HMS Ludlow (1698)

HMS Ludlow was a 32-gun fifth rate built by Mrs. Anne Mundy of Woodbridge in 1697/98.

She was the first vessel to bear the name Ludlow in the English and Royal Navy.

Construction and specifications
She was ordered in 1697 to be built under contract by Mrs. Anne Mundy of Woodbridge. She was launched on 12 September 1698. Her dimensions were a gundeck of 108 ft with a keel of 90 ft for tonnage calculation with a breadth of 28 ft and a depth of hold of 10 ft. Her builder's measure tonnage was calculated as 382$5⁄94$ tons (burthen).

The gun armament initially was four demi-culverins on the lower deck (LD) with two pair of guns per side. The upper deck (UD) battery would consist of between twenty and twenty-two 6-pounder guns with ten or eleven guns per side. The gun battery would be completed by four 4-pounder guns on the quarterdeck (QD) with two to three guns per side.

Commissioned Service 1699-1703
She was commissioned in 1699 under the command of Captain Henry Lumley for service in North America and in the West Indies. In 1703 he was replaced by Captain William Cock remaining in the West Indies.

Loss
She was taken by the 40-gun Frenchman L' Adroit off Gorre on 16 January 1703 losing 30 personnel killed and wounded.