''Vanguard'' was a 40-gun ship of the English Navy Royal, built by Phineas Pett and launched in 1631 at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich - originally in north-west Kent, now in southeast London - whe ...

, and was the second vessel to bear the name. Officially she was rebuilt from the first ''Vanguard'', but likely only shared some of the timber and fittings from the previous ship. In 1649, she became part of the Navy of the

English Commonwealth The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...

, and in this capacity she served in the

First Anglo-Dutch War The First Anglo-Dutch War, or First Dutch War, was a naval conflict between the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic. Largely caused by disputes over trade, it began with English attacks on Dutch merchant shipping, but expanded to vast ...

, taking part in Sir George Ayscue's Action on 16 August 1652 (under Vice-Admiral William Haddock), the Battle of the Kentish Knock on 28 September 1652, the Battle of Portland on 18 February 1653 (as flagship of General-at-Sea

George Monck George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (6 December 1608 3 January 1670) was an English military officer and politician who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support ...

), and as flagship of Vice-Admiral Joseph Jordan at both the

Battle of the Gabbard The Battle of the Gabbard, was a naval battle fought from 2 to 3 June 1653 during the First Anglo-Dutch War. It took place near the Gabbard shoal off the coast of Suffolk, England, between fleets of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Repu ...

on 2-3 June 1653 and the Battle of Scheveningen on 31 July 1653.Brian Lavery, ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1'', p.159. In May 1660 she was taken into the new

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

formed at the

Stuart Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

, becoming HMS ''Vanguard'', by when her armament had been increased to 56 guns. She took part in the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...

, when she fought in several actions of the Second Dutch War, including the

Battle of Lowestoft The Battle of Lowestoft took place on during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. A fleet of more than a hundred ships of the Dutch Republic, United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam, Jacob van Wassenaer, Lord Obdam, at ...

in 1665 and the Four Days' Battle and St James's Day Fight in 1666. On 12 June 1667 the decommissioned ''Vanguard'' was scuttled to form a barrier in the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, West Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...

to prevent the Dutch fleet from capturing or burning the British ships there. Her wreck was subsequently sold on 7 February 1668.

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *Winfield, Rif (2009) ''British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1603–1714''. Seaforth Publishing. 1631 establishments in England Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1630s ships Ships built in Woolwich Maritime incidents in 1667 George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle Ships of the English navy {{UK-line-ship-stub