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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 January 1780 - Action of 8 January 1780
a naval encounter off Cape Finisterre between a British Royal Naval fleet (20 ships of Line and 6 frigates) under Admiral Sir George Rodney, and a fleet of Spanish merchants sailing in convoy with seven warships


The Action of 8 January 1780 was a naval encounter off Cape Finisterre between a British Royal Naval fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney, and a fleet of Spanish merchants sailing in convoy with seven warships of the Caracas Company, under the command of Commodore Don Juan Augustin de Yardi. During the action the entire Spanish convoy was captured. Rodney's fleet was en route to relieve Gibraltar, and this action took place several days before Rodney's engagement and defeat of a Spanish fleet at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent.

Background
Main article: Great Siege of Gibraltar
One of Spain's principal goals upon its entry into the American Revolutionary War in 1779 was the recovery of Gibraltar, which had been lost to England in 1704. The Spanish consequently planned to retake Gibraltar by blockading and starving out its garrison, which included troops from Britain and the Electorate of Hanover. The siege formally began in June 1779, with the Spanish establishing a land blockade around The Rock. The matching naval blockade was comparatively weak, and the British discovered that small fast ships could evade the blockaders, while slower and larger supply ships generally could not. By late 1779, however, supplies in Gibraltar had become seriously depleted, and General George Eliott appealed to London for relief.

A supply convoy was organized, and in late December 1779 a large fleet sailed from England under the command of Admiral Sir George Brydges Rodney. Although Rodney's final destination was the West Indies, he had secret instructions to first resupply Gibraltar and Menorca.

Action
On 4 January Rodney parted with the ship of the line HMS Hector under Sir John Hamilton, and the frigates HMS Phoenix, HMS Andromeda and HMS Greyhound under Captains Hyde Parker, H. Bryne and William Dickson respectively, to escort the West Indies-bound merchants. The following day Rodney encountered a Spanish convoy consisting of 22 ships, bound from San Sebastián to Cádiz.

He closed on them, the copper sheathing on some of his ships allowing them to outsail the Spanish. The whole convoy was captured, except for one merchant vessel. Vessels which had been carrying naval stores to the Spanish fleet at Cádiz, and baled goods for the Royal Caracas Company were sent back to England, escorted by HMS America and HMS Pearl. Rodney took those Spanish ships that were found to be carrying provisions useful to Gibraltar to relieve the British forces there.

In addition Rodney commissioned and manned the captured Spanish flagship, the 64-gun Guipuzcoana, naming her HMS Prince William, in honour of Prince William, who was present at the engagement. Rodney remarked in his despatches to the Admiralty that the loss of the ships "must greatly distress the enemy, who I am well informed are in much want of provisions and naval stores". Several days later Rodney engaged and defeated a Spanish fleet under Don Juan de Lángara at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, on 16 January 1780, before going on to relieve Gibraltar and Menorca.

Ships involved
The order of battle is as reported by Beatson.

British fleet
Spanish fleet
Caracas Company warships
  • Guipuzcoano (64) Commodore Don Juan Augustin de Yardi, Captain Don Tomás de Malay
  • San Carlos (32) Captain Don Firmin Urtizberea
  • San Rafael (30) Captain Don Luis Aranburu
  • Santa Teresa (28) Captain Don Jose J. de Mendizabal
  • San Bruno (26) Captain J. M. de Goicoechea
  • San Fermín (16) Captain J. Vin. Eloy Sanchez
  • San Vicente (10) Captain Don José de Ugalde
Merchants
  • Nues. Señora de L'Oves
  • San Francisco
  • La Concepción
  • San Nicolás
  • San Jeronimo
  • Divinia Providencia
  • San Gavilán
  • San Pacora
  • San Lauren
  • La Providencia
  • La Bellona
  • Esperanza
  • Le Cidada de Mercia
  • La Amistad
  • San Miguel


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_8_January_1780
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 January 1780 - Action of 8 January 1780
a naval encounter off Cape Finisterre between a British Royal Naval fleet (20 ships of Line and 6 frigates) under Admiral Sir George Rodney, and a fleet of Spanish merchants sailing in convoy with seven warships
Part II - two of the captured spanish ships



HMS Prince William was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She had previously been the Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, but was better known as Guipuzcoano, an armed merchantmen of the Spanish Basque Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas.

Class and type: 64-gun third-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1,346 61⁄94 tons bm
Length:
  • 153 ft 2.25 in (46.69 m) (overall)
  • 130 ft 8 in (39.83 m) (keel)
Beam: 44 ft 1 in (13.44 m)
Depth of hold: 19 ft 9.25 in (6.0262 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Complement: 500
Armament:
large (7).jpg
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with some inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Prince William' (1780), a captured Spanish Third Rate, as taken off? at Portsmouth Dockyard. Signed by George White [Master Shipwright, Portsmouth Dockyard, 1779-1793].

Guipuzcoano was sailing as the flagship of an escort for a merchant convoy of the company, when they ran into a large British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney, bound for the relief of Gibraltar. In a short action Rodney captured the entirety of the convoy and all its escorts, including the Guipuscoano, which he manned and named in honour of Prince William, sending her back to Britain with some of the merchants.

The Navy approved her acquisition and after fitting out she was sent to the West Indies, where she took part in most of the battles there during the American War of Independence, including the capture of Sint Eustatius and the battles of Fort Royal, Saint Kitts and the Saintes. She returned to Britain after the end of the wars, was converted to a sheer hulkbefore the start of the French Revolutionary Wars, was a receiving ship by 1811 and was broken up in 1817, two years after the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Capture
Guipuzcoano was sailing as the flagship of Commodore Don Juan Agustín de Yardi, and commanded by Captain Don Tomás de Malay, in late 1779, escorting a convoy of 15 merchants of the Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas from San Sebastián to Cadiz. Also escorting the convoy were four company frigates, the 32-gun San Carlos, 30-gun San Rafael, 28-gun Santa Teresa and 26-gun San Bruno, and two smaller vessels, the 16-gun San Fermín and 10-gun San Vicente. On 8 January 1780 the convoy encountered a large British fleet off Cape Finisterre under Admiral Sir George Rodney, bound for the relief of Gibraltar. Rodney closed on the convoy, the copper sheathing on some of his ships allowing them to outsail the Spanish. The whole convoy was captured, with vessels which had been carrying naval stores to the Spanish fleet at Cadiz, and baled goods for the Royal Caracas Company being sent back to England, escorted by HMS America and HMS Pearl. Those Spanish ships that were found to be carrying provisions were taken to Gibraltar by Rodney, and used to relieve the British forces there.

In addition Rodney commissioned and manned the captured Spanish flagship, the 64-gun Guipuzcoano, naming her HMS Prince William, in honour of Prince William, who had been present at the engagement. The four captured frigates were not added to the navy, but the two smaller vessels were purchased, being named HMS Saint Fermin and HMS Saint Vincent and rated as 14-gun brigs.

British career
The name Prince William was confirmed on 3 April 1780 and she was fitted and coppered at Portsmouth between April and August 1780. She was commissioned under her first commander, Captain Stair Douglas, in April that year, and joined the Channel Fleet under Sir George Darby. She sailed for the West Indies in November 1780 with the fleet under Sir Samuel Hood, and saw action with the fleet at the capture of Sint Eustatius in February 1781, and at the Battle of Fort Royal on 29/30 April 1781. Prince William then left the West Indies at the end of the year, sailing to North America and arriving there in October. She was soon back in the West Indies with Hood, and command passed from Douglas to Captain George Wilkinson. She fought with Hood's fleet at the Battle of Saint Kitts on 25/26 January 1782, where she had three men wounded.

The_battle_of_the_Saints_12_avril_1782.jpg
The Battle of the Saintes, 12 April 1782: surrender of the Ville de Paris by Thomas Whitcombe, painted 1783

Prince William fought at the brief clash with the Comte de Grasse in the Dominica Channel on 9 April 1782, and was then at the decisive British victory at the Battle of the Saintes on 12 April 1782, where she was the last ship in the van division and escaped suffering any casualties. Prince William was then part of the squadron despatched under Hood to chase down French ships, but due to her poor sailing did not arrive in time to take part in the Battle of the Mona Passage. On 14 April Wilkinson was succeeded by Captain James Vashon, who spent only two months in command before being appointed Rodney's flag captain aboard HMS Formidable. Captain William Merrick took command later in 1782, and in July she sailed to North America with the fleet under Admiral Hugh Pigot. The fleet was at New York City between September and October, after which it sailed to blockade Cap François. Prince William sailed from Jamaica in April 1783, bound for Britain to be paid off on her arrival in July. After some time spent laid up, she was fitted as a sheer hulk at Portsmouth between December 1790 and April 1791, and in this state saw out most of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. She had been fitted out as a receiving ship for guns by 1811, and was broken up at Portsmouth in September 1817, two years after the end of the Napoleonic Wars.


San Fermín was a 16-gun private ship of war corvette of the Gipuzkoan Trading Company of Caracas. She was launched in 1779 but the British Royal Navy captured her at the Action of 8 January 1780. The Spanish recaptured her in 1781.

Class and type: 16-gun sloop
Tons burthen: 250 (bm)
Length: 90 ft 2 1⁄2 in (27.5 m)(gundeck)
Beam: 72 ft 4 in (22.0 m)
Draught: 25 ft 6 in (7.8 m)
Depth of hold: 12 ft 0 in (3.7 m)
Complement:
  • Spanish service:60
  • British service:138
Armament:16 x 6-pounder guns (British service)

British service
At the time of her capture she was under the command of Captain J. Vin. Eloy Sanchez. Admiral Rodney sent to Britain under the escort of the captured 64-gun ship Guipuzcoanothe vessels of the convoy that he had captured on 8 June that were carrying commercial goods. He took with him for the relief of Gibraltar those vessels that carried naval supplies, together with the two smaller captured escorts, Saint Fermin and Saint Vincent. The British commissioned Saint Fermin in Gibraltar as the 16-gun sloop of war HMS Saint Fermin, under Commander Jonathan Faulknor.

Despite Rodney's delivery of supplies and reinforcements, Spain's siege of Gibraltar continued. At 1am on 7 June the Spanish launched an attack on Gibraltar by seven fireships. Boats from Saint Fermin helped tow some of these to where they could do no harm. By the firelight the British observed that some Spanish warships were waiting outside to intercept any British vessels that might try to escape. None did and the attack failed completely.

On 19 October Saint Fermin exchanged shots with some Spanish gunboats. Saint Fermin was not harmed.

Fate
On 3 April 1781 Saint Fermin sailed for Menorca with dispatches, together with the tender to Brilliant,[6] and a settee. At the time, the British maintained contact with the British forces there, at least until 1782 when that island fell, by sending small, fast-sailing ships to run the blockade.

When Saint Fermin left, two Spanish xebecs immediately set out in pursuit. That evening Faulknor saw two vessels approaching and made every effort to escape. Moonlight revealed them to be two xebecs, and that they were gaining. Even after the moon set the chase continued with the Spaniards sporadically firing their chase guns and Saint Fermin replying with her stern guns. Just before dawn the two xebecs came within gunshot range, stationed themselves on their quarry's quarters, and one prepared to fire a broadside.

Out numbered and outgunned, Faulknor surrendered off Gibraltar.[9] The two xebecs were the San Antonio, of 26 guns, and the San Luis, of 22 guns. They then took her into Cartagena, Spain. From there the Spanish brought her into their naval service as the 16-gun San Fermín.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_8_January_1780
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Prince_William_(1780)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-340619;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=P
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Saint_Fermin_(1780)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 January 1798 - HMS Kingfisher (1782 - 18), Cptn. Charles Herbert Pierrepont, Earl Manvers, captured French privateer La Betsey (1798 - 16).


HMS Kingfisher was an 18-gun sloop of the Royal Navy which saw service during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars.

Type: 18-gun sloop
Tons burthen: 36957⁄94 (bm)
Length:
  • 95 ft 1 in (28.98 m) (gundeck)
  • 75 ft 3.5 in (22.949 m) (keel)
Beam: 30 ft 9 in (9.37 m)
Depth of hold: 7 ft 6.25 in (2.2924 m)
Complement: 120
Armament: 18 × short 6-pounder guns
Broadside Weight = 54 Imperial Pound ( 24.489 kg)

Betsey had an
Armament of​
Broadside Weight = 48 French Livre (51.8016 lbs 23.496 kg)
Gun Deck 16 French 6-Pounder

Career
Kingfisher was one of a number of small sloops and brigs purchased on the stocks while under construction during the American War of Independence. Though built at Rochester on the River Medway, It is uncertain which yard Kingfisher was purchased from. Greaves & Nicholson is one possibility. Her name is often given as King’s Fisher. Kingfisher was fitted at Chatham Dockyard, and commissioned for service in May 1783 under Commander William Albany Otway.

Commander George Lumsdaine took over in November 1786, and was in turned superseded by Commander Henry Warre in April 1788. Kingfisher went on to serve under a succession of commanders during the last years of peace and the early years of the French Revolutionary War. Commander Charles Jones was captain from May 1791, succeeded by Commander William Brown in June 1792, and Brown in turn by Commander Thomas Graves in November that year. From April 1794 she was under Commander Thomas Gosselyn, though he was replaced by Commander Alexander Wilson in August 1795. Wilson's command was short-lived, in September Kingfisher was under Commander Edward Marsh, who took her out to the West Indiesin March 1796, and then to the Lisbon station in January 1797. Marsh was soon superseded by Commander John Bligh, who had distinguished himself at the Battle of Cape St Vincent on 14 February 1797, and been rewarded with a promotion to commander on 8 March 1797 and the command of Kingfisher. While cruising off Oporto he was able to capture the 14-gun French privateer Général on 29 March.

In April 1797 Commander John Maitland took command. On 1 August he was almost the victim of a mutiny. Taking a direct approach he gathered his officers and marines and attacked the mutineers with swords and cutlasses, killing and wounding several. This decisive action quashed the mutiny, and was approved of by his commanding officer, Admiral John Jervis. Jervis described Maitland's actions as 'Doctor Maitland's recipe', and advised that it should be adopted in future instances of attempted mutiny. Maitland was promoted to post-captain on 11 August 1797 and was given command of HMS San Nicolas, one of the prizes captured by Nelson at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. Before his transfer he had time to repeat Kingfisher's success against privateers, capturing the 2-gun privateer Espoir on 15 September that year. Maitland was replaced by Commander Charles Pierrepoint, who had even more success. The 16-gun privateer Betsey was captured on 8 January 1798, followed by the 10-gun privateer Lynx on 15 March 1798. Also serving aboard Kingfisher at this time was Lieutenant Frederick Lewis Maitland. Maitland had gained a reputation for courage, so much so that the ship's company subscribed £50 to present him with a sword.

Disaster struck when Kingfisher was bilged on the Portuguese coast after running onto the Lisbon Bar while leaving the Tagus on 3 December 1798, and was lost. Maitland had been temporarily in command at the time, and faced a court-martial, which honourably acquitted him.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Kingfisher_(1782)
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=5000
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=20656
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 January 1806 - The Battle of Blaauwberg, also known as the Battle of Cape Town


The Battle of Blaauwberg, also known as the Battle of Cape Town, fought near Cape Town on 8 January 1806, was a small but significant military engagement. Peace was made under the Treaty Tree in Woodstock. It established British rule in South Africa, which was to have many ramifications for the region during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A bi-centennial commemoration was held in January 2006.

a6cd9f0be08d1da7bff5a6f3e78dfedd.jpg

Background
The battle was an incident in Europe's Napoleonic Wars. At that time, the Cape Colony belonged to the Batavian Republic, a French vassal. Because the sea route around the Cape was important to the British, they decided to seize the colony in order to prevent it—and the sea route—from also coming under French control. A British fleet was despatched to the Cape in July 1805, to forestall French troopships which Napoleon had sent to reinforce the Cape garrison.

The colony was governed by Lieutenant General Jan Willem Janssens, who was also commander-in-chief of its military forces. The forces were small and of poor quality, and included foreign units hired by the Batavian government. They were backed up by local militia units.

Events

Cape_Colony00.jpg
Map of Cape Colony in Southern Africa, 1809

The first British warship reached the Cape on Christmas Eve 1805, and attacked two supply ships off the Cape Peninsula. Janssens placed his garrison on alert. When the main fleet sailed into Table Bay on 4 January 1806, he mobilised the garrison, declared martial law, and called up the militia.

After a delay caused by rough seas, two British infantry brigades, under the command of Lt Gen Sir David Baird, landed at Melkbosstrand, north of Cape Town, on 6 and 7 January. Janssens moved his forces to intercept them. He had decided that "victory could be considered impossible, but the honour of the fatherland demanded a fight". His intention was to attack the British on the beach and then to withdraw to the interior, where he hoped to hold out until the French troopships arrived.

HMS_Diadem_at_capture_of_Good_Hope-Thomas_Whitcombe.jpg
HMS Diadem at the capture of the Cape of Good Hope, by Thomas Whitcombe

However, on the morning of 8 January, while Janssens's columns were still slowly moving through the veld, Baird's brigades began their march to Cape Town, and reached the slopes of the Blaauwberg mountain (now spelled "Blouberg"), a few kilometres ahead of Janssens. Janssens halted and formed a line across the veld.

The battle began at sunrise, with exchanges of artillery fire. These were followed by an advance by Janssens's militia cavalry, and volleys of musket fire from both sides. One of Janssens's hired foreign units, in the centre of his line, turned and ran from the field. A British bayonet charge disposed of the units on Janssens's right flank, and he ordered his remaining troops to withdraw.

Janssens began the battle with 2,049 troops, and lost 353 in casualties and desertions. Baird began the battle with 5,399 men, and had 212 casualties.

From Blaauwberg, Janssens moved inland to a farm in the Tygerberg area, and from there his troops moved to the Elands Kloof in the Hottentots Holland Mountains, about 50 km from Cape Town.

The British forces reached the outskirts of Cape Town on 9 January. To spare the town and its civilian population from attack, the commandant of Cape Town, Lieutenant-Colonel Hieronymus Casimir von Prophalow, sent out a white flag. He handed over the outer fortifications to Baird, and terms of surrender were negotiated later in the day. The formal Articles of Capitulation for the town and the Cape Peninsula were signed the following afternoon, 10 January, at a cottage at Papendorp (now the suburb of Woodstock) which became known as "Treaty Cottage." Although the cottage has long since been demolished, Treaty Street still commemorates the event. The tree under which they signed remains to this day.

G.S._Smithard;_J.S._Skelton_(1909)_-_General_Janssens_at_the_Battle_of_Blaauwberg.jpg
General Janssens at the Battle of Blaauwberg

However, the Batavian Governor of the Cape, General Janssens, had not yet surrendered himself and his remaining troops and was following his plan to hold out for as long as he could, in the hope that the French troopships for which he had been waiting for months would arrive and save him. He had only 1,238 men with him, and 211 deserted in the days that followed.

Janssens held out in the mountains for a further week. Baird sent Brigadier General William Beresford to negotiate with him, and the two generals conferred at a farm belonging to Gerhard Croeser near the Hottentots-Holland Mountains on 16 January without reaching agreement. After further consideration, and consultation with his senior officers and advisers, Janssens decided that "the bitter cup must be drunk to the bottom". He agreed to capitulate, and the final Articles of Capitulation were signed on 18 January.

Uncertainty reigns as to where the Articles of Capitulation were signed. For many years it has been claimed that it was the Goedeverwachting estate (where a copy of the treaty is on display), but more recent research, published in Dr Krynauw's book Beslissing by Blaauwberg suggests that Croeser's farm (now the Somerset West golf course) may have been the venue. An article published in the 1820s by the then resident clergyman of the Stellenbosch district, Dr Borcherds, also points towards Croeser's farm.

The terms of the capitulation were reasonably favourable to the Batavian soldiers and citizens of the Cape. Janssens and the Batavian officials and troops were sent back to the Netherlands in March.

The British forces occupied the Cape until 13 August 1814, when the Netherlands ceded the colony to Britain as a permanent possession. It remained a British colony until it was incorporated into the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910.

Articles of Capitulation
Summary of the Articles of Capitulation signed by Lt Col Von Prophalow, Maj Gen Baird and Cdre Popham on 10 January 1806:

  • Cape Town, the Castle, and circumjacent fortifications were surrendered to Great Britain;
  • the garrison became prisoners of war, but officers who were colonists or married to colonists could remain at liberty as long as they behaved themselves;
  • officers who were to be repatriated to Europe would be paid up to the date of embarkation and would be transported at British expense;
  • all French subjects in the colony must return to Europe;
  • inhabitants of Cape Town who had borne arms [i.e. burgher militiamen] could return to their occupations;
  • all private property would remain free and untouched;
  • all public property was to be inventoried and handed over;
  • the burghers and inhabitants would retain all their rights and privileges, including freedom of worship;
  • paper money in circulation would remain current;
  • the Batavian government property that was to be handed over would serve as security for the paper money;
  • prisoners of war would not be pressed into British service or be forced to enlist against their will;
  • troops would not be quartered on the citizens of Cape Town;
  • the two ships which had been sunk in Table Bay were to be raised by those who had sunk them, repaired, and handed over.
Summary of the Articles of Capitulation signed by Lt Gen Janssens and Brig Gen Beresford on 18 January 1806 and ratified by Maj Gen Baird on 19 January:

  • the colony and its dependencies were surrendered to Great Britain;
  • the Batavian troops were to move to Simon's Town, with their guns, arms, baggage, and all the honours of war - the officers could retain their swords and horses, but all arms, treasure, public property, and horses were to be handed over;
  • the Batavian troops would not be considered to be prisoners;
  • Janssens' Hottentot (sic) troops were also to march to Simon's Town, after which they could either return home or join the British forces;
  • the British commander-in-chief [Baird] would decide the position of those Batavian troops who were already prisoners of war;
  • the British government would bear the expense of the Batavian troops' subsistence until they embarked;
  • the Batavian troops would be transported to a port in the Batavian Republic;
  • sick men who could not be transported would stay behind, at British expense, and be sent to Holland after they had recovered;
  • the rights and privileges allowed to the citizens of Cape Town would also apply to the rest of the colony, except that the British could quarter troops on residents of the country districts;
  • once embarked, the Batavian troops would be treated the same as British troops were when on board transport ships;
  • Janssens would be allowed to send a despatch to Holland, and the British commanders would assist in forwarding it;
  • decisions regarding the continuation of agricultural plans by one Baron van Hogendorp would be left to the future British government;
  • any matter arising out of the Articles of Capitulation would be decided justly and honourably without preference to either party.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blaauwberg
https://battle.blaauwberg.net/index.php
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 January 1818 – Launch of French Centaure, an 86-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.


Centaure was an 86-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.

Le_Bucentaure_Anonymous.jpg
Bucentaure (sistership)

Class and type: Bucentaure-class
Type: ship of the line
Length:
  • 55.88 m (183.33 ft) (overall)
  • 53.92 m (176.90 ft) (keel)
Beam: 15.27 m (50.10 ft)
Depth of hold: 7.63 m (25.03 ft)
Propulsion: Sail
Sail plan: 2,683 m2 (28,879.57 sq ft)
Complement: 866
Armament: 86 guns

Broadside Weight = 1140 French Livre (1230.288 lbs 558.03 kg)
Lower Gun Deck 30 French 36-Pounder
Upper Gun Deck 32 French 24-Pounder
Quarterdeck/Forecastle 6 French 36-Pounder Carronade
Quarterdeck/Forecastle 18 French 12-Pounder

1280px-Van_Bree-Le_Friedland.jpg
Lancement du Friedland (sistership) le 2 mai 1810 à Anvers, en présence de Napoléon et de l'Impératrice

She took part in operations of the Spanish expedition in 1823, along with Trident and Sirène, silencing fort Santi-Pietri. On 14 October 1823, she was renamed Santi-Pietri to commemorate the event. Santi-Pietri was later used as a troopship, and as a prison hulk in Toulon from 1850, before being destroyed by fire on 4 January 1862.


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1280px-Trafalgar-Mayer_mg_0586.jpg
Bucentaure at Trafalgar

The Bucentaure class was a class of 80-gun French ships of the line built to a design by Jacques-Noël Sané from 1802 onwards, of which at least 29 were ordered but only 21 ships were launched. They were a development from his earlier Tonnantclass.

Ships in class
  • 80-gun ships ("vaisseaux de 80") of the First Empire
    Bucentaure class 80-gun ships designed by Jacques-Noël Sané, a modification of the 80-ship Tonnant class listed above. 21 ships were launched to this design, of which 16 were afloat by the end of 1814
    • Bucentaure 80 (launched 13 July 1803 at Toulon) – Flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805, captured there by the British and wrecked in the subsequent storm
    • Neptune 80 (launched 15 August 1803 at Toulon) – Captured by the Spanish at Cadiz in June 1808, renamed Neptuno,
    • Robuste 80 (launched 30 October 1806 at Toulon) – Driven ashore by the British and burnt near Frontignan in October 1809
    • Ville de Varsovie 80 (launched 10 May 1808 at Rochefort) – Captured and burnt by the British in the Battle of the Basque Roads in April 1809
    • Donawerth 80 (launched 4 July 1808 at Toulon)
    • Eylau 80 (launched 19 November 1808 at Lorient)
    • Friedland 80 (launched 2 May 1810 at Antwerp) – Transferred to the Dutch Navy in August 1814 and renamed Vlaming,
    • Sceptre 80 (launched 15 August 1810 at Toulon) – Condemned 1828
    • Tilsitt 80 (launched 25 August 1810 at Antwerp) – Transferred to the Dutch Navy in August 1814 and renamed Neptunus,
    • Auguste 80 (launched 25 April 1811 at Antwerp) – Transferred to the Dutch Navy in August 1814 and renamed Illustre, returned in September 1814,
    • Pacificateur 80 (launched 22 May 1811 at Antwerp)
    • Illustre 80 (launched 9 June 1811 at Antwerp) – Transferred to the Dutch Navy in August 1814 and renamed Prins van Oranje,
    • Diadème 80 (launched 1 December 1811 at Lorient) – 86 guns from 1837; condemned 1856.
    • Conquérant 80 (launched 27 April 1812 at Antwerp) – Condemned 1831.
    • Zélandais 80 (launched 12 October 1813 at Cherbourg) – renamed Duquesne in April 1814, but reverted to Zélandais in March 1815 then Duquesne again in July 1815. Condemned 1858.
    • Magnifique 80 (launched 29 October 1814 at Lorient) – 86 guns from 1837; condemned 1837.
A further ship to this same design was begun as the Saturno in May 1812 at Venice, and was renamed Emo by the Austrians following their seizure of that city, but was broken up on the stocks in 1818-19. A second ship was ordered at Venice in 1813, but was never laid down. Finally a further ship of this class was ordered in 1812 at Rochefort, but was never laid down or even assigned a name.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Centaure_(1818)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucentaure-class_ship_of_the_line
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 January 1821 - HMS Sprightly, a 6-gun Nightingale-class cutter, wrecked


HMS Sprightly was a 6-gun Nightingale-class cutter built for the Royal Navy during the 1810s. She was wrecked off the Isle of Portland in 1821.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board outline, sheer lines with inboard detail and midship framing, and longitudinal half-breadth for Revenue Cutters to be built at Pater [Pembroke Dockyard]: possibly Racer (1818); Sprightly (1818) both Revenue Cutters, and also possibly for Speedy (1828) and Snipe (1828) both 6-gun Cutter Tenders all built at Pembroke Dockyard. Signed Robert Seppings [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1832].

Class and type: Nightingale-class cutter
Tons burthen: 140 bm
Length:
Beam: 22 ft 5 in (6.8 m)
Draught: 10 ft 5 in (3.2 m)
Depth: 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m)
Sail plan: Fore-and-aft rig
Complement: 34
Armament: 2 × 6-pdr cannon; 4 × 6-pdr carronades


large (1).jpg
Scale: 1:24. Plan showing sections at Station 14, Midship, and Station M for Revenue Cutters to be built at Pater [Pembroke Dockyard]. These could relate to both the Revenue Cutters and Admiralty Cutters: possibly Racer (1818); Sprightly (1818) both Revenue Cutters, and also possibly for Speedy (1828) and Snipe (1828) both 6-gun Cutter Tenders, all built at Pembroke Dockyard. Initialled by Robert Seppings [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1832].

Description
Sprightly had a length at the gundeck of 67 feet (20.4 m) and 52 feet 7 inches (16.0 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 22 feet 5 inches (6.8 m), a draught of about 10 feet 5 inches (3.2 m) and a depth of hold of 9 feet 6 inches (2.9 m). The ship's tonnagewas 140 tons burthen. The Nightingale class was armed with two 6-pounder cannon and four 6-pounder carronades. The ships had a crew of 34 officers and ratings.

Construction and career
Sprightly, the fourth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy, was ordered in 1817, laid down in October 1817 at Pembroke Dockyard, Wales, and launched on 3 June 1818. She was completed on 18 January 1820 at Plymouth Dockyard.

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No scale, possibly 1:48. Plan showing the upper deck, and lower deck for Lapwing (1816), as fitted for a Revenue Cutter, and later used for Fancy (1817); Kite (1817); Racer (1818); and Sprightly (1818). Later modifications relate to Speedy (1828), a 6-gun Cutter Tender. Note: the standing bed places were for all subsequent Revenue Cutters built from 1818.


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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for Cutters of 122 tons built along the lines of Lapwing (fl. 1816): specifically Speedy (1828) and Nightingale (1825), but also for Snipe (1828). Inlcudes a table of scantling details.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Sprightly_(1818)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Sprightly_(1818
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 January 2004 – The RMS Queen Mary 2, the largest ocean liner ever built, is christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.


RMS Queen Mary 2 (also referred to as the QM2) is a transatlantic ocean liner. She is the largest passenger ship built for the Cunard Line since Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1969, the vessel she succeeded as flagship of the line. As of 2019, Queen Mary 2 is the only passenger ship operating as an ocean liner.

The new ship was named Queen Mary 2 by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004 after the first RMS Queen Mary of 1936. Queen Mary was in turn named after Mary of Teck, consort of King George V. With the retirement of Queen Elizabeth 2 in 2008, Queen Mary 2 is the only transatlantic ocean liner in line service between Southampton, England, and New York City, United States, operating for a part of each year. The ship is also used for cruising, including an annual world cruise.

Queen_Mary_2_(Flickr_3406995992).jpg

She was designed by a team of British naval architects led by Stephen Payne, and was constructed in France by Chantiers de l'Atlantique. At the time of her construction, Queen Mary 2 held the distinctions of being the longest, at 1,131.99 ft (345.03 m), and largest, with a gross tonnage of 148,528 GT, passenger ship ever built. She no longer holds this distinction after the construction of Royal Caribbean International's 154,407 GT Freedom of the Seas in April 2006, but remains the largest ocean linerever built.

Queen Mary 2 was intended for routine crossings of the Atlantic Ocean, and was therefore designed differently from many other passenger ships. The liner's final cost was approximately $300,000 US per berth. Expenses were increased by the high quality of materials, and having been designed as an ocean liner, she required 40% more steel than a standard cruise ship. Queen Mary 2 has a maximum speed of just over 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) and a cruising speed of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph), much faster than a contemporary cruise ship. Instead of the diesel-electric configuration found on many ships, Queen Mary 2 uses integrated electric propulsion to achieve her top speed. Diesel engines, augmented by gas turbines, are used to generate electricity for electric motors for propulsion and for on-board use.

Some of Queen Mary 2's facilities include fifteen restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, a ballroom, a theatre, and the first planetarium at sea.

Type: Ocean liner
Tonnage: 149,215 GT
Displacement: 79,287 tonnes
Length: 1,132 ft (345.03 m)
Beam:
  • 135 ft (41 m) waterline,
  • 147.5 ft (45.0 m) extreme (bridge wings)
Height: 236.2 ft (72.0 m) keel to (top of) funnel
Draught: 33.8 ft (10.3 m)
Decks: 14 passenger, 18 total decks
Installed power:
Propulsion: Diesel-electric; Four Rolls-Royce/AlstomMermaid propulsion units (4 × 21.5 MW)
Speed: 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Capacity:
  • 2,695 passengers (after 2016 refit)
  • 2,620 passengers (original design)
Crew: 1,253 officers and crew

qm25febtws.jpg

Characteristics
Queen Mary 2 is the flagship of Cunard Line. The ship was constructed for eventual replacement of the aging Queen Elizabeth 2, the Cunard flagship from 1969 to 2004 and the last major ocean liner built before the construction of Queen Mary 2. Queen Mary 2 had the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) title conferred on her by Royal Mail when the ship entered service in 2004 on the Southampton to New York route, as a gesture to Cunard's history.

Queen Mary 2 is not a steamship like many of her predecessors, but is powered primarily by four diesel engines, with two additional gas turbines used when extra power is required; this integrated electric propulsion configuration is used to produce the power to drive her four electric propulsion pods as well as powering the ship's hotel services. The spaces for these prime movers are also split, and controls are also backed up, with the intention of preventing a single failure from disabling the ship.

Like her predecessor Queen Elizabeth 2 she is built for crossing the Atlantic Ocean, and also is regularly used for cruising. In the winter season she cruises from New York to the Caribbean on twelve- or thirteen-day tours. Queen Mary 2's 30-knot (56 km/h; 35 mph) open ocean speed sets the ship apart from cruise ships, such as MS Oasis of the Seas, which has a service speed of 22.6 knots (41.9 km/h; 26.0 mph); Queen Mary 2's normal service speed is 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph). While the hull of a cruise ship will typically have a block coefficient of 0.73 (1.0 would represent a rectangular block) Queen Mary 2 is more fine-lined, with a block coefficient of 0.61.

Design and construction

QM2-1.jpg
Queen Mary 2 under construction, her radar mast in the right foreground


RMS Queen Mary 2 (pink) compared to large ships and buildings:
The Pentagon, 1,414 feet, 431 m
RMS Queen Mary 2, 1,132 feet, 345 m
USS Enterprise, 1,123 feet, 342 m
Hindenburg, 804 feet, 245 m
Yamato, 863 feet, 263 m
Empire State Building, 1,454 feet, 443 m
Knock Nevis, ex-Seawise Giant, 1,503 feet, 458 m
Apple Park, 1,522 feet, 464 m

Cunard completed a design for a new class of 84,000 GT, 2,000 passenger liners on 8 June 1998, but revised them upon comparing those specifications with Carnival Cruise Line's 100,000 GT Destiny-class cruise ships and Royal Caribbean International's 137,276 GT Voyager class.

In December 1998, Cunard released details of Project Queen Mary, the project to develop a liner that would complement Queen Elizabeth 2. Harland and Wolff of Northern Ireland, Aker Kværner of Norway, Fincantieri of Italy, Meyer Werft of Germany, and Chantiers de l'Atlantique of France were invited to bid on the project. The contract was finally signed with Chantiers de l'Atlantique, a subsidiary of Alstom, on 6 November 2000. This was the same yard that built Cunard's former rivals, the SS Normandie and SS France of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique.

1280px-RMS_Queen_Mary_2_in_san_francisco_bay.jpg

Her keel was laid down on 4 July 2002, in the construction dock at Saint-Nazaire, France, with the hull number G32. Approximately 3,000 craftsmen spent around eight million working hours on the ship, and around 20,000 people were directly or indirectly involved in her design, construction, and fitting out. In total, 300,000 pieces of steel were assembled into 94 "blocks" off the dry dock, which were then stacked and welded together to complete the hull and superstructure. After floating out on 21 March 2003, the Queen Mary 2 was fitted out in the large fitting out basin ("Bassin C"), the first ship to use this huge dry dock since the shipyard built large tankers in the 1970s, such as the MV Gastor. Her sea trials were conducted during 25–29 September and 7–11 November 2003, between Saint-Nazaire and the offshore islands of Île d'Yeu and Belle-Île.[citation needed] The final stages of construction were marred by a fatal accident on 15 November 2003, when a gangway collapsed under a group of shipyard workers and their relatives who had been invited to visit the vessel. In total, 32 people were injured and 16 were killed, after a 15-metre (49 ft) fall into the drydock.

Construction was completed on 22 December 2003, Queen Mary 2 left Saint-Nazaire and arrived in Southampton, England, on 26 December 2003. On 8 January 2004, the liner was officially named by Queen Elizabeth II.

Qm2_sydney.jpg




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Mary_2
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 January 2005 – The nuclear sub USS San Francisco collides at full speed with an undersea mountain south of Guam. One man is killed, but the sub surfaces and is repaired.


USS San Francisco (SSN-711) is a Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine, the third ship or boat of the United States Navy to be named for San Francisco, California.

1280px-USS_San_Francisco_(SSN-711)_Apra.jpg

History
Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia was awarded the contract to build USS San Francisco on 1 August 1975, and her keel was laid down on 26 May 1977. She was launched on 27 October 1979, sponsored by Mrs. Robert Y. Kaufman, and commissioned on 24 April 1981 with Commander J. Allen Marshall in command.

San Francisco joined Submarine Force US Pacific Fleet following an initial shakedown cruise, and moved to her homeport at Pearl Harbor. She completed deployments in 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1986 with the U.S. Seventh Fleet and various independent operations in the Pacific in 1986, earning the Battle Efficiency "E" for Submarine Squadron Seven in 1985. She earned a Navy Unit Commendation and a second Battle Efficiency "E" for Submarine Squadron Seven, and her crew was awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal for independent operations in 1988.

San Francisco entered a Depot Modernization Period at Pearl Harbor from 1989 to 1990 and then went on to conduct deployments to the Western Pacific in 1992 and 1994. The submarine was awarded the 1994 Commander Submarine Squadron Seven "T" for excellence in tactical operations and a Meritorious Unit Commendation for the 1994 Western Pacific deployment.

On 18 December 2002, San Francisco arrived at her new homeport at Apra Harbor, Guam.

The submarine was homeported at Naval Base Point Loma, San Diego, California in 2009.

kj6oy39fuua01.jpg

Collision with seamount
On 8 January 2005, at 02:43 GMT, San Francisco collided with an undersea mountain about 364 nautical miles (675 km) southeast of Guam while operating at flank (maximum) speed at a depth of 525 feet (160 m).

Official US Navy reporting subsequent to the grounding cited the location as "in the vicinity of the Caroline Islands. The position of the impact was estimated by a newspaper account as 7°45'06.0"N 147°12'36.0"E, between Pikelot and LamotrekAtolls.

The collision was so serious that the vessel was almost lost; accounts detail a desperate struggle for positive buoyancy to surface after the forward ballast tanks were ruptured. Ninety-eight crewmen were injured, and Machinist's Mate Second Class Joseph Allen Ashley, 24, of Akron, Ohio died from head injuries on 9 January. Other injuries to the crew included broken bones, spinal injury & lacerations.

San Francisco's forward ballast tanks and her sonar dome were severely damaged, but her inner hull was not breached and there was no damage to her nuclear reactor. She surfaced and arrived in Guam on 10 January, accompanied by USCGC Galveston Island, USNS GYSGT Fred W. Stockham, and USNS Kiska, as well as MH-60S Knighthawks and P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft.

The Navy stated that there was "absolutely no reason to believe that it struck another submarine or vessel." Later, an examination in drydock showed unmistakably that she had struck an undersea mountain.

f1DTrVh.jpg USS_San_Francisco_SSN-711.jpg
SSN-711-damages_02.jpg uss-san-francisco-2.jpg

1280px-US_Navy_050127-N-4658L-030_Submarine_USS_San_Francisco_in_dry_dock_to_assess_damage_Gua...jpg
San Francisco in drydock at Guam, January 2005.

USS_San_Francisco_(SSN_711)_shown_in_dry_dock_during_repair.jpg
San Francisco in a drydock in Guam during her temporary repairs for her voyage to Puget Sound, May 2005.

San Francisco's captain Commander Kevin Mooney was reassigned to a shore unit in Guam during the investigation of the collision. The Navy concluded that "several critical navigational and voyage planning procedures" were not being implemented aboard San Francisco, despite Mooney's otherwise remarkably good record. Consequently, the Navy relieved Mooney of his command and issued him a letter of reprimand.

Six crewmen received non-judicial punishment hearings for hazarding a vessel and dereliction of duty, and they were reduced in rank and given letters of reprimand.

Twenty other officers and men received awards for their actions in the crisis, including letters of commendation, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal.

The seamount that San Francisco struck did not appear on the chart in use at the time of the accident, but other charts available for use indicated an area of "discolored water", an indication of the probable presence of a seamount. The Navy determined that information regarding the seamount should have been transferred to the charts in use—particularly given the relatively uncharted nature of the ocean area that was being transited—and that the failure to do so represented a breach of proper procedures.

San Francisco had recently replaced her nuclear fuel and she was thus expected to remain in service until 2017, so the Navy determined that repair of the submarine was in its best interests. Temporary repairs were made in Guam to provide watertight integrity and forward buoyancy so that the boat could safely transit to another location for more extensive repairs. San Francisco steamed to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) in Bremerton, Washington via Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where she arrived on 26 August 2005.

In June 2006, it was announced that San Francisco's bow section would be replaced at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard with the bow of USS Honolulu, which was soon to be retired. San Francisco is four years older than Honolulu, but she had been refueled and upgraded in 2000–2002. The cost of her bow replacement has been estimated at $79 million, as compared with the estimated $170 million to refuel and overhaul the nuclear reactor of Honolulu.

On 10 October 2008, San Francisco undocked after a successful bow replacement at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The dry-docking project involved cutting more than one million pounds of forward ballast tanks and sonar sphere off the former USS Honoluluand attaching them to San Francisco. San Francisco completed repairs and sea trials in April 2009, then shifted homeport to Naval Base Point Loma, San Diego, California.

Final deployment and conversion
San Francisco returned to Point Loma from her sixth deployment in October 2016, under command of Cmdr. Jeff Juergens. Her change of command and farewell ceremony was held on 4 November 2016, after which she was homeported to Norfolk for conversion. She is slated to become a moored training ship at the Navy's Nuclear Power Training Unit in Charleston, South Carolina.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_San_Francisco_(SSN-711)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 8 January


1689 – Launch of French Jeux, 30 guns, design by Hendrick, at Dunkirk – captured by the English Navy in May 1689, becoming HMS Play Prize.

large (4).jpg
Here, a ship is viewed from before the port beam. No guns are shown aft on the gundeck and upper deck but it is still possible that the ports are closed. The figurehead seems to be a depiction of a small, seated child. The drawing is inscribed in brown ink: genamt kinder speele – K. This has supported an identification of the vessel as the ‘Child’s Play.’ The ship was taken from the French in 1706 and was added to the Navy as the ‘Child’s Play’. She was lost in a hurricane in the West Indies in 1707. In this drawing, the boat has sixteen guns shown on the broadside and the style of the work is different from van de Velde’s latest period. It is therefore more likely that the ship depicted here is the earlier ship called the ‘Play Prize.’ Both the ‘Child’s Play’ and the ‘Play Prize’ were called ‘Jeux’ by the French, which explains this confusion. The execution of the work is very considered and careful, much more than one would expect for a work from Van de Velde the Younger’s late period. It is undoubtedly the work of Van de Velde the Younger, however, and has been approximately dated by the subject, although there was also a later ship called the ‘Child’s Play’ which was taken from the French and added to the Navy in 1706.

http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/141845.html

1863 - During the Civil War, the screw steam gunboats USS Sagamore and USS Tahoma capture blockade running ships with cargos of salt and cotton in Florida.

USS Sagamore was a Unadilla-class gunboat built on behalf of the United States Navy for service during the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a gunboat and assigned to the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America. Sagamore was very active during the war, and served the Union both as a patrol ship and a bombardment vessel.

USS_Sagamore_1861.jpg
USS Sagamore (1861) - USS Sagamore (3rd ship from the right) at Ship Island base,

USS Tahoma was a Unadilla-class gunboat built by order of the United States Navy for service during the American Civil War.
Tahoma was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.

USS_Tahoma_(1861-1867).jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Sagamore_(1861)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Tahoma_(1861)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 January 1706 – Launch of HMS Nassau, a 70-gun third rate ship of the line


HMS Nassau was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Portsmouth Dockyard and launched on 9 January 1706.

Class and type: 70-gun third rates hip of the line
Tons burthen: 1104 tons BM
Length: 150 ft 6 in (45.9 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 41 ft (12.5 m)
Depth of hold: 17 ft 4 in (5.3 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament: 70 guns of various weights of shot

Orders were issued on 25 May 1736 directing Nassau to be taken to pieces and rebuilt according to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment at Chatham, from where she was relaunched on 25 September 1740.

Class and type: 1733 proposals 70-gun third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1225 tons BM
Length: 151 ft (46.0 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 43 ft 5 in (13.2 m)
Depth of hold: 17 ft 9 in (5.4 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Complement: 410-480
Armament:
  • 70 guns:
  • Gundeck: 26 × 24 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 26 × 12 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 14 × 6 pdrs
  • Forecastle: 4 × 6 pdrs
large.jpgScale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for rebuilding 'Nassau' (1707) at Chatham Dockyard as 'Nassau' (1740), a 1733 Establishment 70-gun Third Rate, two-decker.

In February 1747 Nassau was listed as under the command of Captain Holcombe. In May of that year, Nassau captured on passage from Corsica to Genoa two troop transports carrying 210 Spanish and French soldiers and officers.

Nassau was sold out of the navy in 1770.



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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Elizabeth' (1737), a 1733 Establishment 70-gun Third Rate, two-decker, as rebuilt at Chatham Dockyard and launched on 29 November 1737.

New ships, pre-Establishment, 1697–1706


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Nassau_(1706)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81227.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Elizabeth_(1706)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 January 1735 – Birth of John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, English admiral and politician (d. 1823)


Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC (9 January 1735 – 14 March 1823) was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Jervis served throughout the latter half of the 18th century and into the 19th, and was an active commander during the Seven Years' War, American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. He is best known for his victory at the 1797 Battle of Cape Saint Vincent, from which he earned his titles, and as a patron of Horatio Nelson.

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Jervis was also recognised by both political and military contemporaries as a fine administrator and naval reformer. As Commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean, between 1795 and 1799 he introduced a series of severe standing orders to avert mutiny. He applied those orders to both seamen and officers alike, a policy that made him a controversial figure. He took his disciplinarian system of command with him when he took command of the Channel Fleet in 1799. In 1801, as First Lord of the Admiralty he introduced a number of reforms that, though unpopular at the time, made the Navy more efficient and more self-sufficient. He introduced innovations including block making machinery at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard. St Vincent was known for his generosity to officers he considered worthy of reward and his swift and often harsh punishment of those he felt deserved it.

Cleveley,_Cape_St_Vincent.jpg
The Battle of Cape St Vincent, 14 February 1797 by Robert Cleveley

Jervis' entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography by P. K. Crimmin describes his contribution to history: "His importance lies in his being the organiser of victories; the creator of well-equipped, highly efficient fleets; and in training a school of officers as professional, energetic, and devoted to the service as himself."

Years of service 1749–1807
Rank Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held
HMS Porcupine
HMS Scorpion
HMS Albany
HMS Gosport
HMS Alarm
HMS Kent
HMS Foudroyant
Leeward Islands Station
Mediterranean Fleet
Channel Fleet
First Lord of the Admiralty

Battles/wars
Awards
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jervis,_1st_Earl_of_St_Vincent
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 January 1778 - HMS Europa, a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 21 April 1765 at Lepe, Hampshire was renamed HMS Europe
(not an important History event, but an interesting and not well known ship and class)


HMS Europa was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 21 April 1765 at Lepe, Hampshire. She was renamed HMS Europe in 1778, and spent the rest of her career under this name.

Class and type: Exeter-class ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1370 (bm)
Length: 158 ft 9 in (48.39 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 44 ft (13 m)
Depth of hold: 19 ft 1 in (5.82 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament:
  • Gundeck: 26 × 24-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 26 × 18-pounder guns
  • QD: 10 × 4-pounder guns
  • Fc: 2 × 9-pounder guns

large (3).jpg
Plan showing the body plan with stern decoration, sheer lines with stern quarter decoration, and longitudinal half-breadth for Prudent (1768), Europa [also spelt Europe] (1765), and Trident (1768). From Tyne & Wear Archives Service, Blandford House, Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JA.

Completed too late to see service in the Seven Years' War, most of Europe's service took place during the American War of Independence, supporting fleet movements and serving as the flagship for a number of admirals, including John Montagu, Molyneux Shuldham and Mariot Arbuthnot. During her time in North American waters she took part in the attack on Saint Pierre and Miquelon in 1778, and the battles of Cape Henry on 16 March and the Chesapeake in 1781.

Her last notable commanders as the war drew to a close were John Duckworth and Arthur Phillip, the latter taking her to the East Indies before returning after the conclusion of the war. Europe was then reduced to ordinary in the draw down of the navy following the end of hostilities, and was not reactivated on the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. She only returned to service in 1796, recommissioning as a prison ship based at Plymouth, in which role she served out the remainder of the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars, finally being broken up in 1814.

Construction and commissioning
She was ordered from Henry Adams, of Lepe on 16 December 1761, laid down at his yards in February 1762, and launched there on 21 April 1765. By this time the Seven Years' War was over and she was ordered to be fitted for ordinary rather than entering active service immediately, a process completed by 5 May 1765. She had received the name Europa on 18 April 1763, while under construction. The outbreak of the American War of Independence led to a need for more ships, and an Admiralty order was issued on 19 September 1777 for her to be refitted and then prepared for sea. She was taken in hand at Portsmouth Dockyard, which had already been working on a small repair since October 1776, and she was commissioned in September 1777 under her first captain, Timothy Edwards. She was renamed HMS Europe on 9 January 1778, and completed her fitting out in March that year.

Service
Edwards was succeeded by Captain Francis Parry in April 1778, and Europe became the flagship of Vice-Admiral John Montagu, under whom she sailed for Newfoundland in May 1779. She was part of the attack on Saint Pierre and Miquelon on 14 September 1778, and later that month Parry was succeeded by Captain Thomas Davey, serving with Molyneux Shuldham’s squadron. In April 1779 she came under the command of Captain William Swiney, by now serving as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot, and after some time in home waters she sailed again for North America in May 1779.

Captain Smith Child took over command of Europe in August 1780, and she participated in the battles of Cape Henry on 16 March and the Chesapeake on 5 September 1781. During the Battle of the Chesapeake she formed the leading part of the centre division, along with the 74-gun HMS Montagu, and was heavily involved in the fighting. These two ships suffered heavy damage, with Europe in a leaking condition, with her rigging badly cut, and a number of guns dismounted. Nine members of her crew were killed, and a further 18 wounded. The British fleet eventually withdrew from the action. She was then paid off in March 1782, undergoing a refit at Plymouth between May and September that year, during which time she was coppered.

Europe was recommissioned in August 1782 under the command of Captain John Duckworth, with command passing the following year to Captain Arthur Phillip. He sailed to the East Indies in January 1783, returning the following year and paying Europe off in May 1784. She was fitted for ordinary at Plymouth in July 1784, and spent the rest of the years of peace in this condition.

French Revolutionary Wars
Europa was recommissioned during the French Revolutionary Wars, in July 1796. She was used as a prison ship at Plymouth under Lieutenant John Gardiner, until being paid off again in September 1800. Recommissioned again in September 1801 under Lieutenant Thomas Darracot, she again served as a prison ship until being paid off in March 1802.

Napoleonic Wars
She was again in service, still as a prison ship, between November 1804 and December 1809, under Lieutenant William Styles, and was briefly commissioned in 1814 under Lieutenant John Mills Mudge. Europe was finally broken up at Plymouth in July 1814

large (4).jpg
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with sternboard outline, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for Trident (1768), a 64-gun Third Rate, two-decker, to be built at Plymouth. The plan include a table of mast and yard dimensions. Signed by William Bately [Surveyor of the Navy, 1755-1765].

The Exeter-class ships of the line were a class of four 64-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by William Bateley.

Design
The draught for Exeter was based upon the Richmond-class frigates of 1757.

Ships
Builder: Henniker, Chatham
Ordered: 13 January 1760
Launched: 26 July 1764
Fate: Burned, 1785
Builder: Adams, Lepe, Hampshire
Ordered: 16 December 1761
Launched: 21 April 1765
Fate: Broken up, 1814
Builder: Plymouth Dockyard
Ordered: 4 December 1762
Launched: 20 April 1768
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1816
Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 7 January 1762
Launched: 28 September 1768
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1814

large (5).jpg
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sternboard outline, modified inboard profile with one waterline, and longitudinal half-breadth for Prudent (1768), a 64-gun Third Rate, two-decker, as built and launched at Woolwich Dockyard on 28 September 1768. The alterations, mainly around the bow and head relate to her as first designed and then as built.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Europa_(1765)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter-class_ship_of_the_line
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Prudent_(1768
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 January 1798 - Napoleon ordered to destroy the Bucentaur, the state barge of the doges of Venice

The bucentaur (/bjuːˈsɛntɔːr/ bew-SEN-tor; bucintoro in Italian and Venetian) was the state barge of the doges of Venice. It was used every year on Ascension Day up to 1798 to take the doge out to the Adriatic Sea to perform the "Marriage of the Sea" – a ceremony that symbolically wedded Venice to the sea every year on the "Festa della Sensa" (Ascension Day).

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The Doge on the Bucintoro near the Riva di Sant'Elena (c. 1766-70) by Francesco Guardi

Scholars believe there were four major barges, the first significant bucentaur having been built in 1311. The last and most magnificent of the historic bucentaurs made its maiden voyage in 1729 in the reign of Doge Alvise III Sebastiano Mocenigo. Depicted in paintings by Canaletto and Francesco Guardi, the ship was 35 m (115 ft) long and more than 8 metres (26 ft) high. A two-deck floating palace, its main salon had a seating capacity of 90. The doge's throne was in the stern, and the prow bore a figurehead representing Justice with sword and scales. The barge was propelled by 168 oarsmen, and another 40 sailors were required to man it. The ship was destroyed in 1798 on Napoleon's orders to symbolize his victory in conquering Venice.

In February 2008, the Fondazione Bucintoro announced a €20 million project to rebuild the 1729 bucentaur. Work started on 15 March 2008 at the Arsenale shipyard and naval dock

Sensa" (Ascension Day).

Scholars believe there were four major barges, the first significant bucentaur having been built in 1311. The last and most magnificent of the historic bucentaurs made its maiden voyage in 1729 in the reign of Doge Alvise III Sebastiano Mocenigo. Depicted in paintings by Canaletto and Francesco Guardi, the ship was 35 m (115 ft) long and more than 8 metres (26 ft) high. A two-deck floating palace, its main salon had a seating capacity of 90. The doge's throne was in the stern, and the prow bore a figureheadrepresenting Justice with sword and scales. The barge was propelled by 168 oarsmen, and another 40 sailors were required to man it. The ship was destroyed in 1798 on Napoleon's orders to symbolize his victory in conquering Venice.

In February 2008, the Fondazione Bucintoro announced a €20 million project to rebuild the 1729 bucentaur. Work started on 15 March 2008 at the Arsenale shipyard and naval dock.


Origin of the name
The origin of the name bucintoro is obscure, but one possibility is that it is derived from the Venetian burcio, a traditional term for a lagoon vessel, and in oro, meaning covered in gold. On the other hand, man of letters Francesco Sansovino (1521–1586) proposed, based on documents dating from 1293, that it was named after an earlier boat built at the Arsenale shipyard called the Navilium Duecentorum Hominum (Of Two Hundred Naval Men). It has also been suggested that the vessel was named after the ship Centaurus referred to by Virgil when describing the funeral rites observed by Aeneas to honour his father's death; the bucentaur was twice the size of the ship mentioned in the Aeneid. The name may also refer to trumpets and horns that were played on board. The term bucintoro was Latinized in the Middle Ages as bucentaurus on the analogy of an alleged Greek word βουκένταυρος (boukentauros) meaning "ox-centaur", from βους (bous, "ox") and κένταυρος (kentauros, "centaur"). The common supposition was that the name derived from a creature of a man with the head of an ox, a figure of which served as the barge's figurehead. This derivation is, however, fanciful; the word βουκένταυρος is unknown in Greek mythology, and representations of the "figurehead" of the bucentaurs in fact depict the lion of St. Mark the Evangelist.

The name "bucentaur" seems, indeed, to have been given to any great and sumptuous Venetian vessels. Du Cange quotes from the chronicle of the Doge Andrea Dandolo (reigned 1343–1354): "... cum uno artificioso et solemni Bucentauro, super quo venit usque ad S. Clementem, quo jam pervenerat principalior et solemnior Bucentaurus cum consiliariis, &c [... with a well-wrought and stately Bucentaur, upon which he came to San Clemente, where a more important and more stately Bucentaur had already arrived with his advisors, etc. ...]".


The earliest known depiction of a bucentaur, from Jacopo de' Barbari's Pianta di Venezia (Map of Venice, 1500)

The term was also used to describe a 16th-century sumptuous transport boat, built and decorated in Modena, to celebrate the marriage of Lucrezia, the daughter of Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, to the Duke of Urbino.

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A model of the bucentaur's figurehead in the Museum of Naval History in Venice

The 1727 bucentaur
The last and most magnificent of the historic bucentaurs was commissioned by the Senate in 1719, and the construction of it began in the Arsenale in 1722. The ship was designed by Michele Stefano Conti, the protomagistro dei marangoni (head master of the ships' carpenters). Wooden sculpting work was assigned to Antonio Corradini, as was testified by the phrase "Antonii Coradini sculptoris Inventum" ("invention of the sculptor Antonio Corradini") inscribed near the bow palmette. He was an established sculptor, having already worked on commissions in Austria, Bohemia and Saxony. The gilding, in pure gold leaf, was handled by one Zuanne D'Adamo. Some of the 1606 ship's ornaments and sculptures, including the sculpture of Mars and the two lions of St. Mark, were salvaged and reused. The vessel was 35 m (115 ft) long and more than 8 metres (26 ft) high. A two-deck floating palace, its main salon was covered in red velvet, had 48 windows set in a huge, elaborately carved baldacchino or canopy, and had a seating capacity of 90. The doge's throne was in the stern, and the prow bore the traditional figurehead representing Justice with sword and scales. The barge was propelled by 168 oarsmen rowing in teams of four on its 42 oars each 11 metres (36 ft) in length; another 40 sailors were required to man it. Only the most handsome and sturdy youths of the Arsenale were selected for the ship's crew. The new bucentaur made its début on Ascension Day 1729 in the reign of Doge Alvise III Sebastiano Mocenigo. The event was officially recorded, and the splendour of the vessel praised with sonnets and publications such as that by Antonio Maria Lucchini entitled La Nuova regia su l'acque nel Bucintoro nuovamente eretto all'annua solenne funzione del giorno dell'Ascensione di Nostro Signore (The New Palace upon the Waters of the Newly Built Bucentaur at the Annual Solemn Function of the Day of the Ascension of Our Lord, 1751).

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The German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in his work Italienischen Reise (Italian Journey, 1816–1817) which was an account of his travels in Italy between 1786 and 1787, described the bucentaur on 5 October 1786 in these terms:

Um mit einem Worte den Begriff des Bucentaur auszusprechen, nenne ich ihn eine Prachtgaleere. Der ältere, von dem wir noch Abbildungen haben, rechtfertigt diese Benennung noch mehr als der gegenwärtige, der uns durch seinen Glanz über seinen Ursprung verblendet. ...
Ich komme immer auf mein Altes zurück. Wenn dem Künstler ein echter Gegenstand gegeben ist, so kann er etwas Echtes leisten. Hier war ihm aufgetragen, eine Galeere zu bilden, die wert wäre, die Häupter der Republik am feierlichsten Tage zum Sakrament ihrer hergebrachten Meerherrschaft zu tragen, und diese Aufgabe ist fürtrefflich ausgeführt. Das Schiff ist ganz Zierat, also darf man nicht sagen: mit Zierat überladen, ganz vergoldetes Schnitzwerk, sonst zu keinem Gebrauch, eine wahre Monstranz, um dem Volke seine Häupter recht herrlich zu zeigen. Wissen wir doch: das Volk, wie es gern seine Hüte schmückt, will auch seine Obern prächtig und geputzt sehen. Dieses Prunkschiff ist ein rechtes Inventarienstück, woran man sehen kann, was die Venezianer waren und sich zu sein dünkten.
[In order to express the concept of the Bucentaur with one word, I call it a Prachtgaleere [magnificent galley]. The older one, of which we still have illustrations, justifies this designation even more than the present one, as we are dazzled by the glare of its origin. ...
I always return to my old theme. If a genuine object is given to the artist, then he can achieve something genuine. Here was laid on him the responsibility of constructing a galley worthy of carrying the heads of the Republic on the most solemn day to consecrate their traditional dominion over the sea, and this task is carried out excellently. The ship is itself an ornament; therefore one may not say that it is overloaded with ornaments, and only a mass of gilded carvings that are otherwise useless. In reality it is a monstrance, in order to show the people that their leaders are indeed wonderful. Nevertheless, we know this: the people, who are fond of decorating their hats, also want to see their betters in splendour and dressed up. This grandiose ship is quite an item of inventory and shows what the Venetians were and imagined themselves to be.]​
In 1798, Napoleon ordered this bucentaur to be destroyed, less for the sake of its golden decorations than as a political gesture to symbolize his victory in conquering the city. French soldiers broke up the carved wooden portions and the gold decorations of the ship into small pieces, carted them to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore and set fire to them to recover the gold. The ship burned for three days, and French soldiers used 400 mules to carry away its gold. The decorative elements of the vessel that survived the flames are preserved in the Museo Civico Correr in Venice, and there is a detailed scale model of the vessel in the Arsenale. The hull survived and, renamed the Prama Hydra and armed with four cannons, was stationed at the mouth of the Lido's port where it served as a coastal battery. Subsequently, the ship was returned to the Arsenale and used as a prison ship until it was entirely destroyed in 1824.

Marriage of the Sea ceremony

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The Return of the Bucentaur to the Molo on Ascension Day (1730) by Canaletto

Main article: Marriage of the Sea ceremony
The "Marriage of the Adriatic", or more correctly "Marriage of the Sea" (in Italian, Sposalizio del Mare), was a ceremony symbolizing the maritime dominion of Venice. The ceremony, established about 1000 to commemorate the Doge Pietro II Orseolo's conquest of Dalmatia, was originally one of supplication and placation, Ascension Day being chosen as that on which the doge set out on his expedition. The form it took was a solemn procession of boats, headed by the doge's nave (ship), from 1311 the Bucentaur, out to sea by the Lido port.


Modern reconstruction
In February 2008, plans to rebuild the bucentaur destroyed in 1798 were announced. More than 200 shipbuilders, woodcarvers and jewellers started work on 15 March 2008 at the Arsenale. It has been reported by the Italian press that it will take two years for the bucentaur to be constructed. However, Colonel Giorgio Paterno, the head of Fondazione Bucintoro which is behind the €20 million project, said in March 2008 that "[w]e'll build it as fast as we can but we're not in a hurry." It is intended that the project will make use of traditional shipbuilding techniques and original materials, including larch and fir wood, and will reproduce gold decorations. The foundation is supported by businessmen in the Veneto and Lombardy regions but has also written to the French President Nicolas Sarkozy for France to make a financial contribution as a goodwill gesture to compensate for Napoleon's "vandalism" of the 1729 vessel.

Fondazione Bucintoro hopes that the vessel will become "the most visited floating museum in the world", but also sees the project as a means to "help Venice recover its former glory and its old spirit". According to Paterno, "Invaded by so many million tourists, the city risks losing its identity, losing its cultural connection with its own history. It's not enough to live in the future, the city needs to connect with and remember its glorious past."

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Cross-section of the proposed modern reconstruction, displayed in St. Mark's Square

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A photograph of a model of the Bucintoro by Italian photographer Carlo Naya (1816–1882)


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucentaur
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doge_on_the_Bucintoro_near_the_Riva_di_Sant'Elena_(painting)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 January 1801 - british hired armed cutter Constitution (14), Lt. Whiston, was captured by two French cutters - then re-captured by HMS Harpy (1796 - 18), William Birchall, and HMS Greyhound.


Two vessels have borne the designation, His Majesty's hired armed cutter Constitution. The first served the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars. The second served briefly at the start of the Napoleonic Wars and was sunk in 1804. The two cutters are similar enough that may have been the same vessel; at this juncture it is impossible to know.

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Armed cutter, etching in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

The first hired armed cutter Constitution
This vessel served on a contract from 6 November 1796 to 7 November 1801. She was of 12161⁄94 tons (bm) and carried twelve 4-pounder guns.

Type: Cutter
Tonnage :121 61⁄94 (bm)
Sail plan: Cutter or schooner
Armament: 12 x 4 pounder guns

On 7 November 1798, Constitution, under the command of Lieutenant John Whiston, was among the vessels that participated in the capture of Minorca. Commodore Duckworth, the naval commander, mentioned Whiston's services in the letter Duckworth wrote on the campaign. She also shared in the prize money for the capture.

Constitution detained Zum Gutten Ensbrick, Wevers, master, which had been sailing from Rotterdam to St. Andero. The prize arrived at Plymouth on 24 April 1799.

When Unicorn captured the French brig St Antoine, on 9 June 1799, Constitution, was entitled to share in the proceeds.

On 31 August, the Danish ship Denmark, Kaften, master, arrived at Plymouth. She had been on a voyage from Havana to Hamburg with a cargo of sugar, coffee, indigo, and cotton, supposedly Spanish property, when Constitution detained her.

Constitution and the hired armed cutter Penelope shared in the proceeds of the capture of the Danish brig Neptunus.

Two French privateers, each of 14 guns, captured Constitution on 9 January 1801 off the Isle of Portland. Constitution, and her crew of some 40 men was under the command of Lieutenant W.H. Faulknor. After an engagement that left Constitution's rigging cut to pieces, the French boarded and captured her. Constitution suffered eight men killed or wounded; French casualties were 26 men killed or wounded. (One French vessel had a crew of 95 men and the other 85.) Although the French took Constitution's crew on board their two vessels, they left Faulknor aboard her. That same evening Harpy and the revenue cutter Greyhound recaptured Constitution. The subsequent court martial of Faulknor for the loss honourably acquitted him.

A beautiful model in scale 1:48 of a typical armed cutter
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Scale: 1:48. A full hull model of a cutter (circa 1763). The model is decked, equipped and rigged. The vessel measures 53 feet on the main deck by 20 feet in the beam and is armed with twelve 3-pounders. The model was donated unfinished and was completed in the Museum in 1960. Cutters were fast, easily handled craft. Large numbers of them were used by the revenue services for patrolling the coastline in search of smugglers. The Royal Navy used few cutters in peacetime, but in wartime hired or purchased them in great numbers. They were ideal to hunt down the privateers that swarmed in the Channel and North Sea, for they were fast, with a shallow draught that permitted them to work close inshore and in creeks and estuaries. The early cutter rig consisted of a large mainsail with gaff and boom, a square topsail, a foresail on the forestay and a jib at the end of the bowsprit.

The second hired armed cutter Constitution
This vessel served on a contract from 4 May 1804 to 26 August 1804, when she was sunk off Boulogne. She was of 12034⁄94 tons (bm) and carried ten 12-pounder carronades.

Type: Cutter
Tonnage: 120 34⁄94 (bm)
Sail plan: Cutter or schooner
Armament: 10 x 12 pounder carronades

On 26 August 1804, Constitution was under the command of Lieutenant James Samuel Aked Dennis. Immortalite, Harpy, Adder, and Constitution attacked a French flotilla of 60 brigs and luggers off Cape Gris Nez. The British vessels were within range of shore batteries that fired on them.

Constitution was chasing a gun-brig, of 12 guns, and two lugger- rigged yachts, painted with white bottoms, green sides, and richly gilt, supposedly carrying some important officers. When Constitution got close enough to fire grapeshot from her carronades, the luggers lowered their sails and masts, and their crews rowed as fast as possible for the shore.

As Constitution pursued the luggers, a 13" shell fell into Constitution, falling through the deck and hull without exploding. Water started coming in faster than the pumps could handle and her crew abandoned her; the other vessels in the squadron rescued them. A shell hit Harpy too, also without exploding. It killed a seaman as it hit, and the crew speculated that his blood had extinguished the fuse. Another account had the shell breaking a beam, which tore out the fuse. When the shell came to rest, a seaman picked it up and plunged it into a bucket. Some shots hit Immortalite, wounding four men. The British succeeded in driving some vessels ashore, but the great bulk of the flotilla reached Boulogne. The British squadron engaged in some small skirmishes over the next two days, but without notable results.


Remark:
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the British Royal Navy made use of a considerable number of hired armed vessels. These were generally smaller vessels, often cutters and luggers, that the Navy used for duties ranging from carrying despatches and passengers to convoy escort, particularly in British coastal waters, and reconnaissance.

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Scale: 1:24. A contemporary full hull plank on frame model of the armed cutter ‘Harriet’ (1843). The model is fully rigged with mast and spars, and the laid wooden deck complete with a windlass, a wheel carved from bone and stern davits. Measuring 61 feet in length by 19 feet in the beam, this vessel represents a design that would have been built during the late-18th century, as it is clinker built and still carrying the square topsail. Although the name ‘Harriet’ appears on the stern, the only vessel that appears to be similar is a revenue cutter, which operated from 1843 to 1860 and would have been carvel built.


HMS Harpy was a Royal Navy Diligence-class brig-sloop, launched in 1796 and sold in 1817. She was the longest lived vessel of her class, and the most widely travelled. She served in both the battle of Copenhagen and the British invasion of Java, took part in several actions, one of which won for her crew a clasp to the Naval General Service Medal, and captured numerous privateers.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board outline, sheer lines with scroll figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Diligence (1795), Harpy (1795), Hound (1795), Seagull (1795), and later for Racoon (1795), Kangaroo (1795), Camelion/Cameleon (1795) and Curlew (1795), all 16-gun, later 18-gun brig sloops. Signed by John Henslow [Surveyor of the Navy, 1784-1806] and William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813]. Note that Seagull, Racoon, Kangaroo, Cameleon and Curlew were built of fir





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hired_armed_cutter_Constitution
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=11463
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=armed_cutter;start=0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Harpy_(1796)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 January 1806 – Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson received a state funeral and is interred in St Paul's Cathedral.


Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. He was noted for his inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics, which together resulted in a number of decisive British naval victories, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was wounded several times in combat, losing the sight in one eye in Corsica and most of one arm in the unsuccessful attempt to conquer Santa Cruz de Tenerife. He was shot and killed during his final victory at the Battle of Trafalgar near the port city of Cádiz in 1805.

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Nelson was born into a moderately prosperous Norfolk family and joined the navy through the influence of his uncle, Maurice Suckling, a high-ranking naval officer himself. He rose rapidly through the ranks and served with leading naval commanders of the period before obtaining his own command in 1778. He developed a reputation in the service through his personal valour and firm grasp of tactics but suffered periods of illness and unemployment after the end of the American War of Independence. The outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars allowed Nelson to return to service, where he was particularly active in the Mediterranean. He fought in several minor engagements off Toulon and was important in the capture of Corsica and subsequent diplomatic duties with the Italian states. In 1797, he distinguished himself while in command of HMS Captain at the Battle of Cape St Vincent.

Shortly after the battle, Nelson took part in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where his attack was defeated and he was badly wounded, losing his right arm, and was forced to return to England to recuperate. The following year, he won a decisive victory over the French at the Battle of the Nile and remained in the Mediterranean to support the Kingdom of Naples against a French invasion. In 1801, he was dispatched to the Baltic and won another victory, this time over the Danes at the Battle of Copenhagen. He subsequently commanded the blockade of the French and Spanish fleets at Toulon and, after their escape, chased them to the West Indies and back but failed to bring them to battle. After a brief return to England, he took over the Cádiz blockade in 1805. On 21 October 1805, the Franco-Spanish fleet came out of port, and Nelson's fleet engaged them at the Battle of Trafalgar. The battle was Britain's greatest naval victory, but during the action, Nelson, aboard HMS Victory, was fatally wounded by a French sharpshooter. His body was brought back to England where he was accorded a state funeral.

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The Death of Nelson by Daniel Maclise (Houses of Parliament, London)

Nelson's death at Trafalgar secured his position as one of Britain's most heroic figures. The significance of the victory and his death during the battle led to his signal, "England expects that every man will do his duty", being regularly quoted, paraphrased and referenced up to the modern day. Numerous monuments, including Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London, and the Nelson Monument in Edinburgh, have been created in his memory and his legacy remains highly influential.


Return to England
Nelson's body was placed in a cask of brandy mixed with camphor and myrrh, which was then lashed to the Victory's mainmast and placed under guard. Victory was towed to Gibraltar after the battle, and on arrival the body was transferred to a lead-lined coffin filled with spirits of wine. Collingwood's dispatches about the battle were carried to England aboard HMS Pickle, and when the news arrived in London, a messenger was sent to Merton Place to bring the news of Nelson's death to Emma Hamilton. She later recalled,

They brought me word, Mr Whitby from the Admiralty. "Show him in directly", I said. He came in, and with a pale countenance and faint voice, said, "We have gained a great Victory." – "Never mind your Victory", I said. "My letters – give me my letters" – Captain Whitby was unable to speak – tears in his eyes and a deathly paleness over his face made me comprehend him. I believe I gave a scream and fell back, and for ten hours I could neither speak nor shed a tear.​
King George III, on receiving the news, is alleged to have said, in tears, "We have lost more than we have gained."

The Times reported:

We do not know whether we should mourn or rejoice. The country has gained the most splendid and decisive Victory that has ever graced the naval annals of England; but it has been dearly purchased.​
The first tribute to Nelson was offered at sea by sailors of Vice Admiral Dmitry Senyavin's passing Russian squadron, which saluted on learning of the death.



Funeral

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Nelson's coffin in the crossing of St Paul's during the funeral service, with the dome hung with captured French and Spanish flags


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Nelson's body was unloaded from the Victory at the Nore. It was conveyed upriver in Commander Grey's yacht Chatham to Greenwich and placed in a lead coffin, and that in another wooden one, made from the mast of L'Orient which had been salvaged after the Battle of the Nile. He lay in state in the Painted Hall at Greenwich for three days, before being taken upriver aboard a barge, accompanied by Lord Hood, chief mourner Sir Peter Parker, and the Prince of Wales. The Prince of Wales at first announced his intention of attending the funeral as chief mourner, but later attended in a private capacity with his brothers when his father George III reminded him that it was against protocol for the Heir to the Throne to attend the funerals of anyone except members of the Royal Family. The coffin was taken into the Admiralty for the night, attended by Nelson's chaplain, Alexander Scott. The next day, 9 January, a funeral procession consisting of 32 admirals, over a hundred captains, and an escort of 10,000 soldiers took the coffin from the Admiralty to St Paul's Cathedral. After a four-hour service he was interred in the crypt within a sarcophagus originally carved for Cardinal Wolsey. The sailors charged with folding the flag draping Nelson's coffin and placing it in the grave instead tore it into fragments, with each taking a piece as a memento.

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A memorial sheet showing the street procession had been published as a memorial to Nelson. The funeral procession was so long that the head had reached St. Paul's before the tail left the Palace of Whitehall.

This type of funeral was a rare privilege for anyone under the rank of a duke, which shows in what esteem Nelson was held by his countrymen.

After his body had lain in state at the Royal Naval hospital, Nelson's casket, which presented a ship-like silhouette, was placed on a royal barge, built for Charles II, beneath a black canopy surmounted by black ostrich feathers on Wednesday, January 8, 1806. It then progressed, with 60 other ships, in a maritime funeral procession from Greenwich to Whitehall. The following day the coffin was placed on an ornate funeral car and taken in procession through the streets of London to Saint Paul's Cathedral. Large crowds lined the streets, some people had purchased seats in stands built for the occasion. A man who attended wrote to a friend that "the sound of all the men removing their hats as the coffin passed sounded like a wave breaking on shore." A memorial sheet showing the street procession had been published as a memorial to Nelson. The funeral procession was so long that the head had reached St. Paul's before the tail left the Palace of Whitehall.

When the funeral cortege arrived at St. Paul’s Cathedral, twelve seamen from Nelson's ship Victory lifted the coffin from the hearse and carried it into the cathedral. Six admirals held a canopy of black velvet above the coffin. French and Spanish flags captured at the battle of Trafalgar were hung from the dome. Nelson's coffin was placed on a catafalque directly beneath the cathedral dome. Thousands of spectators, admitted by special tickets, viewed the service from specially erected stands. A huge lantern, made for the occasion, incorporating 130 individual lamps illuminated the scene. The 4-hour Burial Service was performed within the context of the Office of Evensong, the Anglican Vespers service. The music for the service was selected by John Page, one of the Vicars Choral of St. Paul's. It was sung by a choir of approximately 100 boys and men from St. Paul's, Westminster Abbey, the Chapel Royal, and St. George's Chapel of Windsor Castle. The service was conducted by the Reverend John Pridden. The organist at the service was Mozart’s pupil Thomas Attwood. The deeply moving service was highlighted by the music of some of the key composers of the English Baroque--

George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1739) Dead March, from Saul
William CROFT (1678-1727) Funeral Sentences
Richard AYLEWARD (1626-1669) Preces and Responses
Henry PURCELL (1659-1695) Psalm 39
Thomas ATTWOOD (1765-1838) Magnificat; Nunc Dimittis
Maurice GREENE (1696-1755) Lord, let me know mine end
Thomas ATTWOOD (1765-1838) Solemn Dirge
Henry PURCELL (1659-1695) Thou knowest Lord, the secrets of our hearts
George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1739) His body is buried in peace
Thomas ARNE (1710-1778) Rule Britannia

At one point in the funeral service the men of the Victory’s crew were supposed to cover Nelson's coffin with flags, they tore off strips of the large St. George’s flag and put them in their coats or shirts, just above their hearts. At the end the of the service the coffin was lowered into the crypt, draped with the ensign of HMS Victory. Nelson was entombed in an elaborate memorial in Saint Paul's crypt.



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The sarcophagus of Nelson in the crypt of St Paul's


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Nelson,_1st_Viscount_Nelson
http://www.georgianindex.net/Navy/Nelson.html
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 January 1807 – Launch of French Calypso, a 40-gun Gloire-class frigate of the French Navy, built after plans designed by Sané revised by Forfait.


Calypso was a 40-gun Gloire-class frigate of the French Navy, built after plans designed by Sané revised by Forfait. Under Captain Louis-Léon Jacob, she took part in the Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne, where she sustained very severe damage.

Class and type: Gloire-class 40-gun frigate
Displacement: 750 tonnes
Armament:

Sistership Gloire
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Scale: unknown. A contemporary full hull model of the French 40-gun frigate ‘La Gloire’ built plank on frame and mounted on its original wooden marquetry baseboard. This model is a fine example of French craftsmanship and it combines the use of both wood and bone or ivory. The ornately decorated stern galleries are typical of the French ‘horseshoe’ design with the ship’s name carved on a raised plaque on the counter. During the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793–1815), large numbers of French prisoners were housed in open prisons throughout Britain. Their daily food ration included half a pound of beef or mutton on the bone. Subsequently, the bone became a readily available source of raw material from which a variety of objects were crafted. Other materials were also used including wood, horn, brass, silk, straw and glass. Typically, the models were not made to scale as accurate scale plans were not available and tools were limited. To realize a good price at market, the models were often named after famous ships of the time, whilst some models included spring-loaded guns operated by cords. The ‘Gloire’ was built in France and captured by the British in 1803. Measuring 158 feet along the gun deck by 41 feet in the beam, she was added to the Royal Navy and subsequently broken up in 1812.

Career
The frigate was ordered on 6 April 1803 in Nantes from the Crucy brothers, but on 14 October, it was ordered that her construction take place in Lorient instead. On 16 September, she took her name of Calypso. On 5 December 1806, she was commissioned under Captain Louis-Léon Jacob.

In 1809, she was attached to a three-frigate squadron under Commodore Jurien de La Gravière, on Italienne, along with Cybèle. Trying to make junction with Willaumez' fleet in Brest, the squadron was intercepted by a British blockade squadron under Rear-Admiral Robert Stopford, comprising the Ships of the line HMS Caesar, HMS Defiance and HMS Donegal, the frigate HMS Amelia, and the brig-sloop HMS Doterel. In the ensuing Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne, Calypso sustained extensive damage, but managed to take shelter in Les Sables-d'Olonne harbour.

Unable to effect heavy repairs, Calypso remained stranded in Les Sables-d'Olonne harbour in her battered state, until she was struck from the Navy lists in January 1813. She was eventually sold as a merchantman circa 1814.

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lines & profile This is the Gloire (captured 1806), a captured French 38-gun Fifth Rate Frigate.

The Gloire-class frigate was a type of 18-pounder 40-gun frigate, designed by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait in 1802. They were built on the specifications of the Seine-class frigate Pensée (sometimes also called Junon class).

Gloire class, (40-gun design of 1802 by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait, with 28 x 18-pounder and 12 x 8-pounder guns).
  • Gloire, (launched 20 July 1803 at Basse-Indre) – captured by the British Navy 1806, becoming HMS Gloire.
  • Président, (launched 4 June 1804 at Basse-Indre) – captured by the British Navy 1806, becoming HMS President.
  • Topaze, (launched 1 March 1805 at Basse-Indre) – captured by the British Navy 1809, becoming HMS Alcmene.
  • Vénus, (launched 5 April 1806 at Le Havre) – captured by the British Navy 1810, becoming HMS Nereide.
  • Junon, (launched 16 August 1806 at Le Havre) – captured by the British Navy 1809, becoming HMS Junon.
  • Calypso, (launched 9 January 1807 at Lorient) – severely damaged 1809, sold 1813 or 1814.
  • Amazone, (launched 20 July 1807 at Le Havre) – burnt by the British Navy 1811.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Calypso_(1807)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloire-class_frigate
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Gloire_1806
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 January 1809 - HMS Morne Fortunee (12), John Brown, wrecked off Martinique.


HMS Morne Fortunee was the French privateer Le Regulus (1804) that British Royal Navy captured in 1804. In 1806 the Royal Navy commissioned her. She captured some small privateers and took part in a number of other engagements. She foundered in 1809

Capture
At 10am on 13 December 1804, the frigate HMS Princess Charlotte (40-gun Minerve class frigate) was four leagues west of Cape Antonio when she sighted an unknown brig. After a chase of seven hours southward, Princess Charlotte caught up with her quarry at 30°50′N 85°32′W. The brig surrendered after her pursuer had fired four or five shots. The quarry was the French privateer Regulus, out of Guadaloupe. She was pierced for 14 guns but had only 11 on board, having thrown two overboard during the chase. She had a crew of 88 men under the command of Citizen Jacque Mathieu. Captain F.F. Gardner of Princess Charlotte described Regulus as "a very fine Vessel" that "sails remarkably well" and is "perfectly adapted for His Majesty's Service".

Royal Navy
Lieutenant John Rorie commissioned Morne Fortunee in 1806.

On 6 April Morne Fortunee recaptured Industry and took her into Port Royal where she was to unload, having sprung a leak. Industry, Galt, master, had sailed from Port Royal on 2 April for Dublin with the fleet, but a French privateer had captured her on the 6th and taken most of her crew and some valuable articles.

After a chase of two hours off Cape Beata on the island of Hispaniola, Morne Fortunee on 16 May 1806 captured the French privateer Luni. Luni, of two guns and 47 men, was four days out of San Domingo but had not captured anything.

On 3 June Morne Fortunee drove the Spanish letter of marque schooner Aimable Jenette ashore between Saona Island and Cape Euganna. It was impossible to get her off so Rorie sent his boats in to destroy her. Aimable Jenette had been armed with two guns and had had a crew of 20 men.

In June Lieutenant John Brown replaced Rorie. On 18 June Brown and Morne Fotunee took the French privateer schooner Hope of St. Pierre's, Martinique. Brown has sighted a suspicious sail and gave chase, and after two hours was able to come up with and capture her. Hope had lost her main-mast and foretop-mast in am earlier squall. She was armed with four guns and had a crew of 44. She had been out for seven days but had taken nothing.

In November Lloyd's List reported that Morne Fortunee had detained Attempt, of and from Salem, Massachusetts, which had been sailing to Martinique with naval stores. Morne Fortunee took Attempt into Saint Lucia.

Lieutenant J.J. Rorie replaced Brown in command of Morne Fortunee during 1807.

On 1 January 1807 the frigates HMS Latona, Anson, Arethusa, and Fisgard captured the Dutch island of Curacao. Morne Fortunee was not mentioned in the letter describing the action. However, Lieutenant Rorie claimed a share of the prize money arising from the capture, a claim that was disputed. By 1849 when the Admiralty awarded the NGSM for the action, Morne Fortunee and Rorie were listed together with the four frigates.

On 13 January Morne Fortunee captured Nuestra Senora del Carmen.

On 8 July Rorie observed a Spanish privateer schooner near Point Tunacas and after a chase of about three hours, succeeded in driving on shore. Rorie immediately opened fire and succeeded in destroying his quarry. She turned out to be Babillon, of two 6-pounder guns and 45 men. She was three days out of Coro but had not captured anything. Rorie reported a "particular Satisfaction" at having destroyed Babillon as she had been a "considerable Annoyance to the Curacoa Trade."

While off the south side of the Pedro Bank, Morne Fortunee gave chase to a Spanish felucca. After a chase of 24 hours, Morne Fortunee captured Santo Christo, a letter of marque armed with one long 12-pounder and with 15 men on board. She had been sailing from Cuba for Portobelo, Colón.

On 27 March the boats of Morne Fortunee joined those of Ulysses, Castor, and Hippomenes in an attempt to cut out the 16-gun French brig Griffon at Marin, Martinique.[1] They succeeded in capturing a battery but were driven back empty handed, having suffered heavy casualties from the brig's fire.

On 18 May Morne Fortunee captured a letter of marque schooner.

On 12 December Morne Fortunee, again under the command of Lieutenant John Brown, discovered the French 16-gun brig Cygne and two schooners off the Pearl Rock, Saint-Pierre, Martinique.

Morne Fortunee joined the frigate HMS Circe, the ship-sloop Stork, the brig-sloop Epervier, and the advice boat Express in an action against the squadron. The British suffered heavy casualties. The next day HMS Amaranthe (1804 - 6) arrived and the British eventually succeeded in destroying Cygne. In all, the British lost some 12 men killed, 31 wounded, and 26 missing (drowned or prisoners) for little gain. Morne Fortunee suffered no losses.

Cygne was armed with 18 guns and carried a crew of 140 men. She had been carrying flour, guns and cartridge paper for the relief of Martinique. The French schooners were armed and were carrying flour. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the award of the NGSM with the clasp "Off The Pearl Rock 13 Decr. 1808" to the then living survivors of the battle.

Morne Fortunee shared with Captain, Pompee, and Amaranthe in the prize money pool of £772 3s 3d for the capture of Frederick on 30 December 1808. This money was paid in June 1829.

Fate
Morne Fortunee was off Martinique on 9 January 1809 when a squall came up and overset her. Lieutenant Brown and 40 of her crew drowned. Only the ship's clerk and 18 men were saved.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Morne_Fortunee_(1806)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 January 1861 – American Civil War: "Star of the West" incident occurs near Charleston, South Carolina.
The steamship Star of the West is fired on by Confederate troops from Morris Island and Fort Moultrie as she attempted to enter Charleston Harbor, S.C.
These are the first pre-Confederate shots fired at a northern-based vessel.


Star of the West was an American civilian steamship that was launched in 1852 and scuttled by Confederate forces in 1863. In January 1861, the ship was hired by the government of the United States to transport military supplies and reinforcements to the U.S. military garrison of Fort Sumter. Cadets from The Citadel fired upon the ship, effectively the first shots fired in the American Civil War.

The ship was later captured by Confederate forces, then used for several purposes including as a hospital ship and a blockade runner, and finally scuttled in defense of Vicksburg in 1863.

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Star of the West approaching Fort Sumter. Illustration from Frank Leslie's Weekly.

Prewar service
Star of the West was a 1,172-ton steamship built by Jeremiah Simonson, of New York City for Cornelius Vanderbilt, and launched on June 17, 1852. Its length was 228.3 feet (69.6 m) and its beam 32.7 feet (10.0 m), with wooden hullside paddle wheels and two masts. She started service between New York and San Juan de Nicaragua on October 20, 1852 and continued the service for Charles Morgan from July 1853 to March 1856. In June 1857, she started the New York-to-Aspinwall service for the U.S. Mail Steamship Company until September 1859, when it went onto the New York, Havana, New Orleans service. In January 1861, she was chartered to the War Department.

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American Civil War
On January 9, 1861, weeks after South Carolina declared that it had seceded from the United States, but before other states had done so to form the Confederacy, Star of the West arrived at Charleston Harbor to resupply Major Robert Anderson's garrison at Fort Sumter. The ship was fired upon by cadets from The Citadel stationed at the Morris Island battery and was hit three times by what were effectively the first shots of the American Civil War. Although Star of the West suffered no major damage, her captain, John McGowan, considered it to be too dangerous to continue and turned about to leave the harbor. The mission was abandoned, and Star of the West headed for her home port of New York Harbor.

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The ship was then hired out of New York City as a troop transport for $1,000 a day under its master, Elisha Howes. Star of the West sailed for Texas to pick up seven companies of Union Army troops, assembled at Indianola. On April 18, 1861, while anchored off Pass Caballo bar leading into Matagorda Bay, the ship was captured by Colonel Earl Van Dorn and members of two Galveston militia units, the Wigfall Guards and the Island City Rifles. Two days later, the ship was taken to New Orleans, where Louisiana Governor Thomas Overton Moore changed its name to CSS St. Philip. The old name persisted, however, and Star of the West served as a naval station and hospital ship until Admiral David Farragut captured New Orleans.

Still under Confederate control, Star of the West escaped recapture when she was sent to transport gold, silver, and paper currency worth millions of dollars. After delivering that cargo to Vicksburg, she continued to Yazoo City, Mississippi. When federal Lieutenant Commander Watson Smith tried to lead two ironclads and five smaller vessels through the Yazoo Pass into the Tallahatchie River to attack Vicksburg from the rear, Confederate defenders hurriedly constructed Fort Pemberton, and Major General William W. Loring had Star of the West sunk broadside in the Tallahatchie near Greenwood to block the passage of the Union flotilla. In a skirmish on April 12, 1863, the Union forces suffered heavy casualties and were forced to withdraw.

After the war, the owners of Star of the West collected $175,000 in damages from the U.S. government for the loss.

Legacy
The Star of the West Medal is awarded annually to the "best drilled cadet" at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. In June 1893, The Citadel Superintendent, Colonel Asbury Coward, took the corps to Aiken, South Carolina, for their annual encampment and graduation exercises. The excellent military work of the cadets suggested to Dr. Benjamin H. Teague, a Confederate Veteran and a collector of Confederate relics, to present to the Citadel a medal for the winner of the Best Drilled Cadet competition. Among his many curios, Teague had a piece of oak from the Steam Ship Star of the West. He sawed a small piece of this wood into the shape of a star and had it mounted on a gold medal. The recipient would wear the medal for one year and then pass it to the next recipient. The winner's names are inscribed on the "Star of the West" monument on the college grounds. However, the original medal with the wood has been lost to history.

In popular culture
The incident looms large in a novel by John Updike, Memories of the Ford Administration (1992). Although Updike's protagonist is trying (in the early 1990s) to write about the mid-1970s, he spent those years seeking to write a book about President Buchanan, and his mind keeps reverting to the 19th century and, among other incidents, the mission of the sloop to Fort Sumter.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_the_West
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 January 1916 – World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli concludes with an Ottoman Empire victory when the last Allied forces are evacuated from the peninsula.


The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign, the Battle of Gallipoli, or the Battle of Çanakkale (Turkish: Çanakkale Savaşı), was a long unsuccessful campaign of the First World War that took place on the Gallipoli peninsula (Gelibolu in modern Turkey).
(17 February 1915 – 9 January 1916 with 10 months, 3 weeks and 2 days)
The Allied powers Britain and France, sought to greatly weaken the Ottoman Empire by capturing control of the straits that provided a supply route to their ally Russia. The invaders launched a naval attack followed by an amphibious landing on the peninsula. They hoped to capture the Ottoman capital of Constantinople. The naval attack was repelled and after eight months' fighting, with many casualties on both sides, the land campaign was abandoned and the invasion force was withdrawn. It was a costly and humiliating defeat for the Allies and for the sponsors, especially Winston Churchill.

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Panoramic view of the Allied fleet in the Dardanelles

The campaign was the only major Ottoman victory of the war. In Turkey, it is regarded as a defining moment in the nation's history, a final surge in the defence of the motherland as the Ottoman Empire crumbled. Arabs formed a substantial force in the Gallipoli Peninsula being part of the Seventy Second and Seventy Seventh regiments. According to several sources Arabs made up two thirds of the 19th division under Colonel Mustafa Kemal. The struggle formed the basis for the Turkish War of Independence and the declaration of the Republic of Turkey eight years later, with Mustafa Kemal (Kemal Atatürk) as President, who rose to prominence as a commander at Gallipoli. The campaign is often considered to be the beginning of Australian and New Zealand national consciousness; 25 April, the anniversary of the landings, is known as "ANZAC Day", the most significant commemoration of military casualties and veterans in the two countries, surpassing Remembrance Day (Armistice Day)

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French troops land at Lemnos, 1915.

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New Zealand troops were part of the Allied invasion force that landed at what soon became known as Anzac Cove.
For eight long months New Zealanders, Australians and troops from Britain and France battled harsh conditions and resolute Ottoman opponents who were desperately fighting to protect their homeland.
By the time the campaign ended, some 125,000 men had died: more than 80,000 Ottoman Turks and 44,000 Allied soldiers, including 8500 Australians and 2721 New Zealanders (about a fifth of those who landed on the peninsula).
In the history of the Great War, the Gallipoli campaign made no large mark. The number of dead, although horrific, paled in comparison with the casualties in France and Belgium. But for New Zealand, Australia and Turkey, the Gallipoli campaign left a lasting impression on the national psyche.
(Source: NZHistory, www.nzhistory.net.nz/landing-of-nz-troops-at-gallipoli-tu...)

This painting is part of the National Collection of War Art held by Archives New Zealand. The National Collection of War Art is composed of about 1,500 artworks, including portraits, battle scenes, landscapes and abstracts, depicting those who served New Zealand in times of war, and the arenas in which they served.
It includes both official pieces of war art, by artists formally commissioned by the New Zealand government, and other unofficial art works that were acquired by or donated to the collection.
The majority of artworks in the collection depict World War One and World War Two, however official war art continues to be commissioned by the New Zealand Defence Force up to the present day.
Archives Reference: The landing at Anzac, 1915, Charles Dixon, AAAC 898 NCWA Q388 archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=22499652 warart.archives.govt.nz/node/1085
Charles Dixon (1872-1934) was an English artist who specialised in marine scenes, working in both oils and watercolours. He is probably best known for his depictions of activity on the Thames River in London, but he is also known for his paintings of major events in maritime history.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallipoli_Campaign
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 January 1917 - HMS Cornwallis, a Duncan-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy, torpedoed and sunk by U-32


HMS Cornwallis was a Duncan-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy. Built to counter a group of fast Russian battleships, Cornwallis and her sister ships were capable of steaming at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph), making them the fastest battleships in the world. The Duncan-class battleships were armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and they were broadly similar to the London-class battleships, though of a slightly reduced displacement and thinner armour layout. As such, they reflected a development of the lighter second-class ships of the Canopus-class battleship. Cornwallis was built between her keel laying in July 1899 and her completion in February 1904.

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Cornwallis fires a broadside during the withdrawal from Suvla Bay in December 1915. Photo by Ernest Brooks

After commissioning in 1904, Cornwallis was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet until 1905, when she was transferred to the Channel Fleet. She stayed there for two years before being moved to the Atlantic Fleet, where she remained until 1909, at which point she returned to the Mediterranean Fleet. In 1912, she was reassigned to the Home Fleet, first to the 4th Battle Squadron and then to the 6th Battle Squadron, where she was stationed at the outbreak of the First World War. The 6th Squadron covered the crossing of the British Expeditionary Force to France in August 1914, and thereafter its ships were transferred to the 3rd Battle Squadron to reinforce the Grand Fleet on the Northern Patrol.

In January 1915, Cornwallis was sent to the Mediterranean to take part in the Dardanelles campaign against the Ottoman Empire. She fired the first shots of the campaign on 19 February during a bombardment of Ottoman coastal defences. Over the following two months, she participated in numerous attacks on the forts that failed to destroy them, leading to the decision that a major ground attack would be necessary to neutralise the defences. Cornwallis supported the Landing at Cape Helles on 25 April and shelled Ottoman troops over the following month as the Allied soldiers sought to push further inland. She thereafter served with the Suez Canal Patrol and briefly on the East Indies Station until March 1916, when she returned to the Mediterranean. While on patrol off Malta on 9 January 1917, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-boat U-32.


Design
Main article: Duncan-class battleship

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Right elevation and deck plan as depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1915

The six ships of the Duncan class were ordered in response to the Russian Peresvet-class battleships that had been launched in 1898. The Russian ships were fast second-class battleships, so William Henry White, the British Director of Naval Construction, designed the Duncan class to match the purported top speed of the Russian vessels. To achieve the higher speed while keeping displacement from growing, White was forced to reduce the ships' armour protection significantly, effectively making the ships enlarged and improved versions of the Canopus-class battleships of 1896, rather than derivatives of the more powerful Majestic, Formidable, and London series of first-class battleships. The Duncans proved to be disappointments in service, owing to their reduced defensive characteristics, though they were still markedly superior to the Peresvets they had been built to counter.

Cornwallis was 432 feet (132 m) long overall, with a beam of 75 ft 6 in (23.01 m) and a draft of 25 ft 9 in (7.85 m). The Duncan-class battleships displaced 13,270 to 13,745 tonnes (13,060 to 13,528 long tons) normally and up to 14,900 to 15,200 tonnes (14,700 to 15,000 long tons) fully loaded. Her crew numbered 720 officers and ratings. The Duncan-class ships were powered by a pair of 4-cylinder triple-expansion engines that drove two screws, with steam provided by twenty-four Belleville boilers. The boilers were trunked into two funnels located amidships. The Duncan-class ships had a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) from 18,000 indicated horsepower (13,000 kW). This made Cornwallis and her sisters the fastest battleships in the world for several years. At a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), the ship could steam for 6,070 nautical miles (11,240 km; 6,990 mi).

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Launch of Cornwallis, 17 July 1901

Cornwallis had four 12-inch (305 mm) 40-calibre guns mounted in twin gun turrets fore and aft. The ships also mounted twelve 6-inch (152 mm) 45-calibre guns mounted in casemates, in addition to ten 12-pounder 3 in (76 mm) guns and six 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) guns. As was customary for battleships of the period, she was also equipped with four 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes submerged in the hull.

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Cornwallis had an armoured belt that was 7 in (178 mm) thick; the transverse bulkhead on the aft end of the belt was 7 to 11 in (178 to 279 mm) thick. Her main battery turrets' sides were 8 to 10 in (203 to 254 mm) thick, atop 11 in (279 mm) barbettes, and the casemate battery was protected with 6 in of Krupp steel. Her conning tower had 12-inch-thick sides. She was fitted with two armoured decks, 1 and 2 in (25 and 51 mm) thick, respectively


Later operations

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Cornwallis sinking after being torpedoed by UB-32

After the Suvla Bay evacuation was complete, Cornwallis was transferred to the Suez Canal Patrol in company with the battleship Glory and Euryalus, which they joined on 4 January 1916. She operated as part of this patrol and on the East Indies Station until March 1916, including convoy duty in the Indian Ocean. She returned to the eastern Mediterranean in March 1916, and underwent a refit at Malta in May and June 1916. On 9 January 1917, Cornwallis was hit on her starboard side by a torpedo from German U-boat U-32, commanded by Kurt Hartwig, in the eastern Mediterranean, 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) east of Malta. Some of her stokeholds flooded, causing her to list about ten degrees to starboard, but counter-flooding corrected the list. She was also rendered immobilised, which made her an easy target for a second attack from U-32, which was able to evade the depth charge attack from Cornwallis's escorting destroyers. By this time, the British had begun preparations to take her under tow, but Hartwig launched another torpedo at long range. About 75 minutes after the first torpedo hit, another struck Cornwallis, also on the starboard side, and the ship rolled quickly to starboard. Fifteen men were killed in the torpedo explosions, but she stayed afloat long enough to get the rest of the crew off. She sank about 30 minutes after the second torpedo hit.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Cornwallis_(1901)
 
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