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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1677 - The action of March 1677 in the West Indies, often called the Battle of Tobago,
between a Dutch fleet under Jacob Binckes and a French force attempting to recapture the island of Tobago.



The action of March 1677 in the West Indies, often called the Battle of Tobago, took place on 3 March 1677 between a Dutch fleet under Jacob Binckes and a French force attempting to recapture the island of Tobago. There was much death and destruction on both sides. One of the Dutch supply ships caught fire and exploded; the fire then quickly spread in the narrow bay causing several ships, among them the French flagship Glorieux, to catch fire and explode in turn which resulted in great loss of life. The French under Vice-Admiral Comte d'Estrées retreated but would make a second attempt at the end of the year with a much stronger fleet.

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The French flag ship "Le Glorieux" fires at the burning Dutch ships. On the left a burning Dutch provision vessel.
Fictional depiction of the first battle of Tobago, from Heldendaden der Nederlanders ter Zee, a collection of lithographs by Petrus Johannes Schotel (1808-1865).

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Order of battle
France (d'Estrées)

Netherlands
  • Beschermer (flag) - (Jacob Binckes) 50 people dead
  • Huis te Kruiningen - (Roemer Vlacq) Captured, blown up by its own crew; 56 people dead
  • Zeelandia - 44 people dead
  • Leyden - Damaged
  • 6 anonymous other ships, and some merchant ships
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Gevechten tussen Hollanders en Fransen op het eiland Tobago, 3 maart 1677

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Slag bij Tobago 1677




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_March_1677
 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1698 – Launch of HMS Dartmouth, a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy


HMS Dartmouth
was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 March 1698 at Southampton.

She was rebuilt according to the 1706 Establishment at Woolwich Dockyard, relaunched on 7 August 1716[2] and formed part of the naval task force sent to Scotland to help subdue the Jacobite rising of 1719. On 8 October 1736, Dartmouth was ordered to be taken to pieces at Woolwich and rebuilt according to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment. She was relaunched on 22 April 1741.


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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for Dartmouth (1711), a 1733 Establishment, 50-gun Fourth Rate, two-decker. The plan records that she had 'more hollow aft' than the Gloucester (1737) and Severn (1739) of the same 1733 Establishment.

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Combat of the Glorioso against HMS Dartmouth. Oil on canvas by Ángel Cortellini Sánchez, 1891.

Fate
Dartmouth blew up, killing most of her crew, near Cape St Vincent on 8 October 1747 in action with the Spanish ship of the line Glorioso.

In Corcubión, Glorioso’s crew could make the necessary repairs to make the ship seaworthy. After that, Captain de la Cerda decided to head to Ferrol, but contrary windsdamaged Glorioso's rigging and the ship was forced instead to make for Cadiz. She initially sailed away from the Portuguese coast to avoid further clashes with British ships. However, on 17 October, she encountered a squadron of four British privateers under Commodore George Walker near Cape Saint Vincent. This squadron, called the 'Royal Family' because of the names of the ships, was composed of the frigates King George, Prince Frederick, Princess Amelia and Duke, altogether carrying 960 men and 120 guns.

At 8 a.m. the King George, flagship of the division, managed to approach the Glorioso and the two ships exchanged fire, with the British frigate losing her mainmast and two guns as a result of Glorioso's first salvo. The Spanish and British ships duelled for three hours, taking heavy damage that forced her to break off contact. The Glorioso continued sailing to the south, being pursued by the three frigates, which were later reinforced by two ships of the line, the 50-gun HMS Dartmouth and the 92-gun HMS Russell.

The captain of the Dartmouth, John Hamilton, managed to place his ship next to the Glorioso; nevertheless after a fierce exchange of fire the British ship caught fire on her powder magazine and blew up at 3:30 PM of 8 October. Captain Hamilton and most of the crew perished in the flames. Only a lieutenant, Christopher O’Brien, and 11 seamen survived the explosion. Some sources mention 14 survivors from a crew of 300. According to one survivor, HMS Dartmouth was already dismasted and heavily damaged by the Spanish gunfire when a round from Glorioso hit the light-room of the magazine, starting a fire that ignited the powder and blew the ship up. He recalled 15 seamen rescued out of a crew of 325. These men were saved by life boats from the Prince Frederick. The three frigates joined the Russell the following evening and together riddled the Glorioso with all their guns. The Spanish ship resisted from midnight to 9 AM, when about to sink, almost completely dismasted, without ammunition, and with 33 men killed and 130 wounded on board, Captain don Pedro Messia de la Cerda, seeing that the defence was impossible, surrendered her. HMS Russell had 12 seamen killed and several wounded. Another eight men died aboard King George.

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The Glorioso engaged by the Russell in her last battle. The wreck of the sinking Dartmouth is seen on the background.


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British engraving representing the Glorioso.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dartmouth_(1698)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_Glorioso
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1756 – Launch of HMS Namur, a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy


HMS Namur
was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 3 March 1756. HMS Namur’s battle honours surpass even those of the more famous HMS Victory.

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History

HMS Namur figurehead, Naval Museum of Halifax, CFB Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Namur was the flagship of Edward Boscawen Vice Admiral of the Blue in the capture of Louisburg in 1758. General James Wolfe had sailed across the Atlantic in Namur on this occasion before his capture of Quebec. Also on this journey was 6th Lieutenant Michael Henry Pascal with his slave and servant Olaudah Equiano who at that time was called Gustavus Vasser, his slave name given him by Pascal. Equiano in his book wrote that the ceremony of surrender was "the most beautiful procession on the water I ever saw", and gives fuller details. In 1758, fifteen Namur sailors were tried and condemned to death by hanging for mutiny; they had protested to be replaced aboard another ship. King´s grace reprieved them from death penalty except one. (Leonard F- Gutteridge: Mutiny - a list of naval insurrection", 1992 Annapolis USA)

Namur was the flagship of Admiral Sir George Pocock in the Battle of Havana (1762).

Namur fought in the Battle of Cape St Vincent (1797) under the command of Captain James Hawkins-Whitshed. Namur was astern of HMS Captain, under the command of then Commodore Horatio Nelson, at the beginning stages of the battle.

Namur was razeed to a 74-gun ship in 1805, and took part in the naval engagement of 4th Nov. 1805 (Battle of Cape Ortegal), when the remnant of the French and Spanish warship fleet which had escaped from Trafalgar was engaged by Lord Strachan's squadron; she took on and captured the French warship "Formidable"[7]. She was placed on harbour service in 1807 and remained in this role until 1833, when she was finally broken up.

Some of Namur's timbers were used to support the floor of the wheelwright's workshop at Chatham Dockyard. They were rediscovered there in 1995 and identified in 2003. The restored timbers form the centrepiece of the "Command of the Oceans" gallery at the Chatham Historic Dockyard museum opened in 2016.

Notable crewmembers

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for building Namur (1756), a 90-gun Second Rate, three-decker, at Chatham Dockyard. The plan includes alterations to the upper decks in red from the Surveyor dated 1755, and further alterations dated February 1759 that states the ship was cut down at Portsmouth. However, the Namure was not razeed until 1805. Though spelt 'Namure' on plans, as here, the more usual form is 'Namur'.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the sheer (no waterlines) for the Namur (1756), a 90-gun Second Rate, three-decker, as proposed to be cut down (razeed) to a 74-gun Third-Rate, two-decker. This draught was not sent to the dockyard.Though spelt 'Namure' on plans, as here, the more usual form is 'Namur'.

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A depiction of an episode from the last major operation of the Seven Years War, 1756-63. It was part of Britain's offensive against Spain when she entered the war in support of France late in 1761. The British Government's response was immediately to plan large offensive amphibious operations against Spanish overseas possessions, particularly Havana, the capital of the western dominions and Manila, the capital of the eastern. Havana needed large forces for its capture and early in 1762 ships and troops were dispatched under Admiral Sir George Pocock and General the Earl of Albemarle. The force which descended on Cuba consisted of 22 ships of the line, four 50-gun ships, three 40s, a dozen frigates and a dozen sloops and bomb vessels. In addition there were troopships, storeships, and hospital ships. Pocock took this great fleet of about 180 sail through the dangerous Old Bahama Strait, from Jamaica, to take Havana by surprise. Havana, on Cuba's north coast, was guarded by the elevated Morro Castle which commanded both the entrance to its fine harbour, immediately to the west, and the town on the west side of the bay. The English fleet moved into Havana harbour once the obstructions had been cleared on 21 August. On the left of the picture, Commodore Augustus Keppel in the 'Valiant', is leading in his squadron first, an honour accorded him by Admiral Sir George Pocock. On the right Pocock's 'Namur', flying his flag as Admiral of the Blue, together with the Union flag and blue ensign, is shown following with the bulk of the fleet. For further details on the capture of Havana and the other paintings in this series, see BHC0408. Serres was a well-born Frenchman from Gascony who ran away to sea in merchant service rather than follow family wish that he enter the Church. He probably arrived in England as a naval prisoner of war, took up painting and settled there. His early paintings show the influence of Brooking and Monamy's interpretations of Dutch art but he rapidly achieved recognition for his more documentary visual accounts of sea actions of the Seven Years War, 1756-63, becoming established as England's leading marine painter. His work was even more in demand in the 1770s and 1780s, recording the naval history of the War of American Independence. In 1768 Serres was a founder member of the Royal Academy and at the end of his life its librarian. A well respected and sociable man, he was appointed Marine Painter to George III in 1780. This painting is signed and dated 'D Serres 1775'.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Namur_(1756)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1764 - Launch of HMS Triumph, a 74-gun third rate Valiant-class ship of the line


HMS Triumph
was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 March 1764 at Woolwich.

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In 1797, she took part in the Battle of Camperdown, and in 1805 Triumph was part of Admiral Calder's fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre.

In 1810 Triumph and Phipps, salvaged a large load of elemental mercury from a wrecked Spanish vessel near Cadiz, Spain. The bladders containing the mercury soon ruptured and the crew were poisoned by mercury vapour.

Triumph was on harbour service from 1813, but was not broken up until 1850

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Sketch of His Majesty's Ship Triumph of 74 Guns 1808; watercolour

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for a proposed 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, based on the design for 'Triumph' (1764). The plan is annoted in detail with the proposed alterations in construction, which continues on the reverse of the plan. It seems that no vessel was built to this proposal.

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Scale: 1:96. Plan showing the outboard profile and section for 'Triumph' (1764), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, as hulked and fitted as a Lazaretto with a roof. Signed by Edward Churchill [Assistant to Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1803-1813; Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1815-1829].


The Valiant-class ships of the line were a class of two 74-gun third rates of the Royal Navy.

Design
The draught for the two Valiant-class ships was a copy of the lines of the captured French ship Invincible, which had been captured during the First Battle of Cape Finisterre. They were slightly longer than other British 74s of the time, and carried a significantly heavier armament (thirty 24-pounders on their upper gun decks as opposed to the twenty-eight 18-pounders found on the upper gun decks of all other British 74s at the time). The second of the two ships was launched in 1764, and there would not be another 'large' type 74 until the Mars-class, the first of which was launched in 1794.

Ships
Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 21 May 1757
Launched: 10 August 1759
Fate: Broken up, 1826
Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 21 May 1757
Launched: 3 March 1764
Fate: Broken up, 1850

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the sheer lines proposed (and approved) for repairing the Valiant (1759), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker. The plan indicates her 'as built' in ticked lines. Signed by John Williams [Surveyor of the Navy, 1765-1784]. NMM, Progress Book, volume 5, folio 83 states that 'Valiant' (1759) was docked at Portsmouth Dockyard on 8 October 1771 and undocked on 1 April 1775 having undergone a "large repair" costing £36,279.10.10

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern frames, sheer lines with scroll figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Ajax (1798) and Kent (1798), both 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. The plan illustrates the ships as they were originally designed based on the Triumph (1764), and with the later addition of 11ft per Admiralty Order dated 19 October 1796. An additional piece of paper was inserted into the plan in order to keep the draught to scale. The plan also includes the alteration to the Kent when she underwent a Large Repair at Plymouth Dockyard in 1817-1820 and was rebuilt with a circular stern.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Triumph_(1764)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1776 - American Revolutionary War: The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau
Under the command of Commodore Esek Hopkins and Marine Capt. Samuel Nicholas, the Continental Navy makes the first American amphibious landing operation at New Providence, Bahamas, and captures the forts for much needed ordnance and gunpowder.



The Raid of Nassau (March 1–10, 1776) was a naval operation and amphibious asssault by Colonial forces against the British port of Nassau, Bahamas, during the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence). The battle is considered one of the first engagements of the newly established Continental Navy and the Continental Marines, the respective progenitors of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The action was also the marines' first amphibious landing. It is sometimes known as the "Battle of Nassau".


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Continental Marines land at New Providence

Departing from Cape Henlopen, Delaware on February 17, 1776, the fleet arrived in the Bahamas on March 1, with the objective of seizing gunpowder and munitions known to be stored there. Two days later the marines came ashore seizing Fort Montagu at the eastern end of the Nassau harbor, but did not advance to the town where the gunpowder was stored. That night Nassau's governor had most of the gunpowder loaded aboard ships sailing for St. Augustine. On March 4, the Continental Marines advanced and took control of the poorly defended town.

The Continental forces remained at Nassau for two weeks and took away all the remaining gunpowder and munitions found. The fleet returned to New London, Connecticut in early April after capturing a few British supply ships, but failed to capture HMS Glasgow in an action on April 6.

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Background
When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, Lord Dunmore, the British provincial governor of the Colony of Virginia, with the British forces under his command, had removed Virginia's store of provincial arms and gunpowder to the island of New Providence in the Crown Colony of the Bahamas, in order to keep it from falling into the hands of the rebel militia. Montfort Browne, the Bahamian governor, was alerted by General Thomas Gage in August 1775 that the rebel colonists might make attempts to seize these supplies.

The desperate shortage of gunpowder available to the Continental Army had led the Second Continental Congress to organize a naval expedition, with the intention of seizing military supplies at Nassau. While the orders issued by the congress to Esek Hopkins, the fleet captain selected to lead the expedition, included only instructions for patrolling and raiding British naval targets on the Virginia and Carolina coastline, additional instructions may have been given to Hopkins in secret meetings of the congress' naval committee. The instructions that Hopkins issued to his fleet's captains before it sailed from Cape Henlopen, Delaware, on February 17, 1776, included instructions to rendezvous at Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas.

The fleet that Hopkins launched consisted of Alfred, Hornet, Wasp, Fly, Andrew Doria, Cabot, Providence, and Columbus. In addition to ships' crews, it carried 200 marines under the command of Samuel Nicholas. In spite of gale force winds, the fleet remained together for two days, when Fly and Hornet became separated from the fleet. Hornet was forced to return to port for repairs, and Fly eventually caught up with the fleet at Nassau, after the raid took place. Hopkins did not let the apparent loss of the two ships dissuade him; he had intelligence that much of the British fleet was in port due to the high winds.


Commodore Esek Hopkins (French engraving)


Prelude
Browne received further intelligence in late February that a rebel fleet was assembling off the Delaware coast, but apparently took no significant actions to prepare a defense. New Providence's harbor had two primary defenses, Fort Nassau and Fort Montagu. Fort Nassau was located in Nassau, but was poorly equipped to defend the port against amphibious attacks, as it had walls that were not strong enough to support the action of its 46 cannons. As a result, Fort Montagu had been constructed in 1742 on the eastern end of the harbor, commanding its entrance. At the time of the raid, it was fortified with 17 cannon, although most of the gunpowder and ordnance was at Fort Nassau.

The fleet arrived at Abaco Island on March 1, 1776. The force captured two sloops owned by Loyalists, one of whom was Captain Gideon Lowe of Green Turtle Cay, and pressed their owners to serve as pilots. George Dorsett, a local ship's captain, got away from Abaco and alerted Browne to the presence of the rebel fleet. The landing force was transferred to the two captured sloops and Providence the next day, and plans were formulated for the assault. While the main fleet held back, the three ships carrying the landing force were to enter the port at daybreak on March 3, and gain control of the town before the alarm could be raised.

The decision to land at daybreak turned out to be a mistake, as the alarm was raised in Nassau when the three ships were spotted in the morning light, rousing Browne from his bed. He ordered four guns fired from Fort Nassau to alert the militia; two of the guns came off their mounts when they were fired. At 7:00 a.m. he held a discussion with Samuel Gambier, one of his councilors, over the idea that the gunpowder should be removed from the islands on Mississippi Packet, a fast ship docked in the harbor. They ultimately did not act on the idea, but Browne ordered thirty mostly unarmed militiamen to occupy Fort Montagu before retiring to his house to make himself "a little decent".

Battle
Landing and capture

When the guns at Fort Nassau were heard by the attackers, they realized the element of surprise was lost and aborted the assault. The elements of the fleet then rejoined in Hanover Sound, about six nautical miles east of Nassau. There Hopkins held council, and a new plan of attack was developed. According to accounts now discredited, Hopkins' lieutenant, John Paul Jones, suggested a new landing point and then led the action. Jones was unfamiliar with the local waters, unlike many of the captains present in the council. It is more likely that the landing force was led by Cabot's lieutenant, Thomas Weaver, who was also familiar with the area. With the force enlarged by 50 sailors, the three ships, with Waspoffering additional covering support, carried it to a point south and east of Fort Montagu, where they made an unopposed landing between 12:00 and 2:00 pm. This was the first landing of what eventually became the United States Marine Corps.

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An 1803 depiction of Nassau; the harbor entrances are on either side of Hog Island, just north of Nassau

A lieutenant named Burke led a detachment out from Fort Montagu to investigate the rebel activity. Given that he was severely outnumbered, he opted to send a truce flag to determine their intentions. From this he learned that their objective was the seizure of powder and military stores. In the meantime, Browne arrived at Fort Montagu with another eighty militiamen. Upon learning the size of the advancing force, he ordered three of the fort's guns fired, and withdrew all but a few men back to Nassau. He himself retired to the governor's house, and most of the militiamen also returned to their homes rather than attempting to make a stand. Browne sent Burke out to parley with the rebels a second time, in order to "wait on the command officer of the enemy to know his errand and on what account he had landed his troops."

The firing of Montagu's guns had given Nicholas pause for concern, but his men had occupied the fort, and he was consulting with his officers on their next move when Burke arrived. They obligingly repeated to Burke that they had arrived to take the powder and weapons, and were prepared to assault the town. Burke brought this news back to Browne around 4:00 pm. Rather than advance further on Nassau, Nicholas and his force (200 marines and 50 sailors) remained at Fort Montagu that night. Browne held a war council that evening, in which the decision was made to attempt the removal of the gunpowder. At midnight, 162 of 200 barrels of gunpowder were loaded onto Mississippi Packet and HMS St John, and at 2:00 am they sailed out of Nassau harbor, bound for Saint Augustine. This feat was made possible because Hopkins had neglected to post even a single ship to guard the harbor's entrance channels, leaving the fleet safely anchored in Hanover Sound.


Captain Samuel Nicholas


Nicholas' marines occupied Nassau without resistance the next morning after a leaflet written by Hopkins was distributed throughout the town. They were met en route by a committee of the town's leaders, who offered up the town's keys.

Return voyage
Hopkins and his fleet remained at Nassau for two weeks, loading as much weaponry as would fit onto the ships, including the remaining 38 casks of gunpowder. He pressed into service a local sloop, Endeavour, to carry some of the material Browne complained that the rebel officers consumed most of his liquor stores during the occupation, and also wrote that he was taken in chains like a "felon to the gallows" when he was arrested and taken to Alfred.

During their sojourn at Nassau, Fly arrived. Her captain reported that she and Hornet had fouled their rigging together and that Hornet suffered significant damage as a consequence. On March 17, the fleet sailed for Block Island Channel off Newport, Rhode Island, with Browne and other officials as prisoners. The return voyage was uneventful until the fleet reached the waters of Long Island. On April 4, they encountered and captured HMS Hawk, and the next day captured Bolton, which was laden with stores that included more armaments and powder. The fleet finally met resistance on April 6, when it encountered HMS Glasgow, a sixth-rate ship. In the ensuing action, the outnumbered Glasgow managed to escape capture, severely damaging Cabot in the process, wounding her captain, Hopkins' son John Burroughs Hopkins, and killing or wounding eleven others.

The fleet sailed into the harbor at New London, Connecticut on April 8.

Aftermath
Browne was eventually exchanged for American general William Alexander (Lord Stirling), and was roundly criticized for his handling of the whole affair. Nassau remained relatively poorly defended and was again subjected to American rebel threat in January 1778. It was then seized by Spanish forces under Bernardo de Gálvez in 1782, and returned to British control after the war.

While Hopkins was initially lauded for the success at Nassau, the failure to capture Glasgow and crew complaints about some of the captains led to a variety of investigations and courts martial. As a result of these, Providence's captain was relieved of his command, which was given to Jones. Jones, who had performed well in Glasgow encounter in spite of a crew reduced by disease, thereafter received a captain's commission in the Continental Navy.

The manner by which Hopkins distributed the spoils was criticized, and his failure to follow his orders to patrol the Virginia shore resulted in censure by the Continental Congress. After a series of further missteps and accusations, Hopkins was forced out of the navy in 1778.

Two ships of the United States Navy have been christened USS Nassau; USS Nassau (LHA-4), an amphibious assault ship, is named specifically in recognition of this battle, while USS Nassau (CVE-16) was named for Nassau Sound, the body of water off the coast of Florida near Jacksonville.



 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1791 – Launch of french Aréthuse, a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, at Brest


Aréthuse was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, built from 1789 following plans by Ozanne.

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(38-gun one-off design by Charles Segondat-Duvernet with 28 x 18-pounder and 10 x 8-pounder guns, and 4 x 24-pounder carronades)
She was launched on 3 March 1791, and served in the Mediterranean under Captain Pierre René Bouvet.

During the Siege of Toulon, Royalist rioters surrendered Aréthuse to the British. She escaped to Portoferraio when the city fell, and was brought into Royal Navy service as HMS Arethuse.

In July 1795, she was renamed HMS Undaunted.

On 9 February 1796, she sailed for the Leeward Islands under the command of Henry Roberts. She then joined Captain Thomas Parr, in the fourth rate HMS Malabar, as part of the squadron that occupied the Dutch colonies of Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice in April and May.

On 27 August 1796, under the command of Robert Winthrop, she was wrecked on the Morant Cays in the West Indies.

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Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, stern board decoration, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead and longitudinal half breadth for Arethuse (1793) - ex Arethuse (1791), a captured French Frigate, as taken off at Sheerness Dockyard in April 1795, prior to fitting as a 38-gun, Fifth Rate Frigate. Signed John Marshall (Master Shipwright, Sheerness 1793-1795)

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Aréthuse_(1792)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1794 – Launch of HMS Hazard, a 16-gun Cormorant class ship-sloop built by Josiah & Thomas Brindley at Frindsbury, Kent,


HMS Hazard
was a 16-gun Royal Navy Cormorant class ship-sloop built by Josiah & Thomas Brindley at Frindsbury, Kent, and launched in 1794. She served in the French Revolutionary Wars and throughout the Napoleonic Wars. She captured numerous prizes, and participated in a notable ship action against Topaze, as well as in several other actions and campaigns, three of which earned her crew clasps to the Naval General Service Medal. Hazard was sold in 1817.

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Construction
The Hazard was one of the initial batch of six ship-rigged ship sloops that the Admiralty ordered in February 1793, shortly after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, to a joint design by Sir John Henslow and William Rule.[3] She was laid down in May 1793, launched there in March 1794, and then taken down the Medway to Chatham Naval Dockyard, where she was masted and completed in June.

Please read about her long career in wikipedia the details....

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Drawing of the Hazard, 1793


The Cormorant class were built as a class of 16-gun ship sloops for the Royal Navy, although they were re-rated as 18-gun ships soon after completion.

Design
The two Surveyors of the Navy – Sir William Rule and Sir John Henslow – jointly designed the class. A notation on the back of the plans held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, states that the designers based their plan on the lines of the captured French sloop Amazon, captured in 1745.

The Admiralty ordered six vessels to this design in February 1793; it ordered a seventh vessel in the following year. These ships were initially armed with sixteen 6-pounder guns, later supplemented with eight 12-pounder carronades (6 on the quarter deck and 2 on the forecastle). The 6-pounder guns were eventually replaced by 24-pounder carronades.

Twenty-four more were ordered to the same design in 1805 – 1806, although in this new batch 32-pounder carronades were fitted instead of the 6-pounder guns originally mounted in the earlier batch; the 12-pounder carronades were replaced by 18-pounders, and some ships also received two 6-pounders as chase guns on the forecastle.

Of this second batch one ship (Serpent) was cancelled and another (Ranger) completed to a slightly lengthened variant of the design.

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His Majesty's ship Blossom off the Sandwich Islands



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hazard_(1794)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1794 – Launch of Duff, a ship launched on the Thames in 1794


Duff was a ship launched on the Thames in 1794. In 1796 the London Missionary Society engaged her to take a party of missionaries to the South Pacific. Once she had landed the missionaries she sailed to China and took a cargo back to England for the British East India Company. On this voyage her captain named a variety of South Pacific islands. On her second voyage to deliver missionaries a French privateer captured her off the coast of Brazil on the outward-bound leg of her voyage.


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Print: coloured aquatint of the missionary ship Duff (1794) landing at Otaheite (present day Tahiti). Shown from her starboard side the Duff is shown with lowermost sails loose preparing to anchor. She flies the missionary flag of four doves each carrying an olive branch in their beak against a blue field, a red pennant from the main mast and a red and white flag at the stern. Approaching the Duff from all directions are canoes containing islanders waving exuberently. Many more canoes can be seen in the distance setting out from land. In the background are the high volcanic mountains of Tahiti towering over the densely wooded coastline and palm trees.


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First voyage
Duff was originally under the command of P. Gordon, with owner J. Carbine and traded between London and Gibraltar.

In 1795 the just formed London Missionary Society decided to send missionaries to the South Pacific. Captain James Wilson volunteered his services and the society was able to afford to purchase Duff. Lloyd's Register for 1796 shows that Wilson replaced Gordon as master of Duff, and Cox & Co. replaced J. Carbine as owner. Also, her trade changed to London-Port Jackson. By 1797, her trade was London-South Seas.

The London Missionary Society instructed Wilson to deliver a group of missionaries and their families (consisting of thirty men, six women, and three children) to their postings in Tahiti, Tonga, and the Marquesas Islands. Captain Wilson and Duff left The Downson 13 August 1796 and by 12 November she was at Rio de Janeiro. On 6 March 1797 she reached Matavai (Mahina), where 14 missionaries and their families disembarked. Duff next delivered nine volunteers to Tongatapu on 26 March. One left immediately, and over time the locals killed three.

While sailing from Tongatapu to the Marquesas, Wilson became the first European to visit Pukarua, which he found uninhabited and named Searle Island. On 24 May Wilson he sighted Mangareva in the Gambier Islands, which he named for James Gambier, then a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty. The largest land feature on Mangareva is named Mount Duff. At Mangareva Duffstopped at Rikitea. Wilson was the first European to visit Temoe in the Gambiers, which he named "Crescent Island".

By 5 June Duff was at Resolution Bay, in the Marquesas. Here Duff landed William Pascoe Crook. On 6 July Duff was at Matavai again and was at Tahiti by 18 July. On 18 August she was back at Tonga. From there Wilson and Duff sailed for China, arriving on 13 December at Whampoa. On this voyage Wilson charted the location of a number of islands. In the Caroline Islands he visited Satawal, Elato, and Lamotrek. In the Fiji Islands Wilson also charted Vanua Balavu, Fulaga, and Ogea Levu. In the Santa Cruz Islands, now part of Solomon Islands, Duff is remembered by the Duff Islands, charted on 25 September 1797.

Duff left China 5 Jan 1798 and reached Malacca on 16 January, the Cape of Good Hope on 17 March, and St Helena on 15 April. She was at Cork on 24 June, and arrived at Long Reach on 10 July.

Second voyage and loss

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Duff at Rio Janiero(sic) in 1799

Captain Thomas Robson and Duff left Britain on 20 December 1798. She was carrying a second group of 30 missionaries for the South Pacific.

The French privateer Grande Buonaparte captured Duff on 19 February 1799 off Cape Frio near Rio de Janeiro. Her captors took Duff to Montevideo, Uruguay, where they released her crew and passengers. The missionaries finally arrived back at London on 5 October 1799.

Her captors sold Duff. Subsequently, Portuguese privateers captured Duff, only to lose her to French privateers. Her subsequent fate is currently unknown



 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1794 – Launch of HMS Diana, a 38-gun Artois-class fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy.


HMS Diana
was a 38-gun Artois-class fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1794.

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Because Diana served in the Royal Navy's Egyptian campaign between 8 March 1801 and 2 September, her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty authorized in 1850 to all surviving claimants.

Diana participated in an attack on a French frigate squadron anchored at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue at the Action of 15 November 1810, which ultimately led to the destruction of the Elisa. (Boats from Diana went in and set fire to the beached Eliza despite heavy fire from shore batteries and three nearby armed brigs; the British suffered no casualties.)

On 7 March 1815 Diana was sold to the Dutch navy for £36,796. On 27 August 1816 she was one of six Dutch frigates that participated in the bombardment of Algiers.

Fate
Diana was destroyed in a fire on 16 January 1839 while in dry-dock at Willemsoord, Den Helder.

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Lines (ZAZ2383)

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Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model of a 38 gun frigate representing the Apollo, Artois, Clyde, Diana, Diamond, Ethalion, Jason, Seahorse and Tamer (all 1794). Model is decked, equipped and scenic, depicted on slipway. Plaque inscribed "This model represents the 9 undernamed frigates ordered to be laid down for building in the years 1793 & 1794 from a draft prepared by Sir John Henslowe Chief Surveyor of His Majesty's Navy, which situation he held for 22 years, and from which he retired on the tenth of June 1806, to Sittingbourne in Kent, where he died on 22 Sepr 1815, in the 86th year of his age, his remains were removed from Sittingbourne (on the 29th of the month) to be interred in his family vault at Woolwich. Edward Prentis Henslow-e, Filius Ejus. Names of the frigates, Apollo, Artois, Diana, Diamond, Ethalion, Jason, Seahorse. Built of oak. Clyde, Tamer. Built of fir". The model shows the hull of the ship fully planked and set on a launching cradle, though without the rails on which it will run, as is common on models of this period. The stern decoration and figurehead are carefully carved and some features such as decorations and the steering wheel are made in bone. The figurehead is of Diana the huntress, which identifies the ship. Two other models of this ship are in the Museum collection.


The Artois class were a series of nine frigates built to a 1793 design by Sir John Henslow, which served in the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Seven of these ships were built by contract with commercial builders, while the remaining pair (Tamar and Clyde) were dockyard-built - the latter built using "fir" (pitch pine) instead of the normal oak.

They were armed with a main battery of 28 eighteen-pounder cannon on their upper deck, the main gun deck of a frigate. Besides this battery, they also carried two 9-pounders together with twelve 32-pounder carronades on the quarter deck, and another two 9-pounders together with two 32-pounder carronades on the forecastle.


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Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model of the Diana-class frigate (1794), a 38-gun fifth-rate, built in 'bread and butter' fashion and finished in the Georgian style. Model is partially decked, equipped, and mounted on its original pillar supports with a modern base. This model clearly illustrates the increasing use of bone and ivory in particular the carved decoration on the stern and the numerous fittings that were turned on a lathe such as the capstan head and deadeyes.

Ships in class

Model kit available:

Jotika / Caldercraft
is manufacturing a beautiful PoB kit of the HMS Diana in scale 1 : 64

HMS Diana, the second built in the Artois class was designed by Sir John Henslow. She was built by Randall & Brent of Rotherhithe, one of the largest merchant builders in the country. After eleven months building the hull, Diana was launched on the 3rd of March 1794. She was then towed to the Royal Dockyard at Deptford where she was fitted out. This included masts, rigging, anchors, coppering of her bottom, ordnance and stores. On the 12th of June 1794 Diana was ready to receive her full crew and spent the next 6 1/2 weeks working up at the Nore. The total cost of building and fitting out the Diana was £23,000. Diana had a very long and active career in which most of her time was spent in patrol, convoy and blockade duties. The highlight of her career was in August 1795 when on patrol duty accompanied by her sister ship Seahorse and the frigate Unicorn, they captured the Dutch East Indiaman Cromhout, another merchant ship and her escort. From the Cromhout alone the ship shared nearly £47,000 prize money. On the 30th of May 1814 Britain and France signed a peace treaty. On the 7th of March 1815 after a large repair and re-coppering Diana was sold to the Dutch Navy for £36,796. On the 27th August 1816 Diana was one of 6 Frigates in the Dutch squadron that combined with the British fleet under Sir Edward Pellow (Lord Exmouth), himself a distinguished Frigate captain, and took part in the famous bombardment of Algiers. On the 16th of January 1839, after an incredible 45 year service, Diana was accidentally destroyed by fire in dry-dock at Willemsoord. The model kit of Diana is depicted not as built, but after her first refit at Portsmouth in June 1796 where she was given solid quarter deck bulwarks, carronades to replace the 9lb carriage guns and a dolphin striker on the bowsprit. Diana measured 173ft from figurehead to stern, her breadth was 39ft 3 1/2” and was almost 1000 tons burthen. Main armament was twenty eight 18lb carriage guns on the gun deck, with secondary armament consisting of ten 9lb guns on the top deck along with eight 32lb carronades. There is no doubt that this configuration constantly changed throughout her career and at the end of her time in the British Navy she had fourteen carronades on her top deck.

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The Diana kit was designed from original Admiralty plans and contains:
CNC cut timber throughout; brass 18 and 9 pounder cannons; double plank on bulkhead construction; black and natural hemp for rigging; 2,300 1:64 scale copper plates; full size plans; comprehensive instruction manual and drawings.

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Customer built models: (Taken from Jotika web-page)

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Diana_(1794)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artois-class_frigate
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1798 – Launch of HMS Ajax, an Ajax class 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the British Royal Navy


HMS
Ajax
was an Ajax class 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the British Royal Navy. She was built by John Randall & Co of Rotherhithe and launched on the Thames on 3 March 1798. Ajax participated in the Egyptian operation of 1801, the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805 and the Battle of Trafalgar, before she was lost to a disastrous fire in 1807 during the Dardanelles Operation.

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Watercolour of HMS Ajax, in the collections of the National Maritime Museum; no artist or date given

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Egypt
Captain James Whitshed had been in charge of the vessel during her later construction stages from January 1798, but she was eventually commissioned in June 1798 under Captain John Holloway, and a month later command passed to Captain John Pakenham, for Channel service. After a brief spell under Captain John Osborn in April 1799, the Ajax was placed in May 1799 under the command of Captain Alexander Cochrane, who was to command her for two years. On 9 January 1800 she captured the French privateer Avantageux in the Channel.

In 1801, Cochrane and Ajax participated in the Egyptian operations. On 31 January Ajax anchored at Marmorice on the coast of Karamania.

On 1 March, some 70 warships, together with transports carrying 16,000 troops, anchored in Aboukir Bay near Alexandria. Bad weather delayed disembarkation by a week, but on the 8th, Cochrane directed a landing by 320 boats, in double line abreast, which brought the troops ashore. French shore batteries opposed the landing, but the British were able to drive them back and by the next day Sir Ralph Abercromby's whole force was ashore. Ajax had two of her seamen killed in the landings.

The naval vessels provided a force of 1,000 seamen to fight alongside the army, with Sir Sidney Smith of the 74-gun HMS Tigre in command. On 13 March, Ajax lost one man killed and two wounded in an action on shore; on 21 March she lost two killed and two wounded.

After the Battle of Alexandria and the subsequent siege, Cochrane in Ajax, with the sixth rate HMS Bonne Citoyenne, sloop HMS Cynthia, the brig-sloops HMS Port Mahon and HMS Victorieuse, and three Turkish corvettes, were the first vessels to enter the harbour.

Because Ajax had served in the Egyptian campaign between 8 March 1801 and 2 September, her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty authorised in 1850 to all surviving claimants.

Ajax returned to Plymouth from Egypt on 8 June 1802 after the signing of the Treaty of Amiens.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern frames, sheer lines with scroll figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Ajax (1798) and Kent (1798), both 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. The plan illustrates the ships as they were originally designed based on the Triumph (1764), and with the later addition of 11ft per Admiralty Order dated 19 October 1796. An additional piece of paper was inserted into the plan in order to keep the draught to scale. The plan also includes the alteration to the Kent when she underwent a Large Repair at Plymouth Dockyard in 1817-1820 and was rebuilt with a circular stern.

1805
In April, Admiral Lord Gardner sent Ajax, together with HMS Malta and HMS Terrible to reinforce Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Calder'ssquadron off Ferrol after a storm had reduced the squadron to only five ships of the line.

On 31 May 1805 Captain William Brown took command of Ajax. On 22 July, Calder's fleet of 15 sail of the line, two frigates, a cutter and a lugger was off Cape Finisterre when it encountered Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve's combined Spanish-French fleet of 20 ships of the line, three large ships armed en flute, five frigates and two brigs.

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Battle of Cape Finisterre, by William Anderson, c.1810

Calder sailed towards the French with his force. The battle lasted for more than four hours as the fleets became confused in the failing light and thick patchy fog, which prevented either side from gaining a decisive victory. Still, the British were able to capture two Spanish ships, the 80-gun San Rafael and the 74-gun Firme. The action cost Ajax two men killed and 16 wounded.

After undergoing repairs in Plymouth, on 18 September, Ajax and Thunderer, the latter under Captain William Lechmere, joined with Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson in HMS Victory and sailed from Plymouth for Cadiz on 18 September. Captains Brown and Lechmere were later called as witnesses at the court martial of Sir Robert Calder for his failure to resume the battle the next day in the action in July. As a result, First Lieutenant John Pilfold commanded Ajax at the Battle of Trafalgar. Ajax was seventh in line in Nelson’s column and she fired on both the French 74-gun Bucentaure and the Spanish 136-gun Santissima Trinidad. During the battle Ajax assisted HMS Orion in forcing the surrender of the French 74-gun Intrépide. Ajax lost two men killed and nine wounded during the battle.

A storm followed the battle and Ajax rescued seamen from ships in danger of sinking. Lieutenant Pilfold received the Trafalgar medal and a direct promotion to Post-captain in December. Although he missed the battle, Brown was still the official captain and so too received the Trafalgar medal.[Note 2] In 1847 the Admiraltyawarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Trafalgar" to all surviving claimants from the battle.

After Trafalgar, Ajax was at the blockade of Cadiz. On 25 November, Thunderer detained the Ragusan ship Nemesis, which was sailing from Isle de France to Leghorn, Italy, with a cargo of spice, indigo dye, and other goods.[6] Ajax shared the prize money with ten other British warships.[7]

Loss of Ajax

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The squadron under the command of Sir J T Duckworth forcing the narrow channel of the Dardanelles, February 19th 1807 (Print) (PAD5769)

On 1 February 1807 Ajax, under the command of Captain Henry Blackwood, joined Admiral Sir John Duckworth's squadron at Malta to participate in the Dardanelles Operation.

During the operation an accidental fire destroyed Ajax. The fire began on the evening of 14 February while Ajax was anchored off Tenedos. The fire began in the bread-room where the purser and his assistant had negligently left a light burning. As the fire burned out of control, the officers and crew were forced to take to the water. Although 380 people were rescued, 250 lost their lives that night, including many of the crewmen who had been at Trafalgar. Ajax burned through the night and then drifted on to the island of Tenedos where she blew up the following morning. A court martial cleared Captain Blackwood.

Horsham Museum
The Shelley Gallery at Horsham Museum, Horsham, United Kingdom, displays a model of Ajax.


The Ajax-class ships of the line were a class of two 74-gun third rates of the Royal Navy. They were grouped in with the large class of 74s, as they carried 24-pounders on their upper gun decks, rather than the 18-pounders of the middling and common class 74s. The design of the Ajax class was a lengthened (by 11 ft (3.4 m)) version of the Valiant class, the lines of which were taken from the French Invincible, captured in 1747.

Ships
Builder: Perry, Blackwall Yard
Ordered: 10 June 1795
Launched: 17 January 1798
Fate: Broken up, 1881
Builder: Randall, Rotherhithe
Ordered: 10 June 1795
Launched: 3 March 1798
Fate: Accidentally burnt, 1807


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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, of which only the midship to stern (left side) has been completed in ink, possibly for 'Kent' (1798) and 'Ajax' (1798), both 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. The identity of this plan relating to 'Kent' and 'Ajax' requires much more research, as it has not been corroborated.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ajax_(1798)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajax-class_ship_of_the_line
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1799 - HMS Leander, a Portland-class 50-gun fourth rate of the Royal Navy, captured


HMS Leander
was a Portland-class 50-gun fourth rate of the Royal Navy, launched at Chatham on 1 July 1780. She served on the West Coast of Africa, West Indies, and the Halifax station. During the French Revolutionary Wars she participated in the Battle of the Nile before a French ship captured her. The Russians and Turks recaptured her and returned her to the Royal Navy in 1799. On 23 February 1805, while on the Halifax station, Leander captured the French frigate Ville de Milan and recaptured her prize, HMS Cleopatra. On 25 April 1805 cannon fire from Leander killed an American seaman while Leander was trying to search an American vessel off the US coast for contraband. The resulting "Leander Affair" contributed to the worsening of relations between the United States and Great Britain. In 1813 the Admiralty converted Leander to a hospital ship under the name Hygeia. Hygeia was sold in 1817.

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Action between H.M.S. Leander and the French National Ship Le Généreux, August 18th 1798, C. H. Seaforth. Généreux visible in the front, Leanderdamaged in background.

Early service
She was commissioned in June 1780 under Captain Thomas Shirley. She was the first Royal Navy vessel to be named for this protagonist in the Greek myth of Hero and Leander. Leander cruised for some time in the North Sea.

At the end of 1781 Leander and the sloop-of-war HMS Alligator sailed for the Dutch Gold Coast with a convoy, consisting of a few merchant-vessels and transports. Britain was at war with the Dutch Republic and Shirley launched an unsuccessful attack on 17 February on the Dutch outpost at Elmina, being repulsed four days later. Leander and Shirley then went on to capture the small Dutch forts at Moree (Fort Nassau - 20 guns), Kormantine (Courmantyne or Fort Amsterdam - 32 guns; 6 March), Apam (Fort Lijdzaamheid or Fort Patience - 22 guns; 16 March), Senya Beraku (Berricoe, Berku, Fort Barracco or Fort Goede Hoop - 18 guns; 23 March), and Accra (Fort Crèvecœur or Ussher Fort - 32 guns; 30 March). Leander also destroyed the French store-ship Officeuse, off Senegal, supposed to be worth £30,000. Shirley garrisoned those facilities with personnel from Cape Coast.

Shirley sent two sets of dispatches back to Britain. One set went in the transport sloop Ulysses, which was under the command of Captain Frodsham. The French frigate Fée captured Ulysses and took her into Brest, but not before her captain had weighted the dispatches and thrown them overboard. Shirley's first lieutenant, Mr. Van court, took the second set in the cartel transport Mackerel, which also carried the Dutch governors of the forts to Europe.

Shirley then sailed to the West Indies where towards the end of 1782 as senior captain he became commanding officer prior to the arrival of Admiral Hugh Pigot. Pigot promoted him to captain of the 90-gun HMS Union.

Pigot appointed Captain John Willet Payne to replace Shirley. On 18 January 1783, Leander was escorting a cartel when the two vessels encountered a large French warship at midnight. After an inconclusive engagement of two hours, Leander and her opponent separated. Pigot reported that the French vessel was probably a 74-gun ship of the line. Furthermore, rumour had it that she was the Couronne and that she had gone on to Puerto Rico. On 4 March Leander captured the brig Bella Juditta. Leander was one of the five warships and the armed storeship Sally that shared in the proceeds of the capture on 23 March of the ship Arend op Zee.[8] Captain J. Reynolds took command briefly in 1784 before Leander was paid-off in Portsmouth in April.

She was recommissioned in August 1786, after repairs in 1785. Captain Sir James Barclay commissioned Leander in August 1786 and then sailed her for Nova Scotia on 9 April 1787. She served as flagship for Sir Herbert Sawyer in 1788 until paid off in September. Captain Joseph Peyton, Jr. immediately recommissioned her as the flagship for his father Rear-Admiral Joseph Peyton, Sr. She sailed for the Mediterranean on 22 December.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern decoration and name on the counter, sheer lines with inboard profile and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Isis (1774), a 50-gun Fourth Rate, two-decker, as completed at Chatham Dockyard. The plan was later proposed (and approved) for building Jupiter (1778) and Leander (1780). Signed by John William [Surveyor of the Navy, 1767-1784].

French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Leander was recommissioned in May 1795 under Captain Maurice Delgano. On 12 May 1796 she was part of Admiral Duncan's squadron, when HMS Phoenix, of the squadron, captured the Dutch frigate Argo and the brig Mercury. The Royal Navy took both Argo and Mercury into service: Argo became HMS Janus and Mercury became HMS Hermes. Leander shared by agreement in the proceeds of the capture of the Vrow Hendrica, captured on 22 October.

In November 1796 Leander came under the command of Captain Thomas Boulden Thompson. She then escorted a convoy to Gibraltar on 7 January 1797.

Leander joined the Mediterranean Fleet under Earl St Vincent, and was assigned to the squadron under Horatio Nelson. Thompson took part in Nelson's attack on Santa Cruz in July 1797. Thompson was among the leaders of the landing parties, under the overall direction of Nelson and Thomas Troubridge. Wind hampered the initial attempts to force a landing; the Spanish defenders immediately subjected the successful landing in the evening of 22 July to heavy fire. Still, Thompson's party were able to advance and spike several of the enemy's cannon. However, the British forces had become dispersed throughout the town, and were forced to negotiate a truce to allow them to withdraw. Thompson himself was wounded in the battle. Leander lost seven men killed, 6 wounded (including Thompson), and one missing.

Nile
Under Captain Thomas Thompson Leander took part in the Battle of the Nile on 1 August 1798. She was able to exploit a gap in the French line and anchor between Peuple Souverain and Franklin, from which position she raked both enemy ships while protected from their broadsides. In the battle she suffered only 14 men wounded.

Capture[edit]
Carrying Nelson's dispatches from the Nile and accompanied by Sir Edward Berry, Leander encountered the 74-gun French third rate Généreux off Crete on 18 August 1798. In the subsequent action, Leander lost 35 men killed and 57 wounded, including Thompson. The French suffered 100 killed and 180 wounded, but captured Leander. The French took her into service under her existing name.

The French treated the prisoners badly and plundered almost everything but the clothes the British had on their backs. When Thompson remonstrated with Captain Lejoille of Généreux, Lejoille answered nonchalantly, "J'en suis fâché, mais le fait est, que les Français sont bons au pillage." ("It makes me angry, but the fact is, the French are good at pillaging.") They refused treatment for Thompson, who had been badly wounded. Leander's surgeon, Mr. Mulberry, was able to remove a musket ball from Thompson's arm only after the vessels reached Corfu on 1 September and he was smuggled aboard the vessel where the French were holding Thompson. Most of the officers returned to Britain on parole but the French detained a number of seamen, and in particular Thomas Jarrat, the carpenter, after he refused to reveal to them the dimensions of Leander's masts and spars. Captain Lejoille tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to get some of the British crew that he had detained to assist him when a Turko-Russian fleet appeared off Corfu. The British refused

The subsequent court-martial aboard HMS America at Sheerness most honourably acquitted Thompson, his officers, and his crew. The court also thanked Berry for the assistance he gave during the battle. As Thompson was rowed back to shore, the crews of all the ships at Sheerness saluted him with three cheers. He was subsequently knighted and awarded a pension of £200 per annum.

Leander was at Corfu when a joint Russian and Ottoman force besieged the island. On 28 February 1799, the Russians and Ottomans attacked Vido, a small island (less than a kilometer across) at the mouth of the port of Corfu. A four-hour bombardment by several ships suppressed all five shore batteries on the island. Leander and the corvette Brune tried to intervene but were damaged and forced to retreat to the protection of the batteries of Corfu.

The Russians and Turks recaptured Leander and Brune when Corfu capitulated to them on 3 March 1799. The Russians restored Leander to the Royal Navy. They also gave Brune to the Ottomans.

Return to British service
Leander was recommissioned in the Mediterranean under Commander Adam Drummond in June 1799. In September Captain Michael Halliday took command.

From July 1801 to June 1802 she refitted at Deptford. She recommissioned in May under Captain James Oughton as flagship for Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Mitchell.

In July she sailed for Halifax. Captain Francis Fane took command a year later, in August 1803, with Captain Alexander Skene replacing him in November. On 16 August 1804 Leander was in company with HMS Cambrian when they recaptured the Hibberts.

She then had three more captains within the year: George Ralph Collier, Oughton again, and from November, John Talbot.

On 23 February 1805, while on the Halifax station, Leander discovered the French frigate Ville de Milan, under Captain Pierre Guillet, and the British Cleopatra, which the Ville de Milan had captured the day before. The engagement between Ville de Milan and Cleopatra had left both ships greatly damaged. Consequently, when they encountered Leander they struck to Leander without a fight. Leander came upon Cleopatra first, and as soon as she struck, the British prisoners on board her, i.e., her original crew, took possession of her. She then followed Leander towards Ville de Paris, which too struck. The Navy took Ville de Milan into service as HMS Milan.

On 3 June Leander captured the Nancy. Three days later she captured the Elizabeth. The next day Leander captured the Volunteer. On 12 October, Leander captured the Vengeance.

Thereafter, in recognition of the capture of Ville de Milan and the recapture of Cleopatra, the Admiralty promoted Talbot to command of ship of the line Centaur.

The Leander Affair
HMS Leander then came under the command of Captains William Lyall and Henry Whitby. Leander, HMS Driver under Slingsby Simpson, and HMS Cambrian, under John Nairne, were repeatedly stationed off Sandy Hook, ostensibly to keep watch on two French frigates that had taken refuge in the harbour. However, in the summer of 1804, the warships began stopping and boarding all American ships going into New York just outside the United States's three-mile territorial limit, and searching them for any French goods. If anything suspicious was found, the ship was detained and taken to Halifax.

On 25 April 1806, Leander fired a warning shot over the bow of a merchantman, signalling it to stop. The cannonball passed into the harbour, decapitating John Pierce, the helmsman of the Richard, a small coasting sloop inside the harbour. The sloop's captain, who was Pierce's brother, made his way to New York City, where he gathered a mob that paraded Pierce's body and head through the streets. The next day, an angry mob intercepted a party from the Leander returning to their ship with a load of provisions; the mob seized the provisions and placed them on twenty carts, the lead one bearing a pole flying an American flag and a British one below it. The carts were wheeled around the city as members of the mob beat drums. When the crowd reached Alms House, the provisions were given to the poor, and the British flag was burned. Protest meetings were held over the incident. John Pierce was given a large public funeral. Four of the Leander's officers caught ashore were imprisoned for their own protection, and were later secretly released. On 14 June President Thomas Jefferson issued a proclamation against Captain Whitby. He ordered Leander, Driver and Cambrian immediately to quit US waters and forbade them ever to return. He extended the same prohibition to all vessels that Captains Whitby, John Nairne and Simpson might command. Whitby was court martialed in England on the charge of murdering John Pierce, but was acquitted.

On 26 April Leander, Cambrian and Driver captured the American ship Aurora.

In May Captain Salusbury Pryce Humphreys took command of Leander at Halifax as she became the flagship for Admiral George Berkeley. Captain Richard Raggett then sailed her back to Britain in 1807.

Fate
By 1807 Leander was out of commission at Portsmouth. In 1808 she was in Plymouth. In October 1810, Leander was fitted as a medical depot ship at Portsmouth. In 1813 the Admiralty commissioned a new Leander so the old Leander was given the name Hygeia. Hygeia was sold on 14 April 1817 to a Mr. Thomas for £2,100.


Portland class (Williams)
  • Portland 50 (1770) – sold 1817
  • Bristol 50 (1775) – broken up 1810
  • Renown 50 (1774) – broken up 1794
  • Isis 50 (1774) – broken up 1810
  • Leopard 50 (1790) – wrecked 1814 near the Isle of Anacosti in the Saint Lawrence River due to the disobedience and neglect of the officer of the watch
  • Hannibal 50 (1779) – captured by France 1782
  • Jupiter 50 (1778) – wrecked 1808, with no loss of life, in Vigo Bay
  • Leander 50 (1780) – captured by France 1798, captured by Russia 1799, returned to Britain, converted to hospital ship 1806, renamed Hygeia 1813, sold 1817
  • Adamant 50 (1780) – broken up 1814
  • Assistance 50 (1781) – wrecked 1802 on the outer banks of the northern part of Dunkirk Dyke due to the ignorance of her pilot, but with no loss of life due to the help of a Flemish pilot boat
  • Europa 50 (1783) – sold 1814


 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1801 - The Battle of the West Kay.
The Danish 18-gun brig HDMS Lougen under Lt Cmdr Carl W. Jessen, engages 18-gun British privateer Experiment and 22-gun HMS Arab off the West Kay at the Danish West Indies. The British are forced to flee.



The first Lougen was a brig of 18 guns, launched in 1791. She was active protecting Danish merchant shipping and suppressing pirates in the Mediterranean and in the Caribbean. In March 1801, she fought off the British privateer Experiment and the 22-gun warship HMS Arab in a single action. When the British captured the Danish West Indies in 1801, Lougen was part of the booty. The British later returned her to Denmark where she was broken up in 1802.

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Lougen (centre) at the battle of West Kay in combat with British privateer Experiment and HMS Arab

Service record
  • April 1793 – October 1794: Danish West Indies.
  • 1795–96: Danish home waters (Elbe and West Jutland).
  • 1797–99: Mediterranean, in company with HDMS Thetis but not before the Battle of Tripoli (16 May 1797). The squadron of three frigates and two brigs had the duty of protecting Danish shipping from interference by the Bey of Tripoli.
  • 1800–01: Danish West Indies.
On 1 September 1800, Lougen came to the rescue of the schooner Den Aarvaagne, when the latter was under attack by the British privateer Dreadnought. On Lougen's approach, the privateer broke off the action.

Later in 1800, Lougen captured the privateer Eagle and brought the captured schooner into St Thomas

80470 80471


Battle of West Kay

80472
Map of Virgin Islands

80473
An extract from the logbook of Captain Perkins of HMS Arab. The log is available from the National Archives, Kew Cat. Ref ADM 51/1406

On 3 March 1801, as rumours of a diplomatic rift between Britain and Second League of Armed Neutrality were first reaching the Danish West Indies, and a full month before the first Battle of Copenhagen, Lougen met and fought with HMS Arab and the privateer Experiment off West Kay, St Thomas. The two British ships approached the brig Lougen, under the command of Captain Carl Wilhelm Jessen, and the schooner Den Aarvaagne. Arab, commanded by Captain John Perkins, approached the two Danish vessels and, according to Danish accounts, without warning, fired several broadsides at Lougen before the Danish ship was able to return fire. Lougen, which had escaped serious damage, began to return fire steadily. Experiment initially attempted to capture Den Aarvaagne, but Den Aarvaagne obeyed orders to stay out of the fight and instead escaped south to Christiansted on St Croix with its intelligence on British actions. Experiment then joined Arab in the attack on Lougen, with the two British ships sandwiching the Danish ship. During the engagement, which lasted for over an hour, one of Lougen's shots struck the Arab's cathead and loosed the bower anchor. (Perkin's reported that it was the first shot from Lougen that loosed the bower anchor.) Arab's crew was unable to cut the anchor free, leaving Arab unable to manoeuvre effectively. This allowed Jessen to steer a course that brought Lougen under the protection of the shore batteries and then into St Thomas. The Danish government awarded Captain Jessen a presentation sword made of gold, a medal and 400 rixdollars (the equivalent of a whole year’s salary for a captain in the Danish Navy) for his actions.

Fate
British naval and military activity in the area could not be countered. British forces took Lougen as a prize when they occupied the Danish West Indies in March. One year later, in 1802, the British returned Lougen to Denmark when peace was restored. The Danes later decommissioned the brig and she was broken up.


80474
Lougen (centre) at the battle of West Kay in combat, with British privateer Experiment and HMS Arab



HMS Arab was a 22-gun post ship of the Royal Navy. She was formerly the 18-gun French privateer Brave, which the British captured in 1798. She served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars until she was sold in 1810.

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During her 12-year career with the Royal Navy she served on three separate stations, and was involved in two international incidents. The first incident occurred under Captain John Perkins and involved the Danes. The second incident occurred under Captain Lord Cochrane and involved the Americans. She participated in the capture of Sint Eustatius and Saba. Under Captains Perkins and Maxwell she also took a considerable number of prizes.

After the Royal Navy sold her in 1810 she served as a whaling ship in the South Seas whale fisheries. She made six complete whaling voyages until she was lost in 1824 during her seventh; all her crew were saved.

80475
Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern bard detail, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead and longitudinal half breadth for Arab (1798), a captured French Sixth Rate, as fitted as a 22-gun, Sixth Rate at Plymouth Dockyard. Signed John Marshall (Master Shipwright)

80478
Scale 1:96. Plan showing the quater deck and fore castle, upper deck, lower deck plans and fore and aft platforms for Arab (1798), a captured French Sixth Rate, as fitted as a 22-gun, Sixth Rate at Plymouth Dockyard. Signed John Marshall (Master Shipwright)



 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1809 – Launch of HMS San Domingo, a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy,


HMS San Domingo,
often also Saint Domingo,
was a 74-gun third-rate Blake class (lengthened Leviathan class) ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 March 1809 at Woolwich. She was sold in 1816.

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Career
On 14 August 1812 Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, on San Domingo}, together with Poictiers, Sophie, Magnet, and Mackerel. Magnet disappeared during the voyage and was presumed foundered with all hands.

On 17 January 1813 San Domingo captured the American privateer schooner Teazer.

On 13 April 1813, Sir John Borlase Warren's squadron, consisting of his flagship, San Domingo, and Marlborough, Maidstone, Statira, Fantome, Mohawk, and Highflyer pursued four schooners into the Rappahannock. The British sent boats 15 miles upriver before capturing their prey.

  • Arab, of seven guns and 45 men, was run aground and boarded by two boats from Marlborough.
  • Lynx, of six guns and 40 men, hauled down her colours when Borlase went alongside her in San Domingo's pinnace.
  • Racer, of six guns and 38 men, was boarded and carried, after a sharp, resistance, by the San Domingo's pinnace.
  • Dolphin, of 12 guns and 98 men surrendered after Racer's guns were turned on her. Dolphin resisted for two hours but then was boarded by men from Statira's large cutter and Maidstone's launch.
The British lost two men killed and 11 wounded. The Americans lost six killed and 10 wounded.

The British took three of the schooners into service. The Chesapeake schooner Lynx became Mosquidobit. Of the three Baltimore schooners, the Racer became Shelburne; Dolphin retained her name; lastly, it is not clear what became of Arab.

Fate
San Domingo was sold out of the Navy in 1816

80483
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for Blake (1809) and Saint Domingo (1808), both 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker. These two ships were a lenghtened version of the Courageux (captured 1761), a captured French 74-gun Third Rate. Signed by John Henslow [Surveyor of the Navy, 1784-1806] and William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813].

80484
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for Saint Domingo (1809), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker building at Woolwich Dockyard. Initialled by John Henslow [Surveyor of the Navy, 1784-1806] and William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813].


Blake classlengthened Leviathan class - modified Courageux-class
  • Blake 74 (1808) – hulked as temporary prison ship Portsmouth 1814, sold 1816 [16]
  • San Domingo 74 (1809) – sold 1816




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_San_Domingo_(1809)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courageux-class_ship_of_the_line
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1810 – Launch of HMS Algerine, a Pigmy-class 10-gun schooner of the Royal Navy.


HMS Algerine
was a Pigmy-class 10-gun schooner of the Royal Navy. She was launched in March 1810. She served in the North Sea and then transferred to the West Indies, where she was wrecked in 1813.

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Career
Algerine was commissioned in April 1810 under Lieutenant John Aitken Blow. She served initially in the Downs. On 30 March 1811, Algerine, under the command of Lieutenant Thomas Greenwood, seized the smuggling vessel Mandamus. The account in the London Gazette refers to Algerine as a cutter.

On 13 July 1811, Algerine, again under Blow, and the 12-gun brig-sloop Brev Drageren, under Thomas Barker Devon, engaged three Danish brigs in Long Sound, Norway, the 20-gun Lolland, the 18-gun Lougen, and the 16-gun Kiel. The Danes had 54 guns and 480 men, against the British 22 guns and 107 men; outnumbered and outgunned, the British vessels took flight.

The next day Brev Drageren unsuccessfully re-engaged first one and then two of the brigs. In the inconclusive engagement each British vessel sustained one man killed and Brev Drageren also had three wounded. In the second day’s fight, Algerine sent a boat with ten men and sweeps to Brev Drageren, which helped her escape the Danes, though not until after her crew had rowed for 30 hours.

On 15 July the gun-brig Wrangler, under Lieutenant J.B. Pettit (or Pettet), captured the Danish sloop Experiment, P. Loft, Master. Algerine shared in the prize money by agreement.

Early in September Primus, carrying tar and hemp, Worksam, in ballast, Experiment, carrying iron, Columbus, carrying linseed, Neptunus, carrying timber, and Hctor, carrying sundry goods, came into Yarmouth. They were prizes to Tremendous, Ranger, Calypso, Algerine, Musquito, Earnest, and Portia.

In October, a court martial dismissed Blow from Algerine after he challenged a Captain Campbell of the Marines to a duel. Brenton suggests that this saved Blow from a serious investigation for his lack of aggressiveness in the action. However, Clowes et al. dispute this. Admiral Sir James Saumarez had transmitted to Blow the acknowledgments of the Board of Admiralty for his skillful manoeuvres, which detached the remainder of the enemy's force, and for his exertions in facilitating the subsequent escape of himself and consort. On 19 February 1813, Blow received an appointment to the Impress service at Folkestone, where he remained until August 1813. He then resumed his Naval career, reaching the rank of Captain in 1842.

Blow's successor was Lieutenant Daniel Carpenter, who took command in November 1811. He sailed Algerine to the West Indies on 13 May 1812. On 8 February 1813, she was in an action in which the British lost three men killed and seven or eight wounded. The may have been a single-ship action involving the American privateer Saratoga. Algerine returned to port in Jamaica, while Saratoga went on to capture the 600-ton (bm) merchant vessel Nelson.

Fate
Algerine escorted a convoy from Jamaica into the Atlantic via the Crooked Island Passage in the Bahamas. As she was returning to Jamaica, she was wrecked on the Little Bahama Bank on 20 May 1813 when a heavy swell pushed her off course. Although her crew had to abandon her, they and a large quantity of stores were saved and taken to New Providence

80487
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with half stern board outline, sheer lines with some inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for Pigmy (1806), a 16-gun clench-built cutter purchased from Mr Avery of Dartmouth. The cutter, originally designed as a revenue cutter, was purchased on the stocks.


 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1870 – Launch of Abyssinia (1870), a British mail liner originally operated by the Cunard Line on the Liverpool–New York route.


Abyssinia (1870) was a British mail liner originally operated by the Cunard Line on the Liverpool–New York route. She later served the Guion Line on the same route and the Canadian Pacific Line in the Pacific. In December 1891, Abyssinia was destroyed mid-Atlantic without loss of life by a fire that started in her cargo of cotton, further highlighting the danger in carrying both cotton and passengers on the same ship.

80512
SS Abyssinia at Vancouver, June 1887

Development and design
With the success of Russia (1867), Cunard ordered a new fleet of iron express liners for the New York mail route. Abyssinia was the fourth of the five liners required for a weekly service. Abyssinia and her sister, Algeria were the first Cunard express steamers built to carry steerage passengers, a concept that was proved profitable four years earlier by the Inman Line. As completed in 1870, Abyssinia carried 200 first class passengers and 1050 steerage. She had a service speed of 12.5 knots and was a full knot slower than Russia. Both Abyssinia and Algeria were larger than their near sister, Parthia. Unlike Abyssinia and Algeria which were built in Glasgow, Parthia had been constructed in Dumbarton.

80513

Service history
Cunard employed Abyssinia on the Liverpool, Queenstown, New York service. All five of the new Cunarders on this route were quickly rendered out of date by White Star's revolutionary Oceanic of 1871. For example, Abyssinia and her sister burned 90 tons of coal per day as compared to 58 tons for Oceanic. While Inman and other rivals quickly installed compound machinery and modified passenger quarters to match White Star's new fleet, Cunard did not. Finally, in 1879 the privately owned Cunard line was reorganised as a public stock corporation to raise the capital needed to rebuild the fleet. On the other hand, Abyssinia's near sister, Parthia did utilise compound machinery. Due to such, Parthia only burned 47 tons of coal per day.

In 1880, Cunard sold Abyssinia to the Guion Line when that company needed a mail liner to replace the wrecked Montana. Two years later, Abyssinia finally received compound machinery. In 1884, she was transferred to the John Elder shipyard to partly finance Guion's new Blue Riband winner, the Oregon. Unable to make the payments, Guion returned its new record breaker to Elders and continued to operate Abyssinia. At the same time, Elders also acquired the former Cunarders Batavia and Parthia(Abyssinia's near sister) as trade ins for the sale of Oregon to Cunard. In 1885, Stephen Guion himself died and his firm was reorganised with Sir William Pierce of Elders as the new chairman.

In 1887, Pierce chartered Guion's Abyssinia along with Elder's two other former Cunarders to Sir William Van Horne to begin steamship service in the Pacific, extending the Canadian Pacific Railway's transportation services from England, across the Atlantic to Canada by steamship, across Canada by railroad, and finally across the Pacific to Japan, China and India by steamship. Abyssinia opened the new Pacific service, with 22 first-class and 80 steerage passengers. She required only 13 days to reach Vancouver from Yokohama, arriving there on 13 June 1887, establishing a new trans-Pacific record. Abyssinia's freight shipment of silk and tea was transferred to rail, arriving in New York (via Montreal) on 21 June, and loaded onto another ship arriving in London on 29 June. Abyssinia was returned to Guion when Canadian Pacific took delivery on the three new "Empress" liners.

Guion placed Abyssinia back on the Liverpool-Queenstown-New York route. Her first eastbound return trip cleared New York on 13 December with 57 passengers and 88 crew with various cargo including cotton. At 12:40 pm on 18 December 1891 off the coast of Newfoundland a fire broke out in her cargo hold which quickly overpowered her crew's firefighting efforts. Captain G.S. Murray ordered the ship to be abandoned. Lookouts on board the eastbound Norddeutscher Lloyd liner Spree spotted the smoke from Abyssinia and removed all passengers and crew by 4:15 pm. Abyssinia sank shortly after. Spree made port with the survivors in Southampton on 21 December.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Abyssinia
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1896 – Launch of HMS Doris, an Eclipse-class protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy


HMS
Doris
was an Eclipse-class protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1890s

80514
Doris at anchor during World War I

Construction
HMS Doris was one of nine Eclipse-class cruisers built in the years 1896-99, which were the direct successor to the Astraea class. They were larger in size and displacement, and received stronger armor and armor with a similar speed to their predecessors.

HMS Doris had a displacement of 5690 t (5600 long tones) at an overall length of 113.7 m, width of 16.3 m and draft of 6.25 m. The ship was driven by two triple-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines, supplied by 8 coal-fired boilers, which moved a pair of propellers. The engines reached 8000 horsepower, giving a top speed of 18.5 knots. The normal stockpile of coal was 550 tons, and at maximum capacity the ship could take almost twice as much fuel at 1075 tons. The initial crew of the ship consisted of 393 officers and sailors.

The cruiser was initially armed with five single-arm 152 mm (6 inch ) guns, six 120 mm (4.7 inch) guns, six three-pound (47 mm) guns, and three 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. After the modernization of 1903-1905, the armament of the ship was as follows: eleven 152 mm guns, nine twelve-pound guns (76 mm), seven three-pound guns (47 mm) and three 450 mm torpedo launchers. During the First World War, the armament was limited to nine 152 mm guns, four 76 mm guns and one 47 mm gun, leaving torpedo armament unchanged. The deck armor had a thickness of 38 to 76 mm (1.5 to 3 inches) with the command tower having a thickness up to 152 mm. Main artillery pieces were protected by 76 mm thick casings.

Service history

80515
One of Doris' guns on the march to Bloemfontein

Under the command of Captain R. C. Prothero, she was flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Harris when he was Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station in South Africa 1898-1900. In 1899 at least one of HMS Doris's QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns was mounted on an improvised field carriage and used as a field gun in the Second Boer War. The gun used at Magersfontein was known as Joe Chamberlain. Captain Prothero, known as 'Prothero the Bad', was a man of violent temper who terrified his officers and crew alike.

She paid off at Devonport in May 1901, when, to honour her crew, the men of the other ships in the harbour spontaneously manned yards and sides and gave a salute.

After a refit, she was on 4 June 1902 commissioned into the Channel Squadron with the crew of HMS Arrogant. Captain Frederick Robert William Morgan was appointed in command. She took part in the fleet review held at Spithead on 16 August 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII, and visited Souda Bay, Crete for combined maneuvers with other ships of the Channel and Cruiser squadrons the following month.[6] In October she visited Tetouan.

First World War
When the First World War began in August 1914, Doris was serving with the 11th Cruiser Squadron of the Home Fleet, and her Captain was Frank Larken On 5 August, Doris captured a German merchant ship.

By November 1914, Doris was cruising off the West Coast of Ireland. On 7th of that month she was ordered to proceed to Alexandria to form part of the Allied force opposing Turkey. She was ordered to patrol the Syrian coast, looking out for enemy ships and shore installations, and to "exercise general pressure."

On 15 December Doris was lying off the Syrian coast near Beersheba when she spotted suspicious activity on a bluff commanding the shore. Closing in, her crew discovered it was a Turkish defensive position in the course of construction, and Captain Larken gave orders to open fire with one of the ship's main guns. The emplacement was swiftly destroyed.

From Beersheba, Doris proceeded to the Gulf of Alexandretta, where she landed shore parties to disrupt Turkish communication lines, destroying telegraph lines and railway tracks. Anchoring off the harbour of Alexandretta, Larken sent word to the Military Governor of the town demanding that "All munitions of war, mines and locomotives" be handed over to his crew to be destroyed, and that all British and Allied subjects be surrendered to him, along with their families and effects. Failure to comply would result in the town being shelled.

The Governor communicated with Djemal Pasha, Military Commander of Greater Syria, who was not a man to be intimidated. Not only did Djemal Pasha refuse the demands, but he threatened that, if Larken opened fire on Alexandretta, one British captive would be shot for every Ottoman subject killed in the bombardment.

In the event, negotiations were carried out through the American Consul in Alexandretta, and the Turks took the opportunity to evacuate all military stores and equipment from the town, before two railway locomotives were destroyed in a token gesture.

Doris continued to patrol the Syrian coast until March 1915, carrying out thirteen landing operations and many coastal bombardments before being relieved by the French.

On 25 April 1915, Doris participated in a shore bombardment near Bulair along the western coast of the Gallipoli peninsula, intended as a diversionary feint for the main troop landings at Cape Helles area.

Main article: Landing at Cape Helles § Diversions
From March 1917 to November 1918, she was stationed in India, where she served as a hulk. Doris was sold on February 2, 1919 in Mumbai.


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HMS Talbot

The Eclipse-class cruisers were a class of nine second-class protected cruisers constructed for the Royal Navy in the mid-1890s.

Design and description

80517
Right elevation, deck plan and hull section as depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1896

These ships were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding Astraea class. The Eclipse-class ships were 373 feet (113.7 m) long overall, had a beam of 53 feet 6 inches (16.31 m) and a draught of 20 feet 6 inches (6.2 m). They displaced 5,600 long tons(5,700 t) at normal load. To reduce biofouling, the hulls of the ships were sheathed with wood and copper. Their crew consisted of 450 officers and enlisted men. Their metacentric height was approximately 3 feet (0.9 m).

The Eclipse-class ships were powered by two inverted triple-expansion steam enginesusing steam generated by eight cylindrical boilers at a pressure of 155 psi (1,069 kPa; 11 kgf/cm2). Using normal draught, the boilers were intended to provide the engines with enough steam to generate 8,000 indicated horsepower (6,000 kW) and to reach a speed of 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph); using forced draft, the equivalent figures were 9,600 indicated horsepower (7,200 kW) and a speed of 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph). During their sea trials, all of the lightly loaded ships exceeded their specifications and reached a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). They carried a maximum of 1,075 long tons (1,092 t) of coal.

The ships carried five 40-calibre 6-inch (152 mm) quick-firing (QF) guns in single mounts protected by gun shields. One gun was mounted on the forecastle, two on the quarterdeck and one pair was abreast the bridge.[3] They fired 100-pound (45 kg) shells at a muzzle velocity of 2,205 ft/s (672 m/s). The secondary armament consisted of six 40-calibre 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns; three on each broadside. Their 45-pound (20.4 kg) shells were fired at a muzzle velocity of 2,125 ft/s (648 m/s).

Defense against torpedo boats was provided by eight QF 12-pounder 12 cwt[Note 1] guns and six 47-millimetre (1.9 in) three-pounder Hotchkiss guns. Four of the 12-pounders were mounted in the sides of the hull fore and aft while the remaining four guns were interspersed between the 4.7-inch guns. The three-pounders were mounted in the fighting tops, three in each one. The 12-pounders fired 3-inch (76 mm), 12.5-pound (5.7 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2,359 ft/s (719 m/s). The ships also equipped with three 18-inch torpedo tubes, one submerged tube on each broadside and one above water in the stern.[8] The ammunition supply consisted of 200 six-inch rounds per gun, 250 shells for each 4.7-inch gun, 300 rounds per gun for the 12-pounders and 500 for each three-pounder. Each ship also carried ten torpedoes, presumably four for each broadside tube and two for the stern tube.

Between 1903 and 1905, all of the ships in the class except for Eclipse had their mixed armament replaced with a more uniform armament of eleven 6-inch, nine 12-pounders and seven 3-pounder guns.

The primary protection of the Eclipse class was its sloping armoured deck. This ranged in thickness from 1.5 to 3 inches (38 to 76 mm), with its slopes being 2.5 inches (64 mm) thick. It covered an area six inches above the waterline to 5 feet (1.5 m) below it. The engines were protected by a six-inch armoured hatch that extended above the armoured deck. The gun shields for the six-inch guns were three inches thick and the conning tower's armour was six inches thick.

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1904 – Launch of HMS Argyll, one of six Devonshire-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy


HMS Argyll
was one of six Devonshire-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She was assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet upon completion and was transferred to the 5th Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet in 1909. Two years later, she was detached to escort the royal yacht during King George V's trip to British India. Argyll was assigned to the 3rd Cruiser Squadron of the reserve Second Fleet in 1913.

80519
HMS Argyll at anchor, 1909

Upon mobilisation in mid-1914 her squadron was assigned to the Grand Fleet; Argyll did not see combat before she ran agroundand was wrecked in October 1915. Her crew were rescued without loss and the wreck was later salvaged before it was demolished. Nonetheless, it remains diveable.

Design and description

80520
Model of Argyll at the Glasgow Museum of Transport

Argyll was designed to displace 10,850 long tons (11,020 t). The ship had an overall length of 473 feet 6 inches (144.3 m), a beam of 68 feet 6 inches (20.9 m) and a deep draught of 24 feet (7.3 m). She was powered by two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, which produced a total of 21,000 indicated horsepower(16,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph). The engines were powered by sixteen Babcock & Wilcox and six cylindrical boilers. Argyll was the only ship of the class not to exceed 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) during her sea trials. She carried a maximum of 1,033 long tons (1,050 t) of coal and her complement consisted of 610 officers and enlisted men.

Her main armament consisted of four breech-loading (BL) 7.5-inch Mk I guns mounted in four single-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure and one on each side. The guns fired their 200-pound (91 kg) shells to a range of about 13,800 yards (12,600 m). Her secondary armament of six BL 6-inch Mk VII guns was arranged in casemates amidships. Four of these were mounted on the main deck and were only usable in calm weather. They had a maximum range of approximately 12,200 yards (11,200 m) with their 100-pound (45 kg) shells. Argyll also carried 18 quick-firing (QF) 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two submerged 18-inch torpedo tubes. Her two 12-pounder 8 cwt guns could be dismounted for service ashore.

At some point in the war, the main deck six-inch guns of the Devonshire-class ships were moved to the upper deck and given gun shields. Their casemates were plated over to improve seakeeping and the four 3-pounder guns displaced by the transfer were landed.

The ship's waterline armour belt had a maximum thickness of six inches (152 mm) and was closed off by five-inch (127 mm) transverse bulkheads. The armour of the gun turrets was also five inches thick whilst that of their barbettes was six inches thick. The protective deck armour ranged in thickness from .75–2 inches (19–51 mm) and the conning tower was protected by twelve inches (305 mm) of armour.

Construction and service
Argyll, named to commemorate the Scottish county, was laid down at Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering at their Greenockshipyard on 25 March 1902 and was launched on 3 March 1904. She was completed in December 1905 and was assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet in January 1906. She was transferred to the 5th Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet in 1909. Two years later she was detached from the squadron to escort the Royal Yacht Medina during the King's trip to the Delhi Durbar in India in 1911–12. She ran aground in Plymouth Sound on 28 December 1912. The following year she was assigned to the 3rd Cruiser Squadron of the Second Fleet.

The squadron was assigned to the Grand Fleet in mid-1914 as the Navy mobilised for war. It spent much of its time with the Grand Fleet reinforcing the patrols near the Shetland and Faeroe Islands and the Norwegian coast[10] where Argyll captured a German merchantman on 6 August. She ran aground on the Bell Rock near Dundee on 28 October 1915 at coordinates 56°26′N 2°23.5′WCoordinates:
17px-WMA_button2b.png
56°26′N 2°23.5′W at night during a storm. During the war, lighthouses were ordered to switch their lights off for fear of assisting German U-boats in their operations, and the light was only turned on by special permission. En route Argyll sent a signal requesting the light to be turned on, but the lighthouse did not have a radio and could only contacted by boat or visual signals. Attempts to notify the lighthouse failed, but the ship was not notified of the failure and proceeded in the expectation of using the light. Soon afterwards, she ran aground at 04:30, suffering extensive damage to much of the hull and starting a fire. Two destroyers, Hornet and Jackal, were sent and rescued her entire crew without serious injury.

The Navy salvaged all of the valuable items on board, including her guns, and she was demolished by the salvage team. In 1970 her two propellers were recovered by divers and sold for scrap. She remains a diveable wreck.



The Devonshire-class cruiser was a group of six armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. All ships of the class served in World War I. Argyll was wrecked, and Hampshire was sunk by a naval mine. The four survivors were disposed of soon after the war.

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HMS Antrim at anchor

Design and description
The Devonshire class was designed as improved versions of the preceding Monmouth class and were also intended for commerce protection. The armament of the new design was made more powerful by the replacement of the twin six-inch (152 mm) turrets and the forward double six-inch casemates by four 7.5-inch (190 mm) single turrets in a diamond arrangement. The ships were designed to displace 10,850 long tons (11,020 t). They had an overall length of 473 feet 6 inches (144.3 m), a beam of 68 feet 6 inches (20.9 m) and a deep draught of 24 feet (7.3 m). The Devonshire-class ships were powered by two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, which produced a total of 21,000 indicated horsepower(16,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph). The engines were powered by seventeen Yarrow and six cylindrical boilers. They carried a maximum of 1,033 long tons (1,050 t) of coal and their complement consisted of 610 officers and other ranks.

The main armament of the Devonshire class consisted of four breech-loading (BL) 7.5-inch Mk I guns mounted in four single-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure and one on each side. The guns fired their 200-pound (91 kg) shells to a range of about 13,800 yards (12,600 m). Their secondary armament of six BL 6-inch Mk VII guns was arranged in casematesamidships. Four of these were mounted on the main deck and were only usable in calm weather. They had a maximum range of approximately 12,200 yards (11,200 m) with their 100-pound (45 kg) shells. The ships also carried 18 quick-firing (QF) 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two submerged 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. Her two 12-pounder 8-cwt guns could be dismounted for service ashore.

At some point in the war, the main deck six-inch guns of the Devonshire-class ships were moved to the upper deck and given gun shields. Their casemates were plated over to improve seakeeping and the four 3-pounder guns displaced by the transfer were landed.

The ships' waterline armour belt had a maximum thickness of six inches (152 mm) and was closed off by five-inch (127 mm) transverse bulkheads. The armour of the gun turrets was also five inches thick whilst that of their barbettes was six inches thick. The protective deck armour ranged in thickness from .75–2 inches (19–51 mm) and the conning tower was protected by twelve inches (305 mm) of armour.

Building Programme
The following table gives the build details and purchase cost of the members of the Devonshire class. Standard British practice at that time was for these costs to exclude armament and stores. The 1905 edition costs were compiled before the ships were complete.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Argyll_(1904)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devonshire-class_cruiser_(1903)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1907 - Dakota, a steamship built by the Eastern Shipbuilding Company, wrecked


SS
Dakota was a steamship built by the Eastern Shipbuilding Company of Groton, Connecticut for the Great Northern Steamship Company owned by railroad magnate James J. Hill to enhance and promote trade between the United States and Japan.

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A broadside image of the SS Dakota

Design and construction
In 1904 the Great Northern Railway made an effort to facilitate trade with Asia, particularly with Japan and China, by entering into shipping business, and as a part of this endeavor two great steamers of approximately 20,000 GRT were ordered. Dakota was the second of these vessels, and was laid down at the Eastern Shipbuilding Company's yard at Groton, and launched on February 6, 1904 (yard number 2), with Miss Mary Bell Flemington of Ellendale being the sponsor. The ceremony was attended by nearly 5,000 people, including the governor of Connecticut Abiram Chamberlain, ex-governor Thomas Waller, James J. Hill, president of the Great Northern Steamship Company, many members of the board of trade from Minnesota and North and South Dakota, senators Hansborough and McCumber of North Dakota among others. At the time, she and her sister-ship Minnesota were described as the largest ships ever built in America. The ship was of an awning-deck type, and was constructed using the most modern shipbuilding safety and protection ideas. She had a double-bottom through her entire length, and had her hull subdivided into numerous watertight bulkheads. The vessel was built with the view of North Pacific trade and had her hull strengthened, with some of her double plates being 2 1⁄2 inches (6.4 cm) thick. Additionally, the vessel had a newly patented gaseous fire extinguishing system installed throughout her holds. Each of her two engines had their own watertight compartments built around them, theoretically allowing the ship to continue sailing using only one of the engines, if the other one got flooded. She was also equipped with all the modern machinery for quick cargo loading and unloading and had 32 electric winches and a large number of derricks installed. The steamer also had an experimental mechanical stoker system installed for testing purposes, and if it had proven to be successful, her sister-ship Minnesota would have been equipped with a similar system.

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Main engines of the SS Dakota

In addition to the vast amount of cargo the ship could carry, Dakota had also accommodations constructed for 218 first-class, 68 second-class and approximately 2,300 steerage passengers. The first class cabins were located in the large deck-house amidships which also featured a dining salon, being able to sit approximately 200 people, a library and a ladies boudoir. The bridge deck housed a smoking room and a cafe which was open 24 hours a day. To provide for such a large number of passengers, the vessel had a refrigerating plant installed, operating on the American-Linde system, capable of cooling 300 tons of provisions, and refrigerating 1,700 tons of produce. The vessel was also equipped with four large evaporators in her engine room,capable of producing 30,000 gallons of fresh water per day to be used both by her boilers and passengers and crew.

Dakota could have been easily converted to a troopship in case of need, and she would be able to transport approximately 1,300 troops in addition to all their equipment.

After successful completion of 24 hour long sea trials held on March 23-24, 1905, during which the ship was able to maintain an average speed of 17.7 knots (20.4 mph; 32.8 km/h) over a continuous run of 59 miles which she was able to complete in 3 hours and 20 minutes. Following the sea trials the ship proceeded to Newport News and entered the drydock where some minor adjustments and painting were done.

As built, the ship was 622 feet 0 inches (189.59 m) long (between perpendiculars) and 73 feet 5 inches (22.38 m) abeam, a depth of 41 feet 5 inches (12.62 m). Dakota was originally assessed at 20,714 GRT and 13,306 NRT and had deadweight of approximately 19,000. The vessel had a steel hull, and two triple-expansion steam engines of combined power of 2,565 nhp, with cylinders of 29-inch (74 cm), 51-inch (130 cm) and 89-inch (230 cm) diameter with a 57-inch (140 cm) stroke, that drove two screw propellers, and moved the ship at up to 15.0 knots (17.3 mph; 27.8 km/h).

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"Popular Mechanics" Magazine June 1905

Operational history
After finalizing her painting job, Dakota proceeded from Norfolk to New York for loading. She left the port for her maiden voyage on April 28, 1905 laden with general cargo and approximately 6,000 tons of steel rails destined for Alaska Railroad being constructed at the time. The journey to South America was largely uneventful, with the exception of severe gales encountered around Cape Horn, and the ship safely reached the Chilean port of Coronel on May 28 to replenish her bunkers. She departed from Chile on June 3 and arrived at San Francisco around noon on June 20 to partially discharge her cargo. The vessel sailed from California in the afternoon of June 24 and reached Seattle around noon on June 27, thus finishing her maiden voyage. Overall, all ship systems functioned as intended with the exception of the mechanical stokers which started having problems after coaling in Chile, and completely failed by the time the ship arrived in Seattle.

Originally, Dakota was scheduled to leave for the Far East on July 20, but the departure was postponed due to inability of her owners to completely fill the enormous vessel with cargo. Finally, she sailed out from Seattle in the early morning of July 24, only being slightly more than half-laden, but was only able to continue as far as Cape Flattery before developing a serious problem in her starboard engine and was forced to turn back. Upon return, all her cargo and passengers were transferred to Minnesota while she proceeded to Puget Sound Navy Yard for repairs. After wrapping up her repairs on August 9, the vessel returned to port and this time embarked over 20,000 tons of cargo, the bulk consisting of 19 locomotives, 100 railroad cars, and 20,000 bales of cotton. Dakota sailed for her first Trans-Pacific trip on September 20, carrying besides cargo a large number of passengers among them Yamaza Enjirō, H.W. Dennison and five other members of Japanese delegation which just finished successfully negotiating the Treaty of Portsmouth. She arrived at Yokohama on October 5, discharging the majority of her cargo, and disembarking many of her passengers including the Japanese delegation, and sailed for Shanghai reaching it on October 28. On her return trip, she caught fire on November 12 while anchored at Kobe which delayed her departure. The damage from fire was apparently minimal and Dakotawas able to sail from Yokohama on November 16 with approximately 7,000 tons of freight and 62 passengers, arriving at Seattle on November 29 finalizing her first Trans-Pacific voyage. Starting with her second Trans-Pacific trip, which she left for on December 16, 1905, Dakota was visiting Manila in addition to the ports in Japan and Shanghai and Hong Kong in China. She returned to Seattle on February 28, 1906 carrying among other passengers members of the Chinese Imperial High Commission headed by Prince Tsai Tseh sent to study the political and trade conditions of United States and European countries. On the return journey during her third trip, Dakota beat the previous speed record held by the Empress of India being able to cover the distance from Yokohama to Cape Flattery in 9 1⁄2 days with 2,000 tons of cargo and 199 passengers on board.

Sinking
Dakota departed for her seventh Trans-Pacific voyage from Seattle on February 17, 1907. The ship was under command of captain Emil Francke, a former German navy officer and a former captain of the American Line steamer St. Louis and had a crew consisting of 59 whites and 220 Chinese. The ship was carrying 94 passengers and 6,720 tons of general cargo consisting largely of cotton, wheat and flour and valued at $445,984.00. The steamer passed Inuboye around noon on March 3, and arrived in view of Nojimazaki Lighthouse in the afternoon, with weather being clear and the seas calm. As the ship got delayed somewhat on her departure, captain Francke wanted to make up time and arrive at Yokohama before the darkness would set in and avoid all the fishing boats that would flood the Tokyo Bay and would force the ship to slow down considerably. At approximately 16:00 captain Francke relieved the first officer and assumed control of the bridge. The ship was travelling at about 16 1⁄2 knots (19.0 mph; 30.6 km/h) at the time and was sailing very close to the coastline contrary to an accepted practice as the area is known to be full of underwater rocks and reefs. At 17:04, as the passengers onboard were enjoying their tea on deck, the steamer ran aground at full speed over a reef about a mile off Shirahama. Due to speed of the vessel, she went about 3/4 of her length over the reef before coming to a stop, damaging her bottom in the process. The ship quickly filled with water sinking her bow up to the second mast, and extinguishing the engines, with only her stern part being above the water. Panic spread among the passengers but the order was quickly restored by the crew, and the lifeboats were lowered. Being only about a mile away from the shore, a large number of sampans sprang to her aid, as well as the boats from a nearby steamer Tokai Maru which witnessed the whole incident. All passengers and crew safely reached the land, and were housed in the lighthouse and nearby hamlets as the area was very sparsely populated. Steamer Omi Maru was dispatched from Yokohama to collect the passengers, but she had to return empty-handed as it was impossible to get close to the wreck. During the night of March 3 the wreck of Dakota was looted by the locals and in response the Japanese government dispatched cruiser Yaeyama and a torpedo boat to stand by to prevent any further incidents but only stayed for a short while due to inability to close in to the wreck.

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Dakota one hour after going on the reef.

At about 08:40 on March 5 steamer Hakuai Maru arrived at the scene to embark the survivors, but again found it impossible to complete the task due strong wind and rough seas. Instead, the passengers and the crew, with the exception of captain Francke and some officers who stayed behind, travelled overland to the nearby town of Tateyama where Hakuai Maru embarked them all and ten bags of mail and departed at 16:30 for Yokohama and reached the port at about 21:00. The majority of crew left Yokohama on March 11 for Tacoma on board the steamer Tremont, while the majority of white passengers returned to United States via Siberia.

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On March 11 the vessel was abandoned by her owners to the underwriters with James Hill collecting $2,500,000.00 in insurance money. The wreck was subsequently examined by divers who claimed the bottom had only four holes on the starboard side and the prospects of refloating the vessel were not as bad as they originally thought. Salvage operations commenced on March 19 but only lasted four days as Dakota broke amidships during a gale on March 22-23. Only about 5% of her cargo was saved. By May 1907 the wreck completely broke up and disappeared under water.

An inquiry into the loss was held in Seattle in April 1907. Captain Francke claimed that the ship was carried onto the rocks by strong current and all his attempts to change the course were unsuccessful as steering gear was unresponsive. His chief engineer claimed there were no issue with the steering gear whatsoever. The commission found Emil Francke guilty in careless and irresponsible navigation, as he travelled too fast and too close to the coast known for its dangers, never attempted to establish the ship position as no soundings were performed, and abandoning the ship too quickly and leaving her open to looters even though the vessel remained afloat for many days after the accident. He had his license suspended for 2 1⁄2 years but since his license expired on May 2 and the decision was rendered after that date it was legally unenforceable. Nevertheless, captain Francke appealed the decision and had the punishment was first shortened to 18 months but later he was further censured.

After the ship was lost, Hill vowed not to make any more ships under the American flag, noting the high cost of maintaining a ship in America compared to Japan due to restrictions he regarded as "onerous". Hill did eventually build more ships such as the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific.

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1921 - SS Hong Moh struck the White Rocks on Lamock Island near Swatow (Shantou) on the southern coast of China.
She broke in two and sank killing about 1,000 of the 1,100 people aboard.


SS Hong Moh
was a passenger ship that was wrecked on the White Rocks off Lamock Island, Swatow, on 3 March 1921

City of Calcutta
The ship was built by Charles Connell & Company of Scotstoun, and was launched on 8 September 1881 as SS City of Calcutta for George Smith & Sons' City Line. The 3,954 GRT ship was 400 feet (120 m) long, 42 feet 1 inch (12.83 m) in the beam, with a draught of 30 feet 1 inch (9.17 m), and was powered by a triple expansion steam engine.

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City of Calcutta

Hong Moh
In 1902 the ship was sold to Lim Ho Puah of Singapore, and renamed SS Hong Moh to operate in the fleet of Wee Bin & Co. In 1911 the ship was transferred to Lim Peng Siang, the son of Lim Ho Puah, when the Wee Bin company was liquidated, and operated by the Ho Hong Steamship Company.

Sinking
Hong Moh sailed from Hong Kong on 2 March 1921, bound for Swatow, under the command of Henry William Holmes, with a crew of 48 and 1,135 passengers aboard. When she arrived off Swatow on the morning of 3 March, the ship anchored off Bill Island and signalled for a pilot to take her in. When the pilot arrived he informed the master that his ship's draught was too great to cross the bar, so the ship set a course for Amoy. About two hours later, at 7.20 p.m., in rough seas and poor visibility, the ship struck the north-west point of the White Rocks. The weather deteriorated, making it impossible to launch any lifeboats, and at 3 a.m. on 4 March the ship broke in two.

Several ships passed within sight of Hong Moh, but having lost electrical power she was unable to signal them. Finally at 9. a.m SS Shansi approached Hong Moh, and attempted to launch her boats. This failed, but the ship stood by until the afternoon of 5 March, rescuing several passengers and crew who had abandoned ship and attempted to swim to safety, many drowning in the process, including the Master. Shansi then sailed into Swatow with about 45 survivors aboard, to procure further assistance for the stricken ship.

The British Consul in Swatow informed the Senior Naval Officer at Hong Kong, who broadcast a radio message requesting ships to come to Hong Moh's assistance. The Acacia-class sloop HMS Foxglove responded, arriving off Swatow around 10.30 p.m, but was unable to locate the wreck in the darkness. At dawn the next morning the C-class cruiser HMS Carlisle arrived, and together the two ships rescued more survivors from the wreck. Running short of fuel Foxglove sailed for Hong Kong at 5 p.m. with 48 survivors aboard, while Carlisle continued to work throughout the night using searchlights, and into the next day. Carlisle's captain, Edward Evans, swam over to the wreck at around 8 p.m on 7 March to help the last few survivors aboard the ship's boats. Rescue operations were finally abandoned at 11 p.m. At dawn on 8 March Carlisle's boats approached the wreck, but found no signs of life, so Carlisle departed for Hong Kong with 220 survivors aboard.

Captain Evans of Carlisle, along with Lieutenant-Commander Ion Tower and Gunner John G. Dewar were awarded the Board of Trade Silver Medal for Gallantry in Saving Life at Sea, while Leading Seaman W. G. Eldrett and Able Seaman A. E. Whitehead received the award in Bronze.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Hong_Moh
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 March 1943 - german Doggerbank – On a return trip from Japan to France the auxiliary minelayer was accidentally sunk by U-43 on 3 March 1943.
All but one of the 365 men aboard, 108 crew plus 257 prisoners-of-war, were killed in the sinking and delayed rescue.



The German ship Doggerbank (Schiff 53) was an auxiliary minelayer and blockade runner of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Laid down as the UK merchant vessel Speybank in 1926, the vessel was captured in 1941 by the German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis, converted to an auxiliary minelayer for the Kriegsmarine and renamed Doggerbank. After laying mines off the coast of South Africa, it travelled to Japan. On the return trip, it was accidentally sunk by the German submarine U-43, with all but one of the 365 men on board (108 crew plus 257 passengers) lost at sea.

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History
Speybank was built in 1926 at Harland & Wolff at Govan, Glasgow for Andrew Weir & Co. The ship was captured on 31 January 1941 by German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis in the Indian Ocean. Speybank was sent back to France under the command of Paul Schneidewind and reached Bordeaux on 10 May 1941.

The ship was taken over by the German Kriegsmarine in 1941, renamed DoggerbankSchiff 53 (German: "Ship 53"), and converted to an auxiliary minelayer. It remained under the command of Kapitänleutnant Paul Schneidewind.

Doggerbank left France in January 1942 to lay mines of the coast of South Africa and then to proceed to Japan. The mines were laid successfully in March/April 1942 and Doggerbank arrived in Japan later that year.

Last voyage
In Japan, Doggerbank took aboard many of the survivors of the auxiliary cruiser Thor and the German tanker Uckermark, the former Altmark, which had been destroyed in an accident in Yokohama on 30 November 1942. In total, the ship carried 365 men on board (108 crew, plus 257 from the other two ships) when leaving the Far East. It also carried a cargo of 7,000 tons of raw materials and rubber, fats and fish oil.

The ship travelled via Kobe, Saigon, Singapore and Jakarta, which it left on 10 January 1943, heading to France. In the mid-Atlantic on 3 March 1943, at 9.53 pm, it was torpedoed by German submarine U-43. U-43 mistook it for a British ship "of the Dunedin Star type" as Doggerbank was traveling ahead of its schedule. The ship was hit by all three torpedoes fired at it and sank within two minutes,[2] with perhaps two hundred men killed instantly.

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Aftermath
U-43 observed five life boats being launched by the ship and attempted to make contact with the survivors, but failed to get close enough because of the darkness. Unaware of the ship's sinking as it had been unable to send a distress signal, the German admiralty took days to realise the ship had been lost.

The eventual sole survivor of the crew of 108 and the 257 others on board, Fritz Kürt, was in Doggerbank's jolly boat, together with the ship's captain, Schneidewind, a small number of other men and the ship's dog. The boat headed for the South American coast, approximately three weeks away. Through suicide and accidents, the small crew was eventually reduced to two, Kürt and an old sailor by the name of Boywitt, the captain having shot himself and the ship's dog having drowned. Desperate for water and food, Boywitt drank sea water on the 19th day of their journey and died, while Kürt was too weak to even roll the dead body overboard. Kürt was eventually picked up by the Spanish motor tanker Campoamor on 29 March and taken to Aruba.

The German submarine U-43 was sunk on 30 July 1943 without survivors.

Kürt was exchanged in a prisoner-of-war swap in 1944, reported back to the German admiralty and then hid in Hamburg until the end of the war, having been about to be arrested.



 
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