HMS Success was a 38-gun fourth-rate vessel with notable origins and service history. Built in Stockholm in 1647 as the Julius, she was gifted to France in 1648 and named Jules before being captured by the English ship Phoenix off the Portuguese coast on October 19, 1650. Upon her capture, she was commissioned into the Parliamentary Navy as Success, marking the first vessel to bear this name in the English or Royal Navy. The ship measured approximately 94 feet (28.7 meters) in length on her keel, with a breadth of 30 feet (9.1 meters) and a depth of hold of 11 feet 6 inches (3.5 meters). Her builder’s measure tonnage was around 450 tons, and she had a draught of 14 feet (4.3 meters). Armed initially with 38 guns, her armament was later decreased to 34 during wartime and 30 in peacetime. She carried a crew of about 150 personnel, with later adjustments reducing her complement to between 80 and 140. Commissioned in 1651 under Captain Butler Noades, who was killed in 1652, Success served actively during the First Anglo-Dutch War. She participated in key battles including the Battle of Portland in February 1653 and the Battle of the Gabbard in June 1653, as part of the Blue Squadron’s Center Division. In August 1654, she joined Robert Blake’s fleet to the Mediterranean, taking part in the Battle of Porto Farina in Tunisia on April 4, 1655. Under Captain Zachary Brown until 1657 and then Captain Thomas Fleet in 1658, she also escorted East India convoy ships to the island of Helena and returned with the homebound convoy in 1660. By 1662, HMS Success was deemed no longer worth repairing and was sold on September 3 of that year. Her service record highlights her importance as a vessel involved in early naval battles and Mediterranean operations, marking her as a significant vessel in the evolution of the English Navy.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.