HMS Drake (1777)

History
Name	HMS Drake
Acquired	By purchase, 1777
Fate	Captured by USS Ranger, 24 April 1778
General characteristics
Type	Sloop-of-war
Tons burthen	274 61⁄94 bm
Length	91 ft 5 in (27.9 m) (gundeck) 75 ft 10.75 in (23.1 m) (keel)
Beam	26 ft 1 in (8.0 m)
Depth of hold	18 ft 3.5 in (5.58 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	100
Armament	14 × 4-pounder guns

HMS Drake was a Royal Navy 14-gun ship rigged sloop-of-war^[1] with a displacement of 275 tons burthen. Originally named the Royal Oak,^{[note 1]} she was built in New England in 1775 by John Wharton from Philadelphia. She first sailed between London and Stettin as a tobacco-ship. She was then sold in 1776 and renamed Resolution. Captained by Edward Hawker, the ship traded between London, Boston, and Cork. On 4 March 1777 the British navy purchased her at Plymouth for 3,000 pounds sterling. She completed fitting out as a warship on 24 May 1777. She became the ship-rigged sloop-of-war Drake with either 14, 18 or 20 guns. From July 17, 1777, she served in the American Revolutionary War. Her first mission was protecting the packet-boats between Harwich and Gorée ^[2]

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