HMS Bredah (also spelled Breda) was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, launched at Harwich in 1679. Constructed under the supervision of Master Shipwright Isaac Betts at Harwich Dockyard, she was part of the second batch of eight third-rate ships ordered under the 1677 naval programme, known as the Thirty Ships Programme, aimed at strengthening England’s naval power in response to naval threats from the Dutch and French. Measuring approximately 151 feet 3 inches (46.1 meters) in length at the gundeck, with a beam of 39 feet 11 inches (12.17 meters) and a hold depth of 16 feet 9 inches (5.1 meters), Bredah had a burthen of about 1,021 tons and a draught of 18 feet (5.5 meters). Her armament, according to the 1685 gun establishment, included 22 demi-cannon and four culverins on her lower deck, 26 twelve-pounder guns on her upper deck, 14 sakers on the forecastle and quarterdeck, and four 3-pounders on the roundhouse. The vessel was crewed by approximately 460 men, slightly reduced from the initial plan of 470. Commissioned in July 1679 under Captain John Moore, who died later that year, Bredah was moved to Chatham Dockyard. She was recommissioned by May 1689 under Captain Christopher Mason and participated in significant engagements during the Nine Years’ War. Notably, she fought at the Battle of Beachy Head on 30 June 1690 as part of the English rear (blue squadron). Later that year, Bredah was involved in the Siege of Cork. Tragically, later in 1690, while anchored at Spike Island, Cork, with a crew of around 400 including troops and Jacobite prisoners, Bredah was destroyed in an accidental explosion caused by a gunpowder blast on 12 October. The explosion resulted in the ship's destruction, with only nine survivors, including one prisoner, Colonel John Barrett, who was believed to have deliberately caused the explosion. Captain Matthew Tennant was among those killed in the incident. The loss of HMS Bredah marked a notable event in naval history, illustrating the hazards of early modern naval warfare and ship handling.

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