (1798) (14) 1798-1804 British 14 Gun Unrated Sloop
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