English ship Gift
Gift was a 38-gun fourth rate vessel captured from the French by the Commonwealth of England, She was captured on 4 September 1652 as the 36-gun Le Don de Gieu. She was commissioned into the Parliamentary Naval Force as Gift. During the First Anglo-Dutch War she partook in the Battle of Portland, the Battle of the Gabbard and the Battle of Scheveningen. She spent time fishery patrols and escorting convoys. She was converted to a fireship in 1666 and expended at the St James Fight on 25 July 1666.
Gift was the first named vessel in the English or Royal Navy.
Specifications
She was built as the French ship Le Don de Dieu. She was captured by Robert Blake's Fleet off Dunkirk on 4 September 1652. Her dimensions were keel for tonnage with a breadth of and a depth of hold of. Her builder's measure tonnage was calculated as tons. Her draught was. Her gun armament in 1653 was 36 guns and it was changed to 40 wartime and 32 peacetime. Her manning was 130 personnel.Commissioned service
Service in the Commonwealth Navy
She was commissioned into the Commonwealth Navy in 1653 under the command of Captain Thomas Salmon.First Anglo-Dutch War
During the First Anglo-Dutch War she partook in the Battle of Portland on 18 February 1653. As a member of Blue Squadron, Center Division she took part in the Battle of the Gabbard on 2–3 June 1653. With Captain Salmon being killed in battle Captain Edward Barnett took command. She then partook in the Battle of Scheveningen near Texel on the 31 of July 1653 as a member of the Blue Squadron, Van Division. In 1654 Captain Samuel Dickson took command.In 1655 she came under Captain Mark Harrison in to 1657. In 1658 she was renamed Great Gift and sometimes referred to as Gift Major to differentiate her from a Spanish prize now named Little Gift. In 1660 she was under Captain Jeffrey Dare for the North Sea Fishery.