<P> A raid on Cádiz, led by Francis Drake in April 1587, had captured or destroyed some thirty ships and great quantities of supplies, setting preparations back by a year . Philip initially favoured a triple attack, starting with a diversionary raid on Scotland, while the main Armada would capture the Isle of Wight, or Southampton, to establish a safe anchorage in the Solent . The Duke of Parma would then follow with a large army from the Low Countries crossing the English Channel . Parma was uneasy about mounting such an invasion without any possibility of surprise . He was also alarmed by the costs that would be incurred and advised Philip to postpone or abandon it . The appointed commander of the Armada was the highly experienced Álvaro de Bazán, Marquis of Santa Cruz, but he died in February 1588, and the Duke of Medina Sidonia, a high - born courtier, took his place . While a competent soldier and distinguished administrator, Medina Sidonia had no naval experience . He wrote to Philip expressing grave doubts about the planned campaign, but this was prevented from reaching the King by courtiers on the grounds that God would ensure the Armada's success . </P> <P> Prior to the undertaking, Pope Sixtus V allowed Philip II of Spain to collect crusade taxes and granted his men indulgences . The blessing of the Armada's banner on 25 April 1588, was similar to the ceremony used prior to the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 . On 28 May 1588, the Armada set sail from Lisbon and headed for the English Channel . The fleet was composed of 130 ships, 8,000 sailors and 18,000 soldiers, and bore 1,500 brass guns and 1,000 iron guns . The full body of the fleet took two days to leave port . It included twenty eight purpose - built warships, of which twenty were galleons, four galleys and four (Neapolitan) galleasses . The remainder of the heavy vessels were mostly armed carracks and hulks together with thirty - four light ships . </P> <P> In the Spanish Netherlands, 30,000 soldiers awaited the arrival of the Armada, the plan being to use the cover of the warships to convey the army on barges to a place near London . All told, 55,000 men were to have been mustered, a huge army for that time . On the day the Armada set sail, Elizabeth's ambassador in the Netherlands, Valentine Dale, met Parma's representatives in peace negotiations . The English made a vain effort to intercept the Armada in the Bay of Biscay . On 6 July negotiations were abandoned, and the English fleet stood prepared, if ill - supplied, at Plymouth, awaiting news of Spanish movements . The English fleet outnumbered the Spanish, 200 ships to 130, while the Spanish fleet outgunned the English--its available firepower was 50% more than that of the English . The English fleet consisted of the 34 ships of the Royal Fleet (21 of which were galleons of 200 to 400 tons) and 163 other ships (30 of which were of 200 to 400 tons and carried up to 42 guns each), 12 of these were privateers owned by Lord Howard of Effingham, Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake . </P> <P> The Armada was delayed by bad weather . Storms in the Bay of Biscay forced four galleys and one galleon to turn back, and other ships had to put in for repairs, so only about 123 or 124 ships actually made it to the English Channel . Nearly half the fleet were not built as warships and were used for duties such as scouting and dispatch work, or for carrying supplies, animals, and troops . </P>

How many english ships fought the spanish armada