HMS Francis (1666)

History
England
Name	HMS Francis
Builder	Royal Dockyard, Harwich
Launched	1666
Commissioned	19 July 1666
Fate	Wrecked in West Indies on 1 August 1684
General characteristics
Class and type	16/14=gun, Sixth Rate
Tons burthen	140 40/94 bm
Length	66 ft 0 in (20.12 m) keel for tonnage
Beam	20 ft 0 in (6.10 m) for tonnage
Draught	8 ft 8 in (2.64 m)
Depth of hold	9 ft 2 in (2.79 m)
Armament	as built 16 × 6-pounder MLSB guns 1677 14 × minions on trucks 2 × 3-pdrs

HMS Francis was built by Anthony Deane during his tenure as the Master Shipwright at Harwich Dockyard under the 1665 Programme. She was commissioned in July 1666, she was Allin's squadron in the Mediterranean and participated in the blockade of Salé (a North African port for the Barbary pirates) in October 1668, she was guardship at Sheerness between 1671 and 1674 and had service in the Channel. She was sent to the Leeward Islands in 1683 where she was lost in a hurricane in August 1684.^[1]

Francis was the fifth named vessel since its introduction for a discovery vessel in 1578 and wrecked in 1583.^[2]