ForesightThe 'HMS' prefix was not used until the middle of the 18th century, but is sometimes applied retrospectively was a 28-gun galleon

Galleon

A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon.-Etymology:...

 of the English

Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...

 Navy Royal

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, built by Mathew Baker

Mathew Baker

Mathew Baker was one of the most renowned Tudor shipwrights, and the first to put the practice of shipbuilding down on paper.The first list of 'Master Shipwrights' appointed 'by Patent' by Henry VIII of England included 'John Smyth, Robert Holborn, Richard Bull and James Baker,' in 1537...

 at Deptford Dockyard and launched in 1570. It was a radical innovation over contemporary ships. When John Hawkins

John Hawkins

Admiral Sir John Hawkins was an English shipbuilder, naval administrator and commander, merchant, navigator, and slave trader. As treasurer and controller of the Royal Navy, he rebuilt older ships and helped design the faster ships that withstood the Spanish Armada in 1588...

 became Treasurer of the Navy

Treasurer of the Navy

The Treasurer of the Navy was an office in the British government between the mid-16th and early 19th century. The office-holder was responsible for the financial maintenance of the Royal Navy. The office was a political appointment, and frequently was held by up-and-coming young politicians who...

 in 1577, he had sailed all over the world, and his ideas contributed to the production of a new race-built

Razee

A razee or razée is a sailing ship that has been cut down to reduce the number of decks. The word is derived from the French vaisseau rasé, meaning a razed ship.-Sixteenth century:...

 series of galleons - of which the Foresight was the first - without the fore-

Forecastle

Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...

 and after-castles

Aftcastle

An aftcastle is the upper deck of a sailing ship positioned behind the mizzenmast. It was used in medieval shipping such as galleys or galleasses to provide a heightened platform from which to fire upon other ships; it was also a place of defense in the event of boarding. More common, but much...

 prevalent in other contemporary ships; these "marvels of marine design" could reputedly "run circles around the clumsier Spanish competition." As such, the Foresight was part of the English fleet which destroyed most of the Spanish Armada

Spanish Armada

This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...

in 1588.

She was broken up in 1604.