Lyon's Whelp
Lion's Whelp, 1628
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| History | |
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 England
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| Name: | Lion's Whelp |
| Ordered: | February 28, 1628 |
| Laid down: | March 1628 |
| Launched: | late July, 1628 |
| Acquired: | Duke of Buckingham, July, 1628; Royal Navy, 1632 |
| Commissioned: | 1632 |
| In service: | 1628 to 1632 to 1654 |
| Out of service: | 1628 to 1632 to 1654 |
| Fate: | Various |
| Notes: | John Graves built eighth and ninth Whelps. Phineas Pett's certificates of works done have survived for all Whelps except the ninth. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | 3-masted pinnace, auxiliary oared warship |
| Displacement: | 186 tons 180 long tons (183 t) |
| Beam: | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sweeps (two oars between each cannon port). |
| Armament: | 9 broadside cannons, 2 sternchase gunports |
| Notes: | The Whelps were classed as ships "of the sixth rank" |
In 1628, the very wealthy Duke of Buckingham built a private fleet of 10 three-masted, armed full rigged pinnaces, each of which carried the name Lion's Whelp. At least one Lion's Whelp participated in the English attempt to relieve the Huguenot citadel of La Rochelle during the Anglo-French War. Little information has survived about the careers of the other Lion's Whelps and they disappear from the historical record in 1654. Important documents about their finance and construction have survived and made a lasting contribution to our understanding of the Navy Royal during the early 17th century.
The 10 Lion's Whelps built by the 1st Duke of Buckingham in 1628 are exemplars of the 'war' pinnace, a war ship that was built for several European navies for more than two centuries (c.1550-c.1750). The Whelps had sweeps (propelling oars) as well as sails (G R Balleine, All for the King, The Life Story of Sir George Carteret, Societe Jersiase, 1976, p10). England, the Netherlands, Sweden and Poland deployed the war pinnace on a regular basis. The largest war pinnaces, also known as frigates, approximated England's fifth rate and sixth rate small warships. A few war pinnaces were built to fourth-rate hull dimensions. However, these war pinnaces carried fewer cannon and had smaller crews than English fourth, fifth, and sixth rates. Fast and maneuverable when compared to a typical ship of the line, when they were under the command of an experienced captain with a crew that retained discipline during battle, many war pinnaces compiled impressive fighting and espionage records.
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Ten ships of the name Lyon's Whelp were built in 1628 by George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and each was constructed to the same design. Although masted and armed from the stores of the Royal Navy, the fleet was paid for by the Duke. The entire fleet of ten Lion's Whelps cost Buckingham about £7,000 and for several years, they were his private fleet. With the exception of the Earl of Pembroke, the Duke of Buckingham was the wealthiest nobleman in England at this time. This shipbuilding program indicates that the Duke of Buckingham could access very significant funds. The Duke spent £7000 in 1628 to build his fleet which in the first quarter of 2011 would be worth £624,120.00.
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