Naval/Maritime History 27th of August - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 October 1845 – In Annapolis, Maryland, the Naval School (later renamed the United States Naval Academy) opens with 50 midshipman students and seven professors.


The United States Naval Academy (also known as USNA, Annapolis, or simply Navy) is a four-year coeducational federal service academy adjacent to Annapolis, Maryland. Established on 10 October 1845, under Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, it is the second oldest of the United States' five service academies, and educates officers for commissioning primarily into the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The 338-acre (137 ha) campus is located on the former grounds of Fort Severn at the confluence of the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County, 33 miles (53 km) east of Washington, D.C. and 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Baltimore. The entire campus (known to insiders as "the Yard") is a National Historic Landmark and home to many historic sites, buildings, and monuments. It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum, in Philadelphia, that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845 when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis.

Candidates for admission generally must both apply directly to the academy and receive a nomination, usually from a Member of Congress. Students are officers-in-training and are referred to as midshipmen. Tuition for midshipmen is fully funded by the Navy in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation. Approximately 1,200 "plebes" (an abbreviation of the Ancient Roman word plebeian) enter the Academy each summer for the rigorous Plebe Summer. About 1,000 midshipmen graduate. Graduates are usually commissioned as ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps, but a small number can also be cross-commissioned as officers in other U.S. services, and the services of allied nations. The United States Naval Academy has some of the highest paid graduates in the country according to starting salary.[5] The academic program grants a bachelor of science degree with a curriculum that grades midshipmen's performance upon a broad academic program, military leadership performance, and mandatory participation in competitive athletics. Midshipmen are required to adhere to the academy's Honor Concept.

History

U.S. Naval Academy in 1853


Stereoscopic views of midshipman quarters and mess hall c. 1905

The history of the Academy can be divided into four eras:
1) use of original Fort Severn 1845-1861,
2) "Porter's Academy" 1865-1903,
3) "Flagg Academy" 1903-1941,
4) modern era 1941-present.

Identity
The academy's Latin motto is Ex Scientia Tridens, which means "Through Knowledge, Sea Power." It appears on a design devised by the lawyer, writer, editor, encyclopedist and naval academy graduate (1867), Park Benjamin, Jr.It was adopted by the Navy Department in 1898 due to the efforts of another graduate (also 1867) and collaborator, Jacob W. Miller. Benjamin states:

The seal or coat-of-arms of the Naval Academy has for its crest a hand grasping a trident, below which is a shield bearing an ancient galley coming into action, bows on, and below that an open book, indicative of education, and finally bears the motto, 'Ex Scientia Tridens' (From knowledge, sea power).​

The trident, emblem of the Roman god Neptune, represents seapower.

Early years
The institution was founded as the Naval School on 10 October 1845 by Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft. The campus was established at Annapolis on the grounds of the former U.S. Army post Fort Severn. The school opened with 50 midshipman students and seven professors. The decision to establish an academy on land may have been in part a result of the Somers Affair, an alleged mutiny involving the Secretary of War's son that resulted in his execution at sea. Commodore Matthew Perry had a considerable interest in naval education, supporting an apprentice system to train new seamen, and helped establish the curriculum for the United States Naval Academy. He was also a vocal proponent of modernization of the navy.

Originally a course of study for five years was prescribed. Only the first and last were spent at the school with the other three being passed at sea. The present name was adopted when the school was reorganized in 1850 and placed under the supervision of the chief of the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography. Under the immediate charge of the superintendent, the course of study was extended to seven years with the first two and the last two to be spent at the school and the intervening three years at sea. The four years of study were made consecutive in 1851 and practice cruises were substituted for the three consecutive years at sea. The first class of naval academy students graduated on 10 June 1854. They were considered as passed midshipmen until 1912, when graduates were first sworn in as officers.

In 1860, the Tripoli Monument was moved to the academy grounds. Later that year in August, the model of the USS Somers experiment was resurrected when the USS Constitution, then 60 years old, was recommissioned as a school ship for the fourth-class midshipmen after a conversion and refitting begun in 1857. She was anchored at the yard, and the plebes lived on board the ship to immediately introduce them to shipboard life and experiences.

The American Civil War
The Civil War was disruptive to the Naval Academy. Southern sympathy ran high in Maryland. Although riots broke out, Maryland did not declare secession. The United States government planned to move the school, when the sudden outbreak of hostilities forced a quick departure. Almost immediately the three upper classes were detached and ordered to sea, and the remaining elements of the academy were transported to Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island by the USS Constitution in April 1861, where the academy was set up in temporary facilities and opened in May. The Annapolis campus, meanwhile, was turned into a United States Army Hospital.


US Naval Academy waterfront in the late 1860s with the barrack/school ships USS Constitution and Santeetied up in the back ground. Other ships not identified.

The United States Navy was stressed by the situation as 24% of its officers resigned and joined the Confederate States Navy, including 95 graduates and 59 midshipmen, as well as many key leaders involved with the founding and establishment of USNA. The first superintendent, Admiral Franklin Buchanan, joined the Confederate States Navy as its first and primary admiral. Captain Sidney Smith Lee, the second commandant of midshipmen, and older brother of Robert E. Lee, left Federal service in 1861 for the Confederate States Navy. Lieutenant William Harwar Parker, CSN, class of 1848, and instructor at USNA, joined the Virginia State Navy, and then went on to become the superintendent of the Confederate States Naval Academy. Lieutenant Charles "Savez" Read may have been "anchor man" (graduated last) in the class of 1860, but his later service to the Confederate States Navy included defending New Orleans, service on CSS Arkansas and CSS Florida, and command of a series of captured Union ships that culminated in seizing the US Revenue Cutter Caleb Cushing in Portland, Maine. Lieutenant James Iredell Waddell, CSN, a former instructor at the US Naval Academy, commanded the CSS Shenandoah. The first superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory, advocate of the creation of the United States Naval Academy, after whom Maury Hall is named, similarly served in the Confederate States Navy.

The midshipmen and faculty returned to Annapolis in the summer of 1865, just after the war ended.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Naval_Academy

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 October 1892 - The SS Bokhara, a P&O steamship sank in a typhoon off the coast of Sand Island in the Pescadores, Formosa. Of the 150 people who perished, eleven were members of the Hong Kong cricket team.


The SS Bokhara was a P&O steamship which sank in a typhoon on 10 October 1892, off the coast of Sand Island in the Pescadores, Formosa. Of the 150 people who perished, eleven were members of the Hong Kong cricket team.

Hong Kong's cricket team had played an Interport cricket match against Shanghai at the Shanghai Cricket Club on 3 October 1892 and were returning home on the SS Bokhara.


The SS Bokhara, which is moored in Great Britain during the 1880s. Picture from the Hong Kong Cricket Association

Ship history
Built by Caird & Company of Greenock, Scotland, and launched on 18 December 1872, the SS Bokhara had a two-cylinder compound inverted steam engine and was registered in London. The passenger liner travelled mainly to India and the Far East and in 1875 had its registry transferred to Greenock. On the ship's maiden voyage, in 1873, it was stranded on an uncharted rock off Hong Kong and after eventually refloating, it had to be docked at Kowloon for repairs. In 1884 the ship was used as a transport vessel for soldiers in the Mahdist War.

Sinking
The ship set off from Shanghai on 8 October, due to arrive at Hong Kong on the 11th and was then bound for Colombo and Bombay. On board were 173 people, as well as silk, tea and general cargo to the weight of 1500 tons.

A unforecast typhoon struck on 9 October and after various early manoeuvres the ship lay a-hull in the hope of drifting down the centre of the Taiwan Strait until the storm - which the captain thought would cross the strait and land near Xiamen - had passed. Unluckily the storm was recurving and passing up the west coast of Taiwan. The expected drift in a generally south west direction was actually between south and south south west straight towards the Penghu Islands. The winds worsened on the 10th and as the ship rolled violently the ships boats were smashed and the deckhouse damaged. At ten o'clock on the night of the 10 October three huge waves boarded the ship, smashed the engine and boiler room skylights and, folding below, doused the boilers, filling the machinery spaces with steam.

The engineers tried in vain get the boiler going again to raise steam, but at around eleven forty the watch on the bridge saw land only a few hundred yards away directly to leeward. The captain went below to warn the passengers and get them on deck, but it was too late. At about eleven forty-five the ship struck the reef twice, with the second strike causing the starboard side to be ripped wide open and within two minutes the Bokhara had sunk.

Rescue
The survivors, who lay injured on the beach, were found by local Chinese fishermen who brandished axes and knives. After salvaging bits and pieces from the wreckage, the fishermen then took the survivors to Peihou Island followed by Makung, where they were looked after by the locals. They were then picked up by the Douglas Steamer Thales, who transferred the survivors to HMS Porpoise which was heading to Hong Kong.

Victims and survivors
There is residual uncertainty about exactly how many people were aboard the ship. The best estimate is 173, but it could have been more since at least one child, whose body was identified is not amongst those normally listed as being aboard. Confusion was also caused by the total loss of the two year old Norwegian cargo steamer Normand, Car. Michelsen Co. (Captain Jonsson), which had been lost some time the previous day, the 9th, on Tortoise Rock, which is about 3.1 nautical miles south west of where the Bokhara went down. Of the 26 crew of the Normand all survived the immediate wreck, but all but two were swept away when the mizzen mast, to which everyone was clinging, collapsed. The two who survived, 2nd Engineer John NIstad and Ordinary Seaman Thomas Herness, were washed ashore on Fisher Island (Xiyu) about a mile apart after some seventeen hours in the water. Initially they were taken to be Bokhara survivors, adding to the uncertainties.

Only two Hong Kong cricketers survived, Dr James Lowson and Lieutenant Markham. Lowson had to have a lung removed but continued to play cricket for Hong Kong until 1898. First-class cricketer Ernest Coxon and former Hampshire player Horatio Dumbleton both played in Hong Kong's interport match against Shanghai earlier that year but were, fortunately for them, unable to play in the October fixture.

A further 21 people were saved from the water, including the Chief Officer, Third and Fourth Officers and two European Quartermasters. The other 16 survivors were the lascar crew, though one of them died of his injuries in Anping on Taiwan shortly after the Thales' arrival.


Hong Kong and Shanghai's cricket teams pose for a photograph.

Aftermath
A Marine Board of Inquiry was launched but after only two days of testimony found that accident was not caused by the wrongful act or default of any Certified Officer and commended the crew on their efforts to avoid the tragedy.

With the Hong Kong cricket community in mourning, the Interport series did not resume until 1897.

Sand Island in the Pescadores, where the ship sank, was until recently within a Taiwanese military firing range. However it is now open to tourists and accessible at high tide, and the monument to the Bokhara has been restored..


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Bokhara
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Porpoise_(1886)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 October 1918 - RMS Leinster , a vessel operated by the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, sunk by German submarine UB-123. Over 500 people perished in the sinking – the greatest single loss of life in the Irish Sea.


RMS Leinster was a vessel operated by the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, served as the Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire)-Holyhead mailboat until she was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine UB-123on 10 October 1918, while bound for Holyhead. She went down just outside Dublin Bay at a point 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) east of the Kish light. Over 500 people perished in the sinking – the greatest single loss of life in the Irish Sea.


RMS Leinster (1897)

The official death toll was 501, out of a total of 771 (77 crew and 694 passengers), which translates to roughly 65% of the souls on board. However, research by Roy Stokes, author of Death in the Irish Sea: The Sinking of RMS Leinster and fellow writer Philip Lecane, author of Torpedoed! The RMS Leinster Disaster, suggests the actual total was higher.

Design
In 1895, the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company ordered four steamers for Royal Mail service, named for four provinces of Ireland: RMS Leinster, RMS Connaught, RMS Munster, and RMS Ulster. The Leinsterwas a 3,069-ton packet steamship with a service speed of 23 knots (43 km/h). The vessel, which was built at Laird's in Birkenhead, England, was driven by two independent four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines.[2] During the First World War, the twin-propellered ship was armed with one 12 pounder and two signal guns.

Sinking
The ship's log states that she carried 77 crew and 694 passengers on her final voyage under the command of Captain William Birch. The ship had previously been attacked in the Irish Sea but the torpedoes missed their target. Those on board included more than one hundred British civilians, 22 postal sorters (working in the mail room) and almost 500 military personnel from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. Also aboard were nurses from Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.


The dazzled camouflage painted Leinster sinking

Just before 10 a.m. as the Leinster was sailing east of the Kish Bank in a heavy swell, passengers saw a torpedo approach from the port side and pass in front of the bow. A second torpedo followed shortly afterwards, and it struck the ship forward on the port side in the vicinity of the mail room. Captain Birch ordered the ship to make a U-turn in an attempt to return to Kingstown as the ship began to settle slowly by the bow; however, the ship sank rapidly after a third torpedo struck the Leinster, causing a huge explosion.


Leinster's – Carlisle Pier, Dún Laoghaire, adjacent to the National Maritime Museum.

Despite the heavy seas, the crew managed to launch several lifeboats and some passengers clung to life-rafts. The survivors were rescued by HMS Lively, HMS Mallard and HMS Seal. Among the civilian passengers lost in the sinking were socially prominent people such as Lady Phyllis Hamilton, daughter of the Duke of Abercorn, Robert Jocelyn Alexander, son of Irish composer Cecil Frances Alexander, Thomas Foley and his wife Charlotte Foley (née Barrett) who was the brother-in-law of the world-famous Irish tenor John McCormack, Lieut. Col. Charles Harold Blackbourne, veteran of the Boer War, Alfred White Curzon King, 15-year-old nephew to Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, and Maud Elizabeth Ward, personal secretary to Douglas Proby. The first member of the Women's Royal Naval Service to die on active duty, Josephine Carr, was among those killed, as were two prominent trade unionists, James McCarron and Patrick Lynch. Among the less well known were 15-year-old Gerald Palmer, a boy with a physical disability, from "The Cripples Home"in Bray, Co. Wicklow, and Catherine Gould and five of her six children. A Limerick paper described them as "humble decent people". Captain Birch was also among those lost in the sinking. Wounded in the initial attack, he was drowned when his lifeboat became swamped in heavy seas and capsized while trying to transfer survivors to HMS Lively. Several of the military personnel who died are buried in Grangegorman Military Cemetery.

Survivors were brought to Kingstown harbour. Among the survivors were Michael Joyce, member of parliament for Limerick, and Captain Hutchinson Ingham Cone, former commander of the USS Dale (DD-4). One of the rescue ships was the armed yacht and former fishery protection vessel HMY Helga. Stationed in Kingstown harbour at the time of the sinking, she had shelled Dublin during the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin two years earlier. She was later bought and renamed the Muirchú by the Irish Free State government as one of its first fishery protection vessels.


90th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Leinster

The UB-123 was probably lost in a minefield in the North Sea on its way back to Germany, on or about 19 October 1918. The bodies of her commander Oberleutnant zur See Robert Ramm and his crew of two officers and thirty-three men were never recovered.[5]


of RMS Leinster, showing memorial plaques.

2018 Centenary Commemoration
A full calendar of event for the 2018 commemoration are available on the Leinster 2018 website Full list of events click here

The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan T.D., today announced that an official commemoration will take place in Dún Laoghaire on Wednesday, 10th October 2018, to mark the centenary of the sinking of the Royal Mail Steamer (RMS) Leinster and to remember all of those who perished in that tragedy. The programme will comprise a significant cultural element as well as a formal commemoration and wreath-laying ceremony, with participation by members of the Defence Forces. This is also the date on which the vessel will come under the protection of the National Monuments Acts, which covers all shipwrecks over 100 years old.

Just before 9 o'clock on the morning of Thursday, 10th October 1918, the Royal Mail Steamer (RMS) Leinster began its final voyage from Carlisle Pier in Dún Laoghaire (then Kingstown) to Holyhead in Wales. The ship was owned and operated by the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company. An estimated 771 passengers and crew were on board, comprising postal sorters, civilian passengers, military and medical personnel and the ship’s crew. Between 09.30 am and 09.40 am, the RMS Leinster passed the Kish Light. Shortly afterwards, it was sunk by three torpedoes, fired by German submarine, UB-123. What unfolded was the worst maritime disaster in the Irish Sea, with over 500 lives lost.



Speaking today, Minister Madigan said:

“On 10th October 2018, we will remember all of those who lost their lives one hundred years ago, when the Royal Mail Steamer (RMS) Leinster was sunk off the Kish Bank by German submarine UB-123. This tragedy took place one month and one day before the signing of the Armistice that ended the fighting in World War I and it remains the greatest maritime disaster ever to have occurred in the Irish Sea.

Over 500 people perished, including members of the ship's crew, postal sorters, civilian passengers and military, medical and support personnel involved in the war effort. Families and communities on both sides of the Irish Sea and as far afield as America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, were devastated by this tragedy. We will also remember the 35 members of the crew of UB-123, who themselves were killed one week later. An immense humanitarian response was mobilised following the tragedy and we will acknowledge the care and kindness shown by the rescue services, nursing and medical personnel”.

The Minister added:

“I commend the efforts of all of those who have, for many years, worked so hard to ensure that the stories of all of those who were on board the RMS Leinster when she embarked upon her final journey are not forgotten. Their stories have, for too long, been hidden and unspoken. As we mark the centenary of this tragedy, we have developed an appreciation of the complex narratives around Ireland's involvement in World War I and a mature understanding of the context of that time.

In particular, I wish to acknowledge the efforts of the late owner of the RMS Leinster, Mr Des Brannigan, who was committed to protecting the ship and was one of the founders of the National Maritime Museum in Dún Laoghaire. I would also like to sincerely thank Dún Laoghaire - Rathdown County Council, the family members of those affected by this tragedy, and the many other stakeholders who are working with my Department as we develop an inclusive, respectful and fitting ceremony in remembrance of all of those who died”.



2008 Commemoration
In 2008, ninety years after its sinking, a commemorative stamp was issued by An Post, recalling particularly the Post Office's 21 staff who died in the tragedy. The sinking of the vessel is further recalled in the postal museum of the General Post Office, in Dublin's O'Connell Street.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Leinster
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_UB-123

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 10 October


1763 - Launch of French Ferme 56 guns at Bordeaux – Deleted 1774

The Ferme was a 56-gun Bordelois-class ship of the line of the French Navy. She was funded by a don des vaisseaux donation from the Ferme Générale, and built by engineer Léon Guignace on a design by Antoine Groignard. Complete too late to serve in the Seven Years' War, she was sold to the Ottoman Empire and recommissioned in the Ottoman Navy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Ferme_(1763)


1768 – launch of spanish San Lorenzo 74 at Guarnizo


1770 - HMS Endeavour, Lt. James Cook, arrived at Batavia.


1775 - Continental Navy schooner Hannah (4), Nicolson Broughton, engages HM sloop Nautilus (16) near Beverly, Massachusetts


1781 - HMS Charon (1778-44), Cptn. Thomas Symonds, HMS Guadeloupe (1763-28), HMS Fowey (1749-24), Cptn. Peter Aplin, HMS Vulcan fireship, and some transports, were burnt in the Chesapeake before Yorktown by hot shot from the American batteries. They would otherwise have been captured.

On October 10, the Americans spotted a large house in Yorktown. Believing that Cornwallis might be stationed there, they aimed at it and quickly destroyed it. Cornwallis sank more than a dozen of his ships in the harbor. The French began to fire at the British ships and scored a hit on the British HMS Charon, which caught fire, and in turn set two or three other ships on fire. Cornwallis received word from Clinton that the British fleet was to depart on October 12, however Cornwallis responded by saying that he would not be able to hold out for long.

HMS Charon (1778) was a 44-gun fifth rate launched in 1778 and destroyed at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.
HMS Guadeloupe (1763) was a 28-gun sixth rate launched in 1763 and sunk to avoid capture in 1781. She was subsequently salvaged and recommissioned by the French.
HMS Fowey (1749) was a 24-gun sixth rate launched in 1749 and sunk in 1781.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Guadeloupe_(1763)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Fowey_(1749)


1790 – Spanish Brillante (San Dionisio) 74 (launched 20 August 1754 at Ferrol) burnt


1795 - HMS Mermaid (1782-32), Cptn. Warre, captured Brutus (10), Requiem Bay, Grenada

HMS Mermaid (1782) was a 32-gun Active-class fifth-rate frigate launched in 1784 and broken up in 1815.


Brutus captured by the Mermaid

She came under the command of Captain Henry Warre in June 1794, and then sailed to the Leeward Islands on 5 May 1794. Then Mermaid captured the 10-gun Brutus off Grenada on 10 October 1795. However, the brig's crew of 50 men, together with some 120 troops, were able to get ashore before Mermaid could capture them. Brutus had been in the company of a ship, which temporarily escaped. Still, on 14 October Mermaid was able to find and capture the ship after a fight that cost Mermaid one man killed and three men wounded. The French ship was the Républicaine, and she was armed with eighteen guns and had some 250–260 men aboard at the start of the action, one of whom was a French general on his way to take command of Grenada. In the action, the French lost 20 men killed and some wounded. Zebra shared by agreement. The Royal Navy took Republicaine into service as HMS Republican

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Mermaid_(1784)


1796 - HMS Malabar (1789/1795 - 54), Cptn. Parr, foundered coming home from West Indies.

HMS Malabar was a 54-gun fourth rate, previously the East Indiaman Royal Charlotte. The Admiralty purchased her in 1795, but she foundered under tow in 1796.

Malabar left Jamaica in July as escort for a convoy sailing for Britain. Some 800 miles west of Land's End she separated from the convoy in bad weather. By 5 October the weather was a full Atlantic storm. Malabar did not handle the storm well, losing all three masts, and having her tiller broken and rudder unshipped. Four carronades came loose and killed one man, injured four others, and damaged her boats before the carronades could be tumbled into the hold. The crew threw her guns overboard and, once the winds had dropped, jury-rigged her, but her timbers started to give way and let in water. On 8 October the merchant brig Martha, of Whitby, came up. She took on Malabar's crew, who abandoned the ship on 11 October. Lloyd's List reported on 25 October 1796 that Martha had arrived at Portsmouth with the crew from Malabar.

The subsequent court martial dismissed the service of a Lieutenant Crocombe for having spent much of the time of the crisis in the wardroom drunk. It also reprimanded the master for joining Crocombe in his drinking and for getting disablingly drunk.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Charlotte_(1789_EIC_ship)


1812 - Gun-boat HMS Sentinel (1804 - 12), Lt. William Elletson King, wrecked North-east end of the Island of Rugen, Baltic.

HMS Centinel (1804) was a 12-gun brig, formerly named Friendship. She was purchased in 1804 and wrecked in the Baltic in 1812.


1860 - USS San Jacinto, commanded by Capt. T.A. Dorwin, captures the slave ship Bonito in the South Atlantic with about 622 slaves onboard. Bonito is then taken into naval service.


1891 – USS Despatch wrecked



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Despatch_(1873)


1913 – United States President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike, ending construction on the Panama Canal.

On October 10, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson sent a signal from the White House by telegraph which triggered the explosion that destroyed the Gamboa Dike. This flooded the Culebra Cut, thereby joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Panama Canal. Alexandre La Valley (a floating crane built by Lobnitz & Company and launched in 1887) was the first self-propelled vessel to transit the canal from ocean to ocean. This vessel crossed the canal from the Atlantic in stages during construction, finally reaching the Pacific on January 7, 1914. SS Cristobal (a cargo and passenger ship built by Maryland Steel, and launched in 1902 as SS Tremont) on August 3, 1914 was the first ship to transit the canal from ocean to ocean.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal


1920 – barquentine Benicia was wrecked on Lafolle Reef off Haiti on 10 October 1920

Benicia was a barquentine built by Matthew Turner in Benicia, California in 1899. She was known for a fast passage from Newcastle, New South Wales to Kehei, Hawaii, of 35 days.
Benicia was wrecked on Lafolle Reef off Haiti on 10 October 1920.


Benicia, a three-mast sailing barkentine, at sea (lumber carrier out of Grays Harbor, Washington). Handwritten on verso: Barkentine Benicia, S.F.

Turner's influence on schooner Benicia
At least two other sailing vessels also carried the name Benicia. Gibbs reports that Turner's influence on the South Seas schooner was still evident as late as 1941, when a two-masted schooner, Benicia, built in Tahitiby a shipwright who had worked in Turner's yard, arrived in San Francisco under the French flag.

An 899-ton iron ship named Benicia was launched in Oct. 1883, for Liverpool owners, by Whitehaven Iron Shipbuilding Co

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benicia_(barquentine)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 October 1746 - HMS Nottingham (1703 - 60), Cptn. Philip Saumarez, took French ship Mars (1740 - 64) off Cape Clear.


HMS Nottingham was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard and launched on 10 June 1703. She was the first ship to bear the name.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines and longitudinal half-breadth for Nottingham, a 1733 Establishment 60-gun Fourth Rate, two-decker.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81462.html#1wlPxUX3J59ErtMh.99

Commissioned under Captain Samuel Whitaker, she formed part of Admiral Cloudesley Shovell's fleet that sailed with Admiral Rooke to attack and take the formidable Rock of Gibraltar in 1704. The ship also saw action in the Battle of Cabrita point in March 1705 and in the Mediterranean in 1711.

Nottingham was rebuilt according to the 1706 Establishment at Deptford, from where she was relaunched on 5 October 1719. On 18 May 1739, orders were issued directing that Nottingham be taken to pieces and rebuilt according to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment at Sheerness, from where she was relaunched on 17 August 1745.


A depiction of a sea battle between HMS Nottingham and the French ship Mars in 1746. The Mars was returning to Europe after the failed 1746 Duc d'Anville Expeditionattempting the recapture of the w:Fortress of Louisbourg.

The ship, when captained by Philip de Saumarez, also attacked and captured the French ship Mars, which was returning to France after the failed Duc d'Anville Expedition, 11 October 1746. The Nottingham took Augustin de Boschenry de Drucour captive.

Nottingham gained more success with the capture of the French 74 gun Magnanime on 31 January 1748 under Captain Robert Harland.

Nottingham continued in service until 1773, when she was sunk to form part of a breakwater.


In June 1746 the French sent a powerful force to re-take Louisbourg and capture Nova Scotia. A long stormy journey from Brest and disease defeated them and the third surviving commanding officer, de la Jonquiere took the remnants back to France in early October. Several ships were captured by British cruisers and one of these was the ‘Mars’ which had been driven by bad weather as far south as Martinique, where she refitted. After sailing for France she fell in with the ‘Nottingham’, commanded by Captain Philip de Saumarez, and was taken after a two hour engagement. The ‘Mars’ was very short of men through disease and lost in the engagement 12 killed and 16 wounded. The ‘Nottingham’ had three killed and 16 wounded. The two ships are shown in action in the right half of the picture. The ‘Nottingham’ is on the right and the ‘Mars’ is in the act of striking, her main-mast shot away and her main-yard shot through. Two further vessels can be spotted in the distance. The left half of the picture is plain sea and sky. The museum has a painting (BHC0368) by Samuel Scott , possibly commissioned by Lord Anson, that has an uncanny resemblance to this engraving that they must be connected.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/128721.html#fmLuALycIlZ7cx5G.99


Mars was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the French Navy. Mars' was captured by HMS Nottingham off Cape Clear in 1746. She taken into Royal Navy service as HMS Mars and was wrecked in 1755 near Halifax, Nova Scotia.

French service
She took part in the action that took HMS Northumberland off Ushant on 8 May 1744. Le Mars was captured by HMS Nottingham off Cape Clear, off Ireland in 1746.

English service
Commissioned in March 1747, under the command of Captain Edward Hawke. While on a voyage from Portsmouth, England to Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, she was wrecked on 25 June 1755 on a rock (now known as Mars Rock) near Halifax Harbour.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Nottingham_(1703)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Mars_(1740)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 October 1753 – Launch of French Courageux 74-guns at Brest,


Courageux was a heavy 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy,designed by Jean Geoffroy, launched in 1753. She was captured by the Royal Navy in 1761 and taken into service as HMS Courageux. She was wrecked in 1796.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board decoration and name in a cartouche on the counter, the sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and the longitudinal half-breadth for 'Courageux' (1761), a captured French Third Rate, as taken off prior to fitting as a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker at Portsmouth Dockyard. Signed by Edward Allin [Master Shipwright, Portsmouth Dockyard, 1755-1762] Reverse: Scale: 1:96. Plan showing the roundhouse, quarterdeck and forecastle, upper deck, gun (lower) deck, and orlop deck with fore and aft platforms for 'Courageux' (1762).
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81036.html#8X0DFTuJR93Lg0wr.99



French service
Courageux was launched in 1753. She was considered heavy because she carried 24-pounder guns on her upper deck rather than the normal 18 pounders.

Capture by the Royal Navy
Main article: Action of 14 August 1761
She was captured by the British ship HMS Bellona, also of 74 guns on 13 August 1761, whilst in the company of two frigates. Courageux sighted Bellonain company with the frigate Brilliant. The British ships pursued, and after 14 hours, caught up with the French ships and engaged, the Brilliant attacking the frigates, and Bellona taking on Courageux. The frigates eventually got away, but Courageux struck her colours, and was later repaired and taken into the Royal Navy as the third rate HMS Courageux.


A drawing depicting the action of 14 August 1761 off Cape Finisterre at which HMS Bellona captured French ship Courageux. Drawn by H. Fletcher c. 1890

The Battle of Cape Finisterre was a naval engagement fought off the Northern Spanish Atlantic coast near Cape Finisterre between British and French squadrons during the Seven Years' War. A British force comprising the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Bellona and 36-gun frigate HMS Brilliant was sailing from Lisbon to Britain with a cargo of specie when on 13 August they encountered a French force comprising the 74-gun Courageux and the 32-gun frigates Malicieuse and Hermione. The British ships immediately chased the French squadron, maintaining contact through the night, and on the following morning two separate engagements occurred as Brilliant fought the French frigates and Bellona battled Courageux.

In a short but hard-fought engagement both ships of the line were damaged. The battle was decided when Bellona's captain, Robert Faulknor succeeded in manoeuvering his ship into a raking position, inflicting severe damage and appalling casualties on Courageux, forcing the French ship to surrender. Although outnumbered, Brilliant successfully held off the French frigates, preventing them from intervening in the battle between the ships of the line, Malicieuse and Hermione both successfully withdrew following the surrender of Courageux. Courageux was subsequently repaired and recommissioned in the Royal Navy, serving for 35 years in two later conflicts.

Fate
She was wrecked off Gibraltar on 18 December 1796. Out of 593 people on board, 464 perished.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Courageux_(1753)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Finisterre_(1761)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 October 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Valcour Island: On Lake Champlain a fleet of American boats is defeated by the Royal Navy, but delays the British advance until 1777



The naval Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain. The main action took place in Valcour Bay, a narrow strait between the New York mainland and Valcour Island. The battle is generally regarded as one of the first naval battles of the American Revolutionary War, and one of the first fought by the United States Navy. Most of the ships in the American fleet under the command of Benedict Arnold were captured or destroyed by a British force under the overall direction of General Guy Carleton. However, the American defense of Lake Champlain stalled British plans to reach the upper Hudson River valley.


Royal Savage is shown run aground and burning, while British ships fire on her (watercolor by unknown artist, ca. 1925)

The Continental Army had retreated from Quebec to Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Crown Point in June 1776 after British forces were massively reinforced. They spent the summer of 1776 fortifying those forts, and building additional ships to augment the small American fleet already on the lake. General Carleton had a 9,000 man army at Fort Saint-Jean, but needed to build a fleet to carry it on the lake. The Americans, during their retreat, had either taken or destroyed most of the ships on the lake. By early October, the British fleet, which significantly outgunned the American fleet, was ready for launch.

On October 11, Arnold drew the British fleet to a position he had carefully chosen to limit their advantages. In the battle that followed, many of the American ships were damaged or destroyed. That night, Arnold sneaked the American fleet past the British one, beginning a retreat toward Crown Point and Ticonderoga. Unfavorable weather hampered the American retreat, and more of the fleet was either captured or grounded and burned before it could reach Crown Point. Upon reaching Crown Point Arnold had the fort's buildings burned and retreated to Ticonderoga.


Contemporary watercolor drawing of the American line of battle by Charles Randle. Drawing is titled as follows: New England Armed Vessels in Valcure Bay, Lake Champlain [including Royal Savage, Revenge, Lee, Trumble, Washington, Congress, Philadelphia, New York, Jersey, Connecticut, Providence, New Haven, Spitfire, Boston, and Liberty] commanded by Benedict Arnold.

Contemporary watercolor drawing of the British line of battle by Charles Randle. Title of the painting: His Majesty's Vessels on Lake Champlain commanded by Commodore Thomas Pringle, R.N., including the ships Carleton, Inflexible, Maria, Convert, Thunderer, as well as a long boat and some gun boats.

The British fleet included four officers who later became admirals in the Royal Navy: Thomas Pringle, James Dacres, Edward Pellew and John Schank. Valcour Bay, the site of the battle, is now a National Historic Landmark, as is Philadelphia, which sank shortly after the October 11 battle, and was raised in 1935. The underwater site of Spitfire, located in 1997, is on the National Register of Historic Places.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Valcour_Island

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 October 1776 - USS Royal Savage (1775) burnt and sunk during Battle of Valcour Island


Royal Savage was a two-masted schooner built by the British in the summer of 1775. She was damaged and sunk by soldiers of the United Coloniesduring the Siege of Fort St. Jean and later raised and repaired after the fort was captured.


a model in museum

Design
The dimensions of Royal Savage were an estimated 50 ft (15 m) long and 15 ft (4.6 m) wide with an unknown draft and a displacement of 70 long tons(71 t).

She was armed with eight 4-pounder guns, four 6-pounder guns, and ten swivel guns. Royal Savage had a crew of 40 to 50 men.



Service history
Siege of Fort St. Jean
Main article: Siege of Fort St. Jean
Royal Savage, a two-masted schooner, was damaged and sunk by American forces under Richard Montgomery during the siege of St. Johns (St. Jean-Iberville), Quebec, in the fall of 1775. Raised and repaired after the capture of that fort on 2 November, she, with the small schooner Liberty and the sloop Enterprise (ex-HMS George III), formed the nucleus of the American Lake Champlain squadron. That squadron, under Benedict Arnold, denied the British the use of the lake during the fall of 1776 and thus contributed to Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga.

Summer 1776
In June 1776, the American force, pushed from Canada, fell back to Crown Point, Skenesborough, and Fort Ticonderoga. There Arnold pressed his force to complete a shipbuilding program before the British completed their squadron. In late August, 10 of his ships were finished and he moved north with Royal Savage as his flagship. Into September he scouted the lakeshore. On 23 September he moved his fleet into an anchorage at Valcour Island, separated from the western shore by a half-mile channel, to await the remainder of his squadron, and the British. With the arrival of the galley Congress, Arnold shifted his headquarters to that boat, and continued to wait.

Battle of Valcour Island
Main article: Battle of Valcour Island
On 11 October the north wind carried the British past the island. American ships, including Royal Savage, appeared; fired on the enemy, and beat back into the southern entrance to the channel, where the remainder of Arnold's force was positioned to meet the enemy, beat him if possible, but, at all cost, to delay him.

Coming in from the south, the British force was handicapped by the wind. Arnold's planning and the British acceptance of the bait had given the Americans a chance to carry out their mission.

Royal Savage, however, ran aground on the southwest point of Valcour Island around 11 am when attempting to return to the American line, and, undefendable, was abandoned. Despite attempts to reboard her, she was taken by a British boarding party which turned her guns against the American fleet. They too, however, soon found themselves under considerable fire and had to abandond Royal Savage.

The British didn't want to give the Americans an opportunity to retake Royal Savage so they set fire to her sometime after dark. This, though, led to unintintionally helping the American fleet escape in the night. With the fire burning all night she was able to provided for a magnificent distraction. Combined with a moonless night, the ammunition blowing up and staring at the fire, the British were unable to see the American fleet slip away.

Preservation
The ship remained in the lake until it was raised in 1934 by marine salvor and amateur archaeologist Lorenzo Hagglund. According to Art Cohn, Hagglund's family held onto the remains of the ship and associated artefacts until being purchased by the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1995.

The remains were sold to Harrisburg for $42,500 with the plan of five museums being created in the city. The ship had no connections to either the city of Harrisburg or the state of Pennsylvania, but with plans of revolving displays that would cover different periods of history the then mayor, Stephen R. Reed was able to rationale the purchase. However, only two of the planned six museums opened and the plans to display Royal Savage stalled with the remains being pilled up in the corner of one of the city garages.

In October 2013 the city council tried to recoup some of the city's money by auctioning off the remains of Royal Savage. They had already auctioned off some other artefacts in 2006 that had an American West connection in Dallas, Texas. The pre-auction estimates for Royal Savage ranged between $20,000 and $30,000. This fell well below the $42,500 that had been paid for her in 1995. The starting bid was set at $10,000 but she was only able to bring $5,000. However, in the end the bidder decided not to take possession of Royal Savage and Harrisburg retained ownership.

In July 2015 the city of Harrisburg was formally presented with the remains of Royal Savage.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse presided over the event in which Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Director Sam Cox accepted the artefacts on behalf of the Navy.

This ship, and its artifacts are now going to be preserved and cherished for the public for generations to come as they should be. For the last 20 years, the artifacts have stayed in storage, out of public viewing, and we are pleased today to bring them to the light of day and to make sure they are being given the proper care.​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Royal_Savage_(1775)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 October 1776 - gunboat USS Philadelphia sunk during Battle of Valcour Island


USS Philadelphia is a gunboat (referred to in contemporary documents as a gundalow or gondola) of the Continental Navy. Manned by Continental Army soldiers, she was part of a fleet under the command of General Benedict Arnold that fought the 11 October 1776 Battle of Valcour Island against a larger Royal Navy fleet on Lake Champlain. Although many of the American boats in the battle were damaged in the battle, Philadelphia was one of the few actually sunk that day. On the days following the main battle, most of the other boats in the American fleet were sunk, burned, or captured. She is one of a few such vessels used during the American Revolutionary War to be raised.


Philadelphia on display at the National Museum of American History

In 1935, amateur military marine archaeologist Lorenzo Hagglund located her remains standing upright at the bottom of Lake Champlain, and had her raised. Bequeathed to the Smithsonian Institution in 1961, Philadelphia and associated artifacts are part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of American History, in Washington, D.C., where curator Philip K. Lundeberg was responsible for arranging her initial display. The vessel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark.

Construction of Philadelphia
Philadelphia was one of eight gundalows (also called gondolas in contemporary documents) constructed at Skenesboro. She was laid down early in July 1776 and launched in mid-August. Constructed primarily of oak, she was larger than a bateaux at 53 ft 2 in (16.21 m) long with a beam of 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m). She featured a single 36-foot (10.97 m) mast with square-rigged sail and topsail, and mounted three cannons, one 12-pounder (5.4 kg) facing forward and two 9 pounders (4.1 kg) facing port and starboard respectively. She also had mounting points for up to eight swivel guns, and was estimated by the Smithsonian to displace 29 long tons (32.5 short tons; 29.5 t). Late in her construction General Arnold ordered that her aft deck be raised in order to accommodate a mortar. This modification was apparently undone after the mortar exploded during test firing at Fort Ticonderoga. In order to maintain equilibrium, ballast rocks were probably used in the aft portion of the boat once the mortar was removed. For the relative comfort of its crew, the boat had a canvas awning aft of the mast and fascines were probably lashed to its sides to diffuse musket fire aimed at the boat.


Contemporary watercolor depicting the American line of battle

Service history
Philadelphia was placed in service under a Captain Rice shortly after she was completed. Late in August General Arnold assembled his fleet and cruised provocatively on the northern stretches of Lake Champlain. On September 23, in anticipation of the larger British fleet's arrival, he stationed his ships in Valcour Bay, the strait separating the western shore of the lake from Valcour Island. When the two forces clashed on October 11, Philadelphia was under the command of Benjamin Rue, and was part of the formation Arnold established in the Valcour strait. Early in the six-hour fight the 12-gun schooner Royal Savage ran aground and was burned. Toward dusk the British guns holed Philadelphia with a 24-pound (10.9 kg) shot and she soon sank. Darkness ended the action, and Arnold was able to slip away during the night. Many of his remaining ships were burned, sunk, or captured over the next two days as the British pursued him toward Ticonderoga.

In sea trials of the replica Philadelphia II, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum determined that the boat was not particularly maneuverable: contemporary accounts of sailing the vessels include reports that the gondolas skipped across the waters of the lake, blown by the wind, and needed safe shelter when winds were high.


Model of the gunboat Philadelphia in the National Navy Museum

Raising the wreck
In the 1930s, Lorenzo Hagglund, a veteran of World War I and a history buff, began searching the strait for remains of the battle. In 1932 he found the remains of Royal Savage's hull, which he successfully raised in 1935. Hagglund followed up his discovery of Royal Savage with the discovery of Philadelphia's remains in 1935, sitting upright on the lake bottom. He raised her that year; in addition to the guns and hull, hundreds of other items were recovered from the vessel. These relics included shot, cooking utensils, tools, buttons, buckles and human bones.

Philadelphia was exhibited at various locations on Lake Champlain and the Hudson River before becoming a long-term display at Exeter, New York.[24] Lorenzo Hagglund spent years searching for other ships in Arnold's fleet, and raised another gunboat in 1952. Funding for a structure to house that find and Royal Savage fell through, and that boat's remains were eventually ruined through neglect and looting.

In the wake of that failure Hagglund approached the Smithsonian Institution to preserve Philadelphia, and in 1961, bequeathed her and associated artifacts to that organization. According to the Whitehall Times, the remains had suffered more damage during their time above water than below. The boat and artifacts are now part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of American History, in Washington, D.C. She is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated a National Historic Landmark. She remains in precarious condition: as of 2001 the wood and iron fittings continued to show signs of deterioration despite attempts to stabilize them.

In 1997, another pristine underwater wreck was located during a survey by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. Two years later it was conclusively identified as the gundalow Spitfire.

Take also a look at this 3D-animation of the Gunboat
https://3d.si.edu/tour/gunboat-philadelphia-overview


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Philadelphia_(1776)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 October 1797 - The Battle of Camperdown - Part I


(known in Dutch as the Zeeslag bij Kamperduin) was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797, between the British North Sea Fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Batavian Navy fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter. The battle was the most significant action between British and Dutch forces during the French Revolutionary Wars and resulted in a complete victory for the British, who captured eleven Dutch ships without losing any of their own. In 1795, the Dutch Republic had been overrun by the army of the French Republic and had been reorganised into the Batavian Republic, a French client state. In early 1797, after the French Atlantic Fleet had suffered heavy losses in a disastrous winter campaign, the Dutch fleet was ordered to reinforce the French at Brest. The rendezvous never occurred; the continental allies failed to capitalise on the Spithead and Nore mutinies that paralysed the British Channel forces and North Sea fleets during the spring of 1797.


The Battle of Camperdown, 11 October 1797, Thomas Whitcombe, 1798, NMM. The painting shows the British flagship Venerable engaged with the Dutch flagship Vrijheid.

By September, the Dutch fleet under De Winter were blockaded within their harbour in the Texel by the British North Sea fleet under Duncan. At the start of October, Duncan was forced to return to Yarmouth for supplies and De Winter used the opportunity to conduct a brief raid into the North Sea. When the Dutch fleet returned to the Dutch coast on 11 October, Duncan was waiting, and intercepted De Winter off the coastal village of Camperduin. Attacking the Dutch line of battle in two loose groups, Duncan's ships broke through at the rear and van and were subsequently engaged by Dutch frigates lined up on the other side. The battle split into two mêlées, one to south, or leeward, where the more numerous British overwhelmed the Dutch rear, and one to the north, or windward, where a more evenly matched exchange centred on the battling flagships. As the Dutch fleet attempted to reach shallower waters in an effort to escape the British attack, the British leeward division joined the windward combat and eventually forced the surrender of the Dutch flagship Vrijheid and ten other ships.

The loss of their flagship prompted the surviving Dutch ships to disperse and retreat, Duncan recalling the British ships with their prizes for the journey back to Yarmouth. En route, the fleet was struck by a series of gales and two prizes were wrecked and another had to be recaptured before the remainder reached Britain. Casualties in both fleets were heavy, as the Dutch followed the British practice of firing at the hulls of enemy ships rather than their masts and rigging, which caused higher losses among the British crews than they normally experienced against continental navies. The Dutch fleet was broken as an independent fighting force, losing ten ships and more than 1,100 men. When British forces confronted the Dutch Navy again two years later in the Vlieter Incident, the Dutch sailors, confronted with superior British fire power as they had been at Camperdown and in the face of pro Orangist insurrection, abandoned their ships and surrendered en masse.

Background
In the winter of 1794–1795, forces of the French Republic overran the neighbouring Dutch Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars. The French then reorganised the country as a client state named the Batavian Republic, and it joined France against the allies in the War of the First Coalition. One of the most important Dutch assets of which the French gained control was the Dutch Navy, which had been captured in its frozen harbour in the Texel by French cavalry advancing across the ice. The Dutch fleet provided a substantial reinforcement to the French forces in Northern European waters, which were principally based at Brest on the Atlantic Ocean and whose main opponent was the Royal Navy's Channel Fleet. The location of the main anchorage of the Dutch fleet in the waters off the Texel prompted a reorganisation of the distribution of British warships in Northern European waters, with a new focus on the importance of the North Sea. With the Navy suffering severe shortages in men and equipment and with other theatres of war deemed more important, small, old and poorly maintained ships were activated from reserve and based in harbours in East Anglia, principally the port of Yarmouth, under the command of Admiral Adam Duncan. The 65-year-old Duncan was a veteran of the wars of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) and the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and had fought at numerous engagements with distinction and success. Standing at 6'4" he was also noted for his physical strength and size: a contemporary described him as "almost gigantic".

The French Navy had suffered a series of one-sided defeats in the opening years of the war, suffering heavy losses at the Glorious First of June in 1794 and during the Croisière du Grand Hiver the following January. In late 1796, after prompting from representatives of the United Irishmen (a society dedicated to ending British rule of the Kingdom of Ireland), the French Atlantic Fleet launched a large scale attempt to invade Ireland, known as the Expédition d'Irlande. This too ended in disaster, with twelve ships lost and thousands of men drowned in fierce winter gales. Their ambitions frustrated, the representatives of the United Irishmen, led by Wolfe Tone, turned to the new Batavian state for support and were promised assistance in the coming year by a united French and Dutch fleet. A plan was formulated to merge the French and Dutch fleets and attack Ireland together in the summer of 1797. Tone joined the staff of Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter on his flagship Vrijheid in the Texel and 13,500 Dutch troops were equipped in preparation for the operation, the fleet waiting only for the best moment to take advantage of easterly winds and sweep past the British blockade and down the English Channel.

Spithead Mutiny
Main article: Spithead and Nore mutinies
For the Royal Navy, the early years of the war had been successful, but the commitment to a global conflict was creating a severe strain on available equipment, men and financial resources. The navy had expanded from 134 ships at the start of the conflict in 1793, to 633 by 1797, and personnel had increased from 45,000 men to 120,000, an achievement possible only as a result of the impressment service, which abducted criminals, beggars and unwilling conscripts for compulsory service at sea. Wages had not been increased since 1653, and were usually months late, rations were terrible, shore leave forbidden and discipline harsh. Tensions in the fleet had been gradually rising since the start of the war, and in February 1797, anonymous sailors from the Channel Fleet at Spitheadsent letters to their former commander, Lord Howe, soliciting his support in improving their conditions. The list was deliberately ignored on the instructions of First Lord of the Admiralty Lord Spencer, and, on 16 April, the sailors responded with the Spithead Mutiny: a largely peaceful strike action led by a delegation of seamen from each ship tasked with negotiating with the authorities and enforcing discipline. For a month the fleet remained at stalemate, until Lord Howe was able to negotiate a series of improvements in conditions that enabled the strikers to return to regular service. The mutiny had achieved almost all of its aims; increasing pay, removing unpopular officers and improving conditions for the men serving in the Channel Fleet and, ultimately, the whole navy.

While the upheaval continued at Spithead, Duncan had retained order in the North Sea Fleet at Yarmouth by the sheer force of his personality. When men from his flagship, HMS Venerable, clambered up into the rigging and roared three cheers in a prearranged signal for the revolt to begin on 1 May, Duncan initially threatened to run the ringleader through with his sword. Calmed by his subordinates, he instead assembled his officers and the Royal Marines aboard his ship and advanced on the men in the rigging, demanding to know what they were doing. So fierce was his tone that the men fell silent and hesitantly returned to their quarters except for five ringleaders, whom he admonished personally on his quarterdeck before issuing a general pardon and dismissing them to their duty. The following week, he assembled all of the men and demanded to know whether they would follow his orders: in response, the crew nominated a spokesman, who apologised for their actions, saying, "we humbly implore your honour's pardon with hearts full of gratitude and tears in our eyes for the offense we have given to the worthiest of commanders who has proved a father to us". A week later, when a similar outbreak of mutiny affected the fourth rate ship, HMS Adamant, under Captain William Hotham, Duncan again acted decisively, coming aboard Adamant as the crew rebelled and demanding to know if there was any man who disputed his authority. When a sailor stepped forward, Duncan seized him by his shirt and dangled him over the side of the ship with one arm crying, "My lads – look at this fellow – he who dares to deprive me of command of the fleet". The mutiny evaporated almost instantly.

Nore Mutiny

Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan, Henri-Pierre Danloux, pre-1809, NPG.

Despite his initial success, Duncan was unable to retain control in the face of a more widespread revolt on 15 May among the ships based at the Nore, which became known as the Nore Mutiny. Led by a sailor named Richard Parker, the Nore mutineers quickly organised and became a significant threat to water traffic in the Thames Estuary. Duncan was informed that his fleet at Yarmouth might be ordered to attack the mutineers and, although reluctant, responded, "I do not shrink from the business if it cannot otherwise be got the better of". When rumours of the plan reached the fleet at Yarmouth, the crew of Venerable also expressed their distaste with the plan, but reaffirmed their promise of loyalty to their admiral whatever the circumstances. then arrived that the Dutch fleet under De Winter was preparing to sail, and Duncan's fleet was ordered by Lord Spencer to blockade the Dutch coast. Duncan issued orders for the fleet to weigh anchor, but the men disobeyed and ship after ship overthrew their officers and joined the mutineers at the Nore. Eventually Duncan was left with only his own Venerable and Hotham's Adamant to contain the entire Dutch fleet. Duncan later wrote that, "To be deserted by my own fleet in the face of the enemy is a disgrace which I believe never before happened to a British admiral, nor could I have supposed it possible."

Aware that the escape of the Dutch fleet into the North Sea at such a vulnerable time could be disastrous for Britain, Duncan maintained his position off the Texel for three days, during which the wind was ideal for a Dutch foray, and he disguised his two vessels as different ships on each day and ordered the frigate HMS Circe to make a flurry of nonsensical signals to a fictitious British fleet beyond the horizon. He was subsequently joined by two additional ships, HMS Russell and Sans Pareil, and on the fourth day, with conditions still perfect for the Dutch, he anchored his squadron in the Marsdiep Channel and gave orders for them to fight until their ships sank, thereby blocking the channel. In a speech to his men, he announced that, "The soundings are such that my flag will continue to fly above the water after the ship and her company have disappeared". The expected attack never came: the Dutch army that was to have joined the fleet was not prepared, and Duncan's misleading signals had successfully convinced De Winter that a large British fleet waited just beyond the horizon. The winds subsequently changed direction, and, on 10 June, six more ships joined Duncan's squadron from the Channel Fleet, and, on 13 June, a Russian squadron arrived. While Duncan had been at sea, the Nore Mutiny had acrimoniously fallen apart under blockade by government forces. Cut off from food supplies and with public support decidedly against the mutiny, Parker issued threats that the ships under his control would be handed over to the French government. Fighting subsequently broke out between the radical leaders and the moderate majority of seamen, and the ships gradually deserted Parker and returned to their anchorages, so that by 12 June only two ships still flew the red flag of the mutineers. Eventually, the last rebellious ship, Parker's own HMS Sandwich, surrendered on 14 June.

De Winter's cruise
Further information: Order of battle at the Battle of Camperdown
By the middle of August 1797, after six weeks of constant easterly winds that kept his ships trapped in their harbour, De Winter decided that an attempt to join the French at Brest as the first stage of an invasion of Ireland was impractical and he abandoned the plan. In part this decision was due to the strength of Duncan's reconstituted fleet, which had increased to 17 ships of the line with the addition of the vessels returned from the Nore. Duncan's men were also better trained and more experienced than their Dutch counterparts, having spent considerably longer at sea and having been taught to fire three rounds a minute to the Dutch two. In addition to his concerns about the proficiency of his men, De Winter was also worried about their loyalty: the dominion of France over the Batavian Republic and the country's enforced participation in distant theatres of warfare were unpopular among the Dutch people. Although De Winter was an avowed republican, who had fought in the French Army against the Netherlands between 1793 and 1795, support for the House of Orange remained strong among the Dutch population and with the fleet's sailors. Wolfe Tone wrote in frustration that "The destiny of Europe might have been changed for ever . . . the great occasion is lost, and we must do as well as we can."

When news of this decision reached the Admiralty, they recalled Duncan's blockade fleet to Yarmouth for a refit on 1 October, the admiral insisting on sending some of his ships back to the Dutch coast two days later under Captain Henry Trollope in HMS Russellaccompanied by HMS Adamant and the small ships HMS Beaulieu, Circe and Martin with the hired armed cutter Black Joke. Their arrival off Texel on 6 October coincided with De Winter's much delayed expedition. Although some sources, particularly in France, have claimed that De Winter was determined to bring Duncan to battle, in reality he was more concerned that his men were disaffected and inexperienced by their long stay in port, and had reluctantly acceded to orders from the Batavian government to conduct a brief sweep in the Southern North Sea in search of weak British forces that could be overwhelmed by his fleet or drawn into the dangerous shallow waters of the Dutch coastline. He may also have been hoping to resurrect the plan to augment the French at Brest if he was able to pass westwards down the English Channel undetected. His fleet consisted of 16 ships of the line and a number of smaller support craft, and his orders from The Hague included instructions to remember "how frequently Dutch Admirals have maintained the honour of the Dutch flag, even when the enemy's forces were sometimes superior to theirs." Preparing the ships for sea took some time, and the Dutch did not manage to leave the Texel until 10:00 on 8 October, De Winter turning southwest in the hope of linking with another Dutch ship of the line at the mouth of the River Maas. Within hours, Trollope had discovered and followed De Winter.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Camperdown

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 October 1797 - The Battle of Camperdown - Part II


The Dutch fleet was watched constantly by the ships Duncan had sent to observe them, and when Dutch preparations to sail were observed a message was sent back to Duncan informing him of the Dutch movements. The despatch vessel flew the signal for an enemy as it entered Yarmouth roads early in the morning on 9 October, so that by the time it had docked the British fleet was already preparing to sail, Duncan sending the final message to the Admiralty: "The wind is now in the NE and shall make good course over to them, and if it please God, hope to get at them. The squadron under my command are unmoored and I shall put to sea immediately." Before midday, Duncan had sailed with the 11 ships that were ready and steered for the mouth of the Texel, intending to intercept De Winter on his return. By evening his fleet was at full strength, three stragglers having rejoined, and on the afternoon of 10 October his ships were anchored off the Dutch port, scouts reporting 22 merchant ships in the harbour but no sign of De Winter's warships. Since leaving the Texel, De Winter had been unable to escape from Trollope's ships: on the evening of 10 October, several Dutch vessels were detached to drive his squadron away while the Dutch fleet lay off the Maas, but could not close with the faster British vessels. Having failed to make the rendezvous off the Maas, De Winter then turned to the northwest, cruising off Lowestoft in Suffolk and again unsuccessfully attempting to drive away Trollope's squadron. There, reports from Dutch fishing vessels of Duncan's appearance off the Texel reached De Winter and he immediately recalled his ships and ordered the fleet to turn back towards the Dutch coast, aiming for the village of Scheveningen. Meanwhile, further messages from Trollope reporting the Dutch movements had reached Duncan and he turned his fleet west, following the Dutch coastline. At 07:00 on the morning of 11 October Trollope's squadron sighted sails to the northeast and, after confirming that they were Duncan's fleet, signalled that the Dutch fleet was approximately 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) further to the southwest, becoming visible to the fleet by 08:30. The first clear sighting was reported by Captain Peter Halkett of Circe, who had climbed the mainmast to get a better view. At this point, the Dutch were sailing towards land, approximately 9 nautical miles (17 km) off the coast of Noord-Holland, close to the village of Camperduin. The weather was poor, with heavy seas and strong wind from the southeast broken by frequent rain squalls, but this did not prevent hundreds of Dutch civilians gathering on the dunes to watch the impending combat.

Duncan's attack


Period drawing of Admiral Duncan's attack with a legend showing the location of each ship, a few moments before firing began.

At 09:00, Duncan made the signal to prepare for battle while De Winter organised his ships into a line of battle to meet the British attack in a solid defensive formation, sailing on the port tack in a northeasterly heading. As they manoeuvred into their assigned stations, the Dutch fleet drew closer to the shore.[40] Duncan intended to follow Lord Howe's manoeuvres at the Glorious First of June three years earlier and bring each ship through the Dutch line between two opponents, but the Dutch formation and proximity to the shore rendered this plan impractical. To compensate, Duncan signalled for his ships to form line and sail southeast on the port tack so that they had the wind directly behind them. Shortly afterwards, concerned that the Dutch might make the shoreline before he could bring them to battle despite his wry insistence that "I am determined to fight the ships on land if I cannot by sea", Duncan ordered his fleet to turn southwards and advance on the enemy and "bear up and sail large". He fired signal guns to alert his captains and then ordered them to "engage the enemy as arriving up" and for his van to attack the Dutch rear. At 11:00, Duncan sought to remedy increasing gaps between his vessels by ordering the faster ships to slow down and wait for their compatriots. He then made an effort to re-establish the line on the starboard tack before realising that the Dutch fleet was still in order awaiting the British attack and continually drawing closer to the dangerous coastline. Abandoning his previous signals, Duncan ordered the entire fleet to turn towards the Dutch and attack directly, each ship to "steer for and engage her opponent". Many of these signals were poorly executed and incorrect, visibility was low and Trollope's squadron was still using obsolete signal codes, so a number of vessels failed to comprehend Duncan's intentions, turning the advancing line into a ragged pattern of scattered vessels clustered into two loose groups. The flurry of orders was so quick and contradictory that at least one captain gave up entirely: the Scottish captain, John Inglis, of HMS Belliqueux threw his signal book to the deck in frustration and shouted "Up wi' the hel'lem and gang into the middle o't."

The combined effect of Duncan's orders was to split his fleet into two uneven divisions, each sailing in a loose formation towards the unified Dutch line. The northern, or windward, division comprised six third rate ships of the line, two fourth rate ships and the frigate Circe, tasked with repeating signals from the flagship Venerable, which led the division with HMS Triumph and Ardent close behind. This force was aiming for the Dutch flagship, Vrijheid, which lay fifth in the Dutch line. The southern, or leeward, division comprised eight third rate ships of the line and the repeater frigate HMS Beaulieu, and was led by Vice-Admiral Richard Onslow on HMS Monarch. Onslow's force was aiming for the rear of the Dutch line, to strike the fourth ship from the end. Behind the two divisions lay a line of small craft tasked with repeating Duncan's signals so that the entire fleet could see his intentions. At 11:53, Duncan raised the signal for each ship to pass through the Dutch line and attack from the far side, but the poor weather prevented the more distant ships from recognising the signal.

De Winter had originally intended to close his line up into a solid defensive platform and retreat to shallower waters while Duncan formed his own line of battle, but the sudden, disorganised British attack had thrown his plans into confusion. As a result, gaps had opened up between his van, centre and rear, leaving the last four ships greatly outnumbered and unsupported. De Winter gave urgent orders for the van and centre to drop back and assist the rear, but there was little time, and his situation looked desperate: although the Dutch and British lines each mustered 16 ships, the British vessels were almost all larger and more strongly built than their Dutch counterparts, and their crews were experienced seamen in the heavy weather conditions, while the Dutch crews, confined to port for the previous year, had little understanding of the skills required in combat at sea.[46] The Dutch line of battle was accompanied by a second line to the east, formed from ten frigates, brigs and smaller craft. These vessels, unlike the smaller ships with the British fleet, were well armed and situated so that their guns covered the gaps between the ships that formed the Dutch line of battle, ready to rake any British vessels that attempted to break through.

Battle
Collapse of the Dutch rear guard
At 12:05, Duncan raised the signal ordering his ships to engage the enemy closely. At the same time, the Dutch ship Jupiter, under Rear-Admiral Hermanus Reijntjes, fourth from the southern end of the line, opened fire on the rapidly approaching Monarch. The Dutch ships had waited until the British were well within effective range in order to maximise the effect of their shot, and soon Onslow's flagship was under fire from the entire rearguard of the Dutch line, the ship suffering damage while attempting to break through the Dutch line between Jupiter and Haarlem at 12:30. On Monarch, Captain Edward O'Bryen remarked to Onslow that he could not see where his ship could pass between the closely formed Dutch ships, to which the Admiral responded that "the Monarch will make a passage."[48]Striking the small gap between the ships, Onslow fired raking broadsides into both vessels and then turned to lay his ship alongside Reyntjes' flagship. As he did, the Dutch frigate Monnikkendam and the brig Daphné pulled out of the second line and attempted to fill the gap Monarch had created, firing into the British ship of the line as they did so. In response, Onslow opened fire on the smaller vessels, destroying the frigate's wheel and damaging the rigging, so that the ship fell back,followed later by the severely damaged brig.

Monarch was almost immediately followed by HMS Powerful under Captain William O'Bryen Drury, which passed through the same gap, raked Haarlem again and poured a destructive fire into the wallowing Monnikkendam. At the same time, HMS Montagu attacked Alkmaar, the next in line, from the west, while HMS Russell, under Captain Trollope, attacked the last Dutch ship, the 56-gun Delft. These attacks were accompanied by fire from HMS Monmouth, which passed between Alkmaar and Delft, and raked both ships, and from HMS Director (under William Bligh of Bounty fame), which passed up the Dutch line until it reached the battered Haarlem, engaging the ship at close range. The straggling HMS Veteran joined the northern part of the engagement, cutting across Jupiter and then turning in pursuit of the Dutch centre, while Adamant reached the fight late, joining the attack on the already battered Haarlem. Only HMS Agincourt remained apart from the battle entirely, passing up the Dutch line at extreme range; one anecdotal account reports that on board Agincourt a stray shot passed high over the deck and an officer was seen to flinch, drawing a scornful call from the crew that "There is no danger yet, sir". Agincourt's captain John Williamson was subsequently court-martialled and dismissed.

In the confusion, the tail of the Dutch line disintegrated into a chaotic melee, with eight British ships of the line fighting four Dutch and the frigate Monnikkendam. So close was the action that the British ships found themselves at risk of firing into one another in the high seas, heavy rain and poor visibility. The Dutch centre, consisting of the ships of the line Brutus, Leijden and the fifth rate razee Mars, pulled away from the engagement behind them under Rear-Admiral Johan Bloys van Treslong, coming under only distant fire from the ships of Onslow's division. Isolated, the Dutch rearguard were rapidly overwhelmed, with Jupiter, Haarlem, Alkmaar and Delft all surrendering to Onslow's attack before 13:45, while the battered Monnikkendam was seized by the frigate Beaulieu.

Battle of the vanguards


The Battle of Camperdown, Thomas Whitcombe, 1798, Tate

While the Dutch rearguard was overwhelmed by British numbers, a more equal combat was being contested to the north. There the combat was centred around the two flagships, Duncan's Venerable engaging De Winter's Vrijheid 18 minutes after Monarch broke the line to the south. Duncan had originally intended to break the line between Vrijheid and the next ship Staaten Generaal under Rear-Admiral Samuel Story, but Story ensured that there was no gap between his vessel and the flagship to break through, and their combined fire was so dangerous to the advancing Venerable that Duncan instead cut through behind Staaten Generaal, raking Story's ship twice and causing it to drift off in confusion as Duncan engaged Vrijheid from the east.

While Venerable had diverted south, Vrijheid had been attacked from the west by Ardent under Captain Richard Rundle Burges. The smaller British ship had soon suffered more than a hundred casualties, including Burges killed, under the combined fire of De Winter's flagship and the next ship ahead Admiraal Tjerk Hiddes De Vries. Only the arrival of Venerable alongside Vrijheid allowed Ardent a brief respite. During the fight, Burges' men "fought like maniacs", including the wife of one of the gunners who insisted on joining her husband at his gun, until her legs were torn off by cannon fire. Within a short period however both Venerable and Ardent were surrounded, as at least one of the frigates from the second line joined the attack on the two isolated British vessels. At the height of the combat, the colours and signal flags on Venerable were brought down by cannon fire. To ensure that there was no suggestion that the flagship had surrendered, a sailor named Jack Crawford scrambled to the top of the mainmast and replaced them as the battle raged beneath him. To support Duncan, Captain William Essington of HMS Triumph and Captain Sir Thomas Byard of HMS Bedford drove forward into the battle, Triumph coming close alongside the Dutch Wassenaar and opening a heavy fire while Bedford attacked Admiraal Tjerk Hiddes De Vries and Hercules. At the tip of the line, Beschermer was attacked by Belliqueux to starboard, Captain Inglis passing through the gap between Beschermer and Hercules. Ahead of this combat, the lead ships HMS Isis and Gelijkheid fought alongside one another, Isis having failed to break through the Dutch line and instead drawn up to port.

The Dutch central division joined the battle at the head of the line shortly after the engagement of Triumph and Bedford, causing considerable damage to all of the British vessels, particularly Venerable. The British flagship was soon isolated in the midst of the Dutch van, engaging Vrijheid, Staaten General, Admiral Tjerk Hiddes De Vries and Wassenaar simultaneously. Despite the heavy odds Duncan continued to fight hard, the British succeeded in knocking out two opponents by wounding Captain Dooitze Eelkes Hinxt of Beschermer, which drifted eastwards in confusion, while shots from either Bedford or Triumph set a powder barrel on Hercules on fire. The blaze on the latter ship, which soon spread to the sails and rigging, prompted a lull in the battle as the crew of Hercules desperately attempted to extinguish the blaze and other Dutch ships scrambled to escape the burning vessel as it drifted through the melee. Shortly afterwards, the battered Wassenaar surrendered to Triumph, with Captain Holland dead on his quarterdeck. Triumph then moved on towards the battle between Vrijheid and Venerable, at which time the crew of Wassenaar raised their colours again after being fired on by a Dutch brig.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Camperdown

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 October 1797 - The Battle of Camperdown - Part III


Onslow's reinforcement


The Battle of Camperdown, Philip de Loutherbourg, 1799, Tate

Following Onslow's victory over the Dutch rearguard, the admiral ordered the least damaged of his ships to sail in support of the outnumbered British ships in the melee at the Dutch van. Powerful and Director were the quickest to respond, joining the attack on Vrijheid at 14:00. Russell, driving northwards to join the attack, encountered the now extinguished Hercules, whose crew had thrown all of their ammunition overboard during the fire to prevent the ship exploding. The ship was thus defenceless, Commander Ruijsoort surrendering immediately. The remainder of the British fleet now arrived in the battle, Captain John Wells of HMS Lancaster firing on the Beschermernear the head of the Dutch line. Aware that their vessel would be unable to resist the attack, Beschermer's surviving officers turned away towards the shore, rapidly followed by the unengaged portions of the Dutch line. With the arrival of British reinforcements and the retreat of sections of the Dutch fleet, the battle was almost complete; the battered Wassenaar surrendered for the second time, to Russell, while Admiraal Tjerk Hiddes De Vries and Gelijkheid, both of which were too badly damaged to escape, also struck their colours. Eventually only the Dutch flagship remained in combat.

For an hour De Winter continued his resistance, with Director holding station off the stern of Vrijheid and repeatedly raking it. By 15:00, all three masts had been brought down, obstructing the fire of the starboard battery, while De Winter was the only officer who remained uninjured, standing on his wrecked quarterdeck and still refusing to lower his colours. In an attempt to settle the combat, Captain William Bligh of Director closed to within 20 yards (18 m) of the Dutch flagship and demanded to know if De Winter surrendered. The Dutch admiral replied "What do you think about it?", and then attempted to personally raise signals demanding reinforcements from the rest of his fleet, only to find that the halyards had been shot away. De Winter then summoned the ship's carpenter and ordered him to repair his barge, so that the admiral could transfer command to another ship and continue the battle. When British sailors from Director boarded the drifting flagship, De Winter was discovered assisting the carpenter with repairs to the barge. On being informed that he was a prisoner of war, he replied "This is my destiny not foreseen" and, after checking on a mortally wounded officer who lay on the quarterdeck, he followed the boarding party back to their boat for the trip to Venerable

Aftermath


Duncan Receiving the Surrender of De Winter at the Battle of Camperdown, 11 October 1797, Daniel Orme, 1797, NMM

De Winter was immediately taken to see Duncan, the Dutch officer holding out his sword as a token of surrender. Duncan refused the weapon, instead shaking De Winter's hand and insisting "I would much rather take a brave man's hand than his sword". In addition to the losses in the rear, five ships of the Dutch van had been captured as well as the frigate Ambuscade that had attacked from the second line. The remainder of the Dutch ships had fled, making rapid progress towards the coastal shallows. Duncan did not follow them: the Dutch coast between Kamperduin and Egmond was only 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) away, his ship lay in just 9 fathoms (18 yards (16 m)) of water and the weather was too fierce and his ships too battered to risk combat in shoal waters. Instead he ordered his ships to ensure control of their prizes and to return to Britain. Many ships were now undermanned due to the terrible casualties they had suffered: surgeon Robert Young of Ardent, the worst hit of the British ships, worked for more than twelve hours without a break and later wrote:

Melancholy cries for assistance were addressed to me from every side by wounded and dying, and piteous moans and bewailing from pain and despair. In the midst of these agonising scenes I was able to preserve myself firm and collected… Many of the worst wounded were stoical beyond belief; they were determined not to flinch and, when news of the shattering victory was brought down to them, they raised a cheer and declared they regretted not the loss of their limbs.
— Quoted in Peter Padfield, Nelson's War (1976)​

Casualties in the battle were very heavy on both sides, and historians such as William James have noted that the losses among the British ships were proportionally much higher than when British fleets met French or Spanish opposition. This was attributed to the Dutch tactics, mirrored by the British, of firing at the enemy hulls rather than attempting to disable their masts and rigging as in other continental navies. The worst hit of the British ships were those in the first wave, such as Ardent with 148 casualties, Monarch with 136 and Belliqueux under Cpt John Inglis with 103, while both Adamant and Agincourt escaped without a single man killed or wounded. Among the dead were Captain Burges of Ardent and two lieutenants, while the wounded included Captain Essington of Triumph and twelve lieutenants. In total, British losses were recorded after the battle as 203 killed and 622 wounded, although later assessments based on charitable requirements of those wounded or killed gave the higher figures of 228 killed and 812 wounded, including 16 of the latter who subsequently died. Many of the British ships were badly damaged, taking on large quantities of water through damaged hulls. One of the worst hit was Venerable, which had to be completely dismantled and reconstructed after returning to Britain before the ship was ready for active service again.

Dutch casualty returns, particularly on the captured ships, were vague, and only partially complete. Among the losses were Captain Hinxt of Beschermer and Captain Holland of Wassenaar, both of whom were killed early in the battle. Also lost were Captain Van Rossum of Vrijheid, who was struck in the thigh by a cannonball and died shortly afterwards from the effects of the wound, and Admiral Reijntjes who died while a prisoner in England as a result of the wounds he suffered aboard Jupiter. His remains were subsequently returned to the Netherlands with full military honours. There were also large numbers of wounded among the Dutch fleet, including Rear-Admirals Bloys van Treslong and Story; one of the few Dutch officers to escape injury or death was De Winter himself, who later commented "It is a matter of marvel that two such gigantic objects as Admiral Duncan and myself should have escaped the general carnage of this day." In total, Dutch losses were later reported as 540 men killed and 620 wounded,[65] with Vrijheid the worst hit with the loss of almost half of its total complement.

Return journeys
On Venerable, Duncan assembled all of those men fit to attend for a church service to "return thanks to Almighty God for all His mercies showered on them and him." For the next 24 hours the 66-year-old Duncan remained on duty without a break, organising the scattered fleet on its journey home. The British admiral did find time however to play a game of whist in his cabin with De Winter after dinner: when the Dutch admiral lost a rubber, he commented that it was hard to be beaten twice in one day by the same man. On 13 October, Duncan completed his official despatch and sent it ahead of his wallowing ships with Captain William George Fairfax on the cutter Rose: he praised all of his men, reserving special mention for Trollope and the late Burges, whom he called a "good and gallant Officer…a sincere Friend". De Winter was permitted to send despatches to the Batavian government, in which he blamed Story and his centre for not maintaining the combat longer. He also attributed overwhelming British numbers to his defeat and suggested that he may have captured some of the British fleet if he had been better supported. When this letter was later published it provoked a storm of criticism in Britain, one officer describing it as "a garbled account which, for ought I know, might have been collected by people on shore who knew nothing of the action".

During the afternoon of 12 October, a gale sprang up which inflicted further damage to the battered ships and caused water to gush through the many shot holes in the ships' hulls. Aboard the Dutch ships, the situation was especially dangerous. Casualties had been significantly higher, particularly on Vrijheid, than on board the British vessels and the small numbers of British sailors placed aboard as prize crews were unable to cope alone, and in the high winds many masts collapsed to the deck and huge quantities of water leaked into the hulls.

Delft, captured in the early stages of the battle, was under the command of the Dutch Lieutenant Heilberg and the British Lieutenant Charles Bullen, with a small prize crew of 69 men. Ninety-three Dutch prisoners had been removed, and among the remaining Dutch sailors were 76 wounded men. As the gale intensified, it rapidly became clear that despite a tow line attached from Veteran the ship would never reach Britain, and a large board was raised on deck with the chalked message "The ship is sinking". Reacting at once, boats from nearby ships organised an evacuation and began loading the Dutch prisoners for transfer to more seaworthy vessels. Bullen offered a place in the first rescue boat, from Veteran, to Heilberg, but the Dutch officer refused, gesturing to the immobile wounded who had been brought onto the maindeck as the lower decks had flooded and replying "But how can I leave these men?". In response, Bullen cried out "God bless you, my brave fellow! Here is my hand; I give you my word I will stay her with you!". The prize crew left on the second rescue boat sent from Russell, and Bullen and Heilberg waited for a third trip to bring them off with the remaining 30 wounded men and three junior Dutch officers who had also elected to stay. Before further help could arrive, however, Delft suddenly foundered, Bullen and Heilberg throwing themselves clear as the ship sank. Both were seen in the water but only Bullen reached safety, swimming to Monmouth alone.

Two other prizes were lost to the British fleet: Monnikkendam had been supplied with a prize crew of 35 men from Beaulieu, but had become separated during the gales and lost its remaining masts and spars. The crew fitted jury masts, but they too collapsed and the hull flooded to a depth of 14 feet (4.3 m). On 12 October, aware that the ship would soon founder, the prize master instructed the Dutch boatswain to run the ship onto the Dutch coast at West Kapel. Local boats came out to the stranded vessel and all aboard were saved, the 35 British prisoners taken to a prison hulk at Flushing. The ship itself was wrecked beyond repair and abandoned. The other captured frigate, Ambuscade, was also driven ashore in a sinking state and the prize crew made prisoner, but in that case the ship was salvaged and later returned to Dutch service.

In contrast to the British difficulties, the survivors of the Dutch fleet had few problems returning to the Texel, with the exception of Brutus. Admiral Bloys van Treslong had sailed for the coast off Hinder with two brigs, and there on 13 October the 40-gun British frigate HMS Endymion under Captain Sir Thomas Williams found him. At 16:30, Endymion closed with the larger, but damaged, Dutch ship and opened fire, Brutus responding with a broadside of its own. Williams successfully raked his opponent twice, but the complicated tides of the Dutch coast dragged his ship out of range at 17:30 before he could press his attack any further. Firing rockets in the hope of attracting attention from any of Duncan's ships, Williams was rewarded at 22:30 by the arrival of Beaulieu. On 14 October the frigates hunted for their opponents, and found the Dutch ships off the Goeree channel at 05:00. The frigates closed, and Bloys van Treslong withdrew, passing deeper into Dutch waters and reaching safety at Maese by 07:00. The British frigates, their quarry having escaped, returned to Duncan's struggling fleet


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Camperdown

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 October 1797 - The Battle of Camperdown - Part IV incl Order of Battle


Effects
On 17 October 1797, Duncan's limping convoy began to arrive at Yarmouth to be greeted with great celebrations. Several ships were delayed, with three wallowing off Kentish Knock, three more in Hosley Bay and several still at sea due to an adverse northwesterly wind. of the victory had already spread across Britain, and on 20 October Duncan was created Viscount Duncan of Camperdown and Baron Duncan of Lundie. Admiral Onslow was made a baronet and Captains Henry Trollope and William George Fairfax were knighted. King George III insisted on meeting Duncan personally, and on 30 October set out for Sheerness in the royal yacht HMY Royal Charlotte before strong winds and waves forced him back to port on 1 November. Unable to reach Duncan's flagship, the King instead rewarded the fleet as a whole by pardoning 180 men condemned for their role in the Nore Mutiny and held aboard the prison hulk HMS Eagle in the River Medway. Similar pardons were awarded by Rear-Admiral Peter Rainier to mutineers in the East Indies Squadron. Gold medals were created and presented to the captains and both Houses of Parliament voted their thanks for their victory. All first lieutenants were promoted to commander and Duncan and Onslow were presented with valuable presentation swords valued at 200 and 100 guineas each respectively. Duncan was also given a pension of £2,000 a year by the government, made a freeman of numerous towns and cities and was subject to presentations from numerous patriotic societies, particularly in Scotland, where he was awarded valuable plate by both his birth city of Dundee and the county of Forfarshire. A public subscription was taken up for the widows and wounded and raised £52,609 10s and 10d (the equivalent of £5,000,000 as of 2018), When Duncan travelled to a reception at The Guildhall on 10 November, a mob surrounded his carriage in the street, unhitched the horses and dragged it themselves up Ludgate Hill as a mark of respect. On 23 December, the King lead a thanksgiving procession and ceremony in St Paul's Cathedral in London at which Duncan carried De Winter's flag from Vrijheid and Onslow carried Reijntjes' flag from Jupiter, followed by Fairfax, Essington, Mitchell, Bligh, Walker, Trollope, Drury, O'Bryen, Gregory and Hotham as well as numerous seamen from the fleet. Five decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847.

Not all of the reactions were positive: several of Duncan's captains were criticised for their failure to rapidly and decisively engage the enemy, including Captain Wells of Lancaster. The worst criticism fell on Captain John Williamson of Agincourt. Agincourt had been barely engaged in the battle and had suffered not one single casualty. As a result, Williamson was accused of failing to do his duty by Captain Hopper of Agincourt's Royal Marines and court-martialled on 4 December 1797, at Sheerness aboard Circe, on the charges of "disobedience to signals and not going into action" and "cowardice and disaffection". Williamson had a history of indecisiveness: in 1779, while a junior officer on Captain James Cook's voyage to the Pacific Ocean, Williamson had prevaricated about bringing boats to evacuate Cook from Kealakekua Bay while under attack by Hawaiians. As a result, Cook was trapped on the beach and stabbed to death. At the conclusion of the trial on 1 January 1798, Williamson was found guilty of the first charge and not guilty of the latter, resulting in demotion to the bottom of the post captains list and prohibition from further naval service. Williamson was reported to have died in 1799, shortly after his dismissal from the service, but Edward Pelham Brenton later claimed that he had instead gone into hiding under an assumed name and continued to draw his pension for many years. In the Batavian Republic, there were also recriminations against those officers who were deemed to have failed in their duty: De Winter's despatch from London after the battle placed much of the blame with six ships that had failed to follow his orders and had withdrawn early from the battle. Several officers were brought up on charges, including Admiral Bloys van Treslong who was convicted at court-martial and dismissed the service although later reinstated, and Commander Souter of Batavier who was convicted and imprisoned. Admiral Story was also criticised, particularly by De Winter, and was only permitted to keep his command once he had satisfied the Batavian government that he had had no option but to retreat.

All of the captured Dutch ships were bought into the Royal Navy, Gleijkheid, Vrijheid, Wassenaar, Haarlem and Alkmaar under their own names (although in most cases they were anglicised) and Admiraal Tjerk Hiddes De Vries as the simpler Devries. Two were completely renamed, due to the prior existence of ships with their names in the Royal Navy; Jupiter became HMS Camperdown and Hercules became HMS Delft. None of these ships was ever in sufficient condition for service in open waters: the damage suffered at Camperdown proved too severe for them to be fully repaired. In addition, ships of Dutch construction had lighter hulls and flatter bottoms than ships of other nations as they were designed to operate off the shallow waters of the Dutch coast, and as a result they were of little use to the ocean-going Royal Navy. All the prizes were immediately relegated to harbour duty, and none were used for front-line service. Although the prize court took several years to determine the prize money that would be awarded for the battle, the initial estimates of £60,000 (the equivalent of £5,703,000 as of 2018) proved pessimistic: Duncan and his men were eventually awarded £150,000 (the equivalent of £14,257,000 as of 2018), although they were forced to defend a claim from the Russian Navy on behalf of the squadron that had reinforced Duncan in May. Since this force had played no part in the battle and had been considered a liability rather than a benefit by the British commanders, the claim was rejected, but legal fees and other claims reduced the eventual payment. Following the award of the first £10,000 instalment, Duncan was given the unique honour of permission to buy shares on the London Stock Exchange at ⅞ market price.


Orders of battle
The ships in the orders of battle below are listed in the order in which they appeared in the respective battle lines. Listed in the casualties section are the totals of killed and wounded as best as can be established: due to the nature of the battle, Dutch losses were hard to calculate precisely. Officers killed in action or who subsequently died of wounds received are marked with a † symbol. As carronades were not traditionally taken into consideration when calculating a ship's rate, these ships may have actually been carrying additional or fewer guns than indicated below.






Some Dutch ships captured:

The Prins Frederik Willem was a Dutch 68-gun third rate ship of the line of the navy of the Dutch Republic, the Batavian Navy, and the Royal Navy. The order to construct the ship was given by the Admiralty of the Meuse.


Plans for the Dutch ship of war "Prins Frederik", 1777.

In 1795, the ship was renamed Gelijkheid (Equality). On 11 October 1797 the Gelijkheid took part in the Battle of Camperdown. The ship was captured by the British and renamed HMS Gelykheid.
In 1799, the Gelykheid was a prison ship at Chatham. In November 1803 the ship was stationed in the Humber as a guardship. In 1807, Gelykheid was fitted out as sheer hulk at Falmouth, and she was disposed in 1814.


Hercules was a Dutch 68-gun third rate ship of the line of the navy of the Dutch Republic, the Batavian Republic, and the Royal Navy. The order to construct the ship was given by the Admiralty of the Meuse in 1781.


The Dutch ship Hercules after the Battle of Camperdown (11 October 1797). The ship was renamed HMS Delft.

In 1795, the ship was commissioned in the Batavian Navy.
On 11 October 1797 Hercules took part in the Battle of Camperdown under Captain G.J. van Rijsoort. Fire broke out on the ship, and she was eventually captured by the British and renamed HMS Delft, in honour of the brave resistance this ship made in the battle.
In 1799, Delft served as a troop transport ship. She became a prison hulk in 1802, and in 1822 she was sunk to serve as a breakwater close to the town of Harwich


The Admiraal Tjerk Hiddes de Vries was a Dutch 68-gun third rate ship of the line of the navy of the Admiralty of Friesland, one of five provincial naval forces of the United Republic of the Netherlands' In 1795, following the French occupation of the Netherlands, this ship (like all other Dutch Warships) was taken over by the Batavian Republic, and in 1797 was captured by the Royal Navy. The order to construct the ship was given by the Admiralty of Friesland. In 1783 the Admiraal Tjerk Hiddes de Vries sailed to the Mediterranean Sea under Captain Van der Beets. When she returned in the Dutch Republic she was laid up in ordinary until 1795.


The ship Admiraal Tjerk Hiddes de Vries during the Battle of Camperdown.

In 1795, the ship was commissioned in the Batavian Navy.
On 11 October 1797 the Admiraal Tjerk Hiddes de Vries took part in the Battle of Camperdown under Captain J.B. Zeegers. The ship was captured by the British.
The ship was renamed HMS Admiral DeVries, and in 1799 she served as a transport ship. In that year she sailed to the West Indies. She sprang a leak off San Domingo and was determined to be unfit for sea. She served as a prison hulk in Port Royal until she was sold in 1806.


Vrijheid was a Dutch 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the navy of the Dutch Republic, the Batavian Republic, and the Royal Navy. The order to construct the ship was given by the Admiralty of Amsterdam. The ship was commissioned in 1782.


Model of the ship Vrijheid.

In 1783, a squadrion consisting of the ships Vrijheid, Noordholland, Hercules, Drenthe, Prins Willem and Harlingen was dispatched to the Mediterranean to deal with differences that had arisen with Venice. On 2 February 1784, the squadron docked at the coast near the island of Menorca. In the night between 3 and 4 February a storm blew up which lasted for 48 hours. Vrijheid was almost smashed on the rocks and only just managed to stay afloat, while Drenthe keeled over and sank.
In 1795, the ship was commissioned in the Batavian Navy.
On 11 October 1797 Vrijheid took part in the Battle of Camperdown as the flagship of Admiral Jan Willem de Winter. At a certain point, Vrijheid was engaged by four British ships, and after heavy fighting the ship surrendered.
The ship was renamed HMS Vryheid, and from 1798 she served as a prison ship. In 1802 she became a powder hulk until she was sold in 1811.


Off the coast of Holland, near Camperdown, on 11 October 1797, the British fleet defeated the Dutch, aligned with the Revolutionary French. Throughout the year the British Admiral Adam Duncan had been stationed watching the Dutch fleet in Den Helder. His difficulty maintaining this vigil was compounded by the events surrounding the Nore Mutiny in May. By early October the situation had sufficiently improved for Duncan to take his squadron back to Yarmouth to re-store and refit. The Dutch fleet took advantage of his absence and came out almost immediately. The British lookout still on station sent the cutter 'Black Joke' to warn Duncan of the Dutch threat. He rapidly put to sea and early in the morning of the 11 October the two fleets were in sight with the Dutch in close order 18 miles off their coast awaiting him. Action began at 12.30 and by 15.30 Duncan was able to send off a cutter with a dispatch to the Admiralty to say that 11 enemy ships had been taken. Duncan showed leadership by taking his flagship into action in difficult waters, although the battle was not tactically impressive. However it inspired his captains whose determination proved decisive against a resolute opponent. The painting shows the Dutch flagship ‘Vryheid’ at the moment of her surrender. In the foreground sailors in the water struggle to cling on to broken spars. To the left and beyond Admiral Duncan’s ship ‘Venerable’ is in action. During the battle, part of the ‘Venerable’s’ mast was felled which included the admiral's flag. The lowering of an Admiral's personal flag was always a sign of surrender. Despite intense gunfire, a sailor, Jack Crawford, climbed the mast to nail the colours to the main royal-mast of the ‘Venerable’. In the painting Crawford can clearly be seen in this heroic act. To the right and beyond the dismasted ‘Vryheid’ are the masts and sails of another British ship which is also engaged with the Dutch flagship. In the extreme right background two Dutch ships make their escape. The British cutter ‘Rose’ and an open boat are in the left background to the left of the ‘Venerable’. Beyond the cutter is a very damaged ship. This highly dramatised account is one of several versions of the same subject by the artist. An engraving of the version at the Tate Gallery was made and published by James Fittler in 1801. A key to the picture was also published. It is signed and dated ‘J.P.D.L.R.A. 1801’.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/11996.html#146l3T4jecFuxE8C.99

The Wassenaar was a Dutch 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the navy of the Dutch Republic and the Batavian Republic, and the Royal Navy. The order to construct the ship was given by the Admiralty of the Meuse. The ship was commissioned in 1781. In 1783/1784, the Wassenaar sailed to Batavia under Captain Gerardus Oorthuis.


Stern of the Dutch 64-gun ship Wassenaar.

In 1795, the ship was commissioned in the Batavian Navy.
On 11 October 1797 the Wassenaar took part in the Battle of Camperdown under Captain Adolph Holland. Holland was killed during the battle, and his ship surrendered to HMS Triumph. HMS Triumph then sailed on to the centre of the battle, and when the Wassenaar was fired on by a Dutch brig, the crew raised the Dutch colours again. But in the end they were captured again by the British.
As HMS Wassenaar, the ship first served as a troop ship. In February 1789 she was the flagship of Admiral Joseph Peyton in the Downs. In the years 1800-1802 she served in the Mediterranean. In her final years (1802-1815) she lay at Chatham as a powder hulk, until she was finally sold for breaking up in 1818.


Delft was a Dutch 56-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the navy of the Dutch Republic and the Batavian Republic.


Model of the Dutch ship Delft.

The order to construct the ship was given on 27 May 1782 by the Admiralty of the Meuse. Delft was commissioned on 16 May 1783 by the United Netherlands Navy.
On 24 December 1787 Delft set sail on a mission against the Barbary pirates and protected Dutch traders in the Mediterranean.
For the ship's second mission starting 31 May 1793 Theodorus Frederik van Capellen became the new commanding officer. During this mission he freed 75 Dutch slaves from Algiers.
In 1795 the French conquered the Dutch Republic and the new Batavian Republic was founded. The French initially disarmed Delft because they feared that Orangist rebels would use her, but later the Dutch reactivated her to participate in the war with Britain. Gerrit Verdooren van Asperen became her captain.
On 11 October 1797 Delft took part in the Battle of Camperdown. After heavy resistance she struck to the British; she sank off Scheveningen four days later while being towed to Britain.
Since 2001 work has been under way in Rotterdam to build a replica of Delft at Historical Shipyard 'de Delft' (Dutch: Historische Scheepswerf 'de Delft') in Delfshaven, near to the place where the original ship was built.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Camperdown
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_ship_Gelijkheid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_ship_Hercules
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_ship_Admiraal_Tjerk_Hiddes_De_Vries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_ship_Vrijheid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_ship_Wassenaar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_ship_Delft_(1783)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 October 1942 - The Battle of Cape Esperance,


also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the Sea Battle of Savo Island (サボ島沖海戦), took place on 11–12 October, 1942, in the Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and United States Navy. The naval battle was the second of four major surface engagements during the Guadalcanal campaign and took place at the entrance to the strait between Savo Island and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Cape Esperance (9°15′S 159°42′E) is the northernmost point on Guadalcanal, and the battle took its name from this point.


The heavily damaged Japanese cruiser Aobadisembarks dead and wounded crew members near Buin, Bougainville and the Shortland Islands a few hours after the battle on 12 October, 1942

On the night of 11 October, Japanese naval forces in the Solomon Islands area—under the command of Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa—sent a major supply and reinforcement convoy to their forces on Guadalcanal. The convoy consisted of two seaplane tenders and six destroyers and was commanded by Rear Admiral Takatsugu Jojima. At the same time, but in a separate operation, three heavy cruisers and two destroyers—under the command of Rear Admiral Aritomo Gotō—were to bombard the Allied airfield on Guadalcanal (called Henderson Field by the Allies) with the object of destroying Allied aircraft and the airfield's facilities.

Shortly before midnight on 11 October, a U.S. force of four cruisers and five destroyers—under the command of Rear Admiral Norman Scott—intercepted Gotō's force as it approached Savo Island near Guadalcanal. Taking the Japanese by surprise, Scott's warships sank one of Gotō's cruisers and one of his destroyers, heavily damaged another cruiser, mortally wounded Gotō, and forced the rest of Gotō's warships to abandon the bombardment mission and retreat. During the exchange of gunfire, one of Scott's destroyers was sunk and one cruiser and another destroyer were heavily damaged. In the meantime, the Japanese supply convoy successfully completed unloading at Guadalcanal and began its return journey without being discovered by Scott's force. Later on the morning of 12 October, four Japanese destroyers from the supply convoy turned back to assist Gotō's retreating, damaged warships. Air attacks by U.S. aircraft from Henderson Field sank two of these destroyers later that day.

As with the preceding naval engagements around Guadalcanal, the strategic outcome was inconclusive because neither the Japanese nor United States navies secured operational control of the waters around Guadalcanal as a result of this action. However, the Battle of Cape Esperance provided a significant morale boost to the U.S. Navy after the failure at Savo Island.


USS Duncan (DD-485), a Gleaves-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Silas Duncan, who was severely wounded by enemy fire which caused the loss of his right arm during the Battle of Lake Champlain on 11 September 1814.


USS Duncan underway in the south Pacific on 7 October 1942, five days before she was sunk in the Battle of Cape Esperance.

Duncan was launched on 20 February 1942 by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, New Jersey; sponsored by Mrs. D. C. Thayer. The ship was commissioned on 16 April 1942, Lieutenant CommanderEdmund B. Taylor in command.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Esperance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Duncan_(DD-485)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
11 October 1968 - nuclear-powered cargo vessel Otto Hahn commissioned


Otto Hahn was one of only four nuclear-powered cargo vessels built to date. Planning of a German-built trade and research vessel to test the feasibility of nuclear power in civil service began in 1960 under the supervision of the German physicist Erich Bagge. Launched in 1964, her nuclear reactor was deactivated fifteen years later in 1979 and replaced by a conventional Diesel engine room. The ship was scrapped in 2009.


Otto Hahn in Hamburg harbour, 9 June 1970

History
Otto Hahn's keel was laid down in 1963 by Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG of Kiel. She was launched in 1964 and named in honour of Professor Otto Hahn, the German chemist and Nobel prize winner, who discovered the nuclear fission of uranium in 1938. The first captain of the Otto Hahn was Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock, a German U-boat ace of World War II.

In 1968, the ship's 38-megawatt nuclear reactor was taken critical and sea trials began. In October of that year, NS Otto Hahn was certified for commercial freight transport and research.

Configured to carry passengers and ore, Otto Hahn made her first port call in Safi, Morocco, loading a cargo of phosphate ores, in 1970. In 1972, after four years of operation, her reactor was refuelled. She had covered 250,000 nautical miles (463,000 km) on 22 kilograms of uranium.

In 1979 Otto Hahn was deactivated. Her nuclear reactor and propulsion plant were removed and replaced by a conventional Diesel engine room. In nine years, she had travelled 650,000 nautical miles (1,200,000 km) on nuclear power, visiting 33 ports in 22 countries. The containment vessel of the nuclear reactor is stored at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht – Zentrum für Material- und Küstenforschung GmbH and the nuclear fuel in the United States.

In 1983, Otto Hahn was recommissioned as the container ship Trophy and leased into commercial service. On 19 November, she was renamed Norasia Susan. She became the Norasia Helga in 1985, Hua Kang He in 1989, Anais in 1998, Tal in 1999 and finally Madre in the same year. Her last owner, from 2006, was the Liberian-based Domine Maritime Corporation, under the management of Alon Maritime Corporation of Athens, Greece. The ship was scrapped at Alang, India, in 2009.

Her original funnel is preserved at the Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum (German Maritime Museum) in Bremerhaven, since the ship was retrofitted with Diesel engines.

Operation and research
The Otto Hahn was commissioned on 11 October 1969, and it was a research ship as its primary purpose. It contained cabins for the group of about 36 scientists. It also contained a conference room, a meeting room and two laboratories. Its main purpose was to gain experience of future nuclear ships which could be used for transport. As the Otto Hahn did not receive enough permissions from harbours, the experiments ended in 1979, ten years after commissioning.

Until its decommissioning, the Otto Hahn visited 33 ports in 22 countries, most of them in South America and Africa. It did not receive permission to pass through the Suez Canal and its last journey was to Durban.

Its last captain was Ralf Matheisel.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Hahn_(ship)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 11 October


1765 - HMS Lapwing (1764 - 10) lost

HMS Lapwing (1764) was a 10-gun cutter launched in 1764 and lost in 1765.


1781 - fireship HMS Firebrand (16) blew up off Falmouth

HMS Firebrand was a fireship, previously a 16-gun sloop purchased in 1777 as HMS Porpoise. She was converted to a fireship, renamed HMS Firebrand in 1778 and was burnt in 1781.


1782 - Gibraltar relieved by Lord Howe.


1787 – Launch of French Entreprenant, a Téméraire class 74-gun ship

Entreprenant was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
In December 1792, she assisted the Languedoc. She was taken by the British when they captured Toulon, but was recaptured.
In 1793, she ferried prisoners suspected of anti-revolutionary sympathies from Toulon to Rochefort after Toulon was taken by the British.
She took part in the Glorious First of June and in the Croisière du Grand Hiver.


Scale model of Achille, sister ship of French ship Entreprenant (1787), on display at the Musée de la Marine in Paris.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Entreprenant_(1787)


1797 - Hercule 74 (1797) – ex-French, captured 11 October 1797, fitted as troopship 1799, powder hulk 1802, sunk as breakwater 1822.


1808 - HMS Greyhound (1783 - 32), Hon. W. Pakenham, wrecked on the coast of Lemonia.

HMS Greyhound (1783) was a 32-gun fifth rate launched 1783 and wrecked 1808. Because Greyhound served in the navy's Egyptian campaign between 8 March 1801 and 2 September, her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal, which the Admiralty authorised in 1850 for all surviving claimants


1811 - HMS Imperieuse (1797/1804 - 38), Capt, Hon. Henry Duncan, silenced a strong fort near Positano in the Gulf of Salerno and sank a gunboat. 2 other gunboats sheltering below the fort were taken.

HMS Imperieuse was a 38-gun fifth-rate, previously the Spanish ship Medea (1797). She was captured in 1804 and taken into service as HMS Iphigenia but renamed Imperieuse in 1805, placed on harbour service in 1818, and sold in 1838.


1811 – Inventor John Stevens' boat, the Juliana, begins operation as the first steam-powered ferry (service between New York City, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stevens_(inventor,_born_1749)


1814 - Boats of HMS Endymion (1797 - 50) Cptn. Henry Hope, repulsed trying to take American brigantine privateer Prince de Neufchatel off Nantucket

HMS Endymion (1797), launched in 1797, was the lead ship of the Endymion-class frigates. She served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. In the War of 1812 she fought a duel with USS President on 15 January 1815, disabling the American ship. She became a receiving ship in 1859 and was broken up in June 1868.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Endymion_(1797)


1828 - Sloop HMS Jasper (1820 - 10) , L. C. Rooke, grounded in running for Harbour of St. Maura.

HMS Jasper (1820) was a 10-gun Cherokee-class brig-sloop launched in 1820 and wrecked in 1828. The wreck was sold in 1831.


1935 – RMS Olympic left Southampton for the last time, she arrived in Jarrow on the 13th to get scrapped

In 1934, the White Star Line merged with the Cunard Line at the instigation of the British government, to form Cunard White Star. This merger allowed funds to be granted for the completion of the future RMS Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth. When completed, these two new ships would handle Cunard White Star's express service; so their fleet of older liners became redundant and were gradually retired.



Olympic was withdrawn from the transatlantic service, and left New York for the last time on 5 April 1935, returning to Britain to be laid up. Her new owners considered using her for summer cruises for a short while, but this idea was abandoned and she was put up for sale. Among the potential buyers was a syndicate who proposed to turn her into a floating hotel off the south coast of France, but this came to nothing. After being laid up for five months alongside her former rival Mauretania, she was sold to Sir John Jarvis – Member of Parliament for £97,500, to be partially demolished at Jarrow to provide work for the depressed region. On 11 October 1935, Olympic left Southampton for the last time, she arrived in Jarrow on the 13th. Between 1935-1937, her superstructure was demolished, and then on 19 September 1937, Olympic's hull was towed to Thos W Ward's yard at Inverkeithing for final demolition which was finished by late 1937.


Olympic (left) and Mauretania laid up in Southampton prior to their scrapping

By the time of her retirement, Olympic had completed 257 round trips across the Atlantic, transporting 430,000 passengers on her commercial voyages, travelling 1.8 million miles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Olympic


1972 – A race riot occurs on the United States Navy aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk off the coast of Vietnam during Operation Linebacker.

The USS Kitty Hawk riot was a racial conflict between white sailors and black sailors aboard the United States Navy aircraft carrier, Kitty Hawk, on the night of October 12/13, 1972, off the coast of North Vietnam while participating in Operation Linebacker of the Vietnam War.



The supercarrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), formerly CVA-63, was the second naval ship named after Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the site of the Wright brothers' first powered airplane flight. Kitty Hawk was both the first and last active ship of her class, and the last oil-fired aircraft carrier in service with the United States Navy.

Kitty Hawk was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, on 27 December 1956. The ship was launched on 21 May 1960, sponsored by Mrs. Camilla F. McElroy, wife of Defense Secretary Neil H. McElroy. Kitty Hawk was launched by flooding her drydock; the conventional slide down method was ruled out because of her mass and the risk that she might hit the Philadelphia shore on the far side of the Delaware River.
The ship was commissioned 29 April 1961, at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Captain William F. Bringle in command.
With the decommissioning of Independence on 30 September 1998, Kitty Hawk became the United States warship with the second-longest active status, after the sailing ship USS Constitution. (Enterprise passed her in 2012; these two aircraft carriers were two of the three carriers to fly the First Navy Jack.)
For 10 years, Kitty Hawk was the forward-deployed carrier at Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan. In October 2008, she was replaced in this role by George Washington. Kitty Hawk then returned to the United States and had her decommissioning ceremony on 31 January 2009. She was officially decommissioned on 12 May 2009 after almost 49 years of service. Kitty Hawk was replaced by George H.W. Bush. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 20 October 2017, and will be dismantled.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kitty_Hawk_riot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kitty_Hawk_(CV-63)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
12 October 1492 – Christopher Columbus's expedition makes landfall in the Caribbean, specifically in The Bahamas. The explorer believes he has reached the Indies.


First voyage


First voyage. Modern place names in black, Columbus's place names in blue

On the evening of 3 August 1492, Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera with three ships. The largest was a carrack (Spanish: nao), the Santa María ex-Gallega ("Galician")[further explanation needed]. The other two were smaller caravels. The name of one is lost: it is known today only by the nickname Pinta, which in Castilian of the time meant "painted one". The Santa Clara was nicknamed affectionately the Niña ("the little one"), a pun on the name of her owner, Juan Niño of Moguer. The monarchs forced the citizens of Palos to contribute to the expedition. The Santa María was owned by Juan de la Cosa and captained by Columbus. The Pinta and the Niña were piloted by the Pinzón brothers (Martín Alonso and Vicente Yáñez).

Columbus first sailed to the Canary Islands, which belonged to Castile. He restocked provisions and made repairs in Gran Canaria, then departed from San Sebastián de La Gomera on 6 September, for what turned out to be a five-week voyage across the ocean. At about 2:00 in the morning of 12 October (21 October, Gregorian Calendar New Style), a lookout on the Pinta, Rodrigo de Triana (also known as Juan Rodríguez Bermeo), spotted land, and immediately alerted the rest of the crew with a shout. Thereupon, the captain of the Pinta, Martín Alonso Pinzón, verified the discovery and alerted Columbus by firing a lombard. Columbus later maintained that he himself had already seen a light on the land a few hours earlier, thereby claiming for himself the lifetime pension promised by Ferdinand and Isabella to the first person to sight land.

Columbus called the island (in what is now the Bahamas) San Salvador (meaning "Holy Savior"); the natives called it Guanahani. Exactly which island in the Bahamas this corresponds to is unresolved. Based on primary accounts and on what one would expect from the geographic positions of the islands given Columbus's course, the prime candidates are San Salvador Island (so named in 1925 on the theory that it was Columbus's San Salvador), Samana Cay, and Plana Cays.


Landing of Columbus (12 October 1492), painting by John Vanderlyn

The indigenous people he encountered, the Lucayan, Taíno, and Arawak, were peaceful and friendly. He called the inhabitants of the lands that he visited indios(Spanish for "Indians").Noting their gold ear ornaments, Columbus took some of the Arawaks prisoner and insisted that they guide him to the source of the gold. From the entry in his journal of 12 October 1492, in which he wrote of them: "Many of the men I have seen have scars on their bodies, and when I made signs to them to find out how this happened, they indicated that people from other nearby islands come to San Salvador to capture them; they defend themselves the best they can. I believe that people from the mainland come here to take them as slaves. They ought to make good and skilled servants, for they repeat very quickly whatever we say to them. I think they can very easily be made Christians, for they seem to have no religion. If it pleases our Lord, I will take six of them to Your Highnesses when I depart, in order that they may learn our language." Columbus noted that their primitive weapons and military tactics made them susceptible to easy conquest, writing, "these people are very simple in war-like matters … I could conquer the whole of them with 50 men, and govern them as I pleased."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
12 October 1765 – Launch of french Saint-Esprit ("Holy Ghost") was an 80-gun ship


The Saint-Esprit ("Holy Ghost") was an 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She was funded by a don des vaisseauxdonation from the Order of the Holy Spirit, and named in its honour.


Le vaisseau de ligne français de 80 canons le Saint-Esprit au combat en 1782 (batailles de Saint-Christophe, Antilles). Détail d'un tableau anglais de 1784. (Vaisseau identifié par Rif Winfield et Stephen S. Roberts dans leur ouvrage French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626-1786 : Design, Construction, Careers and Fates, paru en octobre 2017).

Career
She took part in the Battle of Ushant under La Motte-Picquet, and to the Armada of 1779.

She was renamed Scipion in April 1794, and took part in the Bataille du 13 prairial an 2 under Huguet, where she was totally dismasted. She was wrecked on 30 January 1795, during the Croisière du Grand Hiver. Most of her crew were rescued by Trente-et-un Mai.


The Saint-Esprit group was a type of three 80-gun ships of the line of the French Navy. They did not constitute a single class, as each was built to a separate design, but they each carried a standard ordnance amounting to 80 guns.

• Saint-Esprit. Renamed Scipion.

Builder: Brest
Ordered: 11 January 1762
Launched: 12 October 1765
Fate: Lost in storm on 26 january 1795

• Languedoc Renamed Anti-fédéraliste and Victoire

Builder: Toulon
Ordered: 9 December 1761
Launched: 15 May 1766
Fate: Broken up in 1799 in Brest

The Languedoc was a ship of the line of the French Navy and flagship of Admiral d'Estaing. She was offered to King Louis XV by the Languedoc, as part of the Don des vaisseaux, a national effort to rebuild the navy after the Seven Years' War. She was designed by the naval architect Joseph Coulomb, and funded by a don des vaisseaux donation from the Estates of Languedoc.


The Languedoc, dismasted by the storm the night of the 12th, attacked by HMS Renown the afternoon of 13 August 1778

• Couronne.

Builder: Arsenal of Brest
Ordered: 1766
Launched: May 1768
Fate: Accidentally burnt at Brest in 1781. A replacement,
Couronne was constructed from the salvaged remains. Renamed Ça Ira in 1792, this ship was captured by Britain on 14 March 1795, destroyed in an accidental fire on 11 April 1796

The Couronne was an 80-gun Saint-Esprit-class ship of the line of the French Navy.
She was laid down at Brest in August 1766 and launched in May 1768. She took part in the Battle of Ushant in 1778 and the Battle of Martinique under Guichen in July 1780. She was burnt by accident at Brest in April 1781, with some of her salvaged hull probably being used in her successor, also named Couronne.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Saint-Esprit_(1765)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Esprit-class_ship_of_the_line

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
12 October 1792 – The first celebration of Columbus Day is held in New York City.


Celebration of Christopher Columbus's voyage in the early United States is recorded from as early as 1792, when the Tammany Society in New York City (for whom it became an annual tradition) and also the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston celebrated the 300th anniversary of Columbus' landing in the New World.President Benjamin Harrison called upon the people of the United States to celebrate Columbus's landing in the New World on the 400th anniversary of the event. During the anniversary in 1892, teachers, preachers, poets and politicians used rituals to teach ideals of patriotism. These rituals took themes such as citizenship boundaries, the importance of loyalty to the nation, and the celebration of social progress.


First Landing of Columbus on the Shores of the New World; painting by Dióscoro Puebla(1862)

Many Italian-Americans observe Columbus Day as a celebration of their heritage, and the first such celebration was held in New York City on October 12, 1866. The day was first enshrined as a legal holiday in the United States through the lobbying of Angelo Noce, a first generation Italian, in Denver. The first statewide holiday was proclaimed by Colorado governor Jesse F. McDonald in 1905, and it was made a statutory holiday in 1907. In April 1934, as a result of lobbying by the Knights of Columbus and New York City Italian leader Generoso Pope, Congress and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed October 12 a federal holiday under the name Columbus Day.

Since 1971 (Oct. 11), the holiday has been fixed to the second Monday in October, coincidentally exactly the same day as Thanksgiving in neighboring Canada fixed since 1957. It is generally observed nowadays by banks, the bond market, the U.S. Postal Service, other federal agencies, most state government offices, many businesses, and most school districts. Some businesses and some stock exchanges remain open, and some states and municipalities abstain from observing the holiday. The traditional date of the holiday also adjoins the anniversary of the United States Navy (founded October 13, 1775), and thus both occasions are customarily observed by the Navy (and usually the Marine Corps as well) with either a 72- or 96-hour liberty period.

Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. The landing is celebrated as "Columbus Day" in the United States, as "Día de la Raza" ("Day of the Race") in some countries in Latin America, as "Día de la Hispanidad" and "Fiesta Nacional" in Spain, where it is also the religious festivity of la Virgen del Pilar, as Día de las Américas (Day of the Americas) in Belize and Uruguay, as Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural (Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity) in Argentina, and as Giornata Nazionale di Cristoforo Colombo or Festa Nazionale di Cristoforo Colombo in Italy as well as in Little Italys around the world. As the day of remembrance of Our Lady of the Pillar, 12 October had been declared a religious feast day throughout the Spanish Empire in 1730; the secular Fiesta de la Raza Española was first proposed by Faustino Rodríguez-San Pedro y Díaz-Argüelles in 1913. In recent years, celebration of the holiday has faced some opposition from various organizations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Day

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
12 October 1793 - Boats of HMS Captain (1787 - 74), Cptn. Reeve, and HMS Speedy (1782 - 14), Charles Cunningham, found French frigate Imperieuse (1787 - 40) at Porta Especia, 5 days after the Raid on Genoa. She scuttled herself but was raised and taken into the Royal Navy


Alarmed by the raid on Genoa, the authorities in Leghorn ordered Impérieuse to leave immediately. The frigate sailed north and took shelter at Fezzano, near the port of La Spezia. The French had decided that since capture was inevitable, the frigate should be destroyed, and beached the ship in order to remove guns and stores. Six days after the capture of Modeste, Captain reached La Spezia, acting on reports that Impérieuse was in the bay. Reeve discovered the French ship under the guns of the Santa Maria shore battery, and the following morning, 12 October, used his ship's boats to tow Captain alongside Impérieuse. At 08:00 boat parties from the ship of the line boarded the frigate, discovering that the remaining French crew had abandoned their disarmed ship during the night and scuttled it in shallow water. The British were able to take possession of Impérieuse without opposition from the battery. Reeve instructed his carpenters to make the frigate seaworthy again, refloating the ship and completing temporary repairs on 13 October before sailing back to Toulon with his prize.

Aftermath
Modeste and Impérieuse were high-quality modern ships and were both immediately recommissioned into the Royal Navy, Modeste with the same name and Impérieuse as HMS Unite as there was already a ship with a similar name in service. The repercussions of this operation were severe however. Gell, acting on instructions from Hood, had violated Genoese neutrality in a deliberate attempt to intimidate the pro-Republican faction in the city, but their actions were readily seized upon by French propagandists such as Nicolas Ozanne, who portrayed the raid as a massacre of unarmed sailors in print form. The Genoese government broke off diplomatic relations with Britain, permitting only French ships to enter the harbour. The British instituted a blockade, and as a result the 5,000 Austrian reinforcements destined for Toulon were unable to embark. Drake and all British inhabitants of Genoa were expelled, and Gell initiated a blockade of the city, seizing neutral merchant shipping destined for the port. Three ships were stationed at Leghorn to watch the more quiescent Tuscan government, including the Royalist Scipion. On 26 November, Scipion, which was carrying 150 prisoners taken in the raid on Genoa, caught fire, possibly the result of arson, and was destroyed, although other accounts suggest that a barrel of brandy was ignited accidentally by a candle. The blaze killed 390 of the Royalist crew, many of whom were classed as unfit for duty.

Without the Austrian reinforcements the defenders of Toulon were outnumbered and outflanked, coming under sustained attack by French troops directed by 24-year-old artillery officer Captain Napoleon Bonaparte. On 17 December, French troops seized the high ground over the city and the allies were forced into a chaotic withdrawal. As Hood's ships removed the garrison and more than 14,000 refugees from the city, boat parties led by Sir Sidney Smith attempted to destroy the French fleet and dockyards with fireships. These efforts were only partially successful: fifteen ships of the line and five frigates survived the conflagration to form the nucleus of the French Mediterranean Fleet in the war to come. By the evening of 18 December Toulon was firmly in Republican hands


HMS Captain was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 November 1787 at Limehouse. She served during the French revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars before being placed in harbour service in 1799. An accident caused her to burn and founder in 1813. Later that year she was raised and broken up.


The 'Captain' capturing the 'San Nicolas' and the 'San José' at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, 14 February 1797

HMS Speedy was a 14-gun Speedy-class brig of the British Royal Navy. Built during the last years of the American War of Independence, she served with distinction during the French Revolutionary Wars.


"HMS Speedy falling in with the wreck of Queen Charlotte March 21 1800 at Leghorn".

The Impérieuse was a 40-gun Minerve-class frigate of the French Navy, launched 1787. The Royal Navy captured her in 1793 and she served first as HMS Imperieuse and then from 1803 as HMS Unite. She became a hospital hulk in 1836 and was broken up in 1858.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with sternboard outline and some decoration detail, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Imperieuse (captured 1793), a captured French 40-gun Frigate, as taken off at Chatham Dockyard prior to being fitted as a 38-gun Fifth Rate Frigate. Signed by Thomas Pollard [Master Shipwright, Chatham Dockyard, 1793-1795]
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81954.html#ybAQrbTejiAWRF8L.99


The Minerve class was a type of 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, carrying 18-pounder long guns as their main armament. Six ships of this type were built at Toulon Dockyard, and launched between 1782 and 1794. The frigates served the French Navy briefly during the French Revolutionary Wars. The Royal Navy captured all six between 1793 and 1799 and took them into service, with all but one serving in the Napoleonic Wars, and some thereafter.

The first four frigates were built to a design by Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb. Jacques Brune Sainte Catherine modified Coulomb's design for the fifth, lengthening it to permit the addition of a 14th pair of gunports on the upper deck. Catherine further redesigned the class for the sixth, final frigate. The French Navy preferred the designs by Jacques-Noël Sané. However, the more rounded hull form of the Minerve-class vessels' found favour with the Royal Navy, leading it to copy the design.

Ships

• Minerve

Ordered: 30 October 1781
Begun: January 1782
Launched: 31 July 1782
Completed: October 1782
Fate: Captured by the British 18 February 1794, taken into service as HMS San Fiorenzo, broken u 1837

• Junon

Ordered: 30 October 1781
Begun: February 1782
Launched: 31 July 1782
Completed: October 1782
Fate: Captured by the British 16 June 1799, taken in as HMS Princess Charlotte, renamed HMS Andromache January 1812, broken up 1828

• Impérieuse

Ordered: November 1785
Begun: February 1786
Launched: 11 July 1787
Completed: May 1788
Fate: Captured by the British 12 October 1793, taken in as HMS Captain, renamed HMS Unite 3 September 1803, hospital hulk 1836, broken up 1858

• Melpomène

Ordered: 1787
Begun: February 1788
Launched: 6 August 1789
Completed: April 1792
Fate: Captured by the British 10 August 1794, taken om as HMS Melpomene, sold on 14 December 1815

• Perle

Ordered: 1789
Begun: June 1789
Launched: 27 August 1790
Completed: September 1792
Fate: Handed over to the British 29 August 1793, taken in as HMS Amethyst, wrecked 27 December 1795

• Minerve

Begun: late 1791
Launched: 4 September 1794
Completed: October 1794
Fate: Captured by the British 23 June 1795, taken in as HMS Minerve, recaptured by the French 3 July 1803, renamed Canonnière, sold June 1809 and renamed Confiance, recaptured by the British 3 February 1810 and sold



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Captain_(1787)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Speedy_(1782)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Imperieuse_(1793)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerve-class_frigate
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-320431;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=I