HMS Paramour (1694)

HMS Paramour was a 6-gun pink of the Royal Navy, briefly commanded by the astronomer Edmond Halley, initially as a civilian and later as a "temporary captain".

History
England
Name	HMS Paramour
Builder	Fisher Harding, Deptford
Launched	April 1694
Fate	Sold on 22 August 1706
General characteristics
Class and type	6-gun pink
Tons burthen	89 bm
Length	64 ft 8 in (19.7 m)
Beam	18 ft (5.5 m)
Draught	9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	Approximately 20
Armament	6 guns

Paramour was built by Fisher Harding of Deptford and launched in April 1694. She was rigged as a three-masted ship and was the first vessel built specifically as a research vessel for the Royal Navy. On one occasion during her sea-trials the visiting Tsar Peter I took her helm.

After three voyages under Halley's captaincy she was refitted in 1702 as a bomb ketch (equipped with a large calibre mortar) in which capacity she remained in the Royal Navy until 22 August 1706 when she was sold to Captain John Constable for (probably) mercantile service. Her subsequent fate is unknown.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.