Naval/Maritime History 15th of April - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 March 1777 – Launch of HMS Ceres, an 18-gun sloop launched in 1777 for the British Royal Navy that the French captured in December 1778 off Saint Lucia.


HMS Ceres was an 18-gun sloop launched in 1777 for the British Royal Navy that the French captured in December 1778 off Saint Lucia. The French Navy took her into service as Cérès. The British recaptured her in 1782 and renamed her HMS Raven, only to have the French recapture her again early in 1783. The French returned her name to Cérès, and she then served in the French Navy until sold at Brest in 1791.





HMS Ceres
Ceres was the only ship-sloop of her design. The British Admiralty ordered her in 1774 with the requirement that her design follow that of HMS Pomona, the 18-gun French sloop-of-war Cheveret, which the Royal Navy had captured on 30 January 1761 and that had disappeared, presumed foundered, during a hurricane in 1776.

Commander Samuel Warren commissioned Ceres in March 1777. In September, Commander James Dacres replaced Warren. Dacres sailed to the West Indies, arriving in December.

On 9 March 1778, near Barbados, Ariadne and Ceres encountered two vessels belonging to the Continental Navy, Raleigh and Alfred. When the American ships attempted to flee, Alfred fell behind her faster consort. Shortly after noon the British men-of-war caught up with Alfred and forced her to surrender after a half an hour's battle. Her captors described Alfred as being of 300 tons and 180 men, and under the command of Elisha Hinsman.

On 18 October 1778, Ceres captured the French privateer Tigre.

A little over a month later, on 17 December 1778, the French captured Ceres off St Lucia. Ceres was escorting a convoy of transport at the time, and Dacres acted to decoy the French 50-gun ship of the line Sagittaire and frigate Iphigénie away from the convoy, which Dacres sent on to Saint Lucia. After a chase of 48 hours, Dacres was forced to strike to Iphigénie as Sagittaire was only three miles astern and closing.

The British fleet under Admiral Barrington that had captured St Lucia, captured the American privateer Bunker Hill on 22 December 1778. Barrington decided to take her into service as HMS Surprize as she was a fast sailer and he had just been informed that the French had captured Ceres. Barrington also arranged an exchange of prisoners with the French, the crew of Bunker Hill for the crew of Ceres. Dacres subsequently returned to England.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with some midship section framing, longitudinal half-breadth for Ceres (1777), an 18-gun Ship Sloop. The plan states that she was based on the sheer of the captured French Pomona (captured 1761). Signed by John Williams [Surveyor of the Navy, 1765-1784].

Cérès
The French Navy coppered Cérès after they captured her. She came to be known as Petite Cérès to distinguish her from the French 32-gun frigate Cérès launched in 1779 (and broken up in 1797).

In 1779 Cérès was under the Marquis de Traversay. Under his command she seized numerous British transports. In October, Ceresparticipated in the attempt by French and Continental Army to retake Savannah. Despite the assistance of a French naval squadron commanded by Comte d'Estaing, the effort was a spectacular failure,

In 1780 Cérès was part of the fleet under Admiral the comte de Guichen. She participated in the battle of Martinique on 17 April, and in two subsequent fleet engagements on 15 and 19 May.

In September, Cérès arrived at Cadiz as a member of a squadron under Guichen that escorted 95 merchant vessels back from the West Indies. On 7 November, Admiral the Comte d'Estaing sortied from Cadiz with the Franco-Spanish fleet there. Cérès, under the command of Traversay, was in the Van Division. The fleet soon returned to port, not having accomplished anything.

Main article: Battle of the Mona Passage
Rodney's fleet recaptured Cérès in the Mona Passage in April 1782. The actual captor was Champion, under the command of Captain Alexander Hood. Champion was part of a squadron under Alexander Hood's brother, Sir Samuel Hood, which Rodney detached in the wake of the battle of the Saintes.

Cérès departed Guadeloupe on 15 April 1782. On 19 April the British sighted five small French warships and gave chase to them, capturing four. Cérès was under the command of Baron de Peroy, who became friends with his captor, Alexander Hood. After the war Alexander Hood visited Peroy in France.

Because the Royal Navy had a new HMS Ceres, a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1781, the Royal Navy renamed their capture HMS Raven.

HMS Raven
Between June and September 1782, Raven was at Plymouth, undergoing fitting. This included coppering.

In July 1782, Commander William Domett commissioned Raven. On 9 September Commander John Wells replaced Domett. At some point Wells sailed Raven to the West Indies.

On 5 January 1783, Raven was in company with the 74-gun Hercules off Montserrat when they sighted a strange sail. Raven sailed to investigate, but the strange vessel turned out to be a British merchantman, as did another. By this time Raven was well out of sight of Hercules.

That evening and the next day there was no wind. At about 10a.m. on the morning of 7 January, Raven sighted two frigates sailing towards her from the direction of Guadeloupe. Raveninitially sailed towards them until she realized that they were not British frigates.

An all-day chase ensued until about 9p.m. when one of the frigates got within pistol-shot and fired a broadside that shot away Raven's main topgallant-mast. The chase continued until about 10:30 p.m. when one of the frigates was again in range, with the other coming up rapidly. At this point Raven, which was under the command of Commander John Wells, struck. The French Navy took Raven into service under the name Cérès. Wells and his crew remained prisoners of war until the end of the war a few months later.

Cérès
The French Navy returned Raven to her earlier name, Cérès.

Fate
The French Navy sold Cérès at Brest in 1791.



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

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 March 1804 - HMS Magnificent (74), Cptn. W. H. Jervis, wrecked near the Pierres Noires, Brest.


HMS Magnificent was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 20 September 1766 at Deptford Dockyard. She was one of the Ramillies-class built to update the Navy and replace ships lost following the Seven Years' War. She served through two wars before her loss during blockade duty off the French coast.


The wreck of the 'Magnificent', 74 guns, took place early in the Napoleonic War, 1803-15. Commanded by Captain W. H. Jervis (formerly Ricketts), the ship was one of twenty sail of the line blockading the French fleet in Brest, Brittany, and foundered after striking uncharted rocks near the Pierre Noir (Black Rocks). While reconnoitring the enemy coast during the blockade, Jervis discovered several French ships in the bay of Conquet. Determined to attack and capture them he made the attempt on the night of 24 March 1804 but a strong current and threatening weather forced him to abandon the raid. On the following day he was trying to get round the outermost of the Black Rocks when the ship hit an uncharted spur. The tide rapidly rose and she was wrecked but boats of the squadron immediately came to the rescue and all the crew, up to 600 men, were saved. The sick and invalids were sent away in the first boats and then the ship's company was rescued in divisions, with the officers and Marines remaining to the end. Jervis stayed with his ship to the last and in the subsequent investigatory court-martial all concerned were acquitted of blame. In Schetky's rendering the ship lies on its side with waves crashing over it and the ensign at the stern turned upside-down, a traditional distress signal. Figures are shown climbing down ropes into the boats waiting below. Several figures stand at an angle and hold on to the guardrail to steady themselves. In the foreground to the right a number of small ship's boats are rowing towards the stricken vessel and in the distance to the left two other ships of the squadron lie at anchor, tossed by the waves. There is an outcrop of rock on the left and the cliffs on the far left rise up out of the low clouds. Schetky was a Scottish painter who studied drawing with Alexander Nasmyth and embarked on a Continental tour in 1801. Initially drawing master at the Royal Military College, Great Marlow, he was Professor of Drawing at the Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth, from 1811 until it closed in 1836. He then fulfilled the same role at the East India College, Addiscombe, until his retirement in 1855 although he remained active as a marime painter to his death at the age of 95. His work was informed by close personal knowledge of the sea and his subjects ranged from ship portraits and royal embarkations to reconstructions of earlier sea battles of the time of Nelson. In 1820 he was made Marine Painter in Ordinary to George IV and was granted the same title by Queen Victoria in 1844. He frequently travelled on board the royal yacht and assisted the Queen with her own sketches. While at Portsmouth, he also supplied Turner with studies of the 'Victory', for his 1822-24 painting of the Battle of Trafalgar (BHC0565). This painting, done while he was still at Addiscombe, is signed and dated ' J C Schetky 1839'.


On 21 December 1779, HMS Magnificent with the 74-gun ships HMS Suffolk and HMS Vengeance, and the 64-gun HMS Stirling Castle under Rear-Admiral Joshua Rowley, fell in with the 32-gun French frigates Fortunee and Blanche and the 28-gun Elise, when off Guadeloupe. The French ships were in bad order; their crews were excessively weak; and thus they could not escape the vastly superior British force. The Blanche was overtaken and captured on the evening of the 21st; the Fortunes, by throwing her quarter-deck guns overboard, kept away a little longer, but was captured at last in the early morning of 22 December, an hour before the Elise.



Her war service in the American War of Independence was conducted with Rodney's fleet in the Caribbean, where she served in the battles off Grenada in 1779, Martinique in 1780 and the Saintes in 1782. Her duties during the Napoleonic Wars mainly consisted of blockade duties off the French coast, but between 1798 and 1800, the ship had received a complete overhaul designed to extend her service life and improve her ability at performing the close blockade.

Magnificent came under the command of Captain John Giffard on 23 February 1801 upon his transfer from HMS Active. On 9 April 1802, the 8th West India Regiment revolted in Dominica. They killed three officers, imprisoned the others and took over Fort Shirley. On the following day, HMS Magnificent, which was anchored in Prince Rupert's Bay under Captain John Giffard's command sent a party of marines ashore to restore order. The mutineers fired upon the Magnificent with no effect. On 12 April, Governor Cochrane entered Fort Shirley with the Royal Scots Regiment and the 68th Regiment of Foot. The rebels were drawn up on the Upper Battery of Fort Shirley with three of their officers as prisoners and presented arms to the other troops. They obeyed Cochrane's command to ground their arms but refused his order to step forward. The mutineers picked up their arms and fired a volley. Shots were returned, followed by a bayonet charge that broke their ranks and a close range fire fight ensued. Those mutineers who tried to escape over the precipice to the sea were exposed to grape-shot and canister fire from Magnificent.[3] The 74-gun Excellent, the frigate Severn, and the sloop Gaiete assisted Magnificent, also supplying marines.

On the morning of 25 March 1804, during her duties blockading the French port of Brest, she struck an uncharted reef close to the Black Rocks that bordered the port and rapidly began to founder. The remaining ships of the blockading squadron closed in and removed most of the crew, the remainder of whom took to boats as the ship sank at 10.30am, just an hour and a half after she struck the reef. Although all her crew survived, a boat carrying 86 men became diverted from the main group and was washed ashore on the French coast, where the men remained in captivity for ten years. The captain, William Jervis, was later reported to have lost £1500 in lost property on board the wreck


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plans, sheer lines with stern quarter decoration, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for 'Monarch' (1765), and later applying to 'Ramilies' (1763), 'Invincible' (1765), 'Robust' (1764), 'Magnificent' (1766), and 'Marlborough' (1767), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. Signed by Thomas Slade [Surveyor of the Navy, 1755-1771].



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Magnificent_(1766)

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 March 1804, March 25 or 28 – HMS Hippomenes captures French privateer Egyptienne


HMS Antigua was a French frigate launched in 1779. She became a privateer that the British captured in 1804. She served the Royal Navy as a prison ship from 1804 to 1816, when she was broken up.





French service
Antigua began her career as the Galathée-class French frigate Railleuse. She was built in Bordeaux to a 32-gun design by Raymond-Antoine Haran and launched in 1779. She underwent repairs at Rochefort several times, in January to April 1783 and in May 1790. In 1791 she was coppered, and then underwent further repairs in 1794.

On 11 June 1794 she was cruising in the Channel when she encountered and chased the 14-gun cutter HMS Ranger off Brest. Ranger engaged in some proforma resistance and then struck. The French treated Ranger's crew badly, stripping the men naked and keeping them on deck for two days until they arrived at Brest. The French Navy took Ranger into service and kept her name.

In 1797 the French navy disposed of Railleuse. She became the French privateer Egyptienne, a 36-gun ship with a crew of 120 based at Bordeaux.

In December 1800, the hired armed cutter Nimrod recaptured the Skene, Crawly, master, which had been sailing from Dublin to London when the privateer Egyptian captured Skene. Nimrodsent Skene into Falmouth on 30 December.

A letter from Madeira dated 22 February 1804 reported that the 36-gun privateer Egyptienne was cruising to the south of the island. Another privateer, this one of 20 guns, was also in the area. Egyptienne was next reported to be off the windward coast of Africa on 8 March.

Egyptienne must have then sailed to the Caribbean as on 19 March she captured the Denault, Ball, master, which had been sailing from London to Demerara, and sent her into Guadeloupe. Egyptienne then intercepted the Ranger, Williams, master, Favourite, Holman, master, and Wadstray, Way, master, which were sailing in company, also from London to Demerara. Egyptienne captured the Wadstray, which however the frigate Blanche recaptured, and sent into Jamaica.

sistership

lines & profile NMM, Progress Book, volume 5, folio 229 states that 'Pique' (1795) arrived at Portsmouth Dockyard in December 1796 and was docked ini January 1797 where her copper was replaced. She was launched on 29 January 1797 and sailed in April 1797 having been fitted.

Capture
On 23 March 1804, the British 18-gun sloop Osprey gave chase to four ships that turned out to be a frigate and three merchant ships. Osprey badly damaged the frigate Egyptienne in a close, 80-minute action near Barbados before Egyptienne used her superior speed to escape. Osprey lost one man killed and 16 wounded in the action and her hull and rigging were badly damaged.

On the 25th, Osprey and the British 18-gun sloop Hippomenes recaptured the Reliance, one of several prizes that Egyptienne had taken. From the prize master the British found out the identity of the vessel that Osprey had fought.

On 25 March 1804 or 27 March 1804 Hippomenes captured the damaged Egyptienne after a 54-hour chase followed by a three-hour, 20-minute single-ship action. Egyptienne was under the command of M. Placiard and had a crew of 255 men. After Hippomenses captured Egyptienne, the British found out that she had lost eight men killed and 19 wounded in the fight with Osprey. Hippomenes had only one man slightly wounded.

British service and fate
The British took Egyptienne into service as HMS Antigua as there was already an Egyptienne in the Royal Navy. Because Egyptienne was twenty-five years old, and battered, the Navy decided against sending her to sea again. Lieutenant James Middleton commissioned her in December 1808 and commanded her until 1815. From December 1808 Antigua served as a prison hulk until scrapped in 1816.


Galathée, drawn in 1781 by François Aimé Louis Dumoulin

The Galathée class was a type of 32-gun frigates of the French Navy, designed by Raymond-Antoine Haran, with 26 × 12-pounder and 6 × 6-pounder guns. six units were built in all, seeing service during the Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War, and later in the French Revolutionary Wars. The Royal Navy captured and took into service five of the six, the sixth being wrecked early in the French Revolutionary Wars.

• Galathée

Builder: Rochefort
Launched: 1779
Fate: wrecked in 1795

• Railleuse

Builder: Bordeaux
Launched: 1779
Fate: sold as a privateer and captured in 1804 by the Royal Navy. Taken into British service as HMS Antigua.

• Fleur de Lys

Builder: Rochefort
Launched: 1785
Fate: renamed to Pique, captured by the Royal Navy and taken into British service as HMS Pique in 1796

• Charente Inférieure

Builder: Rochefort
Launched: 1793
Fate: renamed Tribune in February 1794, captured by British Navy in 1796 and taken into British service as HMS Tribune, being wrecked the next year

• Républicaine française

Builder: Bordeaux
Launched: 1794
Fate: renamed Renommée in 1795; captured by British Navy in 1796, becoming HMS Renommee. Broken up 1810

• Décade Française

Builder: Pierre Guibert, Bordeaux
Launched: 1794
Fate: Renamed Décade in 1795; captured by British navy in 1798, becoming HMS Decade. Sold 1811



HMS Hippomenes was a former Dutch corvette built in Vlissingen in 1797 for the Batavian Republic. The British captured her in 1803 and she served with the Royal Navy until sold in 1813. With the Royal Navy she participated in two notable single-ship actions in the West Indies.



Dutch service
Hippomenes was a sister ship to Atalanta, but brig-rigged and built in 1796. Scorpion captured Atalanta in 1804 but the British did not take her into service. The two sister ships were named for Atalanta and Hippomenes, two lovers from Greek mythology.

Early in 1802, Hippomenes, under the command of Captain-Lieutenant Melvill, was assigned to the West Indies and Guinea coast division of the Batavian Republic's navy. After the end of the French Revolutionary Wars, the British returned the Dutch colonies they had captured in the West Indies to the Republic. In August 1802, Captain Cornelius Hubertus Buchman, of Kenau Hasselar, took a small squadron that also included the frigate Proserpina, Hippomenes, the cutter Rose, and the schooner Serpent, to take possession of Curaçao. Kenau Hasellar and Rose arrived at Willemstad on 22 December. The other vessels in the squadron sailed to other destinations.

Capture
In the summer of 1803 Hippomenes was acting as a guard ship at Fort Stabroek, Demerara. She was responsible for the Governor's maritime affairs, served as harbour master for visiting ships, and was under the command of Lieutenant Sistermans.

When Commodore Sir Samuel Hood arrived to take command in the Leeward Islands, he raised his pennant in the 74-gun third rate Centaur. This ship of the line seized Hippomenes on 20 September 1803 at the taking of Demerara. Hippomenes was the only vessel there belonging to the Batavian Republic and so was included in the terms of capitulation. Initial reports described her as a corvette of 18 guns, perhaps because she was pierced for 18, though only 14 were mounted.

British service
The British then took her to Antigua where they added her to the Navy as the 18-gun sloop-of-war HMS Hippomenes. This entailed the replacement of her 14 Dutch guns, which were incompatible with British requirements—Dutch 8-pounders, in particular, could not take Royal Navy ammunition—with 18 British guns.

Her first British commander was Lieutenant John C. Woolcombe. On 26 January 1804, Hippomenes recaptured the Scottish ship Mercury, which was carrying a cargo of lumber to Demerara via New York. The French 12-gun privateer schooner Harmonie had captured Mercury before herself falling prey to Cyane on 27 January; Harmonie was taken into British service as HMS Unique.

Conway Shipley transferred from Saint Lucia and took command of Hippomenes on 22 March 1804. On 25 March 1804, he and the 18-gun sloop Osprey retook the French prize Rigby, which was carrying troops. More importantly for subsequent developments, they also recaptured the Reliance, out of London. From her Shipley obtained information about the whereabouts of the French privateer Egyptienne (the former frigate Railleuse).

Two days later, after a 54-hour chase, and a running fight of over 3 hours, Hippomenes captured Egyptienne. The French vessel struck her colours as soon as Hippomenes pulled alongside, with the result that the British suffered only one man wounded. A few days earlier, on 23 March, Egyptienne had battled Osprey, losing eight men killed and 19 men wounded before she could escape. Apparently this demoralized her captain so that when faced with yet another British warship he surrendered without putting up strong resistance. (Osprey had lost one man killed and 16 wounded.) Egyptienne had 36 guns (12 and 9-pounders) and a crew of 240 men when captured; when she battled Osprey her crew had been about 250 men. The British took Egyptienne into service as Antigua. Antigua served as a prison ship until she was scrapped in 1816.

Hippomenes formed part of Commodore Hood's squadron at the capture of Surinam River in 1804. The squadron consisted of Hood's flagship Centaur, Pandour, Serapis, Alligator, Hippomenes, Drake, the schooner Unique, and transports carrying 2000 troops under Brigadier-General Sir Charles Green. On 24 April, Hippomenes escorted a convoy carrying a division of the army under Brigadier-General Frederick Maitland to land at Warappa creek to collect enough boats from the plantations to transport troops to the rear of Fort New Amsterdam.

On 30 April, Kenneth Mackenzie (or M'Kenzie) of the 16-gun, ex-French privateer brig Guachapin, who had left his ship 50 leagues to leeward and brought up her boats, assisted Shipley in superintending the landing of Maitland's troops at Warappa. The Dutch governor initially rejected the surrender terms but surrendered on 5 May after the British captured the battery of Friderici. Hood made Shipley post-captain into Centaur. (One day earlier the Admiralty had promoted him into the ex-French 28-gun frigate HMS Sagesse; he later assumed command of her at Jamaica.)

On 1 May Hippomenes and Emerald captured the sloop Lizard and her cargo.

In June, Mackenzie took over command of Hippomenes, whose crew, he complained, consisted mainly of discontented foreigners. When the British had commissioned her, Shipley had to get men for her crew by drawing on other vessels, which gave the commanders of those vessels an opportunity to rid themselves of "skulkers, raw hands, incorrigible rogues and foreign renegades."

The poor quality of the crew came to the fore on 21 June when Hippomene was cruising off Antigua. Taking advantage of Hippomenes' Dutch design, Mackenzie had disguised her as a Guinea trader. A Guadeloupe privateer, the Buonaparte, of 18 long 8-pounders and a crew of 146 men, sighted Hippomenes and sailed to take her. The two vessels exchanged fire until Buonaparte ran into Hippomenes. Mackenzie had his crew lash the privateer's bowsprit to the mainmast and jumped on board the privateer, followed by his officers and a few men, some 18 in all. Unfortunately, the rest of the crew remained behind. In the fight on the privateer, the British lost five dead and eight wounded; only nine of the original 18 managed to escape back to Hippomenes (two officers and two men remained on board Buonaparte as prisoners). The boarding party barely got back in time before the lashings gave way and the vessels parted, at which time the privateer sailed away. On Hippomenes his wounds rendered Mackenzie himself senseless for a while. In the engagement prior to the boarding, the Buonaparte had lost five dead and 15 wounded.

During August 1804, Hippomenes, retook the English ship Young Nicholas, which was laden with mahogany. In 1805 Hippomenes was under the command of Commander William Autridge. By 11 November Commander Edward Woolcombe, who had been promoted out of Centaur, was listed as commanding Hippomenes at the capture of the brig Hiram. Hipomenes was part of a flotilla that received credit.

On 24 January 1807, a court martial acquitted Woolcombe of "wasteful expenditure of His Majesty's stores".

On 27 March 1808 the boats of Hippomenes joined those of Ulysses, Castor, and Morne Fortunee in an attempt to cut out the 16-gun French brig Griffon at Marin, Martinique. They succeeded in capturing a battery but were driven back empty handed, having suffered heavy casualties from the brig's fire.

In June 1808 Commander K.H. Waede took command of Hippomenes at Barbados, somewhat to his dismay, as he had been appointed to command Julia, a new vessel, the news arriving too late. Hippomenes then escorted a convoy to England.

Fate
On 25 September 1808 Hippomenes arrived in Portsmouth and was laid up. The "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy" first offered the sloop Hippmenes, of 417 tons, then lying at Portsmouth, for sale 27 November 1811. She finally sold on 28 April 1813 for £600

HMS Hippomenes (1803) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Antigua_(1804)

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 March 1808 - HMS Electra Sloop (16), G. Trollope, wrecked on a reef at the entrance of Port Augusta, Sicily.


HMS Electra was a British Royal Navy 16-gun brig-sloop of the Seagull class launched in 1806. She wrecked off Port Augusta, Sicily, on 25 March 1808. The Navy was able to salve her, but then had her broken up at Malta later that year.



Career
Commander George Trollope commissioned Electra in March 1806, for the North Sea. He then sailed her for the Mediterranean on 15 November 1807.

On 17 February 1808, Major General J.C. Sherbrooke ordered the evacuation of the British troops at the castle of Scylla (Scilla, Calabria). Trollope commanded the boats that brought out the troops. British casualties were light.

Fate
Electra was returning to Port Augusta with payroll for the troops on Sicily. As she was working her way into the bay at 8a.m. she hit the outer edge of a reef. By mid-afternoon all efforts to save her had failed and she was awash. The decision was made to abandon her. The subsequent court martial faulted Trollope for having tried to enter an unfamiliar port without calling for a pilot and for failing to use a lead. The court martial ordered that Trollope be put at the bottom of the list of Commanders. The court martial also reprimanded Lieutenant Richard Connelly for having left the deck while Electra was on the reef.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board outline, sheer lines with midship framing and scroll figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for building the Electra (1806), a 16-gun Brig at Mistleythorn, Essex by Mr Betts. Signed by John Henslow [Surveyor of the Navy, 1784-1806] and William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813].


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile, upper deck and lower deck with hold and platforms Electra (1806), a 16-gun Brig to be built at Mistleythorn, Essex by Mr Betts. Initialled by John Henslow [Surveyor of the Navy, 1784-1806] and William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813].


The Seagull class were built as a class of thirteen 16-gun brig-sloops for the Royal Navy, although an extra 2 carronades were added soon after completion. The class was designed by one of the Surveyors of the Navy - Sir William Rule - and approved on 4 January 1805. Five vessels to this design were ordered in December 1804; eight more were ordered in the summer.

Armament
Unlike the larger Cruiser-class brig-sloops, whose main battery was composed of 32-pounder carronades, the Seagull class (and the similar Fly-class brig-sloops designed by Rule's co-surveyor - Sir John Henslow) were armed with a main battery of 24-pounder slide-mounted carronades.

HMS Electra (1806) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Seagull-class brig-sloop - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 March 1872 – Launch of HMS Thunderer, one of two Devastation-class ironclad turret ships


HMS Thunderer was one of two Devastation-class ironclad turret ships built for the Royal Navy in the 1870s. She suffered two serious accidents before the decade was out and gained a reputation as an unlucky ship for several years afterward. The ship was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1878 and was reduced to reserve in 1881 before being recommissioned in 1885. Thunderer returned home in 1887 and was again placed in reserve. She rejoined the Mediterranean Fleet in 1891, but was forced to return to the UK by boiler problems the following year. The ship became a coast guard ship in Wales in 1895 and was again placed in reserve in 1900. Thunderer was taken out of service in 1907 and sold for scrap in 1909.



Background and description


Right elevation and plan from Brassey's Naval Annual, 1888

The Devastation class was designed as an enlarged, ocean-going, version of the earlier Cerberus-class breastwork monitor. The ships had a length between perpendiculars of 285 feet (86.9 m) and were 307 feet (93.6 m) long overall. They had a beam of 62 feet 3 inches (19.0 m), and a draught of 26 feet 8 inches (8.1 m). The Devastation-class ships displaced 9,330 long tons (9,480 t). Their crew consisted of 358 officers and ratings. They proved to be steady gun platforms and good seaboats, albeit quite wet forward. Their low forecastle caused them problems with head seas and limited their speed in such conditions.

Thunderer had two Humphry & Tennant two-cylinder horizontal direct-acting steam engines using steam provided by eight rectangular boilers; each engine driving a single propeller. The engines were designed to produce a total of 5,600 indicated horsepower (4,200 kW) for a speed of 12.5 knots(23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph),[3] but Thunderer reached a maximum speed of 13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) from 6,270 ihp (4,680 kW) during her sea trials. The ship carried a maximum of 1,800 long tons (1,829 t) of coal, enough to steam 4,700 nautical miles (8,700 km; 5,400 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).



Thunderer's forward turret, as first constructed with manual ramming

The Devastation class was armed with four RML 12-inch (305 mm) rifled muzzle-loading guns, one pair in each of the gun turrets positioned fore and aft of the superstructure. Shortly after completion, Thunderer's forward turret's weapons were replaced by more powerful RML 12.5-inch (318 mm) guns.

While both gun turrets were rotated by steam power, the new forward guns were loaded by hydraulic power, unlike the original guns which were hand worked. Thunderer was the first ship to have hydraulic loading gear. From 1874, the forward turret alone was converted to hydraulic power operation for training (turret traverse), elevation and ramming. This allowed the turret crew to be reduced from 48 to 28; the aft turret remaining hand-worked as a comparison.[8] Power operation was considered successful, although it was later implicated in the 1879 explosion.

The Devastation-class ships had a complete wrought iron waterline armour belt that was 12 inches thick amidships and tapered to 9 inches (229 mm) outside the armoured citadel towards the ends of the ship. The armour plates were tapered to a thickness of 10–8.5 inches (254–216 mm) at their bottom edges respectively and they extended from the upper deck to 5 feet 9 inches (1.8 m) below the waterline. The armoured citadel protected the bases of the gun turrets, the funnel uptakes and the crew's quarters. The sides of the citadel were 12 inches thick around the bases of the turrets and 10 inches thick elsewhere. The turrets were protected by two 7–6-inch (178–152 mm) plates, separated by a layer of teak with the turret face having the thicker armour. The magazine were protected by a 6-inch forward bulkhead and a 5-inch (127 mm) one aft. The conning tower ranged in thickness from 9 to 6 inches in thickness. The ships had a complete 3-inch (76 mm) upper deck that was reinforced by another 2-inch (51 mm) thick inside the citadel.

Construction and career


Thunderer at anchor, before 1879

Thunderer, the fifth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy, was laid down on 26 June 1869 at Pembroke Dockyard, Wales. Construction was subsequently halted for a time in 1871 to modify the ship to improve her stability and buoyancy by extending the breastwork to cover the full width of the hull which increased the ship's freeboard amidships and provided additional accommodation for the crew. The ship was launched on 25 March 1872 by Mrs. Mary Meyrick, wife of Thomas Meyrick, MP. Two years later she was transferred to Portsmouth Dockyard to finish fitting out.


Inspection of the boilers, after their explosion

On 14 July 1876, Thunderer suffered a disastrous boiler explosion which killed 45 people. One of her boilers burst as she proceeded from Portsmouth Harbour to Stokes Bay to carry out a full-power trial. The explosion killed 15 people instantly, including her commanding officer; around 70 others were injured, of whom 30 later died. This was the Royal Navy's most deadly boiler explosion through the whole century. A model representing the failed boiler was made and is now in the Science Museum, London. The explosion was caused because a pressure gauge was broken and the safety valve had corroded in place. When the steam stop valve to the engines was closed, pressure in the boiler rose and could not be released. The four box boilers were the last in service in the Navy and operated at what would even then would have been considered a relatively low pressure, for more modern boilers, of 30 psi (210 kPa). The boiler was repaired and the ship was completed on 26 May 1877 at a cost of £368,428.

Thunderer was commissioned in May 1877 for service with the Reserve Fleet Particular Service Squadron and was then assigned to the Channel Squadron. During this time, she was fitted with experimental 16-inch (406 mm) torpedoes.[16] She sailed for the Mediterranean in 1878 under the command of Captain Alfred Chatfield.



Diagrams showing how the gun burst

The ship suffered another serious accident in January 1879 when the left 12-inch 38 ton gun in the forward turret exploded during gunnery practice in the Sea of Marmora, killing 11 and injuring a further 35. The muzzle-loading gun had been double-loaded following a misfire. According to Admiral of the Fleet E.H Seymour,

"Both turret guns were being fired simultaneously, and evidently one did not go off. It may seem hard to believe such a thing could happen and not be noticed, but from my own experience I understand it. The men in the turret often stopped their ears, and perhaps their eyes, at the moment of firing, and then instantly worked the run-in levers, and did not notice how much the guns had recoiled. This no doubt occurred. Both guns were at once reloaded, and the rammer's indicator, working by machinery, set fast and failed to show how far the new charge had gone."

The accident contributed to the Royal Navy changing to breech-loading guns, which could be more conveniently worked from inside the turrets.[19][18] The fragments of the destroyed gun were re-assembled and displayed to the public at the Woolwich Arsenal. The committee of inquiry decided that the gun had been double-loaded, but this view was widely questioned, including by Sir William Palliser, designer of the Palliser shell used by these guns. Palliser's view instead was that the shot had been obstructed by a portion of the millboard disc rammed above the shell. Hydraulic power-ramming was thought to be implicated in the double loading as the telescopic hydraulic rammer had not made the double loading obvious, as a manual ramrod would have done. One piece of evidence supporting the double loading theory was the presence of an additional stud torn from a Palliser shell, found amongst the wreckage within the turret.[9] Thunderer was then regarded as an unlucky ship and was placed in reserve at Malta in 1881 and had her machinery overhauled. Her armament was augmented with a pair of 14-inch (356 mm) torpedo launchers and a half-dozen 1-inch (25 mm) Nordenfelt guns on the hurricane deck. She was recommissioned in 1885 and remained with the Mediterranean Fleet until she was paid off at Chatham Dockyard.[20] The future King George V served aboard Thunderer in 1885–86.

The ship was assigned to the Portsmouth Reserve in January 1888 before beginning a major modernisation the following year. Her guns were replaced by four breech-loading 10-inch guns.[20] To improve her defence against torpedo boats, her Nordenfelt guns were replaced by six quick-firing (QF) 6-pounder 2.2 in (57 mm) and eight QF 3-pounder 1.9 in (47 mm) Hotchkiss guns. Thunderer's machinery was replaced by inverted triple-expansion steam engines and cylindrical boilers. Their increased output of 7,000 ihp (5,200 kW) increased her speed to 14.2 knots (26.3 km/h; 16.3 mph) and their more economical consumption of coal allowed the coal storage to be reduced to 1,200 long tons (1,219 t).

The ship rejoined the Mediterranean Fleet in March 1891, but was forced to return home in September 1892 with persistent boiler problems and she was reduced to the Chatham reserve. Thunderer became the guard ship at Pembroke Dock in May 1895 and remained there until she returned to the Chatham reserve in December 1900. The ship was refitted there as an emergency ship in 1902, but was taken out of service five years later. Thunderer was sold for scrap for £19,500 on 13 September 1909.

The Devastation class became more popular among the civilian population and in the Royal Navy as the ships got older. Rear-Admiral John Wilson, a former captain of the ship, stated in a meeting of the Royal United Services Institute discussing the most acceptable types of battleship in 1884,

"I also agree with my friend Captain Colomb that we have no type of ship to my fancy equal to the Dreadnought or the good old Thunderer. Give me the Thunderer, the hull of the Thunderer; she had bad engines, she was not arranged as I would like inside, she was badly gunned as we all know, and she had not enough light gun or sufficient armaments; but she carried 1,750 long tons (1,780 t) of coal, could steam at 10 knots from here to the Cape, and could fight any ship of her class on the salt water."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Thunderer_(1872)

Devastation-class ironclad - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 March 1893 - Glückauf was a German ship that represented a major step forward in oil tanker design.
"When the Glückauf sailed from the Tyne on 10 July 1886 she was the first ocean going tanker with oil to her skin".
The vessel was in use from 1886 to 25 March 1893, when it ran aground at Fire Island in New York.


Glückauf was a German ship that represented a major step forward in oil tanker design. "When the Glückauf sailed from the Tyne on 10 July 1886 she was the first ocean going tanker with oil to her skin". The vessel was in use from 1886 to 25 March 1893, when it ran aground at Fire Island in New York.



German tanker Glückauf stranded on 23/24-3-1893 in heavy fog at Blue Point Beach at Fire Island. Tourists were common at the wreck site for years after.

The 2700-ton tanker was built at the Armstrong Mitchell yard, Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne, Britain, with eight compartments for the cargo. It was the first ship in which oil could be pumped directly into the vessel hull instead of being loaded in barrels or drums. (Other sources give the gross tonnage in the 2300s.)

It was built for Wilhelm Anton Riedemann's shipping firm in Geestemünde and ran mostly as a tramp steamer.





Glückauf was on a charter voyage for the Standard Oil Company when it ran aground across from Sayville, New York at Blue Point Beach on Fire Island along Long Island. Differing sources give the date of the wreck as March 23, 24, or 25, in 1892 or 1893; a contemporary New York Times article said that it ran aground "just before dawn" on March 24, 1893. Men from the Blue Point Life-Saving Station rescued the crew. On April 7, it was briefly dislodged and was being pulled out to sea when the hawser broke; the ship ran permanently aground.

The wreck quickly became a tourist attraction, and scavengers ripped up whatever they could and carried it away.

The wreck of the Glückauf now lies 75–100 feet (23–30 m) offshore, from the water surface to 25 feet (7.6 m) of water.

Glückauf (1886) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 March 1941 - SS Britannia, a British steam passenger ship, was sunk by the German auxiliary cruiser Thor with the loss of 122 crew and 127 passengers.


SS Britannia was a British steam passenger ship which was sunk by a German merchant raider during the Second World War.



Career and sinking
Built for Line by Alexander Stephen & Sons of Glasgow, she was launched in 1925. Her maiden voyage from Glasgow to Bombay started on 3 March 1926 and she continued sailing this route thereafter.

On 25 March 1941, whilst off Freetown en route for Bombay, she was sunk by the German auxiliary cruiser Thor with the loss of 122 crew and 127 passengers. Britannia's radio operator had got off the RRR raider warning, acknowledged by a Sierra Leone station. Although the German captain allowed some moments to abandon ship before firing the final salvoes, he did not stay to pick up survivors. Five days later the Spanish ocean liner Cabo de Hornos, in transit from South America to neutral Spain, picked up a number of people from various boats and a raft.

Survivor of the sinking, Lieutenant-Commander Frank West MBE, wrote a book, Lifeboat Number Seven, dealing in detail with the loss of the ship and his subsequent voyage from the sinking point to the coast of Brazil in one of the ship's lifeboats. Thirty-eight crew and passengers survived the lifeboat′s 26-day journey, which was claimed to be the longest ever by a lifeboat at the time.

Another lifeboat made a 22-day voyage, saving 40 survivors. For their role in this, Third Officer McVicar[5] and ship′s doctor Nancy Miller were awarded the MBE.




Thor (HSK 4) was an auxiliary cruiser of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine in World War II, intended for service as a commerce raider. Also known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 10; to the Royal Navy she was Raider E. She was named after the Germanic deity Thor.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Britannia_(1925)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_auxiliary_cruiser_Thor

Hilfskreuzer (Auxiliary Cruiser / Raider) - Thor

The History of Bismarck and Tirpitz

www.bismarck-class.dk

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 25 March


1654 – Launch of Islip – launched 25 March 1654 (wrecked 24 July 1655)


1795 - HMS Speedy was a 14-gun Speedy-class brig of the British Royal Navy, recaptured from the French

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

Built at Dover, Kent, Speedy spent most of the interwar years serving off the British coast. Transferred to the Mediterranean after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, she spent the rest of her career there under a number of notable commanders, winning fame for herself in various engagements and often against heavy odds. Her first commander in the Mediterranean, Charles Cunningham, served with distinction with several squadrons, assisting in the capture of several war prizes, such as the French frigates Modeste and Impérieuse. His successor, George Cockburn, impressed his superiors with his dogged devotion to duty. Speedy's next commander, George Eyre, had the misfortune to lose her to a superior French force on 9 June 1794.

She was soon retaken, and re-entered service under Hugh Downman, who captured a number of privateers between 1795 and 1799 and fought off an attack by the large French privateer Papillon on 3 February 1798. His successor, Jahleel Brenton, fought a number of actions against Spanish forces off Gibraltar. Her last captain, Lord Cochrane, forced the surrender of a much larger Spanish warship, the Gamo. Speedy was finally captured by a powerful French squadron in 1801 and donated to the Papal Navy by Napoleon the following year. She spent five years with them under the name San Paolo, but was struck around 1806.


HMS Speedy falling in with the wreck of HMS Queen Charlotte, 21 March 1800

HMS Speedy (1782) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1802 Treaty of Amiens signed, ending French Revolutionary Wars.

The Treaty of Amiens (French: la paix d'Amiens) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was signed in the city of Amiens on 25 March 1802 (4 Germinal X in the French Revolutionary calendar) by Joseph Bonaparte and Marquess Cornwallis as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace." The consequent peace lasted only one year (18 May 1803) and was the only period of general peace in Europe between 1793 and 1814.
Under the treaty, Britain recognised the French Republic. Together with the Treaty of Lunéville (1801), the Treaty of Amiens marked the end of the Second Coalition, which had waged war against Revolutionary France since 1798.


James Gillray, The first Kiss this Ten Years! —or—the meeting of Britannia & Citizen François(1803)

Treaty of Amiens - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1808 HMS Milbrook Schooner (18), Lt. James Leach, wrecked on the Burlings.

HMS Milbrook (or Millbrook) was one of six vessels built to an experimental design by Sir Samuel Bentham. After the Royal Navy took her into service in her decade-long career she took part in one notable single-ship action and captured several privateers and other vessels, all off the coast of Spain and Portugal. She was wrecked on the Portuguese coast in 1808.

HMS Milbrook (1798) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1812 – Launch of French Érigone, Astrée and Armide, all 40 gun Pallas-class frigates

Pallas-class frigate (1808) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1813 USS Essex (46), Cptn. David Porter, takes Peruvian cruiser Neryeda, first capture by U.S. Navy in Pacific

The first USS Essex of the United States Navy was a 36-gun or 32-gun sailing frigate that participated in the Quasi-War with France, the First Barbary War, and in the War of 1812. The British captured her in 1814 and she then served as HMS Essex until sold at public auction on 6 June 1837.

USS Essex (1799) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1822 - USS Shark, commanded by Lt. Matthew C. Perry, raises the first U.S. flag over Key West, Fla., and claims the territory for the United States, calling it Thompsons Island to honor Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson.

The first USS Shark was a schooner in the United States Navy. Built in the Washington Navy Yard to the designs of Henry Steers, Shark was launched on 17 May 1821. On 11 May 1821, Matthew C. Perry was ordered to take command of Shark, and the ship was ready to receive her crew on 2 June 1821.


Model of the USS Shark in the U.S. Navy Museum

USS Shark (1821) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1863 - The USS Lancaster was a sidewheel civilian steamer tow boat built in 1855 at Cincinnati, sunk

The USS Lancaster was a sidewheel civilian steamer tow boat built in 1855 at Cincinnati. Originally it was named Lancaster Number 3 then the Kosciusko. In March through May 1862, she was purchased and converted to a ram by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Ellet Jr. for the War Department early in April 1862 to serve during the American Civil War.


USS Lancaster follows her sister ship USS Switzerlandpast the Vicksburg batteries, 25 March 1863

USS Lancaster (1855) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1887 – Launch of Laiyuan (Chinese: 來遠; pinyin: Laiyuan; Wade–Giles: Lai Yüan), also known as Lai Yuen, was an armored cruiser in the late Qing Dynasty Beiyang Fleet. Its sister ship was Jingyuan.

Chinese cruiser Laiyuan - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1898 - Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt, recommends to Secretary of the Navy John D. Long that he appoint two officers of scientific attainments and practical ability who, with representatives from the War Department, would examine Professor Samuel P. Langleys flying machine and report upon its practicability and its potential for use in war.


1902 – Launch of HMS Prince of Wales was a London-class pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Royal Navy

HMS Prince of Wales was a London-class pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She was one of two ships of the London- or Queen sub-class. Shortly after completion the ship was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and then to the Atlantic in 1909 and Home Fleets three year later. Prince of Wales often served as a flagshipduring her career.

The ship was assigned to the Channel Fleet after the beginning of the First World War in August 1914 and ferried Royal Marines to Belgium that same month. In early 1915, she was ordered to the Mediterranean to support Allied forces in the Dardanelles Campaign, but Prince of Wales only remained there briefly before being ordered to the Adriatic to reinforce Italian forces there in case of an attack by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. The ship was ordered home in early 1917 and reduced to reserve upon her arrival. Prince of Wales served as an accommodation ship until she was listed for sale in late 1919. The ship was sold for scrap in mid-1920 and broken up thereafter.

HMS Prince of Wales (1902) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1915 - The submarine, F-4 (SS 23) sinks off Honolulu, Hawaii, with the loss of 21 lives. It is the first commissioned submarine loss for the U.S. Navy.

USS F-4 (SS-23) was a United States Navy F-class submarine. Her keel was laid down by the Moran Brothers of Seattle, Washington. She was originally named Skate, making her the first ship of the United States Navy named for the skate. She was renamed F-4 on 17 November 1911. She was launched on 6 January 1912 sponsored by Mrs. M.F. Backus; and commissionedon 3 May 1913 with Lieutenant (junior grade) K.H. Donavin in command.




U.S. Navy inspection personnel examining the large implosion hole in F-4's port side in drydock at Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ca. late August or early September 1915. F-4 had been raised from 306 ft (93 m) of water and towed into port. This view was taken from off the port bow, showing F-4's port-side diving plane in the center. She is upside down, rolled to starboard approximately 120° from the vertical.

USS F-4 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1921 - USS Conestoga - The ship was missing and lost with all hands after it left 25 March 1921 from Mare Island, California, heading for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The wreck was located in 2009 in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

The second USS Conestoga (SP-1128/AT-54) was an ocean-going tug in the United States Navy. Commissioned in 1917, it disappeared in the Pacific Ocean in 1921. The fate of the vessel was a mystery until its wreck was positively identified in 2016.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Conestoga_(AT-54)


1944 - USS Manlove (DE 36) and submarine chaser PC 1135 sink Japanese submarine I 32, 50 miles south of Wotje.

USS Manlove - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

2011 - An unnamed ship carrying 72 people, mostly Ethiopian and Eritrean migrants, ran aground at Tripoli after drifting without fuel for 16 days. The ship had departed on 25 March 2011 in an attempt to reach Lampedusa, Italy. Last phone contact was on 26 March 2011, and a French aircraft carrier within sight sent out reconnaissance flights overhead but did not aid the imperiled ship. Of the passengers and crew, 11 survived, with two more dying in the days following.

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 March 1778 – Launch of French Surveillante, an Iphigénie-class 32-gun frigate of the French Navy


Surveillante was an Iphigénie-class 32-gun frigate of the French Navy. She took part in the Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War, where she became famous for her battle with HMS Quebec; in 1783, she brought the news that the war was over to America. She later took part in the French Revolutionary Wars, and was eventually scuttled during the Expédition d'Irlande after sustaining severe damage in a storm. The wreck was found in 1979 and is now a memorial.


Battle between the French frigate Surveillante and the British frigate Quebec, 6 October 1779. Auguste-Louis Rossel de Cercy



Career
Early career
Surveillante was laid down in August 1777 in Lorient as the second frigate of the Iphigénie class, a series of 32-gun frigates carrying 12-pounder guns designed by Léon Guignace. She was launched on 26 March 1778, and commissioned in May. The very same month, she was refitted as to upgrade her hull with copper sheathing, which was being gradually introduced in the French Navy. In June 1778, Surveillante was part of a squadron of five French frigates that were seeking to retaliate against the British for their capture of three French vessels earlier that month, all before any declaration of war. On 24 June, off Ushant, the French encountered HMS Folkestone, an 8-gun cutter. Folkestone then surrendered to Surveillante. The French took Folkestone into service under her existing name.

After her refit, Surveillante took part in the Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War, capturing HMS Spitfire on 19 April 1779.

Battle against HMS Quebec
Main article: Action of 6 October 1779
On 6 October 1779, off Ushant, Surveillante, under captain Couédic de Kergoaler, met with the 32-gun HMS Quebec, under Captain George Farmer. A furious, three-and-a-half-hour-long combat ensued. Both ships suffered heavy casualties and were completely dismasted. The battle ended when Quebec, firing through her own sails which covered her gunports, took fire and exploded. Surveillante, her hull leaking, had 30 killed and 85 wounded. Her boat rescued whatever British crew had survived, and British and French sailors then had to work together to keep her afloat. She returned to Brest the next day, and the British are said to have been treated as castaways rather than prisoners of war.[citation needed]

Numerous paintings and drawings of the battle were made, notably by Auguste-Louis Rossel de Cercy (a key exhibit of the Musée de la Marine in Paris), by George Carter and by Robert Dodd.










End of the American war of Independence
On 19 February 1781, Surveillante, along with the 64-gun Éveillé, her sister-ship Gentille and the cutter Guèpe, captured HMS Romulus in Chesapeake Bay.

In June 1782 Surveillante captured the English merchant vessel Rose. She served as a cartel before being decommissioned at Morlaix in November 1784. In September Surveillante and Ariel captured the merchant vessel Grand Duc off the coast of Spain. The French navy briefly took her into service before decommissioning, striking off and selling her for £t 72,489 at Brest in 1783.

In summer 1783, along with the British frigate HMS Medea, she sailed to America to announce the Peace of Paris that ended the war between France and Great Britain.

In late 1793, under Captain Tréhouart-Beaulieu, she ferried Rear-Admiral Joseph Cambis from New York City to Lorient, as well as other passagers and despatches.

Loss
During the French Revolutionary Wars, she captured the packet ship Antelope in 1794. Surveillante participated in the Croisière du Grand Hiver, an unsuccessful sortie by the French fleet at Brest on 24 December 1794.

She then took part to the Expédition d'Irlande in December 1796. Badly damaged in the tempest and not seaworthy enough to return to France, she was scuttled in Bantry Bay in County Cork, Ireland.

Discovery of the wreck
After the 1979 Whiddy Island Disaster, the wreck of Surveillante was found in 23 metres (75 ft) of water. The wreck is now a memorial, and a 1⁄6 model of the ship is now on display at Bantry.



The Iphigénie class was a group of nine 32-gun/12-pounder frigates of the French Navy, built during the late 1770s at Lorient (2 ships) and Saint Malo (7 ships). They were designed by Léon Guignace. The seven built at Saint Malo were initially numbered Nos. 1 – 7 respectively, and not given names until October 1777 (for Nos 1 – 4) and the start of 1778 (Nos. 5 – 7); all seven were captured by the British Navy between 1779 and the end of 1800. Of the two built at Lorient, the Spanish captured one, and a storm wrecked the other.

Iphigénie class, (32-gun design by Léon-Michel Guignace, with 26 x 12-pounder and 6 x 6-pounder guns; Up to 6 x 36-pounder obusiers were later added).

Iphigénie, (launched 16 October 1777 at Lorient) – captured by Spanish Navy 1795.
Surveillante, (launched 26 March 1778 at Lorient) – wrecked 1797.
Résolue, (launched 16 March 1778 at St Malo) – captured by British Navy 1798.
Gentille, (launched 18 June 1778 at St Malo) – captured by British Navy 1795.
Amazone, (launched 11 May 1778 at St Malo) – captured by British Navy 1782 but retaken next day; wrecked 1797.
Prudente, (launched late March 1778 at St Malo) – captured by British Navy 1779.
Gloire, (launched 9 July 1778 at St Malo) – captured by British Navy 1795.
Bellone, (launched 2 August 1778 at St Malo) – captured by British Navy 1798.
Médée, (launched 23 September 1778 at St Malo) – captured by British East Indiamen 1800.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Surveillante_(1778)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iphigénie-class_frigate

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 March 1781 – Launch of HMS Eurydice, a 24-gun Porcupine-class post ship of the Royal Navy built in 1781 and broken up in 1834.


HMS Eurydice was a 24-gun Porcupine-class post ship of the Royal Navy built in 1781 and broken up in 1834. During her long career she saw service in the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. She captured a number of enemy privateers and served in the East and West Indies, the Mediterranean and British and American waters.



Construction and commissioning
Eurydice was ordered from Portsmouth Dockyard on 24 July 1776, and was laid down in February 1777. She was initially worked on by Master Shipwright Nicholas Phillips until April 1779, and then by George White. She was launched on 26 March 1781 and completed for service on 3 June 1781. She had cost £12,391.4.0d to build, this sum including fitting and coppering. She was commissioned under her first captain, George Wilson, in March 1781.

Career
American War of Independence
Wilson sailed initially to the Leeward Islands, arriving in Frigate Bay, St Kitts on either 25 or 26 January 1782. Eurydice was present at the Battle of the Saintes on 12 April 1782, and then returned to Britain carrying the dispatches.

She came under the command of Captain George Courtnay in April 1782, under whom she served in the English Channel and off the Channel Islands. She joined John Elliot’s squadron in Autumn 1782 and on 14 October 1782 she captured the French Amis off Île de Batz.

Eurydice was paid off between 1782 and 1783 but recommissioned in April 1783. An 18-year-old Fletcher Christian, later to be the instigator of the mutiny on the Bounty, signed on aboard HMS Eurydice on 25 April 1783 at Spithead. She was the first Royal Navy ship that Christian signed on to.

Eurydice's next posting was to the East Indies, to which she sailed on 10 April 1783. On 24 May 1784, in Madras, Christian was promoted to Acting Lieutenant and Watch Leader.

Eurydice returned to Britain and was again paid off in July 1785, and spent between January and April 1786 undergoing a Small Repair at Woolwich Dockyard at a cost of £2,290. She was fitted for sea at Woolwich at a cost of £3,386 between May and July 1788, during which she was recommissioned in June 1788 under Captain George Lumsdaine.

French Revolutionary Wars
Lumsdaine sailed for service in the Mediterranean on 27 November 1788. With war with Revolutionary France looming she was fitted out by Wells & Co for £1,856 between February and March 1793, and then at Woolwich for a further £3,507 between March and June 1793. Eurydice was then recommissioned under Captain Francis Cole in April 1793.

"We are to holystone the decks from 4 o'clock in the morning until 8.
If a man should rest he is kicked in the face and bleeds on the stone, and afterwards made to wash the stone from the blood and then reported to the captain and flogged for no provocation ...
Mr Colvile our First Lieutenant and Mr McCloud our master's mate are beyond description and so tyrannical that such officers are a disgrace to the service.
We wish to have them discharged from the ship."
—From a unanimous petition of the crew, HMS Eurydice, 24 April 1796[4]
On 8 June 1794, Eurydice, along with the 36-gun Crescent, the 32-gun Druid and six smaller vessels, all under the command of Sir James Saumarez were sent from Plymouth to reconnoitre the French coast. Off the north-west coast of Guernsey they encountered the two 50-gun French razees – Scévola and Brutus – the two 36-gun frigates Danaé and Félicité, and a 14-gun brig. Saumarez ordered Eurydice, his slowest ship, into port to avoid her capture and then lured the French ships into range of Guernsey's shore-based guns. He then turned across the line of the French ships and through a narrow passage between the rocks, which enabled him to escape. A memorial plaque at Castle Cornet in St. Peter Port, Guernsey, depicts the encounter.

Eurydice came under the command of Captain Thomas Twysden in 1795, with Twysden being succeeded by Captain Richard Bennet in 1796. During this time she operated on convoy and cruising duties. Harsh treatment of the crew led to considerable unhappiness aboard the ship. On 24 April the crew unanimously put their names to a petition to Admiralty, accusing the First Lieutenant and the master's mate of conduct "so tyrannical that such officers are a disgrace to the service."[4]

Admiralty convened a court martial to try the sailor suspected of drafting the petition, but he was acquitted as there was insufficient evidence that it was in his handwriting. No charges were laid against the officers of the ship, but Captain Bennett was removed from his command and the ship placed in ordinary until a replacement was found.

Return to service
Eurydice was recommissioned in August 1796 under Captain John Talbot and was deployed in the North Sea. She captured the French privateer Sphinx on 15 December 1796, the 14-gun Flibustier on 6 February 1797 and Voligeur on 7 March. The next day she was in sight, as were Fairy and hired armed cutter Grace, when Racoon captured the galiot Concordia.

On the morning of 10 November 1799 Eurydice was some 9 miles south-east of Beachy Head, when she sighted a schooner and a brig. The schooner made off as soon as she saw the ship and the brig hove to and hoisted her ensign upside down. She reported that she had been attacked by the schooner and that one of her men was badly wounded. Talbot sent his surgeon, Mr Price, on board the brig and made sail after the privateer. The sloop Snake joined in the chase later in the morning. Halfway through the afternoon Eurydice came nearly within gunshot of the privateer which bore up and tried to cross Snake. When this manoeuvre failed, the vessel lowered her sails and surrendered. She was the Hirondelle of Calais, commanded by Pierre Merie Dugerdin with a crew of 50 men, one of whom was found to be an Englishman. She was armed with fourteen 3 and 4-pounders and had sailed on the Saturday morning. The brig Eurydice had recaptured was the collier Diana, from Sunderland bound for Portsmouth. Her wounded man was brought on board Eurydice where the surgeon had to remove an arm.

On 29 April 1800 the gun-vessel Assault recaptured the brig Adventure, of London, while Eurydice and Childers were in sight.

Eurydice was refitted at Portsmouth and in January 1801 came under the command of Captain Walter Bathurst. Bathurst captured the privateer Bougainville, of Saint Malo, in the Atlantic on 8 May 1801. She was under the command of Jaques le Bon, had a crew of 67 men, and was armed with 14 guns of different calibre. She was out three days and had made no captures.

Eurydice sailed for the East Indies on 20 October 1801.

After her return to Britain she was refitted in 1803, and commissioned in September 1803 under Captain John Nicholas. Under Nicolas she escorted a convoy to Quebec, departing Britain on 16 May 1804.

Napoleonic Wars
Captain William Hoste took command in November 1804, and Eurydice served under him in the Mediterranean throughout 1805.

On 14 November 1804 Eurydice was in company with HMS Bittern when they recaptured the hired armed ship Lord Eldon and sent her into Gibraltar. Spanish gunboats had captured her off Algeciras two days earlier.

Eurydice shared with Merlin and Prevoyante in the proceeds from the capture on 11 June 1805 of the Prussian ship Edward. The proceeds were forwarded from Gibraltar. Eurydice captured the 6-gun privateer Mestuo La Solidade on 6 October, before passing under the command of Captain Sir William Bolton in December that year. Eurydice spent 1806 and 1807 in the Channel, before acting-Captain David Ramsey took over in August 1808.

She was later under Captain James Bradshaw and was present at the capture of Martinique in February 1809. In 1847 the Admiralty authorised the clasp "Martinique" to the Naval General Service Medal to all surviving participants in that campaign.

Eurydice spent 1809 to 1811 on the North American Station, undertaking a number of cruises out of Halifax, Nova Scotia in company with the ships at the station.[Note 2] She then returned to Britain and spent 1812 to 1814 in ordinary at Deptford. She underwent a temporary repair at Deptford between September 1813 and June 1814; and was subsequently fitted for sea there between August and October 1814.

Post-war and fate
Eurydice was recommissioned in August 1814 under Captain Valentine Gardner and by June 1815 was under Captain Robert Spencer and serving on the Irish Station. Her final seagoing service was off St Helena under Captain Robert Wauchope, who took command in April 1816.

In February 1818 the merchantman Atlas, Joseph Short, master, was sailing from Dundee when she encountered a Portuguese brig with 360 slaves from Mozambique. Atlas sent the brig into the Cape of Good Hope where Eurydice detained the brig.

On 8 January 1819, two seamen on Hibernia behaved in a mutinous manner as she transported convicts from England to Van Diemen's Land. The rest of the crew objected to the men being put in irons, but eventually all but two others returned to their duties. When Hibernia reached Rio de Janeiro, Lennon asked Captain Wauchope for assistance. Eventually 12 men from Hibernia joined Eurydice's crew; Wauchope sent only three men in return. The resulting crew shortage on Hibernia delayed her sailing.

Eurydice was laid up at Deptford in December 1819 but moved in 1821 to Woolwich. She was fitted as a receiving ship there between August 1823 and January 1824, spending the rest of her career in this role. She was finally broken up at Deptford in March 1834.

HMS Eurydice (1781) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 March 1796 – Launch of HMS Clyde and HMS Tamar, both Royal Navy Artois-class frigates, built at Chatham Dockyard of fir (pitch pine)


HMS Clyde was a Royal Navy Artois-class frigate built at Chatham Dockyard of fir (pitch pine), and launched in 1796. In 1797, she was one of only two ships whose captains were able to maintain some control over their vessels during the Nore mutiny. In 1805, HMS Clyde was dismantled and rebuilt at Woolwich Dockyard; she was relaunched on 23 February 1806. She was ultimately sold in August 1814.





First incarnation


HMS 'Clyde' Arriving at Sheerness After the 'Nore' Mutiny, 30 May 1797
Captain Charles Cunningham commissioned Clyde in April 1796. She shared with Venerable, Repulse, Tamar, and the cutters Floraand Princess Royal in the proceeds of the capture on 6 September of Hare.

Clyde was at the Nore at the time of the mutiny, but escaped to Sheerness on 29/30 May 1797.

Clyde and St Fiorenzo shared in the capture in November and December 1797 of the French brigs Minerva and Succès (or Success). Success was a privateer from Bayonne that been out 15 days and had only captured one American vessel.

In addition to the capture of Success on 13 December, St Fiorenzo and Clyde captured the privateer Dorade eight days later. The actual captor of Dorade was Clyde. Dorade was from Bordeaux and was pierced for 18 guns, though she only had 12. She had been out 50 days and had been cruising off the Azores and Madeira, but had captured nothing. She and her crew of 93 men were on their way home when Clyde captured her. Unfortunately, the commander of the prize crew hoisted too much sail with the result that Doradeoverturned, drowning all 19 members of the prize crew.

In March 1798 Clyde captured two merchant vessels. She captured the ship Vrouw Classina on 22 March, and recaptured Anne two days later. Then in May Clyde captured Marie Perotte and in June recaptured Sea Nymphe.[9] Clyde, San Fiorenzo, Phaeton, Anson, Mermaid, and Stag, shared in the capture of the chasse maree Marie Perotte and a sloop of unknown name, as well as the recapture of Sea Nymphe and Mary.

On 4 January 1799, Clyde recaptured the ship Hiram. Six days later, Clyde captured the letter of marque schooner Aire, which was sailing from Brest to Santo Domingo. Then three days later, Clyde captured the French privateer brig Bon Ordre. Bon Ordre was armed with 16 guns and carried a crew of 65 men. She had sailed on 20 December from Granville and had captured a brig from Newfoundland two weeks before she herself was captured. On 9 March 1799, St Fiorenzo and Clyde captured the French sloop St Joseph.

Clyde captured the American ship Nymph on 11 April.

In August, Clyde was off the coast of France. On 21 August, she was six or seven leagues northwest of the Cordovan Lighthouse near the mouth of the Gironde when she observed two sail. As Clyde approached, they separated, and she pursued the larger. Clydebrought her quarry to action, eventually forcing the French vessel to strike. The French vessel was Vestale, a 32-gun frigate and a crew of 235 men under the command of M. P.M. Gaspard. She had sailed from Cadiz with dispatches for Saint Domingue and was on her return voyage. She carried a number of passengers who she had landed at Passages (Pasajes) two days earlier, and was now on her way to Rochefort. In the engagement, Clyde lost two men killed and three wounded; Vestale had ten men killed and 22 wounded, several of whom died later. Vestale's consort, the 20-gun corvette Sagesse had too large a lead and escaped into the Garonne.

On 11 and 28 May 1800, Clyde captured a chasse maree of unknown name, and another chasse maree, called Clarre Voyante. In between, on 12 May, Clyde, Thames and the hired armed cutter Suwarrow captured a French chasse maree, name unknown.

On 22 October 1800, Clyde arrived in Plymouth Sound with the ship Dick, Guineaman, of Liverpool, in tow. Dick had suffered extensive damage in a fight against a French privateer before Clyde was able to recapture her. When he arrived in the Sound, Cunningham reported the names of the vessels Clyde had captured or recaptured on her last cruise.

• Deux Ami, a Spanish letter of marque, of four guns and 27 men, that had been sailing from Vera Cruz to St Andero, and which Clyde had burnt in the harbour of St. Vincent;
• Beloz (or Belos), a Spanish packet ship, of four guns and 30 men, that had been sailing from Havannah to Corunnawhen Clyde captured her;
• Rose, a French schooner sailing from Bourdeaux to Guadaloupe; and
• Magicienne, a French schooner, that had been sailing from Senegal to Bordeaux.

Cunningham also reported that the captor of Dick, Guineaman, had been the French privateer Grande Decidee, and that Fisgard, which had been in sight when Clyde recaptured Dick, had captured Grande Decidee two hours later.

In June 1802 Captain John Larmour replaced Cunningham. Clyde then served in the North Sea. She captured sundry fishing vessels between 8 and 10 June 1803. She shared the proceeds of the capture by agreement with Captain Vansittart of Fortunee. On 21 September Clyde captured the French privateer schooner Caroline.

On 7 July 1803, Clyde was in company when the gun-brig Adder captured the Napoleon, Klock, master. Clyde, Ambuscade, Fortunee, and Beaver was among the vessels that shared in the proceeds of the capture on 27 August 1803 of Henrick and Jan, Vriede Frederick Ipsia, master.

Clyde was hauled up on a slip at Woolwich on 10 February 1805. There the Navy had her broken dismantled and rebuilt.






Second incarnation
Captain Edward William C.R. Owen (or Owens) recommissioned Clyde February 1806. He would remain her captain until 1810. Under his command, Clyde recaptured Louisa.

By June 1806 Owen was a Commodore and Clyde was at The Downs,[22] and in the Walmer Roads.

On 20 February 1807 Clyde was in company with Otter and Kangaroo and so shared in the salvage money for the recapture of Farely, John Fryer, master.

On 25 August 1807, Owen sent Clyde's boats to capture a French sloop near Yport. The sloop ran on shore and the boats had to come in under fire from small arms, a field piece, a mortar, and the guns of batteries at Fécamp. The boats succeeded in recovering the sloop Trois Soeurs, of Caen, which had been carrying Plaster of Paris, possibly to Boulogne. The exploit was free of casualties on either side. In November, Clyde recaptured the transport Louisa.

In 1809 Clyde participated in the ill-fated Walcheren Campaign. A British force landed on 30 July 1809, and withdrew in December, having accomplished little and having suffered extensive casualties, primarily from disease. On 13 August Clyde was to the south-west of Flushing, with Owen in command of the bomb and other vessels bombarding the town. The next day San Domingo, the flagship of Admiral Sir Richard John Strachan grounded; Clyde came to her assistance until she could be refloated. On 8 December Clyde was at the Woolversdyke protecting the expedition's retreat. Between 23 and 28 December, Owen managed the withdrawal of the British forces from the Scheld. Clyde shared in the prize money for the property the British army captured during the campaign.

On 6 February 1810 Clyde was under the command of Captain John Stuart when, after a five-hour chase, she captured the French privateer lugger Transit, of 14 guns and 45 men. Transit was last out of Bordeaux.

Fate
Clyde was laid up at Portsmouth in December 1810. The Principal Officers and Commissioners of the Navy offered her for sale on 11 August 14, and sold her for £2,300 that month. The bidders had to post a bond of £3000 that they would break her up within a year.


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.

Ships in class

• HMS Artois
  • Builder: John & William Wells, Rotherhithe
  • Ordered: 28 March 1793
  • Laid down: March 1793
  • Launched: 3 January 1794
  • Completed: 3 March 1794 at Deptford Dockyard
  • Fate: Wrecked on the Ballieu rocks off Brittany on 31 July 1797
• HMS Diana
  • Builder: Randall & Co, Rotherhithe
  • Ordered: 28 March 1793
  • Laid down: March 1793
  • Launched: 3 March 1794
  • Completed: 6 June 1794 at Deptford Dockyard
  • Fate: Sold to new Dutch Navy on 7 March 1815;
    burnt in fire at Willemsoord, Den Helder on 16 January 1839.
• HMS Apollo
  • Builder: Perry & Hankey, Blackwall
  • Ordered: 28 March 1793
  • Laid down: March 1793
  • Launched: 18 March 1794
  • Completed: 23 September 1794 at Woolwich Dockyard
  • Fate: Wrecked on the Haak sands off the Dutch coast on 7 January 1799
• HMS Diamond
  • Builder: William Barnard, Deptford
  • Ordered: 28 March 1793
  • Laid down: April 1793
  • Launched: 17 March 1794
  • Completed: 6 June 1794 at Deptford Dockyard
  • Fate: Broken up at Sheerness Dockyard in June 1812
• HMS Jason
  • Builder: John Dudman, Deptford
  • Ordered: 1 April 1793
  • Laid down: April 1793
  • Launched: 3 April 1794
  • Completed: 25 July 1794 at Deptford Dockyard
  • Fate: Wrecked on rocks off Brittany on 13 October 1798
• HMS Seahorse
  • Builder: Marmaduke Stalkart, Rotherhithe
  • Ordered: 14 February 1793
  • Laid down: March 1793
  • Launched: 11 June 1794
  • Completed: 16 September 1794 at Deptford Dockyard
  • Fate: Broken up at Plymouth Dockyard in July 1819
• HMS Tamar
  • Builder: Chatham Royal Dockyard
  • Ordered: 4 February 1795
  • Laid down: June 1795
  • Launched: 26 March 1796
  • Completed: 21 June 1796
  • Fate: Broken up in January 1810 at Chatham Dockyard.
• HMS Clyde
  • Builder: Chatham Royal Dockyard
  • Ordered: 4 February 1795
  • Laid down: June 1795
  • Launched: 26 March 1796
  • Completed: 21 June 1796
  • Fate: Sold to be broken up August 1814.
• HMS Ethalion
  • Builder: Joseph Graham, Harwich
  • Ordered: 30 April 1795
  • Laid down: October 1795
  • Launched: 14 March 1797
  • Completed: 11 July 1797 at Chatham Dockyard
  • Fate: Wrecked on the Penmarcks on 25 December 1799

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Clyde_(1796)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artois-class_frigate

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 March 1800 - Launch of HMS Courageux, a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Deptford.


HMS Courageux was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 March 1800 at Deptford. She was designed by Sir John Henslow as one of the large class 74-gun ships, and was the only ship built to her draught. Unlike the middling and common class 74-gun ships, which carried 18-pounder long guns, as a large 74-gun ship, Courageux carried 24-pounders on her upper gun deck.



At the end of January 1801, a French squadron under Admiral Honoré Ganteaume comprising seven ships-of-the-line and two frigates, and carrying 5,000 troops, escaped from the port of Brest. It was spotted on 27 January by a British frigate which conveyed the news to Plymouth on 3 February. Believing its destination to be the West Indies, a similar sized force, under Sir Robert Calder was sent in pursuit. As one of the fastest two-deckers available at the time, Courageux was selected to take part in this unnecessary expedition.

On 1 January 1804 a convoy of leaving Portsmouth for the West Indies. On 1 February 43 vessels returned to Plymouth, together with their escort, Courageux.

In mid-1804, Courageaux escorted a convoy from St Helena back to Britain. The convoy consisted of the East Indiamen City of London, Ceylon, Calcutta, and Wyndham, two vessels from the South Seas, Lively and Vulture, and the ship Rolla, which had transported convicts to New South Wales. On the way the convoy ran into severe weather with the result that Prince of Wales, which had also left St Helena with the rest, foundered with the loss of all on board; this had been her maiden voyage.

In 1806 and 1807 Courageux is known to have been under the command of James Bissett.

Shortly after the outbreak of the War of 1812, on 12 August, Courageaux shared in the seizure of several American vessels: Cuba, Caliban, Edward, Galen, Halcyon, and Cygnet.

Fate
Courageux was placed on harbour service in 1814, and was broken up in 1832.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plans, stern board outline, sheer lines with alterations to the Head, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Courageux' (1800), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, to be built at Deptford Dockyard. Signed by John Henslow [Surveyor of the Navy, 1784-1806] and William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813].


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing a plan and section for fitting the magazine with thin copper to protect the powder from the wet and rats for 'Courageux' (1800), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, building at Deptford Dockyard.

HMS Courageux (1800) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 March 1806 - HMS Pique (40), Charles Bayne Hodgson Ross, captured Voltigeur (16), Jacques Saint-Cricq, and Phaeton (16), Louis-Henri Freycinet-Saulce, in the West Indies


The French brig Voltigeur was a Palinure-class brig launched in 1804. The British captured her in 1806 and renamed her HMS Pelican. She was sold in 1812.



Capture
In late 1805, the sister-ships Phaeton and Voltigeur, both armed with 16 guns and having crews of 120 men and 115 men, were under the command of Lieutenants de vaisseau Louis-Henri Saulces de Freycinet and Jacques Saint-Cricq. They cruised the coasts of Schleswig-Holstein before they set sail for Santo Domingo. On 24 March, a little south-east of Puerto Rico, they encountered Reindeer and exchanged fire for about four hours before nightfall ended the encounter.[3] During that engagement the French vessels had suffered damage and possibly casualties. They then sailed towards Curacoa. )

Two days later, on 27 March 1806, Pique, under the command of Captain Charles B.H. Ross, was sailing from Santo Domingo to Curacoa when she encountered two French navy brigs. At 1pm, Pique began firing at long range, and by 2pm had caught up with them. After an intensive cannonade that lasted some 20 minutes, Pique was able to send a boarding party aboard one of the two French vessels. A terrible struggle ensued before the French vessel struck. The French crew had concealed themselves under sails and in the wreckage, emerging once the boarding party arrived and subjecting it to a devastating fusillade that killed or wounded most of the boarding party. Ross then sent over more men, before returning to the chase of the second brig. After the exchange of several more broadsides, the second French vessel struck. The two French brigs were Phaeton and Voltigeur.

Pique had one man wounded during the chase, and nine men killed and 13 wounded during the boarding of Phaeton. Ross estimated that the French vessels had lost half their crews dead and wounded. Later reports suggested that although French casualties on Phaeton had been heavy, those on Voltigeur were slight.

The British took Phaeton into service as Mignonne, and Voltigeur as Pelican. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Pique 26 March 1806" to all surviving claimants from the action.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board outline, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for Pelican (captured 1806), a captured French Brig, as taken off. The dotted red lines illustrate her as fitted as an 18-gun Brig Sloop at Portsmouth Dockyard. The plan was received in the Navy Office by William Rule on 14 August 1807.

British service
The British commissioned Pelican under Commander William Ward. She then sailed to Portsmouth.

Pelican participated in the capture of Copenhagen. Before the battle, on 19 August, Pelican captured the Danish merchant vessel Christian Tonder. Then after the battle, on 10 September, Pelican was in company with Defence and Comus at the capture of the Danish merchant vessel Fredeus Forsward. Pelican and Comus were together on 29 September, with Defence in sight, at the capture of the Danish merchant vessel Elizabeth Vonder Pahlen. The same three British warships were together on 2 October at the capture of the Danish vessel Anna Catharina. Lastly, on 4 November Pelican captured the Danish brig Charlotta Amelia.

On 26 October 1807, Tsar Alexander I of Russia declared war on Great Britain. The official news did not arrive there until 2 December, at which time the British declared an embargo on all Russian vessels in British ports. Pelican was one of some 70 vessels that shared in the seizure of the 44-gun Russian frigate Speshnoy (Speshnyy), then in Portsmouth harbour. The British seized the Russian storeship Wilhelmina (Vilghemina) at the same time. The Russian vessels were carrying the payroll for Vice-Admiral Dmitry Senyavin’s squadron in the Mediterranean. Between 20 March and 13 June 1807 Pelican was in Portsmouth, undergoing refitting.

Pelican then returned to the West Indies where on 29 March 1808 Cerberus, in company with Lilly, Pelican, Express, Swinger and Mosambique, sailed from Marie-Galante to attack the island of La Désirade. They arrived on 30 March and sent in a landing party of seamen and marines from the vessels of the squadron, all under the overall command of Captain Sherriff of Lily. As the boats approached they exchanged fire with a battery of 9-pounder guns covering the entrance to the harbour. The ships' guns silenced the battery and the French surrendered.

In June 1808 Commander Isaac Morrison replaced Ward. In December Commander Edward A’Court replaced Morrison. On 9 December 1809, Redpole was some nine leagues from Beachy Head when she sighted two luggers. She gave chase and after a fight captured one. While this was going on Pelican came on the scene and chased the second lugger, but without success. The captured lugger was the Grand Rodeur, four days out of Dieppe. She was armed with 16 guns and had a crew of 80.

In 1809 Pelican was in the western hemisphere, where she detained the President, Burgeis, master, which was sailing from Boston to Cuba.

Fate
Pelican was paid off in 1810. She was put up for sale on 27 November 1811, and sold at Deptford on 16 March 1812.


The French brig Phaeton was a Palinure-class brig launched in 1804. The British captured her in 1806 and renamed her HMS Mignonne. In 1807 they renamed her HMS Musette. She was sold in 1814.



French career
Phaéton was stationed at Hellevoetsluis under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau Saulces de Freycinet. Between 7 September and 16 October 1805, she conducted a patrol in the North Sea. Shortly thereafter the French Navy dispatched her to the Antilles on a mission.

On 25 March 1806, off Puerto Rico, Phaéton and her sister-ship Voltigeur encountered HMS Reindeer. Both sides exchanged fire for some four hours. During that engagement the French brigs suffered damage and possibly casualties; Reindeer too had some damage but no casualties.

Capture
The next day, on 26 March, Pique, under the command of Captain Charles B.H. Ross, was sailing from Santo Domingo to Curacoawhen she encountered two French navy brigs. At 1pm, Pique began firing at long range, and by 2pm had caught up with them. After an intensive cannonade that lasted some 20 minutes, Pique was able to send a boarding aboard one of the two French vessels. A terrible struggle ensued before the French vessel struck. The French crew had concealed themselves under sails and in the wreckage, emerging once the boarding party arrived and subjecting it to a devastating fusillade that killed or wounded most of the boarding party. Ross then sent over more men, before returning to the chase of the second brig. After the exchange of several more broadsides, the second French vessel struck.

The two vessels turned out to be Phaéton and Voltigeur, having crews of 120 men and 115 men. Voltigeur was under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau M. St. Craig. Pique had one man wounded during the chase, and nine men killed and 13 wounded during the boarding of Phaéton. Ross estimated that the French vessels had lost half their crews dead and wounded. Later reports suggested that although French casualties on Phaeton had been heavy, those on Voltigeur were slight.

The British took Phaéton into service as Mignonne, and Voltigeur as Pelican.

British service
The British commissioned Mignonne under Commander Robert Nicholson. In August Commander George Gustavus Lennox replaced Nicholas.

The Admiralty then renamed her HMS Musette and in October 1807 Commander Peter Douglas took command. In 1808 Commander Henry Boys replaced Douglas. In 1809 Commander J. Lloyd assumed command. In December Commander Thomas P.J. Parry replaced Lloyd. He sailed her to Britain and she arrived at Portsmouth on 30 June 1810. There she was placed in ordinary.

Fate
The Admiralty offered Musette for sale at Portsmouth on 9 June 1814.[9] She was finally sold on 1 September 1814 for £400.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the upper deck and lower deck with platforms for Pelican (captured 1806), a captured French Brig, as taken off. The dotted black lines illustrate her as fitted as an 18-gun Brig Sloop at Portsmouth Dockyard.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_brig_Voltigeur_(1804)

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French brig Phaeton (1804) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 March 1808 - french brig Friedland, the name-ship of her class of French Illyrien or Friedland-class, was captured by 64-gun third rate HMS Standard and the 38-gun frigate HMS Active


Friedland was the name-ship of her class of French Illyrien or Friedland-class brig. She was built at Venice and launched in June 1807. The Royal Navy captured her a year later and took her into service as HMS Delight. She served in the Mediterranean and was sold in 1814.




Friedland
Friedland initially bore the name Illyrien, but had her name changed to Vendicare in early 1807. Then she received a second name change, to Friedland, after launch, to commemorate the Emperor Napoleon's victory on 14 June at the battle of Friedland.

Friedland was at Ancona in December 1807, and at Corfu between 1807 and 1808. She is recorded as being at Santa Maria di Leuca in March 1808.

Capture
On 26 March 1808, Friedland was on her way to Corfu with Commodore Don Amilcar Paolucci, commander in chief of the Italian Marine, and Knight of the Iron Crown, when she encountered two British warships that were part of the British blockade of the island. The 64-gun third rate HMS Standard and the 38-gun frigate HMS Active captured Friedland off Cape Blanco, at the south end of Corfu. Captain Richard Mowbray of Active took possession of Friedland after a chase of several hours. Friedland might have escaped had she not lost her topmast. Her captors described her as one year old, and armed with 16 French 12-pounder guns. Active took her prize to Malta, together with the prisoners, who included her captain, Angelo Thomasi, and Commodore Paolucci.

HMS Delight
Friedland was commissioned in May as HMS Delight in the Mediterranean under Commander John Brett Purvis.

On 28 November 1808 Delight, Active, the supply ship Woolwich, and the hired armed ship Lord Eldon escorted a convoy of 50 vessels out of Malta, bound for Gibraltar, Lisbon, and London. However, contrary winds forced about 40 merchantmen, and the escorts to return to Malta within two weeks.

Purvis received promotion to post-captain on 16 September 1809. In December Commander Lord David Balgonie took command of Delight. Delight arrived at Portsmouth on 25 July 1810. She apparently remained in service until 1812. Lord Balgonie was promoted to post-captain on 28 February 1812.

Fate
Delight was in ordinary in 1812, at Chatham, and apparently remained in ordinary until 1814. The Principal Officers and Commissioners of the Navy first offered the "Delight, sloop, of 340 tons", lying at Portsmouth for sale on 9 June 1814.[8] Delight sold there on 1 September for £480


HMS Standard was a 64-gun Royal Navy third-rate ship of the line, launched on 8 October 1782 at Deptford. She was the last of the 15 Intrepid class vessels, which were built to a design by John Williams.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board detail, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Standard' (1782), a 64-gun Third Rate, two-decker, as built at Deptford Dockyard. Signed by Adam Hayes [Master Shipwright, Deptford Dockyard, 1755-1785 (died)].

HMS Active was a Royal Navy fifth-rate frigate launched on 14 December 1799 at Chatham Dockyard. Sir John Henslow designed her as an improvement on the Artois-class frigates. She served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, capturing numerous enemy vessels. Her crews participated in one campaign and three actions that would later qualify them for the Naval General Service Medal. She returned to service after the wars and finally was broken up in 1860.

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for Active (1799), a 38-gun Fifth Rate, Frigate. Signed by John Henslow [Surveyor of the Navy, 1784-1806] and William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813].

French brig Friedland (1807) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

HMS Standard (1782) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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HMS Active (1799) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 March 1811 – Launch of HMS Havannah, a Royal Navy 36-gun fifth-rate frigate.


HMS Havannah was a Royal Navy 36-gun fifth-rate frigate. She was launched in 1811 and was one of twenty-seven Apollo-class frigates. She was cut down to a 24-gun sixth rate in 1845, converted to a training ship in 1860, and sold for breaking up in 1905.



War service
Havannah's first captain was George Cadogan, who commissioned her into the Channel Fleet. Havannah was rapidly involved in operations against French coastal shipping off the Channel Islands.

On 6 September 1811, the boats of Havannah, under the command of her first lieutenant, William Hamley, landed a party that spiked the three 12-pounder guns of a battery on the south-west side of the Penmarks. They then brought out several coasting vessels that had taken refuge under the guns, all without taking any losses

• Schooner Aimable Fanny, laden with wine and brandy, and several chasse marees:
• St. Jean, laden with salt;
• Petit Jean Baptiste, laden with wine and brandy;
• Buonaparte, laden with wine and brandy;
• Voltigeur, laden with wine and brandy; and
• lastly, one of unknown name, laden with wine and brandy, dismantled and set on fire but later extinguished.

On 25 December Havannah sailed for the Mediterranean. In 1812, Cadogan took Havannah to join the squadron operating in the Adriatic from the island of Lissa. On 24 April 1812 Apollo, Eagle and Havannah landed Lieutenant-colonel George Duncan Robertson, his staff and a garrison at Port St. George on Lissa. The British had defeated a French naval force on 13 March at the Battle of Lissa and wanted to establish a base there with Robertson as its first Governor.


Memorial dedicated to Late Masters Mate Edward Percival who fell during the operation on 6 January 1813

In early 1813 Havannah was detached to the Northern Italian coast where she conducted a five-month campaign against the shipping and shore facilities of Vasto and its environs. On 6 January 1813 Havannah's boats cut out Gunboat No. 8, armed with one long 24-pounder gun. She had a crew of 35 men under the command of M. Joseph Floreus, enseigne de vaisseau. Despite meeting a superior force and coming under small arms fire from the shore, the boats, under Lieutenant Hamley, captured the gunboat and three merchant vessels, their original target, as well. The British had one man killed and two men wounded in the operation. In May 1821, prize money for the gunboat, the three merchant vessels St Antonio No. 1, St Antonio No. 2 and St Antonio No. 3 was awarded, as well as prize money for two other vessels taken that day, Madona del Rosario and the settee Euphemia. On 14 January Havannah and Milford captured two small trabaccolos.

Three weeks later, on 7 February, Havannah destroyed four gunboats at Manfredonia. In numerous actions, she seized dozens of ships and destroyed coastal batteries. For instance, on 22 March 1813 the ship's boats captured at Vasto one trabaccolo, armed with three 9-pounder guns and destroyed another. Then on 26 March, her boats brought out five armed trabacolos and five feluccasladen with salt that had been run up on the beach near the town of Fortore. In both actions the enemy lost at least one man killed, while the British had only two men wounded in all. In May 1821 prize money for ten trabaccolos, one parenza, five feluccas, and their cargoes, captured between 22 March and 5 May, was paid.

On 18 July, while off Manfredonia, Havannah, with the sloop Partridge, attacked a small convoy and captured or destroyed all the vessels. They captured one Neapolitan gunboat armed with one 18-pounder gun, and burnt another. They also destroyed a pinnace armed with one 6-pounder gun. Lastly, they captured two trabaccolos armed with three guns each and laden with salt, and destroyed two others of the same strength and cargo




Further information: Siege of Zara (1813)
In November 1813, Havannah was attached to Thomas Fremantle's squadron that blockaded and besieged Trieste. She was then detached to take the port of Zara with the assistance of Weazel (or Weazle). Cadogan used the ships' guns to establish batteries armed with two 32-pounder carronades, eight 18-pounder guns and seven long 12-pounder guns.[9] He then attacked the city and captured it with the aid of some Austrian troops. In all, they captured 110 guns and 18 howitzers, 350 men, 100 dismounted guns and 12 gunboats. Cadogan was later instructed to hand over all prizes and spoils of war to the Austrians. (This order cost the crews of Havannah and Weazle an estimated £300,000 in prize money.) The Emperor of Austria, however, awarded Lieutenant Hamley the Imperial Austrian Order of Leopold for his services at Zara.

On 9 December Havannah and Weazel destroyed 17 gunboats.

In 1814 Havannah came under the command of Captain James Black (acting. On 6 February 1814, Apollo and Havannah were anchored outside Brindisi while the French frigate Uranie was inside the port, on fire. Cerberus had chased her into the port some weeks earlier while awaiting the officials of the port, which belonged to the Kingdom of Naples, to respond to the presence of the French vessel. When Apollo appeared on the scene and made signs of being about to enter the port, Uranie's captain removed the powder from his ship and set her on fire.
On 15 April 1814, days before the end of the war, Havannah, under the command of (temporary) Captain Edward Sibly, captured the French privateer schooner Grande Isabelle off Corfu, together with the schooner's prize. The schooner carried four guns and 64 men and had sailed from Corfu on 9 April, before capturing a vessel sailing from Trieste to Messina.

Captain Gawen Hamilton recommissioned Havannah in April 1814 at Portsmouth. On 19 July 1815, Havannah was in company with Sealark, Rhin, Menelaus, Fly and Ferret when they captured the French vessels Fortune, Papillon, Marie Graty, Marie Victorine, Cannoniere, and Printemis. One was a naval brig of 12 guns and one a cutter of ten guns; two were schooners and three were chasse marees.

Havannah also shared in the prize money for the ship Abeona and the schooners Franklin and Saucy Jack, which other ships had captured between 21 October and 6 November in the Chesapeake. Similarly Havannah shared in the prize money for the schooner Mary and the goods from the transports Lloyd and Abeona, captured in the Chesapeake between 29 November and 19 December.

Peacetime service
In 1815 Havannah sailed for North America, but by 12 August 1815 she was part of the squadron accompanying Northumberland, which was carrying Napoleon to exile in Saint Helena. In 1816 Havannah sailed to the Cape of Good Hope.

By 1819 Havannah was laid up at Sheerness. She underwent repairs between April 1819 and October 1822. From November 1821 she was again in commission and then was based in the Mediterranean. In 1830 she was in Sheernessagain.


Sketch of Eretoka Island (Hat Island), Vanuatu, drawn by Philip Doyne Vigors, while serving in Havannah

In 1845 she was cut down to a 24-gun sixth rate corvette carrying 32-pounder (40cwt) guns.

In February 1848 Captain J.E. Erskine took command. She then served on the New Zealand station between 1848 and 1851. She anchored twice in the sea between Efate, Lelepa, and Moso in Vanuatu, called Havannah Harbour after the ship.

She returned to Britain via Rio de Janeiro. She arrived at Devonport from Portsmouth on 7 December 1851. While approaching Britain, on 2 December she rendered assistance to the French ship Celine. Almost two years later her crew received an award of money for their services

Captain T. Harvey took command in August 1855. Under him, Havannah served with the Pacific Station from 1855 to 1859. Havannah Channel in those waters is named for the ship, Port Harveyfor its captain.

Fate
In 1860 Havannah was sent to Cardiff to serve as a "ragged school ship". She was sold for breaking up in 1905

sistership Euralus


Scale: 1:48. A model of the starboard side of HMS 'Euryalus' (1803), a 36 gun frigate, made entirely in wood and painted in realistic colours. The hull below the waterline is painted brown with a narrow cream stripe above and black above the waterline. There is a broad white stripe running horizontally along the gundeck and the single deck, which is devoid of detail, is painted a uniform cream. The starboard quarter and stern galleries are shown. Fittings include a cathead and a figurehead depicting a female figure. The model is displayed on an off-white backboard with a stained wood bevelled edge.

HMS Havannah (1811) - Wikipedia

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Apollo-class frigate - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 March 1814 - Battle of Jobourg
HMS Hebrus (36), Cptn. Edmund Palmer, took French Etoile (44), Cptn. Henri Pierre Philibert, and HMS Hannibal (74), Cptn. Sir Michael Seymour, took Sultane (40) in the Channel.


The Battle of Jobourg was a minor naval engagement between British and French frigate squadrons during the last weeks of the War of the Sixth Coalition in the 22nd and penultimate year of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. In October 1813 the French Navy, unable to challenge the Royal Navy's dominance at sea, sent two small squadrons of frigates to harass British trade in the Atlantic Ocean. One was brought to battle in January 1814 and defeated near the Canary Islands but the second, from Nantes and consisting of the frigates Etoile and Sultane, fought an inconclusive engagement against British frigate HMS Severn on 4 January in the mid-Atlantic and a furious battle against HMS Astrea and HMS Creole on 23 January near Maio in the Cape Verde Islands.


Capture of the Étoile by the Hebrus off Cape La Hogue, Nicholas Pocock

Attempting to return to Saint Malo in March, with the Allied armies at the gates of Paris and the war coming to a close, the French squadron was intercepted near the Île de Batz by a much stronger British squadron including the ship of the line HMS Hannibal, frigate HMS Hebrus and brig HMS Sparrow. Sultane, badly damaged in the engagement with Creole, was soon chased down by Hannibal and surrendered without a fight but Etoile, faced with only the Hebrus, turned away in an attempt to escape. Early in the morning of 27 March, Hebrus succeeded in reaching its quarry off Jobourg in Normandy and the frigates fought a fierce engagement close inshore. After more than two hours, Etoile's colours were struck and she surrendered. Casualties were heavy on both ships, but both prizes were successfully returned to Britain and commissioned into the Royal Navy. This was the final naval engagement of the War of the Sixth Coalition, which came to an end with Emperor Napoleon's abdication on 11 April.



Background
By the end of October 1813 the War of the Sixth Coalition was in its final stages; Emperor Napoleon had been defeated at the Battle of Leipzig by the Allied European armies and was retreating to the borders of France, while the British army under the Lord Wellington had crossed the Pyrenees and was advancing on Toulouse. The French Navy had never recovered from defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and had made no serious effort to put to sea since the abortive attempt which ended in defeat at the Battle of Basque Roads in 1809. British control of the Atlantic Ocean trade routes was at this stage only contested by the small United States Navy and the handful of French raiders capable of evading the Royal Navy's constant close blockade of French ports, which had operated effectively and almost continuously since the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793.

In late October, small raiding squadrons, each consisting of two newly built frigates with picked crews and commanders departed France with instructions to attack British merchant shipping in the Atlantic. The first squadron was dispatched from Cherbourg and consisted of the 40-gun ships Iphigénie and Alcmène. The second sailed from Nantes and comprised the Etoile under Captain Pierre-Henri Philibert and Sultane under Captain Georges Du-Petit-Thouars. While Iphigénie and Alcmène targeted British trade with West Africa, Etoile and Sultane were directed to the centre Atlantic. Iphigénie and Alcmène captured several valuable British merchant ships before being intercepted and defeated on 16 January 1814 near the Canary Islands.

On 18 January 1814 Etoile and Sultane encountered a British merchant convoy at 24°N 53°W in the Central North Atlantic. Sighting distant sails at 04:00, the French captains soon confirmed that the convoy, sailing northwest towards its destination of Bermuda, was defended by only one British warship, the 40-gun frigate HMS Severn under Captain James Nourse. At 07:30, Nourse approached the unidentified ships, determining at 08:40 that they were enemy vessels and giving orders for the convoy to scatter. The French squadron pursued Severn, Nourse opening long-range fire with his stern mounted guns at Etoile at 10:30. The French ship held off returning fire with its bow guns until 16:05 when the range had narrowed considerably, Severn's flight distracting the French sufficiently to allow the convoy to escape. Severn proved to be a fast ship, Nourse successfully holding off pursuit through an exchange of fire at a distance of more than 2 nautical miles (3.7 km). At 17:30 French fire stopped as the range lengthened once more, and Severn began to pull away, Philibert finally calling off pursuit at 08:00 on 19 January.

Battle of Maio



The French squadron then sailed southwest, arriving at Maio in the Portuguese Cape Verde Islands on 22 January. The squadron anchored at Porto Inglês, and was discovered there at 09:55 the following morning by a British frigate squadron of the 36-gun ships HMS Astrea under Captain George Charles Mackenzie and HMS Creole under Captain John Eveleigh. The British ships were en route to Porto Inglês from Fuerteventura and first spied the French ships, with two small prizes, at anchor from across a promontory, assuming them to be Spanish or Portuguese ships. When the French failed to respond to the coded signals however the British captains realised that the strangers must be enemy vessels and resolved to attack them where they were anchored.

At 12:00 the French ships sailed for the open sea southeast along the coast of Maio, pursued by the British. Astrea suffered in the high winds, losing several topsails which impeded her speed. With Creole in the lead, the British ships succeeded in cutting ahead of the French by 12:45, Eveleigh firing his bow guns ahead of the French and exchanging broadsides with Sultane at 13:00. As Creole and Sultane engaged one another, Mackenzie took his repaired ship through the gap between them, exchanging two broadsides at close range with Sultaneand advancing on Etoile which had pulled ahead of the combat. Astraea's intervention was timely, allowing Eveleigh to extinguish a small fire which had broken out in his rigging before Creole rejoined the combat at 14:30. Another fire broke out almost immediately, and although it was extinguished Astraea was badly damaged by fire from Sultane. Deciding that his ship could no longer effectively compete against the French warship, Mackenzie withdrew from combat, retreating towards the island of Santiago.

Astrea reached Etoile at 14:30, exchanging broadsides before raking the starboard bow of Philibert's ship. In the course of the manoeuvre, Astrea's helmsman lost control of the ship, and Philibert seized the opportunity to steer Etoile across the stern of Astrea. Pouring raking fire into the British ship from point blank range, Philibert inflicted severe damage to Astrea's quarterdeck, tearing away fittings and detonating a loaded carronade. Eveleigh desperately pulled his ship back alongside Etoile, but in doing so was struck in the chest and killed by pistol fire from the deck of Etoile. Lieutenant John Bulford assumed command, continuing to fight Philibert at close range. By 15:05 however it was clear that there was no prospect of victory: Creole could be seen retreating from the battle while Sultane was rapidly approaching the combat, threatening to overwhelm the stricken frigate even as a fire broke out on the main topsail. The fire was soon extinguished, and Bulford contemplated an attempt to board Etoile but was thwarted by rough seas. At 15:30 Sultane raked Astrea before pulling away, Du Petit-Thouars considering that Philibert needed no assistance against the damaged British frigate.

At 16:15 the mizenmast of Astrea, on fire once more, crashed over the side, leaving Bulford's ship unmaneuverable. Apparently content with reducing the British ship to a crippled state, Philibert withdrew Etoile to the southwest, joining Sultane, which was struggling with a collapsed main topmast. Thus reprieved, Bulford followed Creole towards Santiago, both British ships arriving soon afterwards in the port of Praia. British losses were heavy, Creole losing ten killed and 26 wounded while Astrea lost nine killed, including Captain Eveleigh, and 37 wounded. Both ships were badly damaged and Astrea was subsequently considered to have been lucky not to have been captured: William James wrote that Astreawas "in a state not less of surprise than of joy at her extraordinary escape".

Battle of Jobourg
Etoile and Sultane, although the ostensible victors in the engagement, were both badly damaged themselves, with all masts suffering severely from the British bombardment and combined casualties of between 20–40 killed and 30–60 wounded. The damage to the masts was serious, as the frigates were thousands of miles from a friendly port and unable to effect any but the most basic repairs. Sultane in particular needed substantial temporary repairs and was forced to erect jury masts as the damage was too severe for regular service. Unable to continue their cruise, the frigates turned north towards Europe. By 26 March the squadron was sailing eastwards in the English Channel, approximately 35 nautical miles (65 km) north of the Île de Batz in Brittany en route to the Normandy port of Saint Malo. At 09:00 two vessels were sighted close by, their approach masked by heavy fog. These were the British 36-gun frigate HMS Hebrus under Captain Edmund Palmer and the 16-gun brig-sloop HMS Sparrow under Commander Francis Erskine Loch, participating in the blockade of the French Channel ports.

Sparrow had been sighted so close to the French ships that it came under immediate fire, which tore up the rigging, killed a petty officer and wounded another sailor. Sparrow closed with Hebrus for support, Palmer firing long-distance broadsides at the French while signalling for support from the nearby 74-gun ship of the line HMS Hannibal under Captain Sir Michael Seymour. As the fog cleared, Hannibal could be clearly seen advancing under all sail from the northwest. As a shift in the wind to the northwest at 11:00 offered the French an opportunity of escape, the frigates separated, the damaged Sultane following the wind and Etoile turning to the southeast. Recognising that only Hebrus was in a position to catch Etoile, Seymour ordered Palmer to pursue while Hannibal and Sparrow advanced on Sultane. Du Petit-Thouars' ship was in no position to evade or resist the much larger British warship and was within range of Hannibal by 15:30, Seymour firing two warning shots over Sultane. Recognising his inevitable defeat, Du Petit-Thouars fired a broadside into the sea away from Hannibal and struck his flag in a gesture of surrender at 16:15, Seymour taking possession of the French ship.

While his companion was overrun by Hannibal, Philibert was making strenuous efforts to escape from Hebrus. By 14:00 the Sultane and Hannibal were out of sight, Sparrow disappearing over the horizon three hours later with Etoile 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) ahead of Palmer's pursuit. Philibert turned northeast in a further effort to get away, but Hebrus was still slowly gaining on Etoile was night fell. As the ships passed through Alderney Race, Palmer gained considerable water on Philibert, driving the French ship close inshore near the village of Jobourg at 01:35 on 27 March. Faced with the risk of grounding in the dark, Philibert turned and opened fire on Hebrus at 01:45, the frigates exchanging fire as Etoile slowly wore around Jobourg Point. Palmer attempted to rake Etoile, passing so close astern that their rigging almost entangled, but Philibert responded by crossing the bows of Hebrus, inflicting severe damage to the British ship's rigging at 02:20. Maneuvering away from land, Palmer was assisted by a light breeze at 03:00, passing repeatedly across Etoile's bow and raking the ship each time, causing serious damage so that by 03:45 Philibert's mizenmast had collapsed over the side. Fifteen minutes later Etoile finally ceased fire, with Philibert hailing to announce his surrender.

Aftermath


The French ensign from 'L'Etoile'. This was the last naval ensign to be captured from the French during the Napoleonic Wars and was presented to Greenwich Hospital in 1866 by Captain Palmer's widow.

Palmer's first task was to pull both ships away from the immediate shoreline; in addition to the risk of grounding, a French gun battery had opened fire at random in the dark, shot striking both British and French ships. By 07:00 both Hebrus and Etoile had been successfully extracted around Jobourg point, coming to anchor near the coastal village of Vauville. Hebrus had considerable damage to her rigging and 13 dead and 25 wounded from a crew of 284. Etoile's main damage was in the hull, with losses of 40 killed and 73 wounded from a crew of 327. The damage to Etoile so severe that Palmer immediately ordered the ship to make for Plymouth, arriving on 29 March. Sultane was in a better state, reaching Portsmouth sometime earlier. Both frigates were newly built and in good condition, both being commissioned into the Royal Navy, Etoile as HMS Topaze and Sultane under her own name. In his report on the action, Seymour wrote of Palmer that " I am quite at a loss how to express, in adequate terms, my admiration of Captain Palmer's skill and decision on so interesting an occasion, and his new ship's company, his officers and his own able and intrepid conduct." More than three decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847.

The battle was the last significant naval action of the War of the Sixth Coalition, the Allied armies entering Paris on 30 March and Napoleon, isolated and defeated, abdicating on 6 April. Combat in the Atlantic would continue with the War of 1812, and there was one final naval engagement of the long Napoleonic Wars during the Hundred Days in 1815, when the ship of the line HMS Rivoli intercepted and defeated the Napoleonic frigate Melpomène on 30 April. Hebrus's battle with Etoile was however the final encounter of dozens between individual frigates in the almost continuous 23-years of warfare between Britain and France.

Battle of Jobourg - Wikipedia

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HMS Hannibal (1810) - Wikipedia

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French frigate Étoile (1813) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 March 1822 – Launch of HMS Rattlesnake, an Atholl-class 28-gun sixth-rate corvette of the Royal Navy


HMS Rattlesnake was an Atholl-class 28-gun sixth-rate corvette of the Royal Navy launched in 1822. She made a historic voyage of discovery to the Cape York and Torres Strait areas of northern Australia.


Rattlesnake, painted by Sir Oswald Walters Brierly, 1853



Construction
Launched at Chatham Dockyard on 26 March 1822, Rattlesnake was 114 feet (34.7 m) long and 32 feet (9.7 m) abeam. She carried twenty 32-pounder carronades, six 18-pounder carronades and two 9-pounder long guns.

Service in the Greek War of Independence
For most of the years 1827 to 1829 Rattlesnake was cruising off the coasts of Greece, under the command of Captain the Hon. Charles Orlando Bridgeman. During that period her log was kept by Midshipman Talavera Vernon Anson and survives in a collection at the New York Public Library. Both men went on to become admirals.

Service in the East Indies and China Station
William Hobson was appointed captain in December 1834. Rattlesnake served in the Far East squadron, which was commanded by Admiral Sir Thomas Bladen Capel. In 1836, the Rattlesnake was ordered to Australia, arriving at Hobart on 5 August 1836 and at Sydney 18 days later. On 26 May 1837, the Rattlesnake sailed to the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, in response to a request for help from James Busby, the British Resident, who felt threatened by fighting between Māori tribes.[4] In 1838 the Rattlesnake returned to England.

Service in the First Anglo-Chinese War


The capture of Chinhai on 10 October 1841, showing HMS Rattlesnake (centre)

During the period 1841–42 she was involved in actions off Canton in the fleet commanded by Sir William Parker in the First Anglo-Chinese War (1839–42), known popularly as the First Opium War.

Survey ship
She was converted to a survey ship in 1845.

Australia and New Guinea
The captain on the voyage to northern Australia and New Guinea from 1846-1850 was Owen Stanley. Also aboard were John Thomson as Surgeon, Thomas Henry Huxley as Assistant Surgeon ("surgeon's mate", but in practice marine naturalist), John MacGillivray as botanist and Oswald Walters Brierly as artist. T. H. Huxley established his scientific reputation by the papers he wrote on this voyage, leading to his election as fellow of the Royal Society in 1851.

Rattlesnake was the ship that rescued Barbara Crawford Thompson, who had been shipwrecked on Prince of Wales Island, North Queensland, aged 13 in November 1844 and spent the next five years living with the local Kaurareg people, despite their reputation for being cannibals.

Fate
She was broken up at Chatham in January 1860


Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with some midship framing and longitudinal half breadth for Ranger (1820), Tweed (1823), Rainbow (1823), Rattlesnake (1822), Crocodile (1825),Success (1825), Talbot (1824) and with alterations for Alligator (1821), Samarang (1822), Herald (1822) - ex Termagant, and later for North Star (1820), Daphne (cancelled 1832), Porcupine (cancelled 1832), Nimrod (1828) – ex Andromache, Alarm (cancelled 1826), all 28-gun Sixth Rate Sloops. Signed Joseph Tucker and Robert Seppings (Surveyors of the Navy) Annotation at the top right: "Mem: The Head was altered agreeably to a sketch dated Nov 6th 1821." Annotation on the right: " 14th May 1823. The following ships were ordered to be built agreeably to the alterations in ticked lines in the fore body viz Alarm, Crocodile, Daphne, Porcupine and Sucess." "2nd June 1830. The main rails of the head of the Talbot was directed to be moved 8ins and the Birthing rails about fuurther from the side at the front of the supporters." Annoted in pencil at bottom right: "Memo ? ? lines for the Model."




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Rattlesnake_(1822)

Atholl-class corvette - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 March 1834 – Launch of French Belle-Poule, a Surveillante-class 60-gun first rank frigate of the French Navy.
She achieved fame for bringing the remains of Napoleon from Saint Helena back to France, in what became known as the Retour des cendres.


Belle-Poule was a Surveillante-class 60-gun first rank frigate of the French Navy. She achieved fame for bringing the remains of Napoleon from Saint Helena back to France, in what became known as the Retour des cendres.


Model of Belle-Poule, on display at Toulon naval museum.



Career
Construction and early career
Although construction was started in 1828, Belle-Poule was launched only in 1834. She was one of the first ships to be built in a covered shipyard, which allowed the builders to delay construction while the political and financial circumstances were not favourable. Her design was inspired by USS Constitution. She was commissioned in July 1835, and displayed very good sailing properties.

On 1 August 1839, under command of the Prince of Joinville, third son of King Louis-Philippe, she left Cherbourg to join the Eastern fleet of Admiral Lalande.[citation needed] In October, she ran aground on the Taches Blanches, in the Dardanelles and was damaged. She was refloated and taken into Constantinople, Ottoman Empire for temporary repairs before sailing to Toulon for permanent repairs.

Retour des cendres
Main article: Retour des cendres
On 27 July 1840, she set sail with special equipment for Saint Helena to bring back the remains of Napoleon. She had been painted black for the occasion. On 30 September, she arrived back in Cherbourg, where, on 8 December, the Emperor's remains were transferred to the steamship Normandie. Normandie transported the remains to Le Havre and up the Seine to Rouen, for further transport to Paris.

The transfer of the remains from Belle-Poule to Normandie in the road of Cherbourg was executed in much ceremony, and became a subject of choice for marine and romantic painters.

Representations of the transfer of the remains from Belle-Poule to Normandie in the road of Cherbourg

• 
  Depiction by Eugène Isabey
• 
  
• 
  Depiction by Antoine Léon Morel-Fatio
• 
  
• 
  Depiction by Skelton

Transbordement des Restes de L'Empereur Napoleon de la fregate la Belle Poule sur le Bateau a vapeur la Normande, Cherbourg 8 Decembre 1840 (PAD6689)

Canada and Morocco
In 1841, Belle-Poule cruised along the Canadian coast, landing in Halifax, Nova Scotia and visited New York City, where the Prince of Joinville visited the President of the United States. Belle-Poule was back in Toulon on 14 July 1842.

In 1844, Joinville, then vice-admiral, was sent to Morocco to support the action of General Thomas Robert Bugeaud in Algeria, with Suffren, Jemmapes, Triton, and the frigate Belle-Poule. Tanger came under attack on 6 August, and Mogador was taken on 15 August.

Afterwards, Belle-Poule cruised the Indian Ocean, where a cyclone left her with serious damage. She was repaired in Sainte-Marie de Madagascar, and returned to Brest.

Crimean War and late career
She took part in the Crimean War, mostly as a transport; she stayed in the East until August 1856, and sailed back to Toulon on 1 September.

In 1859, she was used to transport ammunition, and was decommissioned on 19 March 1861. She was still used to store gunpowder until 1888.


Model on display at the Musée de la Marine in Paris


The Surveillante class was a type of sixty-gun frigate of the French Navy, designed in 1823 by Mathurin-François Boucher.

One of the main innovations with respect to previous design was the disappearance of the gangways, which provided a flush deck capable of harbouring a complete second battery. With the standardisation on the 30-pounder calibre for all naval ordnance that occurred in the 1820s, this design allowed for a frigate throwing a 900-pound broadside, thrice the firepower of the 40-gun Pallas class that constituted the majority of the frigate forces during the Empire, and comparable to that of a 74-gun.

By far the best-known ship of the class is Belle Poule, which achieved fame when she transported the ashes of Napoléon back to France in the so-called Retour des cendres; for this occasion, she was painted all black, a colour scheme that she retained later in her career, but which is uncharacteristic of the ships of this type.


Surveillante class, (60-gun first rate type, 1823 design by Mathurin-François Boucher, with 30 x 30-pounder guns, 28 x 30-pounder carronades and 2 x 18-pounder guns – later units had altered 60-gun armament):

Surveillante, (launched 29 September 1825 at Lorient) – deleted 22 August 1844.
Belle Gabrielle, (launched 28 June 1828 at Cherbourg) – renamed Indépendante 9 August 1830, deleted 24 October 1860.
Melpomène, (launched 28 July 1828 at Cherbourg) – deleted 20 March 1845.
Herminie, (launched 25 August 1828 at Lorient) – wrecked off Bermuda 3 December 1838.
Belle Poule, (launched 26 March 1834 at Cherbourg) – deleted 19 March 1861.
Sémillante, (launched 6 February 1841 at Lorient) – wrecked 16 February 1855 off Bonifacio.
Andromaque, (launched 8 March 1841 at Lorient) – deleted 17 August 1869.
Forte, (launched 16 September 1841 at Cherbourg) – deleted 23 October 1883.
Pallas, (launched 15 August 1860 at Lorient as a steam frigate) – deleted 23 October 1883.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Belle_Poule_(1828)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveillante-class_frigate

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 March 1941 - The Raid on Souda Bay was an assault by Italian Royal Navy small craft on Souda Bay, Crete
The Royal Navy heavy cruiser HMS York and the Norwegian tanker Pericles were disabled by the Italian motor launches and eventually lost.


The Raid on Souda Bay was an assault by Italian Royal Navy small craft on Souda Bay, Crete, during the first hours of 26 March 1941. The Royal Navy heavy cruiser HMS York and the Norwegian tanker Pericles were disabled by the Italian motor launches and eventually lost.


HMS York's hull boarded by the Italian Torpedo Boat Sirio



Background
Souda is a naturally protected harbour on the northwest coast of the island. It had been chosen as a target by the Decima Flottiglia MAS months before because of the almost continuous Allied naval activity there. Air reconnaissance had spotted a number of naval and auxiliary steamers at anchor in Souda Bay, Crete.

On 25 March 1941, the Italian Sella-class destroyers Crispi and Sella departed from Leros island in the Aegean at night, each one carrying three 2 long tons (2.0 t) motor assault boats of the Decima known as Motoscafo da Turismo (MT). Each MT (nicknamed barchino - "little boat") carried a 300 kg (660 lb) explosive charge inside its bow. The MTs were specially equipped to make their way through obstacles such as torpedo nets. The pilot would steer the assault craft on a collision course at his target ship, and then would jump from his boat before impact and warhead detonation.

The attack

York and Pericles both crippled and beached. A Short Sunderland flying boat is landing between them


The crippled HMS York in Suda Bay, May 1941

At 23:30, the MT were released by the destroyers 10 mi (8.7 nmi; 16 km) off Souda. Once inside the bay, the six boats, under the command of Lieutenant Luigi Faggioni, identified their targets: the heavy cruiser HMS York, a large tanker (the Norwegian Pericles of 8,300 long tons (8,400 t)), another tanker and a cargo ship. At 4:46, two MTs hit HMS York amidships, flooding her aft boilers and magazines, and the ship was beached by her own crew to avoid capsizing. Two seamen were killed by the explosions. Pericles was severely damaged and settled on the bottom, while the other tanker and the cargo ship were sunk, according to Italian sources. According to British reports, the other barchini apparently missed their intended targets, and one of them ended stranded on the beach. The antiaircraft guns of the base opened fire randomly, believing that the base was under air attack.

All six of the Italian sailors: Luigi Faggioni, Alessio de Vito, Emilio Barberi, Angelo Cabrini, Tullio Tedeschi, and Lino Beccati, were captured.

Aftermath

Destroyer Sella, one of the mother ships of the explosive motor boats

HMS York was disabled. After a salvage operation involving a submarine dispatched from Alexandria was abandoned, she was wrecked with demolition charges by her crew before the German capture of Crete, while the Pericles, taken in tow by destroyers, sank on 14 April 1941 en route to Alexandria during a storm.

The sinking of HMS York was the source of a controversy between the Regia Marina and the Luftwaffe over credit for her sinking. The matter was resolved by British war records and by the ship's own war log, captured by Italian naval officers who boarded the half-sunk cruiser.

After the war, the hull of HMS York was raised and towed to Bari, and scrapped there by an Italian shipbreaker in March 1952.


HMS York was the first of two York-class heavy cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the late 1920s. She mostly served on the North America and West Indies Station before World War II. Early in the war the ship escorted convoys in the Atlantic and participated in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940. York was transferred to the Mediterranean theatre in late 1940 where she escorted convoys and the larger ships of the Mediterranean Fleet. She was wrecked in an attack by Italian explosive motorboats of the 10th Flotilla MAS at Suda Bay, Crete in March 1941. The ship's wreck was salvaged in 1952 and scrapped in Bari.

Raid on Souda Bay - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_HMS_York

HMS York (90) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 26 March


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1641 Sourdis, Archbishop of Bordeaux, defeats the Spanish at the Port de Roses, 26 March 1641

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1716 – Launch of Spanish San Pedro 60 (launched 26 March 1716 at Pasajes) - Wrecked 31 December 1718

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Santa Isabel 60 (launched 7 September 1716 at Pasajes) - Captured by Britain at the Battle of Cape Passaro 11 August 1718, BU c. 1731
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1745 Vice Admiral Martin captured French La Panthere (26) and convoy of 5 sail in the channel


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Légère, (launched June 1765 at Le Havre) - found unfit for service at Brest and deleted in 1777 but refitted as a privateer (or a transport?) in 1780, run aground by a British ship and destroyed in the same year.
Sincère, (launched 12 March 1766 at Le Havre) - was in need of a great repair/rebuild and sold at Brest to private investors in the end of 1777.
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Blanche, (launched 20 October 1766 at Le Havre) - captured by the British Navy in 1779 and incorporated as HMS Blanche.
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1803 HMS Determinee (24), Cptn. Alexander Becher, stuck broadside on to a sunken rock and bilged near Noirmont Point on the western side of St. Aubyn Bay.


1813 Boats of HMS Havannah (36), Cptn. Hon. George Cadogan, captured 10 vessels at Fortore.

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1846 – Launch of french Pandore, (launched 26 March 1846 at Brest) – fitted as steam frigate 1857; deleted 2 November 1877.

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Another unit of this class – Clorinde at Brest – was cancelled in 1838.


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1853 – Launch of french Bellone, (launched 26 March 1853 at Cherbourg) – fitted as steam frigate 1856–58; deleted 22 February 1877.

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Jaguar dropping depth charges, 1940

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1942 - During World War II, Adm. Ernest J. King becomes Chief of Naval Operations and also Commander, U.S. Fleet, holding both positions through the rest of the war, guiding the Navy's plans and global operations.


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1945 - USS Halligan (DD 584) is sunk by a mine off Okinawa. Also on this date, USS Balao (SS-285) sinks Japanese army stores ship No.1 Shinto Maru.

USS Halligan - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1999 Sierra Leone, off the coast: passenger boat capsized; more than 150 people died


2010 - ROKS Cheonan – On 26 March 2010 the South Korean corvette sank off the country's west coast near Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 seamen.

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