Brederode

Type

Ship of the Line

Period

17th Century

Nation

Netherlands

Overview: Brederode was a Dutch ship of the line built for the Admiralty of Rotterdam and launched in 1644, best known as the flagship of Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp and Vice-Admiral Witte de With during the mid-17th century Anglo-Dutch and Northern Wars. She and her sister ship Aemilia were, at the time, the largest and most heavily armed warships in the Dutch fleet. Specifications: Brederode had a gundeck length of roughly 133 ft 8 in (40.7 m), a beam of about 32 ft 6 in (9.9 m), and a depth of hold of around 13 ft (4.0 m). She carried between 49 and 59 guns over her career, typically arranged as 4 x 36-pounders, 12 x 24-pounders and 8 x 18-pounders on the lower gundeck, 20 x 12-pounders on the upper gundeck, and 10-12 x 6-pounders on the quarterdeck, forecastle and poop. Service History: Brederode served as flagship to Witte de With from 1645 and later to Maarten Tromp, seeing action at the Battle of Goodwin Sands, Dungeness, Portland, and the Gabbard during the First Anglo-Dutch War. She fought at the Battle of Scheveningen in 1653, where Tromp was killed aboard her, and was ultimately lost in 1658 at the Battle of the Sound while serving again as de With's flagship, when she ran aground, was boarded by the Swedish ship Wismar, and sank after de With was mortally wounded. Notable Facts: At the Battle of the Gabbard, Tromp reportedly detonated part of Brederode's own deck to dislodge English boarders who had seized part of the ship. The ship has been depicted in several contemporary Dutch marine paintings, including works by Willem van de Velde the Elder and scenes of the Battle of Scheveningen, making her one of the better-documented Dutch warships of the era for modelers seeking accurate reference imagery.