HMS Southsea Castle was a 32-gun fifth-rate warship constructed at Deptford Dockyard between 1694 and 1695. Launched on 6 November 1697 under the guidance of Master Shipwright Fisher Harding, she measured approximately 108 feet in length on the gundeck, with a keel length of 89 feet 9 inches used for tonnage calculations. The vessel had a beam of 28 feet 6 inches and a depth of hold of 10 feet 9 inches, with her builder’s measure tonnage approximating 38¾ tons (burthen). Designed for versatility and firepower, HMS Southsea Castle's initial armament comprised four demi-culverins on the lower deck, arranged with two guns per side, and an upper deck battery of 20 to 22 six-pounder guns, evenly split on each side. Additionally, she carried four 4-pounder guns on the quarterdeck, providing supplementary firepower. Her service began shortly after her commissioning in 1697 under Captain Thomas Swanson. The vessel was assigned to the West Indies, a strategic area for British naval operations at the time. In 1699, command transferred to Captain Thomas Stepney for service in Jamaica, reflecting her active deployment in regional maritime conflicts or patrols. Tragically, HMS Southsea Castle’s service was short-lived. She was wrecked along with HMS Bideford on Île-à-Vache, off the coast of Hispaniola, on 12 November 1699. This wreck marked the end of her brief but active career, and she remains a notable example of late 17th-century British fifth-rate ships. Her construction, armament, and deployment illustrate the naval design and strategic priorities of the period, emphasizing her role in protecting colonial interests and projecting maritime power in the Caribbean.

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