Naval/Maritime History 22nd of March - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
18 November 1800 - HMS Leda launched at Chatham. The first of the largest class of sailing frigates ever built for the Royal Navy.


MS Leda, launched in 1800, was the lead ship of a successful class of forty-seven British Royal Navy 38-gun sailing frigates. Leda's design was based on the French Hébé, which the British had captured in 1782. (Hébé herself was the name vessel for the French Hébé-class frigates. Hébé, therefore, has the rare distinction of being the model for both a French and a British frigate class.) Leda was wrecked at the mouth of Milford Haven in 1808, Capt Honeyman was exonerated of all blame, as it was a pilot error.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Leda' (1800)
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/84700.html#1MlB17rIAvmX9Mqt.99


Class and type: Leda-class frigate
Tons burthen: 107111⁄94 (bm)
Length:
  • 150 ft 2 in (45.77 m) (gundeck)
  • 125 ft 4 in (38.20 m) (keel)
Beam: 40 ft 1 in (12.22 m)
Depth of hold: 12 ft 9 in (3.89 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Complement: 284 (later 300);
Armament:
  • Upper deck: 28 x 18-pounder guns
  • QD: 8 x 9-pounder guns + 6 x 32-pounder carronades
  • Fc: 2 x 9-pounder guns + 2 x 32-pounder carronades

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for 'Leda' (1800), a 38-gun Fifth Rate, Frigate, building at Chatham Dockyard.

French Revolutionary Wars
Captain George Johnstone Hope commissioned Leda in November 1800. In 1801 he sailed her in the English Channel and to the coast of Egypt.

On 12 March 1801, Leda recaptured Bolton, Captain Watson, a 20-gun letter of marque that had sailed from Demerara to Liverpool some 6 weeks previously in company with Union and Dart. These two vessels were also letters of marque, all carrying valuable cargoes of sugar, coffee, indigo and cotton. During the voyage Union started to take on water so her crew transferred to Bolton. Then Bolton and Dart parted company in a gale. Next, Bolton had the misfortune to meet the French privateer Gironde, which was armed with 26 guns and had a crew of 260 men. Gironde captured Bolton in an hour-long fight that killed two passengers and wounded Watson and five men. Although Gironde was damaged, she had suffered no casualties. Bolton was also carrying ivory, a tiger, and a large collection of birds, monkeys, and the like.

Then on 5 April Leda captured the French ship Desiree, of eight men and 70 tons. She was sailing from Bordeaux to Brell with a cargo of wheat. Four days later Leda recaptured the Portuguese ship Cæsar, of 10 men and 100 tons. Cæsar had been sailing from Bristol to Lisbon with a cargo of sundries when the French privateer Laura had captured her.

Lastly, on 1 May, Leda captured the French privateer Jupiter. Jupiter, of 90 tons, was armed with 16 guns and had a crew of 60 men. She was from Morlaix on cruise. On the same day Leda recaptured the Portuguese vessel Tejo. Then on 2 September Leda captured Venturose.

Because Leda served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (8 March to 8 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants.

In September 1802 Leda came under the command of Captain John (or James) Hardy.

Napoleonic Wars
Captain Robert Honyman (or Honeyman) recommissioned Leda in August 1803 for the North Sea. he would remain her captain until her loss in 1808. Still, at various times Leda was under the temporary command of Captain Henry Digby in 1804 and Captain John Hartley in February 1805.

In 1803 Leda was in the Channel. When the war with France recommenced, Honeyman was put in charge of a small squadron of gun-brigs off Boulogne. On 18 May Leda and Amelia detained the Dutch ship Phoenix. The next day Leda captured Bodes Lust.

Five days after that, Leda, Amelia, Raisonable and Gelikheid were in company at the capture of the Dutch ship Twee Vrienden.

On 29 September Honyman and his squadron attacked a division of 26 enemy gun boats. The engagement lasted several hours until the gunboats took refuge off the pier in Boulogne. Honyman wanted to have his bomb vessels engage them, but winds and tide were unfavorable. The next day 25 more French gunboats arrived. However, before they could join the division that had arrived the night before, the British were able to drive two on shore where they were wrecked. The British suffered no casualties or material damage though a shell did explode in Leda's hold. Fortunately, this did little damage and caused no casualties.

On 21 October Honyman sighted a convoy of six French sloops, some armed, under the escort of a gun-brig. He sent Harpy and Lark to pursue them but the winds were uncooperative and the squadron was unable to engage. Instead, the hired armed cutter Admiral Mitchell, which had only 35 men and twelve 12-pounder carronades, came up and attacked the convoy. After two and a half hours of cannonading, Admiral Mitchell succeeded in driving one sloop and the brig, which was armed with twelve 32-pounder guns, on the rocks. Admiral Mitchell had one gun dismounted, suffered damage to her mast and rigging, and had five men wounded, two seriously.

At the end of July 1804, a boarding party under Lieutenant M'Lean took Leda's boats to mount an unsuccessful attack on a French gunvessel in Boulogne Roads. The attackers succeeded in capturing their target, but the strong tide prevented them from retrieving her. Casualties were heavy in the cutting out party and M'Lean was among the dead; in all, only 14 out of the 38 men in the boarding party returned to Leda.

Early in the morning of 24 April 1805, Leda, again under Honyman's command after Hartley's temporary command, sighted twenty-six French vessels rounding Cap Gris Nez. Honyman immediately ordered Fury, Harpy, Railleur, Bruiser, Gallant, Archer, Locust, Tickler, Watchful, Monkey, Firm and Starling to intercept. After a fight of about two hours, Starling and Locust had captured seven armed schuyts in an action within pistol-shot of the shore batteries on Cap Gris Nez. The schuyts were all of 25 to 28 tons burthen, and carried in all 117 soldiers and 43 seamen under the command of officers from the 51st. Infantry Regiment. The French convoy had been bound for Ambleteuse from Dunkirk. On the British side the only casualty was one man wounded on Archer.

The next day Archer brought in two more schuyts, each armed with one 24-pounder and two 12-pounders. On 25 April 1805 Railleur towed eight of the French schuyts into the Downs. Starling, which had received a great deal of damage, followed Railleur in.

Leda was one of the escorts to a convoy of transports and EIC vessels that were part of the expedition under General Sir David Baird and Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham that would in 1806 capture the Dutch Cape Colony. They would carry supplies and troops to the Cape, and then continue on their voyages.

At 3:30a.m. on 1 November, near Rocas Atoll Leda sighted breakers and fired a gun, the signal to tack, herself barely missing the danger. King George was unable to tack and wrecked. As Britannia was on the point of tacking she ran afoul of Streatham and lost her bowsprit and foretopmast. She then drifted on to the atoll where she lost her rudder and bilged. In the morning Leda was able to rescue the survivors from King George and Comet, Europe, and Varuna sent their boats and were able to rescue about 400 people from Britannia, including Captain Brisk, his crew, and recruits for the EIC's armies.

The British fleet, including Leda, arrived in Table Bay on 5 January 1806 and anchored off Robben Island. Leda supported the landing of the troops.

On 6 January 1807 Leda was in company with Pheasant and Daphne at the capture of Ann, Denning, master. Leda shared in the capture of the Rolla on 21 February. On 4 March she was at Table Bay and in sight when Diademcaptured the French frigate Volontaire and the two transports that Volontaire was escorting, which turned out to be two British transports that the frigate had captured in the Bay of Biscay, together with the British troops on board. On 19 March the squadron captured the General Izidro.

In June 1810 the prize money for the capture of the Cape of Good Hope was payable. Then in July 1810 there was further distribution of money for the capture of Volontaire and Rolla. In December 1810 prize money for General Izidro was payable.

Leda then accompanied Home Popham across the Atlantic for his expedition to the River Plate. On 9 September 1806 Leda pursued a brigantine on her way to Montevideo until the brigantine's crew beached her. Leda then sent her boats to retrieve or destroy the brigantine. However, when the boarding party reached the brigantine they discovered that her crew had already abandoned her. They also found that she was unarmed, though pierced for 14 guns. Because of the heavy seas the boarding party could not retrieve the brigantine, or even burn her. Instead they simply set her adrift among the breakers. During the operation small arms fire from the shore wounded four men.

Leda remained in South America until the final British evacuation in about September 1807. On 22 August she was in sight, together with a number of other warships, when Procris captured Minerva. Leda then returned to Sheerness and served in the Channel.

At eight o'clock on the morning of 4 December, some 4 leagues (19 km) off Cap de Caux, Leda sighted a privateer lugger making for the French coast, as well as a brig that appeared to be her prize. The brig ran for Havre de Grace but the lugger sailed in another direction as Leda pursued her. After six hours Leda succeeded in capturing the lugger, which turned out to be the brand new vessel Adolphe, under the command of Nicholas Famenter. Adolphe was armed with ten 18-pound carronades, four 4-pounder guns, two 2-pounder guns and two swivel guns. She was eight days out of Boulogne. She had only 25 men on board as she had already put another 45 men of her crew on prizes. She ran ashore on the Bemberg Ledge and it was unlikely she would be gotten off.

Loss
On 31 January 1808, Leda was caught in a gale that did much damage to the ship. Honeyman decided to try to take refuge at Milford Haven but she was wrecked at the mouth of the harbour. The quarantine master for the port came aboard Leda to urge her abandonment. The entire crew was able to get off safely.

A court martial held on board the HMS Salvador del Mundo in the Hamoaze acquitted Honeyman and his crew of all blame. It found that the pilot, James Garretty, had laid a wrong course after mistaking Thorn Island for the Stack Rocks, a mistake that was due to the bad weather and poor visibility.


The Leda-class frigates, were a successful class of forty-seven British Royal Navy 38-gun sailing frigates constructed from 1805-1832. Based on a French design, the class came in five major groups, all with minor differences in their design. During their careers, they fought in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. Forty-five of the 47 were eventually scrapped; two still exist

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HMS Trincomalee in the historic dockyard, Hartlepool.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the section at Station 25 illustrating the scarph joints of the framing for Leda (1800), and copies later used for Venus (1820), Diana (1822), Latona (1821), Melampus (1820), Hebe (1826), and Minerva (1820), all 38-gun Fifth Rate, Frigates. Signed by Robert Seppings [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1832].
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Scale: 1:24. Plan showing the midship section for Leda (1800), with copies sent to the various dockyards for Venus (1820), Diana (1822), Latona (1821), Melampus (1820), Hebe (1826), and Minerva (1820), all 38-gun Fifth Rate Frigates. Signed by Robert Seppings [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1832].

  • Leda class 38-gun fifth rates 1800-19, built to the lines of the French Hébé of 1782.
    • HMS Leda 1800 - wrecked at the mouth of Milford Haven on 31 January 1808.
    • HMS Pomone 1805 - wrecked on the Needles on 14 October 1811.
    • HMS Shannon 1806 - hulked as receiving ship at Sheerness in 1831, renamed Saint Lawrence in 1844, broken up 1859.
    • HMS Leonidas 1807 - hulked as powder hulk at Sheerness in 1872, sold 1894.
    • HMS Briton 1812 - hulked as convict ship at Portsmouth in 1841, broken up 1860.
    • HMS Surprise 1812 - hulked as convict ship at Cork in 1822, sold 1837.
    • HMS Tenedos 1812 - hulked as convict ship at Bermuda in 1843, converted to accommodation ship in 1863, broken up 1875.
    • HMS Lacedemonian 1812 - broken up 1822.
    • HMS Lively 1813 - hulked as receiving ship 1831, sold 1863.
    • HMS Diamond 1816 - accidentally burnt at Portsmouth on 18 April 1827.
    • HMS Amphitrite 1816 - razeed to a 26-gun corvette, transferred to the Coast Guard in 1857.
    • HMS Trincomalee 1817 - Teak built, cut down to a 26-gun corvette in 1847, hulked as training ship for volunteers at Sunderland in 1861, sold 1897 to Wheatley Cobb at Falmouth, became training ship Foudroyant, still afloat as museum ship under her original name at Hartlepool.
    • HMS Thetis 1817 - wrecked off Cape Frio, Brazil, on 5 December 1830.
    • HMS Arethusa 1817 - hulked as lazaretto at Liverpool in 1836, renamed Bacchus in 1844, transferred to Plymouth in 1850, and transformed to coal depot in 1852, sold for breaking in 1883.
    • HMS Blanche 1819 - hulked as receiving ship at Portsmouth in 1833, sold for breaking in 1865.
    • HMS Fisgard 1819 - hulked as harbour flagship at Woolwich in 1847, broken up 1879.
  • modified Leda class 46-gun fifth rates 1820-30
    • HMS Venus 1820 - hulked and lent to the Marine Society in 1848, broken up 1865.
    • HMS Melampus 1820 - transferred to the Coastguard at Southampton in 1857, returned to the Navy at Portsmouth in 1866, used as an ordnance store for the War Office until 1891, sold 1906.
    • HMS Minerva 1820 - broken up 1895.
    • HMS Latona 1821 - hulked as mooring vessel at Sheerness in 1868, powder depot at Portsmouth in 1872, broken up 1875.
    • HMS Nereus 1821 - hulked as coal depot at Valparaiso in 1843, sold 1879.
    • HMS Diana 1822 - hulked as receiving ship at Sheerness in 1868, broken up 1874.
    • HMS Hebe 1826 - hulked as receiving ship at Woolwich in 1839, transferred to Sheerness for breaking in 1872.
    • HMS Hamadryad 1823 - hulked as hospital ship at Cardiff in 1866, sold 1905.
    • HMS Amazon 1821 - cut down to a 26-gun corvette in 1845, sold 1863.
    • HMS Aeolus (or Eolus) 1825 - hulked as stores depot at Sheerness in 1846, transferred to Portsmouth as accommodation ship in 1855, transformed into a lazaretto in 1761, broken up in 1886.
    • HMS Thisbe 1824 - hulked as floating church at Cardiff 1863, sold 1892.
    • HMS Cerberus 1827 - broken up 1866.
    • HMS Circe 1827 - hulked as accommodation ship 1866, swimming bath 1885, renamed Impregnable IV, sold for breaking in 1922.
    • HMS Clyde 1827 - hulked as RNR training ship at Aberdeen in 1870, sold 1904.
    • HMS Thames 1823 - hulked as convict ship at Deptford in 1841, transferred to Bermuda in 1844, sunk in 1863, wreck subsequently sold for breaking.
    • HMS Fox 1829 - converted to screw propulsion in 1856, broken up 1882.
    • HMS Unicorn 1824 - never fitted for sea, hulked as training ship for the RNR at Dundee in 1860 and still afloat there as museum ship.
    • HMS Daedalus 1826 - cut down to a corvette in 1844, hulked as training ship for the RNR at Bristol in 1861, sold for breaking in 1911.
    • HMS Proserpine 1830 - sold 1864.
    • HMS Mermaid 1825 - hulked as Army powder ship at Purfleet in 1858, returned to the Navy and used as a powder depot at Dublin in 1863, bruken up 1875.
    • HMS Mercury 1826 - hulked as coal depot at Woolwich in 1862, transferred to Sheerness in 1873, sold 1906.
    • HMS Penelope 1829 - converted to paddle frigate in 1843, sold 1864.
    • HMS Thalia 1830 - hulked as Roman Catholic chapel ship at Portsmouth in 1855, broken up 1867.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Leda_(1800)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leda-class_frigate
 
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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
18 November 1809 – In a naval action during the Napoleonic Wars, French frigates defeat British East Indiamen in the Bay of Bengal.


The Action of 18 November 1809 was the most significant engagement of a six-month cruise by a French frigate squadron in the Indian Ocean during the Napoleonic Wars. The French commander, Commodore Jacques Hamelin, raided across the Bay of Bengal with his squadron and achieved local superiority, capturing numerous merchant ships and minor warships. On 18 November 1809, three ships of Hamelin's squadron encountered a convoy of India-bound East Indiamen, mainly carrying recruits for the Indian Army, then administered by the Honourable East India Company (HEIC).

Despite spirited resistance from the largest British merchant ship, Windham, the failure of the other Indiamen to support their leader and the size and power of the French ships forced the British to withdraw: all the HEIC ships were subsequently captured by the larger, faster French warships. A month later, Hamelin's raiding campaign skirted disaster when a winter hurricane on the voyage back to Île de France almost wrecked his flagship Vénus. Vénus only survived with the co-operation of the British prisoners aboard, who brought the ship safely to port. Only two of the captured Indiamen were successfully brought to Ile de France: the same storm that nearly destroyed Vénus scattered the squadron and its prizes, allowing a patrolling British frigate to recapture Windham just a few miles from the French island.

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A fleet of East Indiamen at Sea, by Nicholas Pocock; it is believed to show the Indiamen Lord Hawkesbury, Worcester, Boddam, Fort William, Airly Castle, Lord Duncan, Ocean, Henry Addington, Carnatic, Hope, and Windham returning from China in 1802

Background
In the late autumn of 1808, the French Navy despatched four large frigates to the East Indies. These ships, stationed on Île de France and Île Bonaparte, were ordered to attack and disrupt British trade routes from the Far East, in particular British India. This disruption was intended to have a negative financial effect on the British economy and force the Royal Navy to send ships into the Indian Ocean, expending valuable resources in doing so. The commander of this French force was Commodore Jacques Hamelin, a highly skilled officer who ordered his frigates to disperse in the Bay of Bengal to hunt British East Indiamen, large and well armed merchant ships that carried millions of pounds worth of goods between Britain and her Empire every year.

During the late spring, the most active of the French frigates was Caroline, which intercepted a convoy of East Indiamen in the Action of 31 May 1809. Due to a brief but determined resistance by the larger vessels, one of the East Indiamen was able to escape, but two others were captured and brought to Île Bonaparte. During the spring of 1809, the Royal Navy in the region, represented by Admiral Albemarle Bertie at the Cape of Good Hope, had also been active. Bertie had gathered a squadron of available ships which he ordered to blockade the French Indian Ocean islands and probe them for weaknesses that would assist future invasion attempts. The force was led by Commodore Josias Rowley in HMS Raisonnable and mainly consisted of frigates, in roughly equivalent numbers to the French force under Hamelin. Rowley's first significant operation was the successful Raid on Saint Paul on 21 September 1809.

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The Windham East India Man with the Fleet sailing from St Helena, under convoy of His Majesty's ship Monmouth (PAH8454)
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/148401.html#KvLXzF3H78467U3X.99

Hamelin's cruise
In July 1809, Hamelin had departed Île de France for the Bay of Bengal in Vénus, accompanied by the corvette Créole and the frigate Manche. The frigates were both armed with at least 40 cannon each and the corvette 14. All three ships were crewed by a full complement of experienced sailors drawn from the pool of unemployed men stranded in Île de France by the British blockade. This force was followed a month later by the similarly sized frigate Bellone. Hamelin's early cruises were successful: operating initially off the Nicobar Islands, Vénus captured the HEIC armed ship Orient on 26 July. After this however, targets became scarcer and despite the capture of a number of small merchant vessels, Hamelin was forced to take his squadron further east and south to find British shipping to attack. On 10 October, he raided the small trading port of Tappanooly on Sumatra, captured its British population and razed the town.

At 06:00 on 18 November 1809, with the sailing season almost at an end, Hamelin finally encountered a sizable target. Cruising in Vénus, accompanied by Manche and Créole, Hamelin sighted and chased a northwards-bound convoy of East Indiamen. These three ships were Windham, Charlton and United Kingdom, under the command of Captain John Stewart on Windham. Stewart's ships had departed Britain months earlier, destined for Calcutta to receive cargoes for Britain. Their main cargo on this voyage were over 200 passengers, primarily soldiers enlisted in the army of the HEIC. All three vessels weighed approximately 800 tons and carried between 20 and 30 cannon each, but were not warships: their crews were not trained to military standards and their guns were not as powerful as those typically carried on military vessels. In addition, a large proportion of the crew were lascars, who were not considered reliable in combat. Stewart however had been warned of Hamelin's presence by the sloop HMS Rattlesnake a week earlier and had been rehearsing Windham's gunnery in case he should meet the French squadron. Ship for ship, the East Indiamen were outclassed by the French frigates, which were faster, stronger, more powerful and better armed and manned. In convoy however the British were still a formidable target: only four years earlier, at the Battle of Pulo Aura, a convoy of East Indiamen had defeated and pursued a more powerful French squadron under Admiral Linois in similar waters.

Engagement
The French squadron had become disorganised in its initial pursuit the British, with Manche, under Captain Jean Dornal de Guy, falling substantially to leeward of the flagship. Seeing this, Stewart realised that the best hope his convoy had of survival was to unite and attack Manche together. The combined batteries of the East Indiamen could be deployed en masse, hopefully inflicting enough damage to drive Manche away and discourage Hamelin in Vénus from attacking alone. Signalling his intentions to the captains of Charlton and United Kingdom, Stewart turned towards Vénus and bore down on her. Hamelin, realising the threat his scattered squadron faced, signalled for his ships to join up. With the wind against him however, it was obvious that Windham would reach Manche first.

By 08:00, it was clear that despite his vessels speed, Stewart's plan was going to fail: the captains of Charlton and United Kingdom had not even attempted to join his advance, deliberately checking their advance towards the French, falling far behind Windham. Although Stewart now faced overwhelming odds, he had no option but to continue the attack: his ship was now too close to attempt to flee from the French frigate. Captain Dornal de Guy opened fire at 09:30, his shot repeatedly striking Windham as she approached. Stewart did not return fire, instead waiting until his ship was closer to minimise the inaccuracy of his gunnery. Unable to reach the more nimble French ship directly, Stewart absorbed the French fire until he was as close as he was able before unleashing his guns. The results were disappointing: the entire broadside splashed into the sea far short of the French ship. The more manoeuvrable Manche now approached Windham at close range, and the two ships fired at one another for over an hour, Stewart still unsupported by his companions, who did no more than fire the occasional ineffective shot at extreme range.

At 12:00, Dornal de Guy on Manche pulled away from her battered opponent, obeying Hamelin's order to join with his flagship. Hamelin then sent Manche and Créole after the slow Charlton and United Kingdom, using Vénus to chase Windham. Stewart had used the break in the action to effect rudimentary repairs to his battered ship and, with the agreement of his officers, determined to abandon the other ships and escape alone. Manche and the corvette rapidly overhauled and captured Charlton and United Kingdom, their captains Charles Mortlock and William D'Esterre making no serious attempt to resist or escape. Vénus however became embroiled in a lengthy chase as Stewart threw all not essential stores overboard in an effort to make his ship lighter and faster. For five days, Windham led Vénus in pursuit across the Bay of Bengal and it was not until 10:30 on 22 November that Hamelin finally closed with the British ship and forced her surrender.

Return to Île de France
Bellone, under Captain Guy-Victor Duperré, had been sailing independently of Hamelin's squadron and had also had a successful cruise, capturing the small British warship HMS Victor on 2 November and the 48-gun Portuguese frigate Minerve on 22 November in the northern Bay of Bengal, before sailing back to Île de France. To the south, Hamelin and Dornal de Guy reunited with their prizes on 6 December and also determined to return to Île de France as the cyclone season, in which any ship in the Indian Ocean would be at serious risk of destruction by a sudden tropical cyclone, was fast approaching. This was a dangerous time to be at sea: the year before seven large East Indiamen had sunk with a thousand lives in two major hurricanes and the year before that, the flagship of Sir Thomas Troubridge, HMS Blenheim had disappeared without a trace in similar circumstances,

On 19 December, the first winter storm struck the French squadron. In the heavy waves and high winds, first Windham and then Vénus were separated from the convoy, Manche marshalling the remaining ships and continuing the southwards journey. Windham's French prize crew were able to regain control of their ship and continued on to Île de France alone, but Vénus was struck by an even larger hurricane on 27 December and lost all three topmasts in the gale. The French crew panicked as the storm began, and refused to attend to the sails or even close the hatches: as a result the vessel almost foundered as huge amounts of water poured into the ship. In desperation, Hamelin called Captain Stewart to his cabin and requested that his men save the ship but demanded that Stewart give his word that his men would not attempt to escape or seize the frigate. Stewart refused to give any such guarantee but agreed to help repair the damage and bring the ship to safety. After securing the weapons lockers aboard, Hamelin agreed and Stewart and his men cut away the wrecked masts and pumped the water out of the hold, repairing the ship so that she was able to continue her journey without fear of foundering.

On 31 December, the battered Vénus docked in Rivière Noire and Stewart and his men, who had never had an opportunity to seize their freedom, were marched to Port Louis, where they witnessed the arrival of Manche, accompanied by Créole, Charlton and United Kingdom on 1 January 1810. For their services, Stewart and his fellow prisoners were later released and allowed to sail to the Cape of Good Hope. There they discovered Windham, which had failed to arrive at Île de France. Although her prize crew had retained control of the ship following the storm, they had been sighted, chased and seized within sight of Île de France on 29 December by the newly arrived British frigate HMS Magicienne under Captain Lucius Curtis. Bellone and her prizes arrived at Port Louis on 2 January, having slipped past Rowley's blockade during a period of calm weather.

Aftermath
Casualties in the battle were minimal, the British losing four killed and two wounded while the French recorded no casualties at all. The significance of the action lies in the ease with which French frigates operating from Île de France were able to attack and capture vital trade convoys without facing serious opposition. The action of 18 November was the second occasion in 1809 in which a British East India convoy was destroyed and another would be lost at the Action of 3 July 1810 the following year. These losses were exceptionally heavy, especially when combined with the 12 East Indiamen wrecked during 1809, and would eventually provoke the massive buildup of British forces in late 1810. Despite the French success Vénus was never again able to operate independently in this manner. Hamelin was needed during 1810 to operate against the strong British frigate squadrons that returned in the spring to harass his cruisers and prepare for the planned invasions of Île Bonaparte and Île de France using the soldiers stationed on Rodrigues. The French commodore was ultimately unable to prevent these operations and was eventually captured in the Action of 18 September 1810, a personal engagement with Rowley on HMS Boadicea.

Combate_de_Valparaiso_sommerscale.jpg
The Lautaro (right) fought against the Esmeralda (left) off Valparaíso in 1818

Lautaro was initially the British East Indiaman Windham, built by Perry, Wells & Green at the Blackwall Shipyard for the East India Company (EIC) and launched in 1800. She made six voyages to India and China for the EIC. In 1809-10, the French captured her twice, but the British also recaptured her twice. The Chilean Navy bought her in 1818 and she then served in the Chilean Navy, taking part in several actions during the liberation wars in Chile and Peru. From 1824 she was a training ship until she was sold in 1828.

The Vénus (1808 - 40) was a Junon-class frigate of the French Navy. She was captured in 1810 by the Royal Navy and taken into British service as HMS Nereide. She was broken up in 1816.

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Hortense, sister-ship of Manche

Manche (1806 - 40) was a 40-gun Hortense-class frigate of the French Navy, originally named Département de la Manche, but the name was immediately shortened to Manche around the time of her launch in April 1806.
She took part in operations in the Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811 under Captain François-Désiré Breton.

The Créole (1809 - 10) was a three-masted schooner sloop of war of the French Navy.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_18_November_1809
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_ship_Lautaro_(1818)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Vénus_(1808)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Manche_(1806)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_brig_Créole_(1809)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
18 November 1889 - The battleship Maine launched at the New York Navy Yard.


USS Maine (ACR-1) was an American naval ship that sank in Havana Harbor during the Cuban revolt against Spain, an event that became a major political issue in the United States.

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USS Maine entering Havana Harbor on 25 January 1898, where the ship would explode three weeks later. On the right is the old Morro Castle fortress.

Commissioned in 1895, this was the first United States Navy ship to be named after the state of Maine. Originally classified as an armored cruiser, she was built in response to the Riachuelo and the increase of naval forces in Latin America. Maine and her near-sister ship Texas reflected the latest European naval developments, with the layout of her main armament resembling that of the British ironclad Inflexible and comparable Italian ships. Her two gun turrets were staggered en échelon, rather than on the centerline, with the fore gun sponsoned out on the starboard side of the ship and the aft gun on the port side, with cutaways in the superstructure to allow both to fire ahead, astern or across her deck. She dispensed with full masts thanks to the increased reliability of steam engines by the time of her construction.

Despite these advances, Maine was out of date by the time she entered service, due to her protracted construction period and changes in the role of ships of her type, naval tactics and technology. It took nine years to complete, and nearly three years for the armor plating alone. The general use of steel in warship construction precluded the use of ramming without danger to the attacking vessel. The potential for blast damage from firing end on or cross-deck discouraged en échelon gun placement. The changing role of the armored cruiser from a small, heavily armored substitute for the battleship to a fast, lightly armored commerce raider also hastened her obsolescence. Despite these disadvantages, Mainewas seen as an advance in American warship design.

Maine is best known for her loss in Havana Harbor on the evening of 15 February 1898. Sent to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt against Spain, she exploded suddenly, without warning, and sank quickly, killing nearly three quarters of her crew. The cause and responsibility for her sinking remained unclear after a board of inquiry investigated. Nevertheless, popular opinion in the U.S., fanned by inflammatory articles printed in the "yellow press" by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, blamed Spain. The phrase, "Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!", became a rallying cry for action, which came with the Spanish–American War later that year. While the sinking of Maine was not a direct cause for action, it served as a catalyst, accelerating the approach to a diplomatic impasse between the U.S. and Spain.

The cause of Maine's sinking remains a subject of speculation. In 1898, an investigation of the explosion was carried out by a naval board appointed under the McKinley Administration. The consensus of the board was that Maine was destroyed by an external explosion from a mine. However, the validity of this investigation has been challenged. George W. Melville, a chief engineer in the Navy, proposed that a more likely cause for the sinking was from a magazine explosion within the vessel. The Navy's leading ordnance expert, Philip R. Alger, took this theory further by suggesting that the magazines were ignited by a spontaneous fire in a coal bunker. The coal used in Maine was bituminous coal, which is known for releasing firedamp, a gas that is prone to spontaneous explosions. There is stronger evidence that the explosion of Maine was caused by an internal coal fire which ignited the magazines. This was a likely cause of the explosion, rather than the initial hypothesis of a mine. The ship lay at the bottom of the harbor until 1911. A cofferdam was then built around the wreck. The hull was patched up until the ship was afloat, then towed to sea and sunk. The Maine now lies on the sea-bed 3,600 feet (1,100 m) below the surface.

Background

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The Brazilian battleship Riachuelo, which prompted the building of Maine

The delivery of the Brazilian battleship Riachuelo in 1883 and the acquisition of other modern armored warships from Europe by Brazil, Argentina and Chile shortly afterwards, alarmed the United States government, as the Brazilian Navy was now the most powerful in the Americas.[5] The chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee, Hilary A. Herbert, stated to Congress: "if all this old navy of ours were drawn up in battle array in mid-ocean and confronted by Riachuelo it is doubtful whether a single vessel bearing the American flag would get into port." These developments helped bring to a head a series of discussions that had been taking place at the Naval Advisory Board since 1881. The board knew at that time that the U.S. Navy could not challenge any major European fleet; at best, it could wear down an opponent's merchant fleet and hope to make some progress through general attrition there. Moreover, projecting naval force abroad through the use of battleships ran counter to the government policy of isolationism. While some on the board supported a strict policy of commerce raiding, others argued it would be ineffective against the potential threat of enemy battleships stationed near the American coast. The two sides remained essentially deadlocked until Riachuelo manifested.

The board, now confronted with the concrete possibility of hostile warships operating off the American coast, began planning for ships to protect it in 1884. The ships had to fit within existing docks and had to have a shallow draft to enable them to use all the major American ports and bases. The maximum beam was similarly fixed, and the board concluded that at a length of about 300 feet (91 m), the maximum displacement would be about 7,000 tons. A year later the Bureau of Construction and Repair (C & R) presented two designs to Secretary of the Navy William Collins Whitney, one for a 7,500-ton battleship and one for a 5,000-ton armored cruiser. Whitney decided instead to ask Congress for two 6,000-ton warships, and they were authorized in August 1886. A design contest was held, asking naval architects to submit designs for the two ships: armored cruiser Maine and battleship Texas. It was specified that Maine had to have a speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph), a ram bow, and a double bottom, and be able to carry two torpedo boats. Her armament was specified as: four 10-inch (254 mm) guns, six 6-inch (152 mm) guns, various light weapons, and four torpedo tubes. It was specifically stated that the main guns "must afford heavy bow and stern fire." Armor thickness and many details were also defined. Specifications for Texas were similar, but demanded a main battery of two 12-inch (305 mm) guns and slightly thicker armor.

The winning design for Maine was from Theodore D. Wilson, who served as chief constructor for C & R and was a member on the Naval Advisory Board in 1881. He had designed a number of other warships for the navy. The winning design for Texas was from a British designer, William John, who was working for the Barrow Shipbuilding Company at that time. Both designs resembled the Brazilian battleship Riachuelo, having the main gun turrets sponsoned out over the sides of the ship and echeloned. The winning design for Maine, though conservative and inferior to other contenders, may have received special consideration due to a requirement that one of the two new ships be American–designed.

Congress authorized construction of Maine on 3 August 1886, and her keel was laid down on 17 October 1888, at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. She was the largest vessel built in a U.S. Navy yard up to that time.

Design

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Stern view of Maine

Maine's building time of nine years was unusually protracted, due to the limits of U.S. industry at the time. (The delivery of her armored plating took three years and a fire in the drafting room of the building yard, where Maine's working set of blueprints were stored, caused further delay.) In the nine years between her being laid down and her completion, naval tactics and technology changed radically and left Maine's actual role in the navy ill-defined. At the time she was laid down, armored cruisers such as Maine were intended to serve as small battleships on overseas service and were built with heavy belt armor. Great Britain, France and Russia had constructed such ships to serve this purpose and sold others of this type, including Riachuelo, to second-rate navies. Within a decade, this role had changed to commerce raiding, for which fast, long-range vessels, with only limited armor protection, were needed. The advent of lightweight armor, such as Harvey steel, made this transformation possible.

As a result of these changing priorities, Maine was caught between two separate positions and could not perform either one adequately. She lacked both the armor and firepower to serve as a ship-of-the-line against enemy battleships and the speed to serve as a cruiser. Nevertheless, she was expected to fulfill more than one tactical function. In addition, because of the potential of a warship sustaining blast damage to herself from cross-deck and end-on fire, Maine's main-gun arrangement was obsolete by the time she entered service.

General characteristics
Maine was 324 feet 4 inches (98.9 m) long overall, with a beam of 57 feet (17.4 m), a maximum draft of 22 feet 6 inches (6.9 m) and a displacement of 6,682 long tons (6,789.2 t). She was divided into 214 watertight compartments. A centerline longitudinal watertight bulkhead separated the engines and a double bottom covered the hull only from the foremast to the aft end of the armored citadel, a distance of 196 feet (59.7 m). She had a metacentric height of 3.45 feet (1.1 m) as designed and was fitted with a ram bow.

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Deck plan of Maine

Maine's hull was long and narrow, more like a cruiser than that of Texas, which was wide-beamed. Normally, this would have made Maine the faster ship of the two. However, Maine's weight distribution was ill-balanced, which slowed her considerably. Her main turrets, awkwardly situated on a cut-away gundeck, were nearly awash in bad weather. Because they were mounted toward the ends of the ship, away from its center of gravity, Maine was also prone to greater motion in heavy seas. While she and Texas were both considered seaworthy, the latter's high hull and guns mounted on her main deck made her the drier ship.

The two main gun turrets were sponsoned out over the sides of the ship and echeloned to allow both to fire fore and aft. The practice of en echelon mounting had begun with Italian battleships designed in the 1870s by Benedetto Brin and followed by the British Navy with HMS Inflexible, which was laid down in 1874 but not commissioned until October 1881. This gun arrangement met the design demand for heavy end-on fire in a ship-to-ship encounter, tactics which involved ramming the enemy vessel. The wisdom of this tactic was purely theoretical at the time it was implemented. A drawback of an en echelon layout limited the ability for a ship to fire broadside, a key factor when employed in a line of battle. To allow for at least partial broadside fire, Maine's superstructure was separated into three structures. This technically allowed both turrets to fire across the ship's deck (cross-deck fire), between the sections. However, this ability was still significantly limited as the superstructure restricted each turret's arc of fire.

This plan and profile view show Maine with eight six-pounder guns (one is not seen on the port part of the bridge but that is due to the bridge being cut away in the drawing). Another early published plan shows the same. In both cases the photographs show a single extreme bow mounted six-pounder. However, careful examination of Maine photographs confirm that she did not carry that gun. Maine's armament set up in the bow was not identical to the stern which had a single six-pounder mounted at extreme aft of the vessel. Maine carried two six-pounders forward, two on the bridge and three on the stern section, all one level above the abbreviated gun deck that permitted the ten-inch guns to fire across the deck. The six-pounders located in the bow were positioned more forward than the pair mounted aft which necessitated the far aft single six-pounder.

Sinking

Wreckage of USS Maine, 1898

Telegram sent by Captain James Forsythe, commanding, Naval Station Key West, forwarding word from Charles Sigsbee, Captain, USS Maineof the sinking of his ship

Cover of Collier's Weekly for March 19, 1898: "Memorial Service at Grave of Maine's Dead, Havana, March 4"

American cartoon, published in 1898: "Remember the Maine! And Don't Forget the Starving Cubans!"

In January 1898, Maine was sent from Key West, Florida, to Havana, Cuba, to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban War of Independence. Three weeks later, at 21:40, on 15 February, an explosion on board Maine occurred in the Havana Harbor. Later investigations revealed that more than 5 long tons (5.1 t) of powder charges for the vessel's six- and ten-inch guns had detonated, obliterating the forward third of the ship. The remaining wreckage rapidly settled to the bottom of the harbor. Most of Maine's crew were sleeping or resting in the enlisted quarters, in the forward part of the ship, when the explosion occurred. In total, 260 men lost their lives as a result of the explosion or shortly thereafter, and six more died later from injuries. Captain Sigsbee and most of the officers survived, because their quarters were in the aft portion of the ship. Altogether there were 89 survivors, 18 of whom were officers. On 21 March, the U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry, in Key West, declared that a naval mine caused the explosion.

The New York Journal and New York World, owned respectively by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, gave Maine intense press coverage, but employed tactics that would later be labeled "yellow journalism." Both papers exaggerated and distorted any information they could obtain, sometimes even fabricating news when none that fit their agenda was available. For a week following the sinking, the Journal devoted a daily average of eight and a half pages of news, editorials and pictures to the event. Its editors sent a full team of reporters and artists to Havana, including Frederic Remington, and Hearst announced a reward of $50,000 "for the conviction of the criminals who sent 258 American sailors to their deaths." The World, while overall not as lurid or shrill in tone as the Journal, nevertheless indulged in similar theatrics, insisting continually that Maine had been bombed or mined. Privately, Pulitzer believed that "nobody outside a lunatic asylum" really believed that Spain sanctioned Maine's destruction. Nevertheless, this did not stop the World from insisting that the only "atonement" Spain could offer the U.S. for the loss of ship and life, was the granting of complete Cuban independence. Nor did it stop the paper from accusing Spain of "treachery, willingness, or laxness" for failing to ensure the safety of Havana Harbor. The American public, already agitated over reported Spanish atrocities in Cuba, was driven to increased hysteria.

Maine's destruction did not result in an immediate declaration of war with Spain. However, the event created an atmosphere that virtually precluded a peaceful solution. The Spanish–American War began in April 1898, two months after the sinking. Advocates of the war used the rallying cry, "Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!" The episode focused national attention on the crisis in Cuba, but was not cited by the William McKinley administration as a casus belli, though it was cited by some already inclined to go to war with Spain over perceived atrocities and loss of control in Cuba.



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Wreckage of Maine surrounded by a cofferdam, on 16 June 1911



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_(ACR-1)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
18 November 1905 - SS Hilda, a steamship owned by the London and South Western Railway. sank in 1905 with the loss of at least 125 lives


SS
Hilda was a steamship owned by the London and South Western Railway. She was used on the Southampton - Channel Islands - St Malo service until she sank in 1905 with the loss of at least 125 lives.

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The wreck of SS Hilda

Construction
Hilda was built by Aitkin & Mansel, Whiteinch, Glasgow at a cost of £33,000. She was yard number 117 and was launched in July 1882. Completion was in January 1883.[2] Hildawas 235 feet 6 inches (71.78 m) long, with a beam of 29 feet 1 inch (8.86 m) and a depth of 14 feet 2 inches (4.32 m). Hilda was powered by two 220 horsepower (160 kW) compound steam engines which were made by John and James Thompson and Company, Glasgow. They had cylinders of 37 inches (94 cm) and 69 inches (180 cm) bore by 39 inches (99 cm) stroke. The 1894-fitted boilers were made by Day, Summers and Company, of the Northam Iron Works, Southampton. These gave her a speed of 14 knots (26 km/h). She was 848 GRT, and had a licensed passenger capacity of 566. Hilda carried six lifeboats with a capacity of 348 people, as well as 12 lifebuoys and 318 lifejackets.

Service
Hilda completed her sea trials on 13 January 1883 and was handed over to the LSWR that day. She was employed on the Southampton - Jersey - St Malo Service. On 7 October 1890, she was replaced by Stella on that service and transferred to the direct service between Southampton and St Malo. In 1894, new boilers were fitted by Day, Summers and Company and electric light was fitted throughout the ship.

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Sinking
Hilda had left Southampton at 22:00 on 17 November 1905 on her regular service to Saint-Malo in Brittany. She was carrying 103 passengers. Thick fog forced her to anchor off Yarmouth, Isle of Wight to await better weather conditions. The voyage was resumed at 06:00 on 18 November. Hilda passed through the Race of Alderney at 12:30, and after leaving Jersey behind, the weather conditions worsened. By 18:00, Hilda was approaching St Malo. The lights from the town were visible, as was the Jardin Lighthouse but snowsqualls reduced visibility and Captain Gregory was forced to abandon the attempt to reach port.

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Grand Jardin Lighthouse

Several times the visibility improved briefly but then deteriorated. Hilda was forced to abandon each attempt to reach port. Around 23:00, the visibility improved again and another attempt to enter the harbour was made. A few minutes later, Hilda struck the Pierre de Portes rocks, which lie to the west of the entrance channel to St Malo harbour. Distress rockets were fired and the passengers donned their lifejackets. Attempts were made to launch the lifeboats, but five of them either could not be launched or were dashed to pieces on the rocks. The sixth washed up at Saint-Cast-le-Guildo, some 15 miles (24 km) west of St Malo. The tide was ebbing, and Hilda broke in two some 15 minutes after running aground. About 20 or 30 people on the stern part of the wreck managed to climb the rigging to await rescue. By 09:00 on 19 November, when they were discovered by SS Ada, only six remained. A total of 125 people had died. Amongst the dead were 70 Breton "Onion Johnnies" returning from selling produce in Britain.

Captain William Gregory had been employed by London and South Western Railway for 36 years. He joined the company in 1869 at the age of 20. His first command was SS Honfleur in 1880. In 1885, he was appointed as master of Hilda. The only surviving crew member was able-bodied seaman James Grinter. He had been twice shipwrecked before. The five surviving passengers were Olivier Caroff of Roscoff, Tanguy Laot of Cléder, Jean Louis Mouster of La Feuillée, Paul-Marie Pen of Cléder and Louis Rozec of Plouzévédé.

Another London and South Western Railway steamer, SS Stella, was wrecked on The Casquets, Channel Islands, on 30 March 1899 with 112 fatalities. On 21 February 1907 the Great Eastern Railway suffered the loss of SS Berlin, wrecked off the Hook of Holland with 141 fatalities.

Inquiry
An inquiry was held under The Merchant Shipping Act of 1894 into the circumstances of the loss of Hilda. It was held at the Caxton Hall, Caxton St, London with the Court of Inquiry sitting on 1, 2 and 8 February 1906. The inquiry found that the ship was seaworthy, with lifesaving equipment provision meeting the legislated standard of the time. There was no finding of recklessness or negligence on the part of Captain Gregory.

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The wreck today
The remains of Hilda lie at 48°40.49′N 2°5.72′WCoordinates:
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48°40.49′N 2°5.72′W in 25 metres (82 ft) of water at high tide. The engines, boilers, propellor shaft and some ironwork remain. The propellor was removed in 1997 and is on display in Dinard. In November 2005, an exhibition was held in St Malo commemorating the 100th anniversary of the shipwreck. On 19 November, flowers were cast upon the water at the wreck site in memory of the victims, and some divers placed a string of onions on the wreck in memory of the Onion Johnnies. A memorial service was held in St Malo Cathedral on 20 November.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Hilda
 
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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 18 November


1493 – Christopher Columbus first sights the island now known as Puerto Rico.

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


1692 - Death of Robert Holmes

Sir Robert Holmes (ca. 1622 – 18 November 1692) was an English Admiral of the Restoration Navy. He took part in the second and third Anglo-Dutch wars, both of which he is, by some, credited with having started. He was made governor of the Isle of Wight, where he is buried in Yarmouth parish church. Holmes is chiefly remembered for his exploits on the cruise to Guinea (1664) for the Royal African Company, and for the so-called Holmes's Bonfire of 1666. He is regarded as an archetypal figure both of the quarrelsome restoration officer and of the coming into being of the British professional naval officer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Holmes_(Royal_Navy_officer)


1728 – Launch of French Rubis / Ruby 50, later 54 guns at Le Havre, (designed and built by Jacques Poirier) – Captured by the British in the First Battle of Cape Finisterre in May 1747 and added to the RN as HMS Rubis /Ruby.

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To the Honble Sir Charles Howard Lieut General...This Plate Being on one side, an exact stern-view of the Jason; on the other, the Head view of the Ruby, in the middle is that of the Diamond, three of the six French ships of war, taken by the British Fleet 3rd May 1747 under the command of...Lord Anson and Sr Peter Warren... (PAI5886)
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/155826.html#WR47deTVkysO5IRT.99


1777 – Launch of HMS Andromeda was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate

HMS Andromeda was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Andromeda was first commissioned in September 1777 under the command of Captain Henry Byrne. It Sank Off Of Martinique after being destroyed by the Great Hurricane of 1780 on 11 October, 1780, killing all of the crew.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Andromeda_(1777)


1782 - Launch of french frigate Méduse, 38-gun Danaé-class, at Lorient – burnt by accident 1797.

Méduse, 38-gun Danaé-class, (36/38-gun design by Charles Segonday-Duvernet, with 26 x 18-pdr guns initially, although by 1793 carried 28 x 18-pdr guns, plus 10 x 8-pdr guns on the gaillards and 4 obusiers).) The Danaé, the prototype, differed somewhat from the other pair).

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


1793 - HMS Latona (38), Cptn. Edward Thornborough, whilst supported by a British fleet under Lord Howe, engaged French Tigre (74) and Jean Bart (74)

In July 1793, Latona was attached to Richard Howe's Channel fleet. Howe's 22 ships-of-the-line and accompanying frigates, were returning from a cruise in the Bay of Biscay on 18 November, when Latona signalled the presence of enemy ships in Cancale bay. They turned out to be a French squadron of six ships-of-the-line, two frigates and two smaller craft, out of Brest. Mistaking the British for a convoy they were expecting, the French ships began to sail towards their foe but soon realised their error and fled. Using his frigates, to keep the enemy in sight, Howe set off in pursuit, but only Latona got close enough to engage. Coming up on the rearmost ships in the afternoon, she was eventually driven off, when two French ships-of-the-line joined the action. In an attempt to catch up, some off the British ships had their topmasts broken and the chase was abandoned. Although the French squadron was seen again on 19 November, bad weather prevented Howe staying in touch and the French were soon lost from sight.

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Drawing of the Latona, 1781

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Latona_(1781)


1795 - The fleet did not leave Spithead until 16 November, the departure having been delayed until late in the season. The delay proved disastrous: two days after departing, a westerly gale blew up, dispersing the fleet and driving the ships back to port. Several of the merchantmen were wrecked with heavy loss of life; over 200 bodies washed up on the coastline between Portland and Bridport.

Aeolus, Golden Grove, Thomas, Piedmont, Venus and Catherine all wrecked on the Chesil. The Hannah was also wrecked in the same storm

One of only two survivors from the Catherine, Mrs. Burns, after six ships of Admiral Christian's squadron had struck on the Chesil in 1795.

http://www.burtonbradstock.org.uk/History/Wrecks off Burton Bradstock/Historical list of wrecks.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Cloberry_Christian


1797 – Death of Jacques-Alexandre Laffon de Ladebat, French shipbuilder and merchant (b. 1719)

Jacques-Alexandre Laffon de Ladebat (2 January 1719 – 18 November 1797) was one of the most important shipbuilders and merchants of the port of Bordeaux in the late 18th century. His son, André-Daniel Laffon de Ladebat (30 November 1746 – 14 October 1829), succeeded him, then became involved in politics in the French Revolution in 1789.
Born on 2 January 1719, to Daniel Laffon de Ladébat and Jeanne Nairac, his family, being Protestant, had fled to the Netherlands following revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685). Following the death of Louis XIV, religious persecution became less severe, and religious attitudes in France became more tolerant. As a result, in 1744, Ladébat was able to return to France. There, he and his brother created a successful business as wine merchants and maritime traders through the network of correspondents that they had developed in the Netherlands.
In 1755, Ladébat began to trade in the colonies of the French West Indies and, from 1764, this included the slave trade. In 1769, no longer content to trade in naval weapons and wine, he created a sugar plantation in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, and began clearing and cultivating land in Bordeaux by buying several hundred acres straddling Pessac and Merignac. He built a model farm called "Bellevue," which produced grain, flour, wine, lumber, silkworms and trained farm hands.
All these economic activities earned him acclaim, and he was ennobled and granted a coat-of-arms in 1773, despite his Protestant faith. His grant of arms symbolized his areas of success: "Azure, a gushing fountain of money surmounted by a golden sun with two anchors." The motto "Soyez Utile" accompanied the arms.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-Alexandre_Laffon_de_Ladebat


1807 – Launch of HMS Aboukir was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy

HMS Aboukir was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 November 1807 at Frindsbury.
She was placed on harbour service in 1824, and was sold in 1838.

HMS_Aboukir_(1807).jpg
A drawing of HMS Aboukir

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Aboukir_(1807)


1909 – Two United States warships are sent to Nicaragua after 500 revolutionaries (including two Americans) are executed by order of José Santos Zelaya.

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


1922 - In a PT seaplane, Cmdr. Kenneth Whiting makes the first catapult launching from an aircraft carrier at anchor, USS Langley (CV 1), in the York River.


1928 – Release of the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first fully synchronized sound cartoon, directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, featuring the third appearances of cartoon characters Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. This is considered by the Disney corporation to be Mickey's birthday.

Steamboat_Willie.jpg

Steamboat Willie is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black-and-white by Walt Disney Studios and was released by Celebrity Productions. The cartoon is considered the debut of Mickey Mouse and his girlfriend Minnie, although both the characters appeared several months earlier in a test screening of Plane Crazy. Steamboat Willie was the third of Mickey's films to be produced, but was the first to be distributed because Walt Disney, having seen The Jazz Singer, had committed himself to producing one of the first fully synchronized sound cartoons. The real first cartoon with synchronized sound, was My Old Kentucky Home (Film)

Steamboat Willie is especially notable for being the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound, including character sounds and a musical score. Disney understood from early on that synchronized sound was the future of film. It was the first cartoon to feature a fully post-produced soundtrack which distinguished it from earlier sound cartoons such as Inkwell Studios' Song Car-Tunes (1924–1927) and Van Beuren Studios' Dinner Time (1928). Steamboat Willie became the most popular cartoon of its day.

Music for Steamboat Willie was arranged by Wilfred Jackson and Bert Lewis, and included the songs "Steamboat Bill", a composition popularized by baritone Arthur Collins during the 1910s, and "Turkey in the Straw," a composition popularized within minstrelsy during the 19th century. The title of the film is a parody of the Buster Keaton film Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928), itself a reference to the song by Collins. Walt Disney performed all of the voices in the film, although there is little intelligible dialogue.

While the film has received some criticism, it has also received wide critical acclaim, not only for introducing one of the world's most popular cartoon characters, but for its technical innovation. In 1994 members of the animation field voted Steamboat Willie 13th in the book The 50 Greatest Cartoons, which listed the greatest cartoons of all time. In 1998 the film was selected for preservation in the United States' National Film Registry for being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."


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


1939 - The dutch Oceanliner Simon Bolivar is running near Harwich into a german minefield and sunk after two heavy explosions, 102 people died

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Bolivar_(Schiff)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 November 1691 – Launch of French Merveilleux, a 80/90-gun Foudroyant-class, at Brest – burnt together with her sistership by the English in the Battle of La Hogue in June 1692


The Merveilleux was a First Rank ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, the second vessel in the two-ship Foudroyant Class.

This ship was ordered in February 1691 to be built - like her sister - at Brest Dockyard, and on 13 May 1691 she was allotted the name Merveilleux. The designer and builder of both ships was Blaise Pangalo. They were three-decker ships without forecastles. The Merveilleux was launched on 11 November 1691 and completed in April 1692.

Tonnage: 1,600
Length: 153 French feet
Beam: 43 French feet
Draught: 23 French feet
Depth of hold: 19¼ French feet
Decks: 3 gun decks
Complement: 650, + 9 officers
Armament: 90, later 80 guns


She was initially armed with 90 guns, comprising twenty-eight 36-pounders on the lower deck, twenty-eight 18-pounders on the middle deck, twenty-four 12-pounders on the upper deck, and ten 6-pounders on the quarterdeck. However she was reduced to 80 guns before the end of 1691.

The new ship took part in the Battle of Barfleur on 29 May 1692, where she was the flagship of Lieutenant-Général Charles-François Davy, Marquis d'Amfreville. Following the battle she and her sister Foudroyant put into La Hogue on the east coast of the Cotentin Peninsula where they were among a dozen French ships of the line attacked and burnt by Anglo-Dutch naval forces on 2 June 1692.

A new ship was immediately ordered to be built at Brest and given the same name; this was launched in November 1692.


Foudroyant Class, designed and built by Blaise Pangalo.

The Foudroyant was a First Rank ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, the lead vessel in the two-ship Foudroyant Class (her sister being the Merveilleux).

This ship was ordered in January 1690 to be built at Brest Dockyard, and on 9 July she was allotted the name Foudroyant. The designer and builder of both ships was Blaise Pangalo. They were three-decker ships without forecastles. The Foudroyant was launched on 5 March 1691 and completed in June of the same year.

She was initially armed with 90 guns, comprising twenty-eight 36-pounders on the lower deck, twenty-eight 18-pounders on the middle deck, twenty-four 12-pounders on the upper deck, and ten 6-pounders on the quarterdeck. However she was reduced to 84 guns before the end of 1691.

The new ship took part in the Battle of Barfleur on 29 May 1692, where she was the flagship of Chef d'Escadre Ferdinand, Comte de Relingue. Following the battle she and her sister Merveilleux put into La Hogue on the east coast of the Cotentin Peninsulawhere they were attacked and burnt by Anglo-Dutch naval forces on 2 June 1692.

A new ship was immediately ordered to be built at Brest and given the same name; this was launched in December 1692. However, in March 1693 this ship exchanged names with the ship ordered at Brest in January 1693, so it was the latter which bore the name Foudroyant when launched in November 1693.

1280px-Benjamin_West_-_William_Woollett_-_The_Battle_at_La_Hogue.jpg
The Battle at La Hogue, probably showing the events of 24 May 1692, when the British sailors rowed in and torched the French ships. Dedicated to the Right Honourable the Lord Grosvenor, who apparently commissioned the painting this is based on

The related naval battles of Barfleur and La Hougue took place between 29 May and 4 June New Style (NS), 1692 (19–24 May in the Old Style (OS) Julian calendar then in use in England). The first action took place near Barfleur; later actions were at Cherbourg and Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue in the Cotentin peninsula, Normandy, France. It was the decisive naval battle of the Nine Years' War, known to the British as the War of English Succession.

In May 1692 a French fleet of 44 ships of the line under the command of Admiral de Tourville was preparing to transport an invading army of Franco-Irish troops to restore James II to the English throne. The combined Anglo-Dutch fleet had wintered in widely separate ports. Tourville was under orders to put his fleet to sea early in the season. This would hopefully allow him to defeat the allied fleet in detail before it could combine under English Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell. However, the various components of the Allied fleet joined up beforehand and were 82 strong when they encountered the French off Cape Barfleur. Under orders to attack whatever the odds Tourville boldly engaged.

After a fierce but indecisive clash that left many ships on both sides damaged, Tourville disengaged. He slipped off into light fog and for several days tried to escape the superior forces. The French fleet was scattered, and fifteen were lost—three at Cherbourg and a further twelve at La Hougue. The threat of invasion of England was lifted.

Action at Cherbourg
Main article: Action at Cherbourg (1692)
The Soleil Royal, Admirable, and Triomphant were in such bad shape they had to be beached at Cherbourg. They were destroyed there the next day, 2 June,[20] by Vice-Admiral Delaval, attacking from long boats and with fireships


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(Updated, April 2018) A copy commissioned from Chambers by Edward Hawke Locker (at this time senior resident Commissioner of Greenwich Hospital) for the Naval Gallery in the Painted Hall, from the original by Benjamin West, then in the collection of the Marquess of Westminster. Uniquely, the Painted Hall catalogue (1922 edition) blandly says it was 'obtained' without saying who presented it. This is clarified by the Hospital Board minutes for 1835 which show that Vice-Admiral Benjamin Page persuaded the Board to part with eight paintings, of which seven were by Serres of Admiral Sir Edward Hughes's actions off India and bequeathed by him in 1794 (they retained an eighth, BHC0448), plus a half-length portrait of him by or after Reynolds, for presentation to the town hall at Ipswich - where both Page and Hughes had connections. In exchange Page agreed to supply a painting to the value of 100 guineas of 'one of the great Naval Victories' . Page originally offered or sent one of Trafalgar, which the Board rejected since they already had Turner's and 'intimations' from William IV, which never materialised, that he might present two more. Page eventually paid for this one instead but the transaction was somewhat fraught and the Board, minuting their regret that they had agreed to it, concluded that they had no power to alienate pictures or other items once accepted as Hospital property. Page is acknowledged in the minutes as donor of the picture but this never seems to have been stated publicly in the catalogue or (presumably) on the frame of the picture which was normally the case. The probable reason is that as a trade rather than a gift it was not considered proper to credit Page on a par with other donors. The painting arrived and was hung in the Gallery early in 1836. It is an interpretation of the extended action between the French fleet of the Comte de Tourville and the Anglo-Dutch fleet of Admiral Sir Edward Russell (later Earl of Orford), from 23 May through to 4 June 1692. This was during King William's War, in which the French were planning an invasion in support of the exiled James II following his replacement on the British throne by William of Orange (as William III) and his co-monarch and wife, James's daughter Mary, as Queen Mary II. It started as an open sea action off Cape Barfleur on the Cotentin peninsula of Normandy, with the French being scattered and then their ships being picked off as prizes or burnt off Cherbourg and in the Bay of la Hogue. One so-destroyed was Tourville's flagship, the 104-gun 'Soleil Royal', which was disabled off Cherbourg and set on fire there by an allied fireship. The 'Soleil Royal' appears to be the ship at centre background here between two other French vesels, with coastline behind. Both the ships in the foreground are also French, one burning on the left, the other in stern view to the right with a boat action in front. The emphasis is strongly on the Dutch part in the battle, the boat on the left flying Dutch colours and the figure standing in it possibly being intended to represent Philips van Almonde, the Dutch commander, or at least a Dutch rather than British officer. This is not surprising, since West's source for the composition was a much earlier Dutch engraving of their attack on British ships off Chatham in the celebrated Medway Raid of 1667, in which van Almonde was also involved as the junior commander sent into the river by De Ruyter, the commander-in-chief on that occasion.

Action at La Hogue
Main article: Action at La Hogue (1692)
Meanwhile, Russell had turned on the remaining ships. These had sought refuge at La Hougue where they would be under the protection of the assembled land forces and a battery. On 3 June and 4 June, the Dutch and English attacked with long boats. By this time, the French crews were exhausted and disheartened. The allies successfully deployed shore parties and fireships that burnt all twelve French ships of the line which had sought shelter there. This last action became celebrated in England as the Battle of La Hogue.

Ships at La Hogue
English :
: Perhaps 30 ships of the line, of which
The Inshore Squadron : 15 ships of the line plus auxiliaries

(from the Red Squadron) Eagle 70, Chester 50, Greenwich 54, Swiftsure70, Kent 70, Oxford 54, Cambridge 70,
(from the Blue Squadron) Deptford 50, Woolwich 54, Crown 50, Dreadnought 64, Stirling Castle 70, Warspite 70, Berwick 70, Resolution 70.

French :
12 ships of the line, plus auxiliaries - all of them were burnt and lost

1st Rank – Ambitieux 96, Merveilleux 90, Foudroyant 84, Magnifique 86, and Saint Philippe 84
2nd Rank – Terrible 80, Bourbon 68, Fier 80, and Tonnant 80
3rd Rank – St Louis 64, Gaillard 68, and Fort 60,

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The action at La Hogue in May 1692 formed a crucial scene in the wider context of the Battle of Barfleur. This was a naval battle of the War of the League of Augsburg, 1689-97, fought between an Anglo-Dutch and a French fleet. It was not finally brought to a conclusion until 24 May in the Bay of La Hogue, in the course of which the French flagship ‘Soleil Royal’ as well as the ‘Triomphant’ and the ‘Admirable’ were burned by the English. The centre of this dramatic scene is occupied by a group of six French ships burning. A seventh is shown burning on the shore. They have been attacked by the boats of the Anglo-Dutch fleet which are also attacking another group of ships further round the Bay of La Hogue, one to the left which is also burning. On the extreme left in the distance the Allied fleet can be seen at anchor. In the right background a third lot of shipping is burning near a town. An odd feature of the picture is that two of the ships in the nearest group wear white flags with a blue cross, a flag associated with 17th century French merchant ships. The painting is signed ‘Diest fe.’
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/11829.html#vgwpJ8EDaVmrOSv7.99




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Merveilleux_(1691)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Foudroyant_(1691)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Barfleur_and_La_Hougue
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_at_La_Hogue_(1692)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 November 1746 - HMS Portland (1744 – 50) and HMS Winchelsea (1740 - 24), Cptn. Henry Dyve, took French frigate Subtile off Scilly Isles during which Lt. Samuel Hood wounded.


HMS Winchelsea was a 20-gun sixth-rate launched in 1740 and in service during the War of the Austrian Succession in Mediterranean, Atlantic and home waters. She was captured by the French in 1758, but was retaken two weeks later. She was broken up in 1761.

Career
In 1741 Winchelsea, commanded by Capt. Holcombe, sailed with Commodore Richard Lestock's squadron to join Admiral Haddock's Mediterranean fleet. At that time she was listed as having 20 guns and a complement of 150 men. While on station, pretending to be a merchant ship, she lured two Spanish privateers to chase her; when they realised their mistake they took off in opposite directions, but Winchelsea captured one of them, a small brig with a crew of 46, which she carried to Gibraltar. She returned to Britain from the Mediterranean at the end of 1742, taking eight days to make the passage.

The ship's barge attempted to press gang sailors from the merchant ship Tarleton on the River Mersey off of Liverpool in 1744. The crew of Tarleton exchanged shots with Winchelsea and evaded capture by docking the ship and dispersing into the town.

The ship was recommissioned at the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession in 1745. Winchelsea took the 26-gun French warship Subtile on 19 November 1746.

In 1747 Winchelsea was listed as having 16 guns and, under the command of Captain Dyves, was sailing with Admiral Byng in convoy for Gibraltar.

In March 1756, Winchelsea transported South Carolina's governor Henry William Littleton across the Atlantic from Portsmouth to his colony. The ship finally arrived at Charleston on 1 June. The Winchelsea, based in Charleston, was active in Caribbean waters in December 1756. Under Captain Hale, the ship took two French prizes, and chased a 12-gun French vessel into Cap‑Français. On 10 October, 1758, the ship was sailing off of Ireland when it was captured by the 60-gun French ship Bizarre and the 28-gun Mignonne. The ship was renamed Le Winchelsea under the French but was soon retaken on 27 October by the British privateer Duke of Cornwall.


Admiral Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood (12 December 1724 – 27 January 1816) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he saw action during the War of the Austrian Succession. While in temporary command of Antelope, he drove a French ship ashore in Audierne Bay, and captured two privateers in 1757 during the Seven Years' War. He held senior command as Commander-in-Chief, North American Station and then as Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands Station, leading the British fleet to victory at Battle of the Mona Passage in April 1782 during the American Revolutionary War. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, then First Naval Lord and, after briefly returning to the Portsmouth command, became Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet during the French Revolutionary Wars.

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A three-quarter-length portrait seated to left and cross-legged. He wears a brown coat laced with silver and with broad lapels. His waistcoat and breeches are black and his white stockings are shown pulled over the knees. He wears his own ginger hair and his left arm, in the crook of which he holds a long telescope, leans on the downward-tilted muzzle of a cannon. His right hand is outstretched towards a sixth-rate in the left background, which may be the 26-gun 'Winchelsea', on which he served as a lieutenant under Capt Henry Dyve off the north coast of Scotland, in the North Sea and the Channel. On the 19 November 1746, whilst cruising off the Isles of Scilly, 'Winchelsea' was involved in action against the French frigate 'Subtile', during which Hood was slightly wounded in the hand. 'Subtile' surrendered and was later bought into the Royal Navy as the 'Amazon'.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/14249.html#SDBIKezaXx8ZXvlL.99



HMS Portland was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Limehouse according to the dimensions laid down in the 1741 proposals of the 1719 Establishment, and launched on 11 October 1744.

Portland served until 1763, when she was sold out of the navy.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for rebuilding Falkland (1744), a 1741 Establishment 50-gun Fourth Rate, two-decker. The plan was later used for Portland (1744), and Harwich (1743), Colchester (1744), Chester (1744), Winchester (1744),Gloucester (1745), Maidstone (1744), Advice (1746), Norwich (1745), Ruby (1745), Salisbury (1746). The body plan and longitudinal half-breadth was later altered for Litchfield (1746) and Colchester (1746).
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81518.html#hJBHD61bU1uXkwKI.99


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Winchelsea_(1740)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Portland_(1744)
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=11099
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Hood,_1st_Viscount_Hood
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 November 1804 - HMS Romney (1762 - 50) wrecked off the Texel


HMS Romney was a 50-gun fourth rate of the Royal Navy. She served during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in a career that spanned forty years. Five ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Romney. The origins of the name are from the town of New Romney, although it may be that the name entered the Royal Navy in honour of Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney.

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The Loss of the Romney Man of War, by Richard Corbould

Launched in 1762, Romney spent most of her early career in North American waters, serving on the Newfoundland station, often as the flagship of the commander-in-chief. The ship was involved in the tensions leading up to the American Revolution when she was sent to support the Boston commissioners enforcing the Townshend Acts in 1768. Her actions involved impressing local sailors, confiscating a vessel belonging to John Hancock and providing a refuge for the unpopular commissioners when rioting broke out. She remained in American waters for part of the ensuing war, but towards the end operated in European waters after the French entry to the conflict.

Romney was laid up in ordinary or under repair for most of the subsequent years of peace, but returned to active service on the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France. She was in the Mediterranean supporting Lord Hood's occupation of Toulon in 1793, and remained there for several years. During this time she captured the 44-gun French Sibylle. Romney briefly returned to North America and then served in the Red Sea. Assigned to blockade the Dutch coast, Romney ran aground in November 1804 while sailing to join the fleet off Den Helder. She broke up after attempts to float her off failed.

Design and construction
HMS Romney was built to a unique design by Sir Thomas Slade, which was based on William Bately's plans for HMS Warwick, but altered to make the ship shorter. She was ordered from Woolwich Dockyard on 20 July 1759, and laid down there on 1 October 1759. Built by Master Shipwright Israel Pownoll, she was launched on 8 July 1762, and completed by Joseph Harris by 4 September 1762. She was given the name Romney in November 1760.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for Romney (1762), a 50-gun Fourth Rate, two-decker. The plan includes alterations to the roundhouse and solid bulwarks to the poop deck, which were added during her Great Repair at Woolwich Dockyard between April 1790 and May 1792. Note the annotation and ticked alteration relating to the comparative angles of the bowsprit for Antelope (possibly launched 1802) and Romney.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/87581.html#OP9GfIqOMaD1FpE3.99


Class and type: 50-gun fourth rate
Tons burthen: 1,028 34⁄94 bm
Length:
  • 146 ft (44.5 m) (overall)
  • 120 ft 10 in (36.8 m) (keel)
Beam: 40 ft (12.2 m)
Depth of hold: 17 ft 2 in (5.2 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Complement: 350
Armament:
  • Upper deck: 22 x 12-pounder guns
  • Lower deck: 22 x 24-pounder guns
  • QD: 4 x 6-pounder guns
  • Fc: 2 x 6-pounder guns

Career
North America
HMS Romney was commissioned in August 1762 under her first commander, Captain Robert Walsingham, but was paid off by February the following year. When she recommissioned in June 1763, it was under the command of Captain James Ferguson. Romney became the flagship of the commander of the North American station, Rear-Admiral Lord Colvill, and served in this capacity for the next three years. After a brief refit at Portsmouth, Romney recommissioned in March 1767 under Captain John Corner, as part of a squadron sent to North America under Samuel Hood. While serving off North America, Romney achieved a degree of notoriety after being sent to Boston Harbour to support the commissioners, who had asked Hood for help in enforcing the Townshend Acts. She arrived on 17 May 1768, but being short of men, Captain Corner began to impress seamen from the harbour. This was unpopular with the locals, who took to attacking the press gangs. Events escalated when the commissioners in the town ordered the seizure of the merchant vessel Liberty, which belonged to John Hancock. When sailors and marines from Romney attempted to seize the vessel, mobs attacked them and then turned on the commissioners. Many of the officials took refuge aboard Romney, before transferring to Castle William. These incidents heightened tensions that would eventually lead to the Boston Massacre in 1770.

American War of Independence
In 1770 Romney was briefly under Captain Hyde Parker, followed by Captain Robert Linzee in October that year. She was paid off in March 1771 and repaired and refitted at Deptford between 1773 and 1775, recommissioning under Captain George Elphinstone in April and becoming the flagship of the commander of the Newfoundland station, Rear-Admiral Robert Duff. Duff was succeeded by Vice-Admiral John Montagu the following year. Montagu retained Romney, by now under the command of Captain Elliott Salter, as his flagship. Salter was replaced by Captain George Montagu, the son of Vice-Admiral Montagu, in February 1777, who remained in command of the ship for the next two years.

Captain George Johnstone took over in early 1779 and served in the English Channel. On Johnstone's advancement to commodore in April that year, Captain Robert Nicholas took over as Romney's commander, though she remained part of Johnstone's squadron and flew his broad pendant. After a refit she returned to sea in 1779 as Sir John Ross's flagship, with Johnstone back as captain. She was involved in the operations in the Channel during the attempted Franco-Spanish invasion, after which she sailed to Lisbon. On 11 November 1779 she and HMS Tartar captured the 34-gun Spanish frigate Santa Margarita, which was subsequently taken into the navy as HMS Santa Margarita. With Johnstone's return to the post of commodore in December 1779, command passed to Captain Roddam Home, though Johnstone remained aboard. On 1 May 1780, Romney was involved in an incident with the cartel ship Sartine. Romney captured two French ships off Cape Finisterre in July, the 38-gun Artois on 1 July, and the 18-gun Perle five days later on 6 July.

Johnstone sailed to the East Indies with a convoy in March 1781, and Romney saw action at the Battle of Porto Praya on 16 April 1781. The battle was inconclusive, but on 21 July the ship was part of Johnstone's squadron which succeeded in capturing several Dutch East Indiamen in Saldanha Bay.

HMS Romney returned to Britain in November that year, at which point Captain Robert McDougall took command. By March 1783 she was sailing in the Western Approaches under Captain John Wickey and flying the broad pendant of Captain John Elliot. Wickey was replaced by Captain Thomas Lewes in July 1782, who went on to capture the 12-gun privateer Comte de Bois-Goslin off Ushant on 17 October 1782. Romney's next commander was Captain Samuel Osborn, from January to April 1783, after which she was paid off. After a period spent in ordinary, she underwent a repair and refit at Woolwich, eventually recommissioning in March 1792 under Captain William Domett, as the flagship of Rear-Admiral Samuel Goodall.[3] She served in the Mediterranean until the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, recommissioning under Captain William Paget in March 1793, and returning to the Mediterranean to take part in the British occupation of Toulon.

French Revolutionary Wars

Sibylle_vs_Romney.jpg
The battle between Romney and Sibylle, depicted by Nicholas Pocock

While sailing off Mykonos on 17 June 1794, Paget spotted a French frigate in the harbour with three merchantmen. Paget approached and demanded that the French surrender. The French captain refused, whereupon Paget approached and the two exchanged broadsides for an hour and ten minutes. The French ship, which was discovered to be the 44-gun French frigate Sibylle, then struck her colours, having suffered casualties of 46 dead and 112 wounded, nine mortally. Romney had suffered casualties of eight dead and thirty wounded, two mortally in the Battle of Mykonos. In 1847 this action earned for the survivors the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Romney 17 June 1794".

Command then passed to Captain Charles Hamilton. Henry Inman was briefly in command for her return to Britain in March 1795, whereupon Captain Frank Sotheron took over in June when Romney became the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir James Wallace and returned to Newfoundland. The vessel spent the next several years sailing to and from Newfoundland, under the command of Captain Percy Fraser from June 1797, and then Captain John Bligh from July 1797 when Vice-Admiral William Waldegrave took over the station.

Final years
Captain John Lawford took command in March 1798, and in August the following year Romney was assigned to Vice-Admiral Andrew Mitchell's squadron in Den Helder during the Vlieter Incident. Captain Sir Home Popham took over in August 1800 and sailed Romney to the Red Sea to support the British forces working to expel the French from Egypt. Because Romney served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (8 March to 2 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants.

In 1802 Romney was in the Red Sea, supporting General Baird's expedition to Egypt to help General Ralph Abercromby expel the French there. On 14 June the transport Calcutta wrecked on the Egyptian coast in the Red Sea. She was carrying 331 men of the 80th Regiment of Foot and 79 native Indian followers. Romney arrived the next day, as did two transports. Only Romney was able to get her boats out but they were able to rescue and deliver to the shore all but seven men who had died in an early attempt to reach shore. Popham left HMS Duchess of York to salvage anything that could be salvaged and then sailed to Suez from whence he dispatched Wilhelmina to pick up the troops on the 15th and carry them back to India.

After a refit at Chatham in 1803 Captain William Brown recommissioned her for operations on the African coast and in the West Indies. Captain John Colville replaced Brown in October 1804.

Loss
On 18 November 1804 Romney sailed from Yarmouth to join the force under Rear-Admiral Russell blockading the Texel . She ran aground when her pilots lost their way in thick fog while sailing off the Haak bank the following day. Attempts to float her off failed.

Realising that his ship was doomed, Colvill attempted to save his men and sent out two boats to seek help from nearby merchant vessels. One boat overturned while returning to Romney, drowning the boat's crew. The other made for shore, hoping to summon assistance from the Dutch authorities. The following morning, and with Romney fast breaking up, Colvill supervised the construction and launching of a number of rafts. As the final raft was being launched, seven boats approached from shore. On reaching Romney, the Dutch commander of the boats called on Colvill to surrender, promising that he would endeavour to save the British sailors. Colvill agreed and the Dutch rescued the remaining members of the crew. The total loss of life in the wreck was between nine and eleven men.

The Dutch conveyed the British to shore, where Dutch Admiral Kirkhurt treated them well. Kirkhurt then sent Colvill and eight of his officers back to join Russell.

As was standard practice, Colvill was subsequently tried by court martial aboard Africaine on 31 December for the loss of his ship. The court acquitted him, his officers and his men of all blame. The court found the cause of the accident to be the thick fog and the ignorance of the pilots. The court required the pilots to forfeit their pay, barred them from piloting any of His Majesty's ships, and imprisoned them for a time in the Marshalsea.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Romney_(1762)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 November 1808 – Launch of french La Eylau, an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.


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

Le_Bucentaure_Anonymous.jpg
Bucentaure, a sistership and lead ship of the class

Begun as Saturne, she was renamed Eylau while still under construction. She was commissioned on 11 March 1809 under Captain Jurien de La Gravière.
In 1811, she was the flagship of Admiral Allemand. The next year she was transferred to Toulon.
After the Bourbon Restoration, she took station in the Caribbean under Captain Larue.

She was eventually broken up in Brest in 1829.

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)
Sail plan: 2,683 m2 (28,879.57 sq ft)
Complement: 866
Armament:
  • 80 guns
  • 30 × 36-pounders
  • 32 × 24-pounders
  • 18 × 12-pounders
  • 6 × 36-pounder howitzers


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.

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, BU 1820
  • 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) – BU 1824
  • Eylau 80 (launched 19 November 1808 at Lorient) – BU 1829
  • Friedland 80 (launched 2 May 1810 at Antwerp) – Transferred to the Dutch Navy in August 1814 and renamed Vlaming, BU 1823
  • 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, BU 1818
  • Auguste 80 (launched 25 April 1811 at Antwerp) – Transferred to the Dutch Navy in August 1814 and renamed Illustre, returned in September 1814, BU 1827
  • Pacificateur 80 (launched 22 May 1811 at Antwerp) – BU 1824
  • Illustre 80 (launched 9 June 1811 at Antwerp) – Transferred to the Dutch Navy in August 1814 and renamed Prins van Oranje,BU 1825.
  • Diadème[note 1] 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.
  • One further ship begun at Venice to this design was never launched – Saturne, which was broken up on the stocks by the Austrian occupiers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Eylau_(1808)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucentaure-class_ship_of_the_line
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 November 1808 – Launch of HMS Owen Glendower (or Owen Glendour), a Royal Navy 36-gun fifth-rate Apollo class frigate


HMS Owen Glendower (or Owen Glendour) was a Royal Navy 36-gun fifth-rate Apollo class frigate launched in 1808 and disposed of in 1884. In between she was instrumental in the seizure of the Danish island of Anholt, captured prizes in the Channel during the Napoleonic Wars, sailed to the East Indies and South America, participated in the suppression of the slave trade, and served as a prison hulk in Gibraltar before she was sold in 1884.

She was named for "Owen Glendower", Shakespeare’s Anglicization of the Welsh Owain Glyndŵr (c.1359-c.1416), the last Welsh Prince of Wales, and a leader of the Welsh against the English. She was the only Royal Navy vessel to bear that name.

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Oil painting previously entitled 'The Blackwall frigate "Owen Glendower" coming into a harbour'. It in fact shows her at anchor with sails spread to dry off the English south coast, probably just east of Hastings if the ruins on the cliff are indicative. A 'Blackwall frigate' Indiaman of 852 tons built by Green's in 1839, she flies the pre-1843 house flag of their Blackwall line at her main truck (in which the blue square overlays the red St George's cross). The ship was initially registered for voyages between London and Madras. There is also a model of her in the collection (SLR0780) and a print by T. G. Dutton of her entering Calcutta (PAH0566). Green's bill of sale of the ship in 1860 is in NMM MS GRN 14. 'Owen Glendower', named after the medieval Welsh hero, was sister of the 'Vernon' and 'Earl of Hardwick' and designed with auxiliary paddles, removed before her first voyage and later from the other two ships after they proved unsuccessful. Butland, who has signed and dated this painting 1839, was a competent marine artist who exhibited at the British Institution and Royal Academy between 1831 and 1843. Until 1836 this was from London addresses, then Greenhithe, Kent, and finally from Fulham. Many prints were also made after his work. There are three other ship portraits by him of Green vessels in the collection.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/15005.html#jBEjI4hZ8w4HPoqL.99


Class and type: 36-gun fifth-rate Apollo class frigate
Tons burthen: 9513⁄95(bm)
Length:
  • 145 ft 3 in (44.27 m) (overall);
  • 121 ft 11 3⁄8 in (37.170 m) (keel)
Beam: 38 ft 3 1⁄2 in (11.671 m)
Depth of hold: 13 ft 3 in (4.04 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Complement: 285
Armament:
  • Upperdeck: 26 x 18-pounder guns
  • QD: 2 x 9-pounder guns + 10 x 32-pounder carronades
  • Fc: 2 x 9-pounder guns + 4 x 32-pounder carronades

Active duty
Captain William Selby, late of Cerberus, took command of Owen Glendower in January 1809

The Gunboat War
Main article: Gunboat War
Early in May 1809, Vice-admiral Sir James Saumarez, the British commander-in-chief in the Baltic, sent a squadron, consisting of the 64-gun third rate Standard, Owen Glendower, three sloops (Avenger, Ranger and Rose), and the gun-brig Snipe. The commander of the squadron was Captain Aiskew Paffard Hollis, captain of Standard. Their objective was to capture the Danish island of Anholt. Anholt was small and essentially barren; its significance rested in the lighthouse that stood on its easternmost point. The Danes had extinguished it at the outbreak of hostilities between Britain and Denmark; the point of capturing the island was to restore the lighthouse to its function to assist British men-of-war and merchantmen in the Kattegat.

The task force landed a party of seamen and marines, under the command of Selby, assisted by Captain Edward Nicolls of the Standard's Royal Marines. The Danes put up a short, sharp resistance that killed one British marine and wounded two. Still, on 18 May the Danish garrison of 170 men surrendered, giving the British immediate possession of the island.

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Scale: 1:24. A contemporary plank-on-frame full hull model. It is finished with original painted surfaces and supported in a launching cradle together with keel blocks within a slipway base.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66741.html#ldSmJgB1CMhMPX62.99

The Channel
From late 1809 Owen Glendower operated in the Channel. On 10 March 1810, she came upon a French privateer lugger while her crew was boarding a schooner. Selby chased the lugger for one and half hours. She resisted until she was half full of water and had had two men killed and three wounded out of her crew of 58. She turned out to be the Camille, armed with only six of the fourteen guns she carried, having stored eight in her hold. She had sailed from Cherbourg only six hours earlier and had already captured the English schooner Fame, of London, William Proper, Master, which had been sailing from Lisbon to London with a cargo of fruit. Diana later recaptured the Fame.

On 26 March Owen Glendower sailed with a convoy for Quebec. On 27 September she sailed with a convoy for the Cape of Good Hope.

Then on 1 October Owen Glendower, with Persian in company, was escorting a convoy off The Lizard in thick fog. A master and crew from the Roden, one of the vessels in the convoy, came aboard and advised Selby that a French privateer cutter had taken his vessel. When the fog lifted, it turned out that the cutter was only a short distance away. The cutter did not surrender until a short cannonade wounded several of her crew. She turned out to be the 16 or 20-gun Indomptable, out of Roscoff, with a crew of 120 or 130 men. She had formerly been the Revenue Cutter Swan, out of Cowes. Selby retook Roden.

Selby died aboard Owen Glendower on 28 March 1811 whilst at the Cape of Good Hope . Edward Henry A'Court, newly promoted to Post-captain on 29 March, took temporary command of Owen Glendower. He then sailed her back to Britain. Captain Bryan Hodgson replaced him as captain in July.


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Print entitled 'The ''Owen Glendower'', East Indiaman, 1000 Tons. (Entering Bombay Harbour)'. The ship is flying her number and the post-1843 Green company house flag at the main. She was a 'Blackwall frigate' Indiaman registered at 852 tons and built by Green's in 1839. She was sold by them in 1860 and lost at sea five years later. See also BHC3532 (oil painting) and SLR0780 (model). Her bill of sale is included in NMM MS GRN 14.

East Indies
Owen Glendower's next cruise was to the East Indies. She was due to leave Portsmouth on 25 September 1811, but adverse winds detained her. She sailed five days later, only to be driven back to Falmouth. Finally, she sailed for India on 20 October. In 1812 she served as flagship for Vice Admiral Sir Samuel Hood in the East Indies.

In May 1814 off the Nicobar Islands, Owen Glendower captured a U.S. privateer, the 12 or 16-gun vessel Hyder Ally, which had a crew of 30. Hyder Ally was out of Portland, Maine and under the command of Captain Israel Thorndike. She carried sixteen guns: twelve 18-pounder carronades, two long 18-pounders, and two long 9-pounders. Apparently some of her armament came from HMS Boxer. Hyder Ally had already taken two prizes, and sent them back to the US. (The British later intercepted both and retook them. The British privateer Tom captured the first at Cape Elizabeth, Maine. A British naval vessel took the other at Mount Desert Island.) Earlier, Hyder Ally had escaped after being chased for three days by Salsette.

Owen Glendower cruised the East Indies, stopping at such places as the Malacca Roads (21 August), Madras (29 August 1815), Penang and China, Trincomalee, and the like. She returned to England in the spring of 1816 and was laid up in May at Chatham.

Post-war
Between March 1817 and May 1819, Owen Glendower underwent major repairs at Chatham. She then was fitted for sea between June and October.

South America
Captain the Honorable Robert Cavendish Spencer took command of Owen Glendower in August 1819. He brought with him nearly all the officers and 18 young gentlemen from his previous command, Ganymede. Owen Glendower was nominally ready for sea, but Spencer found the reality less compelling. He therefore spent two and a half months re-rigging and re-fitting. He also discharged about a fifth of his crew and lost about the same proportion to sickness and desertion.

Owen Glendower sailed for South America on 16 November. She arrived in Rio de Janeiro on 19 December after a record 33-day voyage that included a 24-hour stop in Funchal, Madeira. She then sailed for Montevideo and Buenos Aires where Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy was waiting to make her his flagship. She stayed in Buenos Aires for some time, but then sailed to St Helena on a fact-finding mission to report on the conditions under which Napoleon was living while in captivity. Contemporary accounts stress that Spencer's political affiliations were such that he would have been ready to find fault; instead, his report affirmed that Napoleon was well treated, though Napoleon chose not to grant Spencer an audience. While Owen Glendower was away on this mission, Hardy transferred his flag to Creole.

Owen Glendower rounded Cape Horn despite bad weather and arrived in Valparaiso on 22 January 1821. Spencer was under orders to find Captain William Henry Shirreff of Andromache, who was a close friend of Lord Cochrane. (Cochrane was commander of the insurgent Chilean Navy in the fight for Chile's independence form Spain). Shirreff had ignored three previous recall messages and Spencer's orders were to arrest Shirreff if he continue to prove recalcitrant. The reason behind the recall was that Spain had complained that Shirreff had not maintained a strict neutrality. Hardy, in Creole, joined Spencer at Valparaiso. Spencer found Andromache off Peru and Shirreff agreed, without a fuss, to return to Britain.

Owen Glendower then spent three months off Spanish Peru, during which she visited the Galapagos Islands. One of her midshipmen was Robert FitzRoy, who, as captain of HMS Beagle, would take Charles Darwin there in 1834. While Owen Glendower was at Callao, the Chilean fleet attacked the port. However, Cochrane's forces were not strong enough and he was forced to retire. During the attack, Spencer moved Owen Glendower to expose a Chilean vessel that had tried to take cover behind her.

Blockade succeeded where force had not, and Spain entered into negotiations with the rebels. The negotiations took place on Owen Glendower. These negotiations continued after Spencer's recall and were completed on board Conway; the negotiations resulted in the formation of the Republic of Peru.

Owen Glendower sailed for home with freight worth about £400,000. Off the Azores they encountered an American ship from Smyrna that had exhausted its food and water. Spencer provided some and told them that they were only a few hours away from Flores. Owen Glendower arrived at Spithead on 19 January 1822.

The Eastern Atlantic
Owen Glendower underwent a refit that included rebuilding the stern that Sir Robert Sepping had given her. Spencer then sailed her, with his father, Earl Spencer, to Copenhagen to invest the Danish King with the Order of the Garter. Two or three weeks later she was at Falmouth to determine its longitude. She then sailed to Madeira to determine Funchal’s longitude. Owen Glendower then was paid off at Chatham.

Another midshipman on Owen Glendower at about this time who later came to be of note was Richard Brydges Beechey. He would go on to reach the rank of Rear Admiral. He was also a painter, and son and brother of painters.

Fighting the slave trade

Cape Coast Castle

Portrait of Cheesman Henry Binstead, 1826, from the Royal Naval Museum

In October 1821, the Admiralty appointed Captain Sir Robert Mends to the West Africa Squadron as Commodore and Senior Officer on the west coast of Africa, to be employed in the suppression of the slave trade. He commissioned Owen Glendower in November 1822. On 16 June 1823, Owen Glendower seized the Spanish slave schooner Concheta. Returning to Africa following an outbreak of yellow fever, Mends defended the Cape Coast against the threatened attack by the Ashanti. It was during this operation that he fell ill with cholera. He died three days later on 4 September.

On 5 September the boats of the Owen Glendower seized the Spanish slave schooner Fabiana. Lieutenant Pringle Stokes temporarily took command of the ship. Hearing of the death of Sir Robert Mends, Commander John Filmore, who had recently arrived on the African Station, appointed himself to command the station and transferred to the Owen Glendower.

On 8 February 1824 marines from Owen Glendower defended Cape Coast Castle following the Ashanti defeat of government forces: two marines and a Krooman were killed and two marines and five seamen from the ship wounded. Thereafter the vessel visited ports along the coast where the Ashanti might have been taking refuge. A letter dated 16 March 1824 from Major J. Chisholm, administrator of the colonial government and commander of the British troops on the Gold Coast, praised Owen Glendower and Captain Woolcombe for her role in suppressing unrest and possible insurrection at Elmina. On 19 May 1824 Owen Glendower, under Captain Prickett, who also commanded the Naval Squadron, landed seamen and marines to occupy the forts on the coast while the army moved against the Ashanti.

One of the officers on Owen Glendower during her time with the West Africa Squadron was Cheesman Henry Binstead. He served as an Admiralty Midshipman and later as an acting Lieutenant. He is most noted for the diaries that he kept, which detail life on the squadron. They record frustrations, slave ships chased and captured, fears of attack and imprisonment, impressions of the indigenous African people, and effects of ill-health and fever on the ship's men. When Owen Glendower finally returned to England, Binstead was one of the few of her original crew to have survived.

From October 1824 to February 1825, Owen Glendower was back at Chatham, undergoing refitting. There Captain Hood Hanway Christian commissioned her for the Africa station, where he would serve as Commodore.

Cape of Good Hope
From early 1825 to early 1827, Owen Glendower was based at the Cape of Good Hope. On 10 March 1826, 19 sailors from Owen Glendower drowned in a boating accident at Simon's Bay when her pinnace swamped. After another trip to England via St Helena, she was paid off at Chatham in July. Between December 1828 and December 1829, Owen Glendower was at Chatham, again undergoing repairs.

Gibraltar
In March 1842 Owen Glendower was in Chatham, being fitted as a prison hulk to be based at Gibraltar. She then sailed from Chatham for Gibraltar in October with 200 convicts for work on the development of the Dockyard and the construction of a new breakwater there. Among the convicts were some who had run afoul of the restrictive political laws of the time, such as the Tolpuddle Martyrs. Once in Gibraltar, Owen Glendower then served for decades as a convict hulk.

Fate
In 1876 Gibraltar abolished the Convict Establishment and Owen Glendower, which had been operating as the convicts’ hospital, became a receiving ship. In 1884 she was sold to F. Danino at Gibraltar, for ₤1036.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Owen_Glendower_(1808)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo-class_frigate
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 November 1941 – World War II: Battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran. The two ships sink each other off the coast of Western Australia, with the loss of 645 Australians and about 77 German seamen.


The battle between the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney and the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran was a single ship action that occurred on 19 November 1941, off the coast of Western Australia. Sydney, with Captain Joseph Burnett commanding, and Kormoran, under Fregattenkapitän (Commander) Theodor Detmers, encountered each other approximately 106 nautical miles (196 km; 122 mi) off Dirk Hartog Island. Both ships were destroyed in the half-hour engagement.

From 24 November, after Sydney failed to return to port, air and sea searches were conducted. Boats and rafts carrying survivors from Kormoran were recovered at sea, while others made landfall north of Carnarvon: 318 of the 399 personnel on Kormoran survived. While debris from Sydney was found, there were no survivors from the 645-strong complement. It was the largest loss of life in the history of the Royal Australian Navy, the largest Allied warship lost with all hands during World War II, and a major blow to Australian wartime morale. Australian authorities learned of Sydney's fate from the surviving Kormoran personnel, who were held in prisoner of war camps until the end of the war. The exact location of the two wrecks remained unverified until 2008.

HMAS Sydney
HMAS Sydney was one of three Modified Leander- or Perth-class light cruisers of the RAN. Built for the Royal Navy, the cruiser was purchased by the Australian government to replace HMAS Brisbane, and was commissioned into the RAN in September 1935. The cruiser was 562 feet 4 inches (171.40 m) long, and displaced 8,940 long tons (9,080 t). Sydney carried eight 6-inch (152 mm) guns in four twin turrets ("A" and "B" forward, "X" and "Y" aft) as primary armament. These were supplemented by four 4-inch (102 mm) anti-aircraft guns, nine .303-inch (7.7 mm) machine guns, and eight 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in two quadruple mountings. The cruiser also carried a single Supermarine Walrus amphibious aircraft.

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HMAS Sydney in 1940

Initially assigned to escort and patrol duties in Australian waters, Sydney was sent to the Mediterranean in mid-1940. Sydney operated against Italian naval forces for eight months, during which she participated in multiple battles, sank two Italian warships and several merchantmen, and supported convoy operations and shore bombardments. The cruiser was recalled to Australia in early January 1941: the need to rest the ship and personnel, plans to spread combat experience across the RAN fleet, and a desire to reinforce the nation following German raider activity in nearby waters were all factors. Sydney was assigned to Fremantle, Western Australia, and resumed escort and patrol duties. Command was handed over from Captain John Collins to Captain Joseph Burnett in May 1941.

On 11 November, Sydney departed Fremantle for Singapore with the transport SS Zealandia. The vessels sailed to Sunda Strait, where the troopship was handed over on 17 November to HMS Durban. Sydney then turned for home, and was scheduled to arrive in Fremantle late on 20 November. At the time of the battle, she had a ship's company of 645: 41 officers, 594 sailors, six Royal Australian Air Force personnel, and four civilian canteen staff.

Kormoran
During the 1930s, disparities between the conventional warship strength of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) and other nations caused by the Treaty of Versailles led the German military to recognise that auxiliary cruisers engaged in commerce raiding would be of use during future wars, and that suitable vessels should be identified. The merchant ship Steiermark was one such vessel; she was taken up by the Kriegsmarine at the start of World War II. Renamed Kormoran, she was the largest and newest of nine raiders, referred to as Hilfskreuzer (auxiliary cruisers) or Handelsstörkreuzer (trade disruption cruisers).

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Kormoran in 1940, view from a German U-boat

Kormoran was commissioned in October 1940: after modification, she was 515 feet (157 m) long, and measured 8736 grt. The raider was fitted with six single 15-centimetre (5.9 in) guns (two each in the forecastle and quarterdeck, with the fifth and sixth on the centreline) as main armament, supplemented by two 37-millimetre (1.46 in) anti-tank guns, five 20-millimetre (0.79 in) anti-aircraft autocannons, and six 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes (a twin above-water mount on each side, and two single underwater tubes). The 15-centimetre (5.9 in) guns were concealed behind false hull plates and cargo hatch walls, which would swing clear when the order to decamouflage was given, while the secondary weapons sat on hydraulic lifts hidden within the superstructure. The ship could be disguised as one of several Allied or neutral vessels.

Kormoran departed German waters during December 1940, under the command of Fregattenkapitän (Commander) Theodor Detmers. After operating in the Atlantic, during which time she sank seven merchant ships and captured an eighth, the raider sailed to the Indian Ocean in late April 1941. Only three merchantmen were intercepted during the next six months, and Kormoran was diverted several times to refuel German support ships. As the raider was carrying several hundred sea mines and was expected to deploy some of these before returning home in early 1942, Detmers planned to mine shipping routes near Cape Leeuwin and Fremantle, but postponed this after detecting wireless signals from a warship (Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra) in the area. Instead, he decided to sail north and investigate Shark Bay. At the time of the battle, the raider was disguised as the Dutch merchantman Straat Malakka, and carried 399 personnel: 36 officers, 359 sailors, and four Chinese sailors hired from the crew of a captured merchantman to run the ship's laundry.

Battle
Identification
On 19 November, shortly before 16:00, Kormoran was 150 nautical miles (280 km; 170 mi) southwest of Carnarvon, Western Australia. The raider was sailing northwards (heading 025°) at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). At 15:55, what was initially thought to be a tall ship sail was sighted off the port bow, although it was quickly determined to be the mast of a warship (HMAS Sydney). Detmers ordered Kormoran to alter course into the sun (heading 260°) at maximum achievable speed (which quickly dropped from 15 to 14 knots (28 to 26 km/h; 17 to 16 mph) because of problems in one of her diesel engines), while setting the ship to action stations. Sydney spotted the German ship around the same time, and altered from her southward heading to intercept at 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph).

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Straat Malakka in 1940

As she closed the gap, the Australian cruiser requested that Kormoran identify herself. Communications were initially attempted with a signal lamp to repeatedly send "NNJ" ("You should make your signal letters"), but those aboard the raider did not understand the uncommonly used signal and did not respond. Sydney continued to signal for 30 minutes, after which those aboard the cruiser used flags to send the more common "VH" signal ("You should hoist your signal letters"), while the signal lamp was used to transmit the message in plain language. After another delay, Kormoran raised "PKQI"—the call-sign for the Dutch merchant ship Straat Malakka—on the triatic stay and hoisted a Dutch merchant ensign. As Sydney was approaching from just starboard of Kormoran's stern and 15,000 metres (49,000 ft) away, the call-sign was obscured by the raider's funnel: German accounts vary as to if this was to further the illusion of a civilian ship, a ruse to lure Sydney closer, or an error on the signaller's part. Sydney signalled "Make your signal letters clear", which the signals officer aboard Kormoran did by lengthening the halyard and swinging it around to starboard. By 16:35, with Sydney 8,000 metres (26,000 ft) away, the malfunctioning engine aboard Kormoran was repaired, but Detmers chose to keep it in reserve.

Sydney asked Kormoran "Where bound?", to which the raider responded "Batavia". Sydney may have then made signals asking for the raider's port of origin and cargo; the Germans who claimed this said their replies were "Fremantle" and "Piece-goods" respectively. At around 17:00, Detmers instructed his wireless operators to send a false distress signal indicating that Straat Malakka was being approached by a suspicious ship. The message, transmitted at 17:03 and repeated at 17:05, contained the distress call for a merchantman under attack from a raider instead of a warship (QQQQ, as opposed to RRRR), the latitude and longitude of the transmitting ship, the time per Greenwich Mean Time (normal practice was to transmit local time; using GMT was to let the Kriegsmarine know that the ship was actually a raider about to be lost), and the ship's name. This signal was partially received by the tugboat Uco ("QQQQ 1000 GMT") and a shore station at Geraldton ("7C 11115E 1000 GMT"). The Geraldton station broadcast a message to all ships asking if there was anything to report (which was interpreted by the Germans as acknowledgement of their signal), but after no response was forthcoming, ignored it until a report on the signal was forwarded to the Naval Board on 27 November.

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Port view of Kormoran from a German U-boat in 1940

During the exchanges and distress signal, Sydney positioned herself just off the raider's starboard beam on a parallel course, approximately 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) from Kormoran. The cruiser may or may not have been at action stations: the main guns and port torpedo launcher were trained on Kormoran and her Walrus scout plane had been readied for launch, prompting Detmers to prepare to engage Sydney, but her 4-inch (100 mm) guns were unmanned, and personnel were standing on the upper deck. During her manoeuvre, Sydney appeared to signal "IK" (the short-form for "You should prepare for a cyclone, hurricane, or typhoon"), which Kormoran did not respond to, as from their perspective, such a signal did not make sense. The Germans were unaware that the letters were the interior of the real Straat Malakka's secret callsign, "IIKP": to verify her identity, the ship had to signal back the outer letters. The aircraft was shut down by 17:25, and the catapult swung into the storage position; the two ships were too close for a safe launch.

At around 17:30, after the raider had failed to reply for 15 minutes, Sydney signalled by light "Show your secret sign"; Detmers knew that Kormoran was in trouble.

Action
In response to the cruiser's signal, Detmers ordered that Kormoran's disguise be dropped, for the Dutch flag to be replaced by the Kriegsmarine ensign, and for the guns and torpedoes to open fire. Accounts disagree on which ship fired first, but agree that both opened fire almost simultaneously. The first shots from Sydney, a full, eight-shell salvo from the main guns, were reported in most accounts to have passed over Kormoran, although some of the Germans said that shells punched through the funnel and the wireless office at bridge level without exploding, and hit the water on the far side of the raider. One analysis claims that this was either a warning shot just over the superstructure, or an attempt to destroy the raider's bridge as a prelude to capture. With Kormoran's opening salvo (which consisted of two shells instead of four because the raider's two centreline guns were slower to decamouflage), the gunnery officer attempted to bracket the cruiser's bridge but failed to hit it, with the shells striking other parts of the ship or missing completely. Two torpedoes from Kormoran's starboard above-water tubes were launched simultaneously with the raider's attack, and the close proximity of the target allowed the use of the anti-aircraft and close defence guns to rake Sydney's flank, thus preventing the use of the cruiser's secondary weapons.

Subsequent salvoes from the raider were more accurate. The second, three-shell salvo destroyed Sydney's bridge and damaged her upper superstructure, including the gun direction control tower, wireless offices, and foremast. The fourth 15-centimetre (5.9 in) gun was ready by this time, and all four began to fire: the third and fourth salvoes knocked the cruiser's "A" and "B" turrets out of action before they could fire a second time, and the fifth hit Sydney on the waterline in proximity to the forward engine room, although one shell hit high and destroyed the Walrus. Kormoran's guns were aimed at Sydney's waterline and upper deck during the next three salvoes. After the sixth German salvo, Sydney resumed fire with her aft turrets: "Y" turret fired less than four times with little effect, but multiple shots from "X" turret struck Kormoran, damaging the raider's machinery spaces, wounding the sailors manning one of the guns, and starting a fire in an oil tank.

Around the time of the eighth or ninth German salvo, one of the two torpedoes fired at the start of the engagement struck Sydney just forward of "A" turret and near the asdic compartment (the weakest point on the ship's hull), ripping a hole in the side and causing the bow of the cruiser to angle down. After the torpedo strike, Sydney turned hard to port: the Germans assumed that the Australian ship was trying to ram them, but the cruiser passed aft.During the turn, the 10th German salvo tore the roof from "B" turret and destroyed "A" turret's housing.

The main phase of the engagement ended around 17:35, with Sydney heading south and slowing, while Kormoran maintained her course and speed. Sydney's main armament was completely disabled (the forward turrets were damaged or destroyed, while the aft turrets were jammed facing port, away from Kormoran), and her secondary weapons were out of range. The cruiser was wreathed in smoke from fires burning in the engine room and forward superstructure, and around the aircraft catapult. Kormoran discontinued salvo firing, but the individually firing aft guns scored hits as Sydney crossed the raider's stern.

At around 17:45, Sydney fired two torpedoes from her starboard tubes (although some Germans reported more). Prior to the torpedo launch, Detmers had decided to destroy Sydney completely and ordered the raider to turn to port so four-gun salvoes could be fired: this manoeuvre caused the torpedoes to pass astern of Kormoran. After completing the turn, battle damage caused Kormoran's engines to fail completely, leaving the raider dead in the water while Sydney continued to sail southwards at low speed. Kormoran maintained a high rate of fire despite being immobilised—some sailors claimed that up to 450 shells were used during the second phase of the battle—and scored hits on the cruiser, although many shells missed as the range increased. The raider fired her guns for the last time around 17:50, with the range at 6,600 yards (6,000 m), and a torpedo was launched at 18:00, but missed Sydney.

Conclusion
By the end of the 30-minute battle, the ships were about 10,000 metres (33,000 ft) apart: both were heavily damaged and on fire.

Sydney was proceeding on a south-south-east bearing, apparently not under control. The Australian warship quickly disappeared from German sight, although the glow of the burning ship consistently lit the horizon until 22:00, with some German survivors stating that the light was visible consistently or occasionally until midnight. Sydney sank during the night; it was originally thought that the cruiser exploded when fires reached the shell magazines or torpedo launchers, or took on water through the shellholes on her port side and capsized. However, after the wrecks were located, it was determined that Sydney was under limited control after the battle, maintaining a course of 130–140 degrees true at speeds of 1.5 knots (2.8 km/h; 1.7 mph). The ship remained afloat for up to four hours before the bow tore off and dropped almost vertically under the weight of the anchors and chains. The rest of the ship sank shortly afterward, and glided upright for 500 metres (1,600 ft) underwater until it hit the seabed stern-first.

Kormoran was stationary, and at 18:25, Detmers ordered the ship to be abandoned, as damage to the raider's engine room had knocked out the fire-fighting systems, and there was no way to control or contain the oil fire before it reached the magazines or the mine hold. All boats and liferafts were launched by 21:00, and all but one filled: a skeleton crew manned the weapons while the officers prepared to scuttle the ship. Kormoran was abandoned at midnight; the ship sank slowly until the mine hold exploded 30 minutes later. The German survivors were in five boats and two rafts: one cuttercarrying 46 men, two damaged steel liferafts with 57 and 62 aboard (the latter carrying Detmers and towing several small floats), one workboat carrying 72 people, one boat with 31 men aboard, and two rafts, each bearing 26 sailors. During the evacuation, a rubber liferaft carrying 60 people, mostly wounded, sank without warning; drowning all but three aboard. Total German casualties were six officers, 75 German sailors, and one Chinese laundryman




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_between_HMAS_Sydney_and_German_auxiliary_cruiser_Kormoran
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 November 2002 – The Greek oil tanker Prestige splits in half and sinks off the coast of Galicia, releasing over 20 million US gallons (76,000 m³) of oil in the largest environmental disaster in Spanish and Portuguese history.

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The Prestige oil spill occurred off the coast of Galicia, Spain, caused by the sinking of the 26 year old structurally deficient oil tanker MV Prestige in November 2002, carrying 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. During a storm, it burst a tank on November 13, and sank on November 19, 2002, about 130 miles (210 km) from the coast of Galicia. It is estimated that it spilled 17.8 million US gallons (420,000 bbl) (or a mass of 60,000 metric tonnes) of heavy fuel oil. The spill polluted thousands of kilometers of coastline and more than one thousand beaches on the Spanish, French and Portuguese coast, as well as causing great harm to the local fishing industry. The spill is the largest environmental disaster in the history of both Spain and Portugal. The amount of oil spilled was more than the Exxon Valdez incident and the toxicity considered higher, because of the higher water temperatures.



In 2007 the Southern District of New York dismissed a 2003 lawsuit by the Kingdom of Spain against the American Bureau of Shipping, the international classification society which had certified the Prestige as in compliance with rules and laws, because ABS was a "person" per the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage and exempt from direct liability for pollution damage. The 2012 trial of the Galicia regional High Court did not find the merchant shipping company, nor the insurer, the London P&I Club nor any Spanish government official, but only the Captain of the ship guilty and gave him a nine-month suspended sentence for disobedience. By November 2017, the London P&I Club was fined to pay $1 billion.

Events
The Prestige was a 26-year-old Greek-operated, single-hulled oil tanker, officially registered in the Bahamas, but with a Liberian-registered single-purpose corporation as the owner.

The ship had a deadweight tonnage, or carrying capacity, of approximately 81,000 tons, a measurement that put it at the small end of the Aframax class of tankers, smaller than most carriers of crude oil but larger than most carriers of refined products. It was classed by the American Bureau of Shipping and insured by the London Steam-Ship Owners' Mutual Insurance Association, a shipowners' mutual known as the London Club.


The French, Spanish and Portuguese governments refused to allow the Prestige to dock in their ports.

On November 13, 2002, the Prestige was carrying 77,000 metric tons of two different grades of heavy fuel oil, crude #4. It encountered a winter storm off Costa de la Muerte, the Coast of Death, in Galicia northwestern Spain. The Greek captain, Apostolos Mangouras, reported a loud bang from the starboard side and as the ship began to take on water from high waves the engines shut down and he called for help from Spanish rescue workers. The Filipino crew was evacuated with rescue helicopters and the ship drifted within four miles of the Spanish coast already leaking oil. A veteran captain, Serafin Diaz, was lowered onto the ship per the Spanish governments Industry Ministry, to navigate the ship off the Spanish coast northwest, and saw the gaping 50-foot hole on the starboard side. Mangouras argued the ship should be brought into port where the leaking oil might be confined but under the threat of the Spanish navy Mangouras relented. After pressure from the French government, the vessel was also forced to change its course and head south into Portuguese waters in order to avoid endangering France's southern coast. Fearing for its own shore, the Portuguese authorities ordered its navy to intercept the ailing vessel and prevent it from approaching further.

With the French, Spanish, and Portuguese governments refusing to allow the ship to dock, and after several days of sailing and towing, it split in half on November 19, 2002. It sank only about 250 kilometers or 130 miles from the Spanish coast, releasing over 17 million US gallons (64,000 m3) of oil into the sea. An earlier oil slick had already reached the coast. The captain of the Prestige was taken into custody, accused of not cooperating with marine salvage crews and of harming the environment.

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Leakage and environmental contamination
The Prestige oil spill is Spain's worst ecological disaster. After the sinking, the wreck continued to leak approximately 125 tons of oil a day, polluting the seabed and contaminating the coastline, especially along the territory of Galicia. The environmental damage was most severe on the coast of Galicia. The affected area is an important ecological region, supporting coral reefs and many species of sharks and birds, and the fishing industry. The heavy coastal pollution forced the region's government to suspend offshore fishing for six months.

Initially, the government thought just 17,000 tons of the tanker's 77,000 tons of oil had been lost, and that the remaining 60,000 tons would freeze and not leak from the sunken tanker. In early 2003, it announced that half of the oil had been lost. As of August 2003, the figure had risen to about 63,000 tons, more than eighty percent of the tanker's 77,000 tons of fuel oil have been spilled off Spain's north-west coast.

“The environmental devastation caused is at least on a par, if not worse, than the Exxon Valdez. The amount of oil spilled is more than the Valdez and the toxicity is higher, because of the higher temperatures.”— Simon Walmsley, World Wildlife Fund's senior policy officer for shipping.

In March 2006, new oil slicks were detected near the wreck of the Prestige, slicks which investigators found to match the type of oil the Prestige carried. A study released in December 2006 led by José Luis De Pablos, a physicist at Madrid's Center for Energetic and Environmental Research, concluded that 16,000 to 23,000 tons of oil remained in the wreck, as opposed to the 700 to 1300 tons claimed by the Spanish government; that bioremediation of the remaining oil failed; and that bacteria corroding the hull could soon produce a rupture and quickly release much of the remaining oil and create another catastrophic spill. The report urged the government to take "prompt" action.

Experts predicted marine life could suffer from the pollution for at least ten years due to the type of oil spill, which contained light fractions with polyaromatic hydrocarbons and could poison plankton, fish eggs and crustaceans with carcinogenic effects in fish and potentially humans as well.

Cleanup

Volunteers cleaning the coastline in Galicia in the aftermath of the Prestige catastrophe, March 2003

In the subsequent months, thousands of volunteers joined the public company TRAGSA (the firm chosen by the regional government to deal with the cleanup) to help clean the affected coastline. The massive cleaning campaign was a success, recovering most portions of coastline from not only the effects of the oil spill but also the accumulated "regular" contamination. Galician activists founded the environmental movement Nunca Máis (Galician for Never Again), to denounce the passiveness of the conservative government regarding the disaster.A year after the spill, Galicia had more Blue Flags for its beaches (an award for those beaches with the highest standards in the European Union) than in the previous years.

In 2004, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) like the one which originally explored the wreck of the RMS Titanic drilled small holes in the wreck and removed the remaining 13,000 m³ of cargo oil from the wreck, at 4000 meters below the sea surface. The ROVs also sealed cracks in the tanker's hull, and slowed the leakage to a trickle of 20 litres a day. In total, 20 million US gallons (76,000 m3) of oil were spilled.[citation needed] The oil was then pumped into large aluminium shuttles, specially manufactured for this salvage operation. The filled shuttles were then floated to the surface. The original plan to fill large bags with the oil proved to be too problematic and slow. After the oil removal was completed, a slurry rich in microbiologic agents was pumped in the hold to speed up the breakdown of any remaining oil. The total estimated cost of the operation was over €100 million.


MV Prestige was an oil tanker owned by a Greek company based in Liberia and operating under a Bahamian flag, that on 19 November 2002 sank off the coast of Galicia, Spain. The sinking caused a major environmental disaster, polluting thousands of miles of coastline with 50,000 tonnes of oil.

Design and construction

Prestige was a single-hulled oil tanker with a length overall of 243 metres (797 ft), a beam of 34.4 metres (113 ft), a hull depth of 18.7 metres (61 ft), and a draft of 14 metres (46 ft). It had a 42,820 GT and a total cargo capacity of 81,589 tonnes deadweight (DWT). Vessels of this size are classified as Aframax-class tankers.

The ship was built by Hitachi Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. in Maizuru, Kyoto, Japan.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prestige_oil_spill
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 19 November


1493 – Christopher Columbus goes ashore on an island he first saw the day before. He names it San Juan Bautista (later renamed Puerto Rico).

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


1664 – Launch of French Hermine, 34 guns, design by Hendrick, at Dunkirk – renamed Capricieux on 24 June 1671; hulked 1680, deleted 1686.

Frigates of the 2nd Order (or 5th Rank vessels)
These generally carried 8-pounder guns in their lower deck battery, and were classed as fifth rank vessels (vaisseaux du cinquième rang).


1756 – Launch of French Zodiaque, 74 guns at Brest, designed by Jacques-Luc Coulomb) - Condemned in November 1783, sold 1784


1760 - Another French privateer, Conquerant, was captured while HMS Levant was in company with her fellow Royal Navy frigate, the 26-gun Emerald. At least four other vessels were also taken in this period; Superbe, Polly, Petit-Creolle and Elizabeth

HMS Levant was a 28-gun sixth-rate frigate of the Coventry class, which saw Royal Navy service against France in the Seven Years' War, and against France, Spain and the American colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Principally a hunter of privateers, she was also designed to be a match for small French frigates, but with a broader hull and sturdier build at the expense of some speed and manoeuvrability. Launched in 1758, Levant was assigned to the Royal Navy's Jamaica station from 1759 and proved her worth in defeating nine French vessels during her first three years at sea. She was also part of the British expedition against Martinique in 1762 but played no role in the landings or subsequent defeat of French forces at Fort Royal.

The frigate was decommissioned following Britain's declaration of peace with France in 1763, but returned to service in 1766 for patrol duties in the Caribbean. Decommissioned for a second time in 1770, she was reinstated at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War and sent to the Mediterranean as part of a small British squadron based at Gibraltar. Over the next three years she captured or sank a total of fourteen enemy craft including an 18-gun American privateer. In 1779 she brought home news of an impending Spanish assault on Gibraltar, ahead of Spain's declaration of war on Great Britain.

The ageing frigate was finally removed from Navy service later that year, and her crew discharged to other vessels. She was broken up at Deptford Dockyard in 1780, having secured a total of 31 victories over 21 years at sea.

HMS Emerald was a 28-gun frigate of the Royal Navy which saw active service during the Seven Years' War.

Launched in 1744 as the French naval vessel L'Emeraude, she was captured by HMS Southampton on 21 September 1757 and brought into Portsmouth Dockyard where she was refitted from British service. She was renamed Emerald in December 1757 and commissioned into the Royal Navy in April 1758 under the command of Captain Thomas Cornwall.

Emerald was assigned to patrol and convoy duties in the British Leeward Islands from January 1759, securing three victories over French privateers in the following two years. In July 1760 command was transferred to Captain Charles Middleton, who remained with Emerald for the rest o her Caribbean service. The frigate returned to England in September 1761 and was decommissioned at Portsmouth Dockyard in October. She was declared surplus to Navy requirements on 7 October and broken up at Portsmouth Dockyard in November 1761.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Levant_(1758)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Emerald_(1757)


1813 - Cptn. David Porter claims Marquesas Islands for the United States which he claimed in the name of the United States and renamed them the Madison Islands, in honor of then-President James Madison., but the United States Congress never ratified that claim.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Porter_(naval_officer)


1887 - The dutch Oceansteamer W. A. Scholten sunk after collision with a british coalfrighter. 132 of passengers and crew died.

W.A._Scholten_(schip,_1874-1878).jpg Stoomschip_de_W.A._Scholten,_1878.jpg

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._A._Scholten


1911 – The Doom Bar in Cornwall claimed two ships, Island Maid and Angele, the latter killing the entire crew except the captain.

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


1918 – Launch of HMS Dunedin was a Danae-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Dunedin was a Danae-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, pennant number D93. She was launched from the yards of Armstrong Whitworth, Newcastle-on-Tyne on 19 November 1918 and commissioned on 13 September 1919. She has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Dunedin (named for the capital of Scotland, generally Anglicised as Edinburgh).

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



1943 - USS Nautilus (SS 168) enters Tarawa lagoon for the first submarine photograph reconnaissance mission. It is later damaged by friendly fire from USS Santa Fe (CL 60) and USS Ringgold (DD 500) off Tarawa because due to the mission, Nautilus presence was unknown to the vessels.

She returned to Tarawa 18 November to obtain last-minute information on weather and surf conditions, landing hazards and the results of recent bombardments. At 21:59, 19 November, mistaking her as an enemy, the destroyer USS Ringgold fired at her, sending a five-inch (127 mm) shell through the conning tower, damaging the main induction valve. Diving as soon as the water depth permitted, the boat was rigged for depth charge and the damage control party went to work. Within two hours repairs were sufficient to allow Nautilus to continue with her primary mission: landing a 78-man scouting party, composed of 5th Amphibious Reconnaissance Company marines and an Australian scout, on Abemama.

USS_Nautilus_(SS-168).jpg

At midnight 20–21 November, Nautilus lay 3,000 yards (2,700 m) off an island in the Abemama Atoll, Kenna to discharge her passengers. By 15:00, all were safely ashore. On the afternoon of 22 November, Nautilus provided fire support to bring the tiny (25-man) enemy garrison out of their bunkers. This proved accurate, killing 14; the remainder committed suicide. By the time the main assault force arrived on 26 November, Abemama had been secured and preparations to turn it into an air base for the Marshall Islands campaign had begun.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nautilus_(SS-168)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 November 1739 – Begin of Capture / Battle of Porto Bello between British and Spanish forces during the War of Jenkins' Ear.


The Battle of Porto Bello, or the Battle of Portobello, was a 1739 battle between a British naval force aiming to capture the settlement of Portobello in Panama, and its Spanish defenders. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, in the early stages of the war sometimes known as the War of Jenkins' Ear. It resulted in a popularly acclaimed British victory.

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The bombardment of Porto Bello, by Samuel Scott
The capture of Porto Bello (properly Puerto Bello) was part of a campaign known as 'The War of Jenkins' Ear', which was fought against Spain in the West Indian colonies and was in effect an early stage of the War of the Austrian Succession, 1740-48. When Robert Jenkins, a merchant sea captain, had his ear cut off by a Spanish officer at Havana in 1731 it led to calls in Parliament for war with Spain. During a House of Commons debate in the summer of 1739, Captain Edward Vernon claimed he could take the Spanish town of Porto Bello - a source of Spanish depredation on British shipping on the north side of the Isthmus of Darien between Columbia and Panama - with only six ships of the line. He was promoted to vice-admiral and given the six ships so that he could carry out his promise. These were the 'Burford', Vernon's flagship, and the 'Hampton Court', both of 70 guns; the 'Worcester', 'Strafford' and 'Princess Louisa', all of 60 guns, and the 'Norwich', 50 guns. Vernon's squadron sighted Porto Bello on the night of 20 November 1739. The main obstacle to overcome was the Iron Castle, or 'Castillo de Ferro', at the northern entrance to the harbour, which they attacked at 2.00 p.m. on 21 November and a ferocious battle ensued. When the enemy fire gradually lessened, Vernon signalled for his manned boats to land beneath the walls of the castle. On the morning of 22 November the Spanish governor, Don Francisco Martinez de Retez, sent a flag of truce and accepted the Vice-Admiral's terms of surrender. Public money found in the garrison was distributed by Vernon among his men and the fortifications were then demolished. The surrender terms stated that Vernon received shipping and ten thousand dollars from the treasury as well as brass ordnance. He was also successful in demanding from Panama the release of some South Sea Company men who were imprisoned there. In this panoramic view from the south-west of the harbour, the Iron Castle lies in the middle distance. It is shown exchanging fire with the 'Burford', in starboard-quarter view, whilend in the left foreground the 'Strafford', and the 'Princess Louisa', can be seen in starboard-bow view. To the right of the 'Burford', and partially obscured by the smoke of her guns are the remaining three ships, in port-quarter view. Beyond is the Spanish shipping at anchor off Porto Bello in the right background, and the nearer port defence, Gloria Castle, is firing her cannon. The land round the harbour is thickly wooded. Scott's representation of the event, with its distorted perspective, draws on the tradition of bird's-eye-view, 17th-century topographical landscape painting. Scott belonged to the first generation of British marine painters, who worked in the tradition of the van de Veldes and the other Dutch artists who came to practice in London from the 1670s. His reputation chiefly rests on his topographical views of London but he was a very good marine painter, who accepted commissions like this and whose artistic and social skills eclipsed - at least in business terms - those of his slightly earlier contemporary Peter Monamy. He was notably averse to travelling by sea himself but produced many small drawings and watercolours to be incorporated later as details into his oils, such as men rowing and unloading boats, and often drew his ships from models. The painting bears a later inscription in the bottom right hand corner; 'Porto Bello taken by Admiral Vernon in 1740 - for which he received the Thanks of both Houses of Parliament'. The capture had great impact in England, made Vernon a national hero and was the first British victory marked by the production of various popular souvenirs.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/11846.html#m1YOBJc4F3FBDTtw.99


Background
The settlement of Portobello was an important port on the Spanish Main. Following the failure of an earlier British naval blockade to prevent a fully laden treasure fleet sailing to Spain from Porto Bello in 1727, an action in which he had taken part, the then Vice Admiral Edward Vernon repeatedly claimed he could capture it with just six ships. Following his appointment to command the Jamaica Station, Vernon organised an expedition with just six ships, despite criticism that this was far too few. Vernon was a strong advocate of using small squadrons of powerfully armed warships hitting hard and moving fast rather than larger slower-moving expeditions that were prone to heavy losses through disease.

Battle
Vernon's force appeared off Portobello on 20 November 1739. The British ships entered the bay prepared for a general attack, but a wind coming from the east obliged Vernon to concentrate his ships on the Todo Fierro harbour fort. The Spanish garrison was caught unprepared. When some Spaniards began to flee from several parts of the fort, several landing parties were sent inshore. The British sailors and marines scaled the walls of the fort, struck the Spanish colours in the lower battery and hoisted an English ensign. The Spaniards surrendered then at discretion. Of the 300-man Spanish garrison, only 40 soldiers led by Lieutenant Don Juan Francisco Garganta had remained in the fort.

Once captured Todo Fierro, Vernon shifted his ships against Santiago Fortress, sinking a Spanish sloop and causing other damages. At dawn on the following morning, the Spaniards requested terms. Governor Francisco Javier Martínez de la Vega y Retes surrendered at the afternoon. Portobello was occupied by the British at the cost of three dead and seven injured. Three prizes were taken: an armed snow which was renamed Triumph and two coastguards of 20 guns each one. The British occupied the town for three weeks, destroying the fortress and other key buildings and ending the settlement's main function as a major Spanish maritime base, before withdrawing.

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This painting is based on an engraving from a more contemporary painting by Samuel Scott (see PAH7667). In the summer of 1739, during a debate in the House of Commons relating to the deteriorating situation with Spain in the West Indies, Captain Edward Vernon claimed he could take the Spanish town of Puerto Bello, Panama, on the north side of the Isthmus of Darien with six ships of the line. He was taken at his word, promoted to Vice-Admiral and given six ships to redeem his pledge. The war became known as the War of Jenkins' Ear. The main obstacle to be overcome was the Iron Castle at the northern side of the entrance to the harbour. Vernon succeeded in taking the town and in destroying the fortifications and the iron ordnance. This painting shows the attack on the Iron Castle. In the left foreground Vernon's flagship, 'Burford', 70 guns, with Vernon's blue Vice-Admiral's flag at the fore, in starboard-quarter view, engages the Iron Castle to port and two of the boats are moving in to make a landing. Ahead of her are the 'Strafford', 60 guns, and the 'Worcester', 60 guns, with Commodore Brown in the 'Hampton Court', 70 guns, on their right, flying his red swallow-tail pennant. Puerto Bello can be seen in the right background with gunfire coming from the castle. All the Union flags are incorrectly shown as being of the post-1801 pattern. The painting was commissioned from Chambers by E.H. Locker, Secretary and Commissioner of Greenwich Hospital, who presented it to the Naval Gallery of the Hospital in 1838. Chambers, the son of a poor mariner in Whitby, Yorkshire, followed his father to sea at the age of ten. After several years he became apprenticed to a house and ship painter, where his skill at lettering and marking whale-boats attracted attention. He was greatly admired for the details of his marine paintings, particularly those showing details of the crew performing naval tasks. Following his arrival in London, Chambers initially copied history paintings and then received many new commissions, including several from William IV. The painting is signed by the artist lower left 'G Chambers'.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/11847.html#wjDXftP8U0Hqtcob.99


Legacy
The capture of Porto Bello was welcomed as an exceptionally popular triumph throughout Britain and America, and the name of Portobello came to be used in commemoration at a variety of locations, such as the Portobello Road in London, the Portobello district of Edinburgh and also in Dublin; as well as Porto Bello in Virginia and Porto Bello in St. Mary's County, Maryland. The victory was particularly well received in the North-American British colonies, where the Spanish had been preying on British shipping.

Admiral Vernon became a popular hero, and was himself commemorated in several places, perhaps most famously Mount Vernon, later the estate of George Washington. He was promoted to the rank of admiral. Vernon was a notable opponent of the British government, and in the wake of the victory, as well as prior to the expedition, he was one of the advocates of a more belligerent approach towards Britain's enemies. The British Prime Minister Robert Walpole was placed under great pressure by the Opposition to launch similar raids along the Spanish coast. Vernon's next battle in this campaign, a large-scale assault on Cartagena de Indias in 1741, ended in a disastrous defeat. The British fleet of 186 ships and almost 27,000 men was defeated by a garrison of 3,500 men and 6 ships of the line commanded by the one-eyed, one-armed, one-legged, Spanish admiral Blas de Lezo.

Although British control lasted just three weeks the effect on Porto Bello was devastating; it was largely abandoned due to a complete re-organisation of Spanish trading practices designed to make them less vulnerable. The economy of the town did not recover fully until the construction of the Panama Canal nearly two centuries later.


HMS Burford was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard to the 1719 Establishment, and launched on 19 July 1722. Burford was notably the early posting of both John Forbes and John Byng, both of whom rose to become Admirals.


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The HMS Burford (1722) - Vernons flagship
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, stern board outline, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth with some deck detail for 'Burford' (1722) and 'Berwick' (1723), both 1719 Establishment 70-gun Third Rate, two-deckers built at Deptford Dockyard. In pencil is the draught for 'Hampton Court' (1709), a 70-gun Third Rate, two-decker, which may have been drawn for comparative purposes.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81167.html#c64u6HYeWI7pC5vj.99


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Medium includes pen and ink. The rear of the Burford is shown, itself following another unspecified vessell. From an album which has a bookplate of the Bishop of Columbia. The arms on the bookplate are the See of Columbia impaling Bentley. John Bentley was made post captain when he took over command of the Burford from Captain Richard Watkins on 01/08/1744, when he wrote in the log "in Hieres". A later signature by Bentley is dated 14/09/1744. Both J J Colledge ('Ships of the Royal Navy Vol I') and W Laird Clowes ('The Royal Navy - A History') desrcibed Burford as 70 guns, not 74.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/112646.html#cTU28diaJmcUizmU.99


She was in commission as the flagship of Vice Admiral Edward Hopson during War with Spain in 1727 to 1729 and was repaired in 1737–1738. She served as the flagship of Edward Vernon at the capture of Puerto Bello in 1739 during the War of Jenkins' Ear under the command of Captain Thomas Watson, before returning to Britain for repairs in 1741/42. Her next active duty was in the West Indies from 1742 to 1744 during which she took part in operations at La Guayra and Porto Cabello in 1743 (where she lost two captains in succession) before being stationed in the Mediterranean from 1744 to 1748. After her final decommissioning in 1748, she was broken up in 1752

Design and Construction
Burford was one of the four newly built 70 gun third rates of the 1719 Establishment and was ordered on 12 March 1720 to replace the first Burford which was wrecked on the Italian coast in 1719. She was named for her predecessor and also the Earl of Burford, grandson of King Charles II and Nell Gwynne. Master Shipwright Richard Stacey constructed her at Deptford Dockyard though she was 4 inches broader in the beam and 18 tonne burthen bigger than the 1719 Establishment allowed. After being launched on 19 July 1722, she was completed less than a month later on 7 August but not immediately commissioned. Initially she cost £13,463.13.61⁄2d, including her fitting out.

Class and type: 1719 Establishment 70-gun third rateship of the line
Tons burthen: 1,146 78⁄94 (bm)
Length:
  • 151 ft 0 in (46.0 m) (gun deck)
  • 123 ft 2 in (37.5 m) (keel)
Beam: 41 ft 10 in (12.75 m)
Depth of hold: 17 ft 4 in (5.28 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Complement: 440
Armament:
  • 70 guns:
  • Lower Deck: 26 × 24 pdrs
  • Upper Deck: 26 × 12 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 14 × 6 pdrs
  • Forecastle: 4 × 6 pdrs


Service history
Burford's first commanding officer was Captain Charles Stewart, who commissioned her in 1726 as the flagship of Vice Admiral Edward Hopson for service in the Straits of Gibraltar during the winter of 1726 and 1727. On 5 May 1737 she was paid off at Chatham Dockyard for a Middling Repair which lasted from June 1737 to March 1738 and cost £8,298.11.4d. Under Captain Philip Brand she was in home waters before becoming a guard ship at Chatham on 6 December 1738.

In June 1739, as war with Spain was again looming, she was fitted as the flagship of Vice Admiral Edward Vernon for the Caribbean under Commander (promoted captain in Oct 1739) Thomas Watson. She sailed on 23 July 1739 for Finisterre and on to the West Indies, fighting at the capture of Puerto Bello on 21 November 1739. Captain Thomas Griffin commanded her in 1740 and she was part of the Cartegena operations from 9 March to 7 May 1740. In November 1741 she was back in Chatham Dockyard to commence a Great Repair finishing in September 1742 and costing £17,747.10.11d.

After this repair she was sent back to the West Indies under Captain Edward Lushington and participated in the attack on La Guayra on 18 February 1743 in the squadron commanded by Captain Charles Knowles of HMS Suffolk. In this action Lushington was mortally wounded, 24 men were killed and 49 wounded – her captain died on 22 February. Her next engagement was in same squadron during the disastrous attack on Porto Cabello on 16 and 24 April 1743 under her new captain, Edward Smith, who died on 18 April and was replaced by Captain Richard Watkins. By August 1744 she was in the Mediterranean under Captain John Bentley. She returned home from the Mediterranean in 1748 to pay off for the last time.

Fate
Burford was surveyed on 18 September 1752 and broken up at Chatham docked by Admiralty Order on 27 September 1752, a process completed by October of the same year.

Battle honour
The second Burford won a single battle honour: Puerto Bello 1739


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Porto_Bello
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Burford_(1722)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 November 1759 - Battle of Quiberon Bay/Cardinaux. British fleet of 23 ships of the line, under Admiral Sir Edward Hawke, defeated a French fleet of 21 ships of the line, under Marshal de Conflans, near St Nazaire. 6 French ships were taken and many others foundered or ran ashore.


The Battle of Quiberon Bay (known as Bataille des Cardinaux in French), was a decisive naval engagement fought on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War between the Royal Navy and the French Navy. It was fought in Quiberon Bay, off the coast of France near St. Nazaire. The battle was the culmination of British efforts to eliminate French naval superiority, which could have given the French the ability to carry out their planned invasion of Great Britain. A British fleet of 24 ships of the line under Sir Edward Hawke tracked down and engaged a French fleet of 21 ships of the line under Marshal de Conflans. After hard fighting, the British fleet sank or ran aground six French ships, captured one and scattered the rest, giving the Royal Navy one of its greatest victories, and ending the threat of French invasion for good.

The battle signalled the rise of the Royal Navy in becoming the world's foremost naval power, and, for the British, was part of the Annus Mirabilis of 1759.

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The Battle of Quiberon Bay, Nicholas Pocock, 1812. National Maritime Museum


Background

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Map of Quiberon Bay

During 1759, the British, under Hawke, maintained a close blockade on the French coast in the vicinity of Brest. In that year the French had made plans to invade England and Scotland, and had accumulated transports and troops around the Loire estuary. The defeat of the Mediterranean fleet at the Battle of Lagos in August made the invasion plans impossible, but Choiseul still contemplated a plan for Scotland, and so the fleet was ordered to escape the blockade and collect the transports assembled in the Gulf of Morbihan.

During the first week of November a westerly gale came up and, after three days, the ships of Hawke's blockade were forced to run for Torbay on the south coast of England. Robert Duff was left behind in Quiberon Bay, with a squadron of five 'fifties' (ships of the line with 50 cannons) and nine frigates to keep an eye on the transports. In the meantime, a small squadron from the West Indies joined Conflans in Brest and, when an easterly wind came on the 14th, Conflans slipped out. He was sighted by HMS Actaeon which had remained on station off Brest despite the storms but which failed to rendezvous with Hawke, by HMS Juno & Swallow which tried to warn Duff but were apparently chased off by the French, and by the victualler Love and Unity returning from Quiberon, which sighted the French fleet at 2pm on the 15th, 70 miles west of Belle-Isle. She met Hawke the next day and he sailed hard for Quiberon into a SSE gale. Meanwhile, HMS Vengeance had arrived in Quiberon Bay the night before to warn Duff and he had put his squadron to sea in the teeth of a WNW gale.

Battle

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Tracks of English and French fleets

Having struggled with unfavourable winds, Conflans had slowed down on the night of the 19th in order to arrive at Quiberon at dawn. 20 miles off Belleisle he sighted seven of Duff's squadron. Once he realised that this was not the main British fleet, he gave chase. Duff split his ships to the north and south, with the French van and centre in pursuit, whilst the rearguard held off to windward to watch some strange sails appearing from the west. The French broke off the pursuit but were still scattered as Hawke's fleet came into sight. HMS Magnanime sighted the French at 8.30[4] and Hawke gave the signal for line abreast.

Conflans was faced with a choice, to fight in his current disadvantageous position in high seas and a "very violent" WNW wind, or take up a defensive position in Quiberon Bay and dare Hawke to come into the labyrinth of shoals and reefs. About 9am Hawke gave the signal for general chase along with a new signal for the first 7 ships to form a line ahead and, in spite of the weather and the dangerous waters, set full sail. By 2.30 Conflans rounded Les Cardinaux, the rocks at the end of the Quiberon peninsula that give the battle its name in French. The first shots were heard as he did so, although Sir John Bentley in Warspite claimed that they were fired without his orders. However the British were starting to overtake the rear of the French fleet even as their van and centre made it to the safety of the bay.

Just before 4pm the battered Formidable surrendered to the Resolution, just as Hawke himself rounded The Cardinals. Meanwhile, Thésée lost her duel with HMS Torbay and foundered, Superbe capsized, and the badly damaged Héros struck her flag to Viscount Howe before running aground on the Four Shoal during the night.

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Battle of Quiberon Bay: the Day After
Richard Wright 1760

Meanwhile, the wind shifted to the NW, further confusing Conflans' half-formed line as they tangled together in the face of Hawke's daring pursuit. Conflans tried unsuccessfully to resolve the muddle, but in the end decided to put to sea again. His flagship, Soleil Royal, headed for the entrance to the bay just as Hawke was coming in on Royal George. Hawke saw an opportunity to rake Soleil Royal, but Intrépide interposed herself and took the fire. Meanwhile, Soleil Royal had fallen to leeward and was forced to run back and anchor off Croisic, away from the rest of the French fleet. By now it was about 5pm and darkness had fallen, so Hawke made the signal to anchor.

During the night eight French ships managed to do what Soleil Royal had failed to do, to navigate through the shoals to the safety of the open sea, and escape to Rochefort. Seven ships and the frigates were in the Villaine estuary (just off the map above, to the east), but Hawke dared not attack them in the stormy weather. The French jettisoned their guns and gear and used the rising tide and northwesterly wind to escape over the sandbar at the bottom of the Villaine river. One of these ships was wrecked, and the remaining six were trapped throughout 1760 by a blockading British squadron and only later managed to break out and reach Brest in 1761/1762. The badly damaged Juste was lost as she made for the Loire, 150 of her crew surviving the ordeal, and Resolution grounded on the Four Shoal during the night.

Soleil Royal tried to escape to the safety of the batteries at Croisic, but Essex pursued her with the result that both were wrecked on the Four Shoal beside Heros. On the 22nd the gale moderated, and three of Duff's ships were sent to destroy the beached ships. Conflans set fire to Soleil Royal while the British burnt Heros, as seen in the right of Richard Wright's painting. Hawke tried to attack the ships in the Villaine with fireboats, but to no effect.

Aftermath
The power of the French fleet was broken, and would not recover before the war was over; in the words of Alfred Thayer Mahan (The Influence of Sea Power upon History), "The battle of 20 November 1759 was the Trafalgar of this war, and [...] the English fleets were now free to act against the colonies of France, and later of Spain, on a grander scale than ever before". For instance, the French could not follow up their victory in the land battle of Sainte-Foy the following spring for want of reinforcements and supplies from France, and so Quiberon Bay may be regarded as the battle that determined the fate of New France and hence Canada. Hawke's commission was extended and followed by a peerage (allowing him and his heirs to speak in the House of Lords) in 1776.

France experienced a credit crunch as financiers recognised that Britain could now strike at will against French trade. The French government was forced to default on its debt.


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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Quiberon_Bay
 
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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 November 1759 - Battle of Quiberon Bay/Cardinaux - The Ships wrecked and foundered


French Soleil-Royal wrecked

The Soleil-Royal was a ship in the French Navy, the third ship of that name. She was the first 80-gun two-decker to use the 24-pounder long gun on her second battery, giving her a considerable firepower for the time and allowing her to challenge three-deckers. Her name Soleil-Royal, honouring the French crown and usually reserved for the largest units of the Navy, testifies of the change of focus from large three-deckers onto strong two-deckers.

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The Soleil Royal (right) battling the Royal Georgeduring the battle of Quiberon Bay.
Nicholas Pocock, 1812. National Maritime Museum

She was Brienne's flagship at the battle of Quiberon Bay.
Soleil Royal tried to escape to the safety of the batteries at Croisic, but Essex pursued her with the result that both were wrecked on the Four Shoal beside Heros. On the 22nd the gale moderated, and three of Duff's ships were sent to destroy the beached ships. Conflans set fire to Soleil Royal while the British burnt Heros, as seen in the right of Richard Wright's painting. Hawke tried to attack the ships in the Villaine with fireboats, but to no effect.


French Juste wrecked

The Juste ("Juste") was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, built on plans by engineer Geslin. She took part in the Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War and was lost at the mouth of the Loire after the battle while trying to rejoin Saint Nazaire.

Juste was laid down in 1724 and launched in September 1725, joining the active service the next year. She was overhauled in Brest from 1741, where she sustained light damage on 25 December of the following year, when a fire started in the wood workshop propagated to her. She was again hove down in Brest in 1744, and overhauled in Rochefort in 1751.

On 14 November 1759, under Captain François de Saint Aloüarn, she was part of a 20-ship and 5-frigate strong squadron under Marshal de Conflans that was to attempt a landing in Cornwall for the planned French Invasion of Britain. The French fleet was intercepted by the English ships under Admiral Hawke on 20 November.

In the ensuing Battle of Quiberon Bay, Juste was in the rear-guard of the French fleet, taking the fourth position in the line of the srd Division. Juste was engaged by up to four English ship and was severely battered, with a number of leaks and her rudder shattered; by 20:00, she was unable to fight, her captain mortally wounded and her first officer killed, and limped back to Penchâteau Point to effect summary repairs.[2] She then attempted to proceed to Saint Nazaire[3] at low tide, and ran aground in the mouth of the Loire, at Chemoulin Point, a few miles before reaching safety. Her crew threw all cargo overboard to lighten the ship and prevent her from breaking, even cutting her masts, but to no avail: Juste settled on the bottom and her crew abandoned the ship. She then broke and sank within the next three hours. About 150 of her crew survived.

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La Roche Bernard - Canon du Juste

The wreck of Juste was re-discovered in December 1968 during widening work of the entry channel of the Loire.
One 18-pounder long gun of Juste was salvaged and is now on display at La Roche-Bernard. Two others are on display in front of Arzal city hall.


french Héros wrecked

The Héros ("hero") was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, built by Joseph Chapelle at Brest and launched in 1752
In 1755, the Héros, under captain de Kermabon, took part in the Canadian campaign in the Bullion de Montlouet squadron.
She was wrecked off le Croisic and scuttled at the Battle of Quiberon Bay, the 21 September 1759.

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The French Soleil Royal and Héros are in flames on the right, in the foreground HMS Resolution lies wrecked on her starboard side. In front of her is HMS Essex, with other members of the British fleet at anchor in the background. The captured French Formidableis attended by a British frigate on the left of the picture.


French Superbe 74 (launched 27 June 1738 at Brest, designed by Jean-Marie Helie the Younger) - foundered following the Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759.


French Thésée 74 (launched 28 January 1759 at Brest, designed by Pierre Salinoc) - capsized and foundered at Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759.


French Inflexible 64 (launched 1752 at Rochefort) Hardi class. Designed and built by Pierre Morineau. - damaged at Battle of Quiberon Bay 20 November 1759. taken to pieces 1763.


French Formidable was captured by HMS Resolution

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Plan of HMS Formidable (1759)

Formidable was an 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1751.
She fought at the Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759, where she served as the flagship of De Saint André du Vergé. HMS Resolution captured her at the battle and the Admiralty commissioned her in the Royal Navy as the Third Rate HMS Ham.
Fate
Formidable was broken up in 1768.
In popular culture

The Formidable appears as a legendary ship fought in the 2014 video game Assassin's Creed: Rogue at the Battle of Quiberon Bay. In contrast to the game, the ship was sunk by the protagonist Shay Cormac with his ship, the Morrigan, instead of being captured by the Royal Navy.



British HMS Resolution, a 74-gun Dublin-class took surrender of the French Formidable, and wrecked in the following night in a storm

HMS Resolution was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 December 1758 at Northam.
On 20 November the following year, Resolution took part in the decisive Battle of Quiberon Bay captained by Henry Speke. Just before 4pm she took the surrender of the French ship Formidable. However after a stormy night she was found the following morning to have run aground on the Four Shoal and dismasted

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Battle of Quiberon Bay: the Day After (Richard Wright, 1760) Resolution is on her starboard side in the foreground

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, inboard profile (no waterlines), and basic longitudinal half-breadth for building 'Resolution' (1758), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker. Signed by Thomas Slade [Surveyor of the Navy, 1755-1771
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81172.html#YkY5WseUrjFkQdUw.99



British HMS Essex wrecked on Le Four shoal

HMS Essex was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Blackwall Yard in 1679.

She was rebuilt at Rotherhithe in 1700, retaining her 70-gun armament. She underwent a second rebuild in 1713, and on 20 May 1736 she was ordered to be taken to pieces and rebuilt at Woolwich as a 70-gun third rate to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment. She was relaunched on 21 February 1740.
Essex was wrecked on the Four Shoal in 1759, eighty years after she was first launched, while chasing the French flagship Soleil Royal after the Battle of Quiberon Bay.

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Battle of Quiberon Bay: the Day After (Richard Wright, 1760) Essex is the more distant ship on its side, to the left of HMS Resolution


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Juste_(1726)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Soleil-Royal_(1749)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Héros_(1752)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Resolution_(1758)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin-class_ship_of_the_line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Formidable_(1751)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Essex_(1679)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 November 1786 – Launch of French Capricieuse, at Lorient – wrecked January 1800.


The Capricieuse was a 36-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class.

She was launched in Lorient on 20 November 1786 and commissioned under captain de Ferrières the next year.
In 1788, she accidentally ran aground and was refloated the next year.
In February 1791, she took a station in Domingo, from which she returned in October 1792, ferrying Blanchelande to be tried in France.
In September 1793, she was renamed Charente and manned by the crew of Néréide. She took part in the Croisière du Grand Hiver and in the Expédition d'Irlande, where she shadowed Trajan.
In 1798, she was used to ferry detainees to Cayenne. In late March, under commander Bruillac, she battled a British division off Gironde.

Capricieuse was lost on 31 October 1799, when she ran aground at the entrance of Blavet river.


Class and type: Capricieuse-class frigate
Displacement: 600 tonnes
Length: 44.2 m (145 ft)
Beam: 11.2 m (37 ft)
Draught: 5.5 m (18 ft)
Propulsion: Sail
Armament: 32 guns
Armour: Timber


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Cybèle and Prudente (sistership) fighting HMS Centurion and HMS Diomede.

Capricieuse class, (32-gun design by Charles Segondat-Duvernet, with 26 x 12-pounder and 6 x 6-pounder guns).

The ships of the class
Capricieuse,
(i) (launched 23 December 1779 at Lorient) – captured 1780 by British Navy.
Friponne, (launched 20 March 1780 at Lorient) – condemned 1796.
Capricieuse, (ii) (launched 20 November 1786 at Lorient) – wrecked January 1800.
Prudente, (launched 21 September 1790 at Lorient) – sold for service as a privateer 1798.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Capricieuse_(1787)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Prudente_(1790)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 November 1790 – Launch of Spanish Intrépido, 74 gun San Ildefonso class at Ferrol - transferred to France 1 July 1801, renamed Intrépide, captured by Britain at the Battle of Trafalgar and sank in storm, 1805


Intrépide was a 74-gun San Ildefonso class third-rate ship of the line of the French navy. She was originally built at Ferrol, Spain in 1790 by José Romero y Fernández de Landa as the Spanish ship of the line Intrepido, and later was sold to France in 1800.

On 21 October 1805, Intrépide was one of the ships of Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley at the Battle of Trafalgar, under Captain Louis-Antoine Infernet.

Dumanoir commanded the six ship vanguard of the French fleet, with Scipion, Duguay-Trouin, Mont-Blanc, Intrépide and Neptune. Nelson's attacks left these ships downwind of the main confrontation and Dumanoir did not immediately obey Villeneuve's orders to return to the battle. When the ships did turn back, most of them only exchanged a few shots before retiring.

Infernet and his crew, wanting to join the fight, eventually disobeyed Dumanoir's orders and joined the battle, followed by the Spanish Neptuno (Captain Valdes). Intrépide fought against Leviathan, Africa, Agamemnon, Ajax, Orion and Conqueror, only to strike her colours at about 17:00, badly damaged with half of her crew dead.

The Intrépide was later scuttled on Admiral Collingwood's orders to avoid recapture by the counter-attack of the six ship French squadron led by Captain Julien Cosmao of Pluton, two days later.

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An action during the Napoleonic War, 1803-15. On 15 September 1805 Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson re-hoisted his flag in the 'Victory', 100 guns, at Portsmouth and sailed to join Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood and re-assume command of the Mediterranean fleet off Cadiz on 28 September. On the same day Vice-Admiral Villeneuve was ordered to sail from Cadiz for the Mediterranean with just his French ships. However, the Spanish were determined to accompany him. On the morning of 21 October the British found the Franco-Spanish Allied fleet, which reversed its course northwards towards Cadiz, forming into a somewhat disordered single column on the port tack in a light wind. The British fleet was in two parallel lines, the left-hand or windward column being led by Nelson in the 'Victory', the right-hand or leeward one by Collingwood in the 'Royal Sovereign', 100 guns. Both lines intercepted the enemy at an angle from slightly astern of their beam, Collingwood engaging about one-third from the rear of the enemy line and Nelson just ahead of the centre. The action quickly became general and continued for over three hours, by which time 17 Allied ships had struck and one blown up. Although no British ship was lost, the battle is important because of its conclusive nature and the fact that Nelson was among the dead. While the war continued for nearly ten more years, it was its last fleet action of major strategic import. This painting shows the two fleets at the end of the action at about 5.00 pm and is a bird's eye view from the south-east. In the foreground the most shattered of the British ships lie with their prizes. Beyond, the remaining ten enemy ships are making their escape. In the left foreground is the British 'Tonnant', 80 guns, in port-bow view, her topmast shot away, and astern of her the British 'Defiance', 74 guns, in port-bow view, having lost her main and mizzen topmasts. To the right of her is the French 'L'Intrepide', 74 guns, with her fore and mizzen topmast gone. In the middle of the foreground is the British 'Bellerophon', 74 guns, in port-bow view, her main and mizzen topmasts gone. Just astern of her, in port-quarter view, is the captured Spanish ship 'Monarca', 74 guns. In the right foreground is the captured Spanish 'Bahama', 74 guns, in starboard-quarter view, with the British 'Mars', 74 guns, beyond her and starboard broadside across her bows. In the extreme right, in starboard-quarter view and half out of the picture is the British 'Conqueror', 74 guns. In the middle distance, left to right and bow on, the French 'Achille', 74 guns, is burning. There is also a group of three British ships; the nearest is the 'Sirius', 36 guns, in starboard-quarter view, while beyond her is the 'Prince', 98 guns, also in starboard-quarter view and the schooner 'Pickle', 10 guns, in port-broadside view. To the right of these and nearer the viewer are two three-deckers, in starboard-quarter view, the left hand one being the dismasted Spanish 'Santa Ana', 112 guns, and the other Collingwood's 'Royal Sovereign' with only her foremasts standing. To the right of these, in port-bow view, is a cluster of three ships all more or less dismasted. Left to right, these are the French 'Fougeux', 74 guns, the British 'Téméraire', 98 guns, and French 'Redoubtable', 74 guns. Both the French ships have been captured. Beyond this last group is the 'Victory' with only her foremasts standing, in starboard quarter view and almost masking Villeneuve's flagship 'Bucentaure', also in starboard-quarter view. In the right and beyond these two are the captured 'Santissima Trinidad', 140 guns, and the British 'Neptune', 98 guns, in starboard-quarter and stern view. On the right of the picture is a crowd of ships mostly under way. The nearest is the dismasted Spanish 'San Augustin', 74 guns, alongside the British 'Leviathan', 74 guns, which is firing a starboard gun, and the French 'Intrepide', 74 guns, escaping to the right with a Spanish ship. Beyond are more British ships to the right. The painting is one of a pair (see BHC0548) and one of a series of six paintings created for a two-volume 'Life of Nelson', begun shortly after Nelson's death in 1805 by Clarke and McArthur and published in 1809. They were engraved by James Fittler to be reproduced in the biography with lengthy explanatory texts. Accompanying the engraving is a plan with a key and a description. The artist placed considerable importance on accuracy, referring to his annotated drawings and sketch plans in the production of his oil paintings. Pocock was born and brought up in Bristol, went to sea at the age of 17 and rose to command several merchant ships. Although he only took up painting as a profession in his early forties, he became extremely successful, receiving commissions from naval commanders anxious to have accurate portrayals of actions and ships. By the age of 80, Pocock had recorded nearly 40 years of maritime history, demonstrating a meticulous understanding of shipping and rigging with close attention to detail. The painting is signed and dated 'N Pocock 1807'.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/12041.html#jV0RGcOjBx3vBy4f.99


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Intrépide_(1800)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 November 1820 – An 80-ton sperm whale attacks and sinks the Essex (a whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts) 2,000 miles from the western coast of South America. (Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick is in part inspired by this story.)


Essex was an American whaler from Nantucket, Massachusetts, which was launched in 1799. In 1820, while at sea in the southern Pacific Ocean under the command of Captain George Pollard Jr., she was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale. Stranded thousands of miles from the coast of South America with little food and water, the 20-man crew was forced to make for land in the ship's surviving whaleboats.

The men suffered severe dehydration, starvation, and exposure on the open ocean, and the survivors eventually resorted to eating the bodies of the crewmen who had died. When that proved insufficient, members of the crew drew lots to determine who they would sacrifice so that the others could live. A total of seven crew members were cannibalized before the last of the eight survivors were rescued, more than three months after the sinking of the Essex. First mate Owen Chase and cabin boy Thomas Nickerson later wrote accounts of the ordeal. The tragedy attracted international attention, and inspired Herman Melville to write his famous novel Moby-Dick.

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A whale striking Essex on November 20, 1820 (sketched by Thomas Nickerson)

Ship and crew
By the time of her fateful voyage, Essex was already an old ship, but because so many of her previous voyages had been profitable, she had gained a reputation as a "lucky" vessel. Captain George Pollard Jr. and first mate Owen Chase had served together on the ship's previous trip, which had been highly successful and led to their promotions. In 1819, at the age of 29, Pollard was one of the youngest men ever to command a whaling ship; Chase was 23, and the youngest member of the crew was the cabin boy, Thomas Nickerson, who was 14.

Essex had recently been totally refitted, but at only 88 feet (27 m) in length, and measuring about 239 tons burthen, she was small for a whaleship. Essex was equipped with four whaleboats, each about 28 ft (8.5 m) in length. In addition, she had a spare whaleboat below decks. These boats were clinker built, with planks that overlapped each other rather than fitting flush together.

Final voyage
Essex departed from Nantucket on August 12, 1819, on what was expected to be a roughly two-and-a-half-year voyage to the bountiful whaling grounds off the west coast of South America. The crew numbered 21 men in total.

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Whaling grounds depleted
The crew was divided into three groups of six, each of which would man one of the three usable whaleboats whenever whales were sighted; the remaining two men would stay aboard and manage the Essex. Each whaleboat was led by one of the three officers – Pollard, Chase, and Joy – who then chose which of the other crew members would accompany him in his own boat.

After finding the area's population of whales exhausted, the crew encountered other whalers who told them of a vast newly discovered hunting ground, known as the "offshore ground", located between 5 and 10 degrees south latitude and between 105 and 125 degrees west longitude, about 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km) to the south and west. This was an immense distance from known shores for the whalers, and the crew had heard rumors that cannibals populated the many islands of the South Pacific.

Repairs and resupply at Galápagos
To restock their food supplies for the long journey, Essex sailed for Charles Island (later renamed Floreana Island) in the Galápagos Islands. The crew needed to fix a serious leak and initially anchored off Hood Island (now known as Española Island) on October 8, 1820. During a week at anchor, they captured 300 Galápagos giant tortoises to supplement the ship's food stores. Then they sailed for Charles Island, where on October 22 they took another 60 tortoises. The tortoises weighed from 100 to 800 pounds (45 to 363 kg) each. The sailors captured them alive and allowed some of them to roam the ship at will; the rest they kept in the hold. They believed the tortoises were capable of living for a year without eating or drinking water (though in fact the tortoises slowly starved). The sailors considered the tortoises delicious and extremely nutritious, planning to butcher them at sea as needed.

While hunting on Charles Island, helmsman Thomas Chappel decided to set a fire as a prank. It was the height of the dry season, and the fire quickly burned out of control, surrounding the hunters and forcing them to run through the flames to escape. By the time the men returned to Essex, almost the entire island was burning. The crew was upset about the fire, and Captain Pollard swore vengeance on whoever had set it. The next day, the island was still burning as the ship sailed for the offshore grounds. After a full day of sailing, the fire was still visible on the horizon. Fearing a certain whipping, Chappel only later admitted that he had set the fire.

Many years later, Nickerson returned to Charles Island and found a blackened wasteland; he observed "neither trees, shrubbery, nor grass have since appeared." It has been suggested that the fire contributed to the extinction of the Floreana Island tortoise and the near-extinction of the Floreana mockingbird, which no longer inhabit the island.

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Offshore Ground
When Essex finally reached the promised fishing grounds thousands of miles west of the coast of South America, the crew was unable to find any whales for days. Tension mounted among the officers of Essex, especially between Pollard and Chase. When they finally found a whale on November 16, it surfaced directly beneath Chase's boat, with the result that the boat was "dashed...literally in pieces".

At eight in the morning of November 20, 1820, the lookout sighted spouts, and the three remaining whaleboats set out to pursue a pod of sperm whales. On the leeward side of Essex, Chase's whaleboat harpooned a whale, but its tail struck the boat and opened up a seam, forcing the crew to cut the harpoon line and return to Essex for repairs. 2 miles (3 km) away off the windward side, Pollard's and Joy's boats each harpooned a whale and were dragged towards the horizon away from the Essex in what whalers called a "Nantucket sleighride".

Whale attack
Chase was repairing the damaged whaleboat on board the Essex when the crew sighted an abnormally large sperm whale bull (reportedly around 85 feet (26 m) in length) acting strangely. It lay motionless on the surface facing the ship and then began to swim towards the vessel, picking up speed by shallow diving. The whale rammed Essex, rocking her from side to side, and then dived under her, surfacing close on the ship's starboard side. As its head lay alongside the bow and the tail by the stern, it was motionless and appeared to be stunned. Chase prepared to harpoon it from the deck when he realized that its tail was only inches from the rudder, which the whale could easily destroy if provoked by an attempt to kill it. Fearing to leave the ship stuck thousands of miles from land with no way to steer it, Chase hesitated. The whale recovered, swam several hundred yards forward of the ship, and turned to face the ship's bow.

"I turned around and saw him about one hundred rods [500 m or 550 yards] directly ahead of us, coming down with twice his ordinary speed of around 24 knots (44 km/h), and it appeared with tenfold fury and vengeance in his aspect. The surf flew in all directions about him with the continual violent thrashing of his tail. His head about half out of the water, and in that way he came upon us, and again struck the ship." —Owen Chase​
The whale crushed the bow, driving the vessel backwards, and then finally disengaged its head from the shattered timbers and swam off, never to be seen again, leaving Essex quickly going down by the bow. Chase and the remaining sailors frantically tried to add rigging to the only remaining whaleboat, while the steward William Bond ran below to gather the captain's sea chest and whatever navigational aids he could find.

"The captain's boat was the first that reached us. He stopped about a boat's length off, but had no power to utter a single syllable; he was so completely overpowered with the spectacle before him. He was in a short time, however, enabled to address the inquiry to me, "My God, Mr. Chase, what is the matter?" I answered, "We have been stove by a whale." —Owen Chase​
Survivors

Map showing the location of Essex sinking marked by an X and the area traveled

Essex was attacked approximately 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) west of South America. After spending two days salvaging what supplies they could from the waterlogged wreck, the 20 sailors prepared to set out in the three small whaleboats, aware that they had wholly inadequate supplies of food and fresh water for a journey to land. The boats were rigged with makeshift masts and sails taken from the Essex, and boards were added to heighten the gunwales and prevent large waves from spilling over the sides. Inside Pollard's sea chest, which Bond's quick thinking had managed to save, were two sets of navigational equipment and two copies of maritime charts. These were split between Pollard's and Chase's boats; Joy's boat was left without any means of navigating except to keep within sight of the other boats.

Examining the charts, the officers deduced that the closest known islands, the Marquesas, were more than 1,200 mi (1,900 km) to the west, and Captain Pollard intended to make for them, but the crew, led by Chase, voiced their fears that the islands might be inhabited by cannibals and voted to sail east instead, for South America. Unable to sail against the trade winds, however, the boats would first need to sail south for 1,000 mi (1,600 km) before they could take advantage of the Westerlies to turn towards South America, which then would still lie another 3,000 mi (4,800 km) to the east. Even with the knowledge that this route would require them to travel twice as far as the route to the Marquesas, Pollard conceded to the crew's decision and the boats set their course due south.

Food and water were rationed from the beginning, but most of the food had been soaked in seawater. The men ate this food first despite it increasing their thirst. It took them around two weeks to consume the contaminated food, and by this time the survivors were rinsing their mouths with seawater and drinking their own urine. Several of the giant tortoises captured from the Galápagos were brought aboard the whaleboats as well, but their size prevented the crew from bringing all of them.

Never designed for long voyages, all the whaleboats had been very roughly repaired, and leaks were a constant and serious problem during the voyage. After losing a timber, the crew of one boat had to lean to one side to raise the other side out of the water until another boat was able to draw close, allowing a sailor to nail a piece of wood over the hole. Storms and rough seas frequently plagued the tiny whaleboats, and the men who were not occupied with steering and trimming the sails spent most of their time bailing water from the bilge.

Landfall
On December 20, exactly one month after the whale attack, and within hours of the crew beginning to die of thirst, the boats landed on uninhabited Henderson Island, a small uplifted coral atoll within the modern-day British territory of the Pitcairn Islands. The men incorrectly believed, however, that they had landed on Ducie Island, a similar atoll which is actually 220 miles (350 km) to the east. Had they landed on Pitcairn Island itself, 120 miles (190 km) to the southwest, they might have received help; the descendants of the survivors of HMS Bounty, who had famously mutinied in 1789, still lived there.

On Henderson Island, Essex's crew found a small freshwater spring below the tideline and the starving men gorged themselves on endemic birds, crabs, eggs, and peppergrass. After just one week, however, they had largely exhausted the island's food resources. On 26 December, they concluded they would starve if they remained much longer. As most of the crew prepared to set sail in the whaleboats once again, three men – William Wright, Seth Weeks, and Thomas Chappel, the only white members of the crew who were not natives of Nantucket – opted to stay behind on Henderson. Almost a year after Essex sank, Lloyd's List reported that Surry had rescued the three men and taken them to Port Jackson, Australia.


Separation
The remaining Essex crewmen, now numbering 17 in three boats, resumed the journey on December 27 with the intention of reaching Easter Island. Within three days they had exhausted the crabs and birds they had stockpiled from Henderson in preparation for the voyage, leaving only a small reserve of the bread previously salvaged from Essex. On January 4, 1821, they estimated that they had drifted too far south of Easter Island to reach it and decided to make for Más a Tierra island instead, 1,818 miles (2,926 km) to the east and 419 miles (674 km) west of South America. One by one, the men began to die.

Second mate Matthew Joy, whose health had been poor even before the Essex left Nantucket, was dying; as his condition steadily worsened, Joy asked if he could rest on Pollard's boat until his death. Joy became the first crew member to die on January 10. Nantucketer Obed Hendricks subsequently assumed the leadership of Joy's boat.

The following day, Chase's whaleboat, which also carried Richard Peterson, Isaac Cole, Benjamin Lawrence, and Thomas Nickerson, became separated from the others during a squall. Peterson died on January 18 and, like Joy, was sewn into his clothes and buried at sea, as was the custom. On February 8 Cole died, but with food running out the survivors kept his body and, after a discussion, the men resorted to cannibalism.

Obed Hendricks' boat, carrying crew members William Bond and Joseph West, exhausted its food supplies on January 14, and Pollard generously offered to share his own boat's remaining provisions. Pollard's boat carried Lawson Thomas, Charles Shorter, Isaiah Sheppard, Samuel Reed, Owen Coffin, Barzillai Ray, and Charles Ramsdell. They ran out of food on January 21. Thomas died on January 20, and the others decided they had no choice but to keep the body for food. Shorter died on January 23, Sheppard on January 27, and Reed on January 28.

Later that day, the two boats separated; Hendricks' boat was never seen again. All three men are presumed to have died at sea. A whaleboat was later found washed up on Ducie Island with the skeletons of three people inside. Although it was suspected to be Obed Hendricks' missing boat, and the remains those of Hendricks, Bond, and West, the remains have never been positively identified.

By February 1, the food on Pollard's boat was again exhausted and the survivors' situation became dire. The men drew lots to determine who would be sacrificed for the survival of the remainder. A young man named Owen Coffin, Captain Pollard's 17-year-old first cousin, whom he had sworn to protect, drew the black spot. Pollard allegedly offered to protect his cousin, but Coffin is said to have replied: "No, I like my lot as well as any other". Lots were drawn again to determine who would be Coffin's executioner. His young friend, Charles Ramsdell, drew the black spot. Ramsdell shot Coffin; Ramsdell, Pollard, and Barzillai Ray consumed the body.

On February 11, Ray also died. For the remainder of their journey, Pollard and Ramsdell survived by gnawing on Coffin's and Ray's bones.

Rescue and reunion
By February 15, the three survivors of Chase's whaleboat had again run out of food. On February 18, 89 days after Essex sank, the British whaler Indian spotted and rescued Chase, Lawrence, and Nickerson. Several days after the rescue, the empty whaleboat was lost in a storm while under tow behind the Indian.

Pollard's boat, now containing only Pollard and Ramsdell, was rescued when almost within sight of the South American coast by the Nantucket whaleship Dauphin on February 23, 93 days after Essex sank. Pollard and Ramsdell by that time were so completely dissociative they did not even notice the Dauphin alongside them and became terrified when they saw their rescuers. On March 5, Dauphin encountered Two Brothers, which was sailing to Valparaíso, and transferred the two men to her.

After a few days in Valparaíso, Chase, Lawrence, and Nickerson were transferred to the frigate USS Constellation and placed under the care of the ship’s doctor, who oversaw their recovery. After officials were informed that three Essex survivors (Wright, Weeks, and Chappel) had been left behind on Ducie Island (actually Henderson Island), the authorities asked the merchant vessel Surry, which already intended to sail across the Pacific, to look for the men. As mentioned above, the rescue succeeded.

On March 17, Pollard and Ramsdell were reunited with Chase, Lawrence, and Nickerson. By the time the last of the eight survivors were rescued on April 5, 1821, the corpses of seven fellow sailors had been consumed. All eight went to sea again within months of their return to Nantucket. Herman Melville later speculated that all would have survived had they followed Captain Pollard's recommendation and sailed to Tahiti.


Owen Chase in later life


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_(whaleship)
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_(Schiff)
 
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