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

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 February 1807 – Launch of HMS Banterer, a Royal Navy Banterer-class sixth-rate post-ship of 24 guns,


HMS Banterer was a Royal Navy Banterer-class sixth-rate post-ship of 24 guns, built in 1805-07 at South Shields, England. She was ordered in January 1805 as HMS Banter but her name was lengthened to Banterer on 9 August of that year.



She was rated a 24-gun ship and was intended to mount that number of long 9-pounders on her main deck. However she also carried eight 24-pounder carronades and two long 6-pounders on her quarter-deck and forecastle. By the time that Captain Alexander Cary took command in May 1807, the Admiralty added two brass howitzers to her armament, while exchanging her 9-pounders for 32-pounder carronades. Her complement was increased by twenty to 175 officers, men and boys.

Captain Alexander Shippard (or Sheppard) commissioned Banterer in May 1807. Later that year she participated in the battle of Copenhagen.

Subsequently she returned to England. Banterer then sailed with a convoy for Halifax, Nova Scotia on 13 February 1808; later that year, on 29 October, she was wrecked in the Saint Lawrence River, near Point Mille Vache.

The court-martial for Sheppard and his officers and crew took place on Tourterelle between 28 and 30 January 1809 at St. George's Harbour, Bermuda. The court martial dismissed Lieutenant Stephen C. McCurdy from the Navy for having neglected his responsibilities during the third watch. It also severely reprimanded the acting master, Robert Clegram for culpable negligence in failing to pass on to the officer who relieved him Sheppard's instructions concerning certain safety precautions. The court martial acquitted Sheppard, his other officers and crew, and the pilot of the loss.


The Banterer-class sailing sixth rates were a series of six 22-gun post ships built to an 1805 design by Sir William Rule, which served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic War. The first four were launched in 1806 and the remaining two in 1807. One ship – the Banterer – was lost in 1808 and another – the Cyane – captured by the United States Navy in 1815; the remaining four were all deleted during 1816.

Banterer class 22 guns 1806-07; designed by William Rule.

• HMS Banterer 1807 - wrecked in the Saint Laurence Stream 1808
• HMS Crocodile 1806 - broken up 1816.
• HMS Daphne 1806 - sold 1816; became merchantman and last listed in 1824
• HMS Cossack 1806 - Broken up 1816.
• HMS Cyane 1806 - taken by USS Constitution 1815.
• HMS Porcupine 1807 - sold 1816; became mercantile Windsor Castle and was broken up at Mauritius in 1826

HMS Banterer (1807) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Banterer-class post ship - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 February 1809 – The End of The invasion of Martinique of 1809, a successful British amphibious operation against the French West Indian island of Martinique that took place between 30 January and 24 February 1809 during the West Indies Campaign 1804–1810 of the Napoleonic Wars.


The invasion of Martinique of 1809 was a successful British amphibious operation against the French West Indian island of Martinique that took place between 30 January and 24 February 1809 during the West Indies Campaign 1804–1810 of the Napoleonic Wars. Martinique, like nearby Guadeloupe, was a major threat to British trade in the Caribbean, providing a sheltered base from which privateers and French Navy warships could raid British shipping and disrupt the trade routes that maintained the British economy. The islands also provided a focus for larger scale French operations in the region and in the autumn of 1808, following the Spanish alliance with Britain, the Admiralty decided to order a British squadron to neutralise the threat, beginning with Martinique.



The British mustered an overwhelming force under Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane and Lieutenant-General George Beckwith, who collected 29 ships and 10,000 men – almost four times the number of French regular forces garrisoning Martinique. Landing in force on both the southern and northern coasts of the island, British troops pushed inland, defeating French regulars in the central highlands and routing local militia units in the south of the island. By 9 February, the entire island was in British hands except Fort Desaix, a powerful position intended to protect the capital Fort-de-France, which had been bypassed during the British advance. In a siege lasting 15 days the Fort was constantly bombarded, the French suffering 200 casualties before finally surrendering.

The capture of the island was a significant blow to French power in the region, eliminating an important naval base and denying safe harbours to French shipping in the region. The consequences of losing Martinique were so severe, that the French Navy sent a battle squadron to reinforce the garrison during the invasion. Arriving much too late to affect the outcome, these reinforcements were intercepted off the islands and scattered during the Action of 14–17 April 1809: half the force failed to return to France. With Martinique defeated, British attention in the region turned against Guadeloupe, which was captured the following year.


'The Taking of the French Island of Martinique in the French West Indies on Feb 24th 1809' (from a coloured woodcut)

Background
During the Napoleonic Wars, the British Royal Navy was charged with limiting the passage and operations of the French Navy, French merchant ships and French privateers. To achieve this objective, the Royal Navy imposed a system of blockades on French ports, especially the major naval bases at Toulon and Brest. This stranglehold on French movement off their own coastline seriously affected the French colonies, including those in the West Indies, as their produce could not reach France and supplies and reinforcements could not reach them without the risk of British interception and seizure. These islands provided excellent bases for French ships to raid the British trade routes through the Caribbean Sea: in previous conflicts, the British had countered the threat posed by French West Indian colonies by seizing them through force, such as Martinique, which had been previously captured by armed invasion in 1762 and 1794. An attempt in 1780 was defeated by a French battle squadron at the Battle of Martinique. By 1808 there were no French squadrons at sea: any that left port were eliminated or driven back in a series of battles, culminating at the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The fleet that was destroyed at Trafalgar had visited Martinique the year before and was the last full scale French fleet to visit the Caribbean for the rest of the war.


Map of Martinique - the invasion forces landed on the southern, southwestern and northern coasts

With the bulk of the French Navy confined to port, the British were able to strike directly at French colonies, although their reach was limited by the significant resources required in blockading the French coast and so the size and quality of operations varied widely. In 1804, Haiti fell to a nationalist uprising supported by the Royal Navy, and in 1806 British forces secured most of the northern coast of South America from its Dutch owners. In 1807 the Danish West Indies were invaded and in 1808 Spain changed sides and allied with Britain, while Cayenne fell to an improvised force under Captain James Lucas Yeo in January 1809. The damage done to the Martinique economy during this period was severe, as British frigates raided coastal towns and shipping, and merchant vessels were prevented from trading Martinique's produce with France or allied islands. Disaffection grew on the island, especially among the recently emancipated black majority, and during the summer of 1808 the island's governor, Vice-amiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse, sent urgent messages back to France requesting supplies and reinforcements. Some of these messages were intercepted by British ships and the low morale on Martinique was brought to the attention of the Admiralty, who ordered their commander on the West Indian Station, Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, to raise an expeditionary force from the ships and garrisons available to him and invade the island.

During the winter of 1808–1809, Cochrane gathered his forces off Carlisle Bay, Barbados, accumulating 29 ships and 10,000 soldiers under the command of Lieutenant-General George Beckwith. Landings were planned on the island's southern and northern coasts, with the forces ordered to converge on the capital Fort-de-France. The soldiers would be supported and supplied by the Royal Navy force, which would shadow their advance offshore. Beckwith's army was more than twice the size of the French garrison, half of which was composed of an untrained and irregular black militia which could not be relied on in combat. of the poor state of Martinique's defences also reached France during the autumn of 1808. Attempts were made to despatch reinforcements and urgently needed food supplies, but on 30 October 1808 Circe captured the 16-gun French Curieux class brig Palinure. The British then captured the frigate Thétis in the Bay of Biscay at the Action of 10 November 1808. Another relief attempt was destroyed in December off the Leeward Islands and HMS Aimable captured the corvette Iris, carrying flour to Martinique, off the Dutch coast on 2 January 1809. Only the frigate Amphitrite, whose stores and reinforcements were insignificant compared to the forces under Cochrane and Beckwith, managed to reach Martinique.

British order of battle

In addition, the invasion fleet included 21 smaller warships and a number of transports. The British Army troops attached to the force included soldiers from the 7th Foot, 8th Foot, 23rd Foot, 13th Foot, 90th Foot, 15th Foot, 60th Rifles, 63rd Foot, 25th Foot, 1st West India Regiment and the Royal York Rangers. The expeditionary force was commanded by Lieutenant-General George Beckwith who remained offshore. Direct command of the land campaign was given to Major-General Frederick Maitland and Major-General Sir George Prevost, who delegated tactical command to Brigadier-General Daniel Hoghton.​

Sources: James Vol. 5, p. 206, Clowes, p. 283, Gardiner, p. 77, Rodger, p. 36​

Invasion

Sir George Prévost with sword from Nova Scotia House of Assembly to commemorate his victory at Martinique, The Halifax Club, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Cochrane's fleet sailed from Carlisle Bay on 28 January, arriving off Martinique early on 30 January. The force was then divided, one squadron anchoring off Sainte-Luce on the southern coast and another off Le Robert on the northern. The invasion began the same morning, 3,000 soldiers going ashore at Sainte-Luce under the command of Major-General Frederick Maitland, supervised by Captain William Charles Fahie, while 6,500 landed at Le Robert under Major-General Sir George Prevost, supervised by Captain Philip Beaver. Beckwith remained on Cochrane's flagship HMS Neptune, to direct the campaign from offshore. A third force, under a Major Henderson and consisting entirely of 600 soldiers from the Royal York Rangers, landed at Cape Salomon near Les Anses-d'Arlet on the southwestern peninsula to secure the entrance to Fort-de-France Bay.

During the first day of the invasion, the two main forces made rapid progress inland, the militia troops sent against them retreating and deserting without offering resistance. Serious opposition to the British advance did not begin until 1 February, when French defenders on the heights of Desfourneaux and Surirey were attacked by Prevost's troops, under the direct command of Brigadier-General Daniel Hoghton. Fighting was fierce throughout the next two days, as the outnumbered French used the fortified high ground to hold back a series of frontal assaults. The British lost 84 killed and 334 wounded to French losses of over 700 casualties, and by 3 February the French had been forced back, withdrawing to Fort Desaix near the capital. Progress was also made at Cape Salomon, where the appearance of British troops panicked the French defenders into burning the naval brig Carnation and retreating to the small island, Ilot aux Ramiers, offshore. Henderson's men, assisted by a naval brigade under Captain George Cockburn, set up batteries on the coast and by 4 February had bombarded the island into surrender, opening the principal harbour of Martinique to naval attack.

A small naval squadron, consisting of HMS Aeolus, HMS Cleopatra and the brig HMS Recruit, advanced into Fort-de-France Bay on 5 February. This advance spread panic among the French militia defending the bay and Amphitrite and the other shipping anchored there were set on fire and destroyed, while the forts in the southern part of the island were abandoned. On 8 February, Maitland's force, which had not yet fired a shot, arrived on the western side of Fort Desaix and laid siege to it. Minor detachments spread across the remainder of the island: Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Barnes captured Saint-Pierre and another force occupied Fort-de-France and seized the corvette Diligente in the harbour. By 10 February, when Prevost's force linked up with Maitland's, Fort Desaix was the only remaining point of resistance.

For nine days, the British soldiers and sailors of the expeditionary force constructed gun batteries and trenches around the fort, bringing ashore large quantities of supplies and equipment in readiness for a lengthy siege. At 16:30 on 19 February the preparations were complete and the bombardment began, 14 heavy cannon and 28 mortars beginning a continuous attack on the fort which lasted for the next four days. French casualties in the overcrowded fort were severe, with 200 men killed or wounded. British casualties were minimal, with five killed and 11 wounded, principally in an explosion in an ammunition tent manned by sailors from HMS Amaranthe. At 12:00 on 23 February, Villaret de Joyeuse's trumpeter was sent to the British camp with a message proposing surrender terms. These were unacceptable to Beckwith and the bombardment resumed at 22:00, continuing until 09:00 the following morning when three white flags were raised over the fort and the French admiral surrendered unconditionally. The bombardment had cracked the roof of the fort's magazine, and there were fears that further shelling might have ignited the gunpowder and destroyed the building completely.

Aftermath
With the surrender of Fort Desaix, British forces solidified their occupation of the island of Martinique. The remaining shipping and military supplies were seized and the regular soldiers of the garrison taken as prisoners of war. The militia were disbanded and Martinique became a British colony, remaining under British command until the restoration of the French monarchy in 1814, when it was returned to French control. British losses in the campaign were heavy, with 97 killed, 365 wounded and 18 missing. French total losses are uncertain but the garrison suffered at least 900 casualties, principally in the fighting in the central highlands on 1 and 2 February and during the siege of Fort Desaix. Upon his return to France, Villaret's conduct was condemned by an inquiry council; he requested in vain a Court-martial to clear his name, and lived in disgrace for two years.

In Britain, both Houses of Parliament voted their thanks to Cochrane and Beckwith, who immediately began planning the invasion of Guadeloupe, executed in January 1810. Financial and professional rewards were provided for the junior officers and enlisted men and in 1816 the battle honour Martinique was awarded to the ships and regiments involved, with the date 1809 added in 1909 to distinguish the campaign from the earlier operations of 1762 and 1794. Four decades later the operation was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal and the Military General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847. In France, the defeat was the subject of a court martial in December 1809, at which Villaret de Joyeuse and a number of his subordinates were stripped of their commissions, honours, and ranks for inadequately preparing for invasion, in particular for failing properly to strengthen and disperse the magazine at Fort Desaix.

There was a subsequent French effort to reach Martinique, launched in February 1809 before news of the British invasion had reached Europe. Three ships of the line and two disarmed frigates were sent with soldiers and supplies towards the island, but learned of Villaret de Joyeuse's surrender in late March and instead took shelter in the Îles des Saintes, blockaded by Cochrane's squadron. On 14 April, Cochrane seized the Saintes and the French fled, the three ships of the line drawing away Cochrane's forces so that the frigates could slip away and reach Guadeloupe. During the ensuing Action of 14–17 April 1809, the French flagship Hautpoult was chased down and captured, but two ships of the line escaped and the frigates reached Guadeloupe, although neither would ever return to France.

Invasion of Martinique (1809) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 February 1813 - USS Hornet (20), James Lawrence, sank HMS Peacock (18), Cptn. William Peake (Killed in Action), off the mouth of the Demerara River, Guiana


The sinking of HMS Peacock was a naval action fought off the mouth of the Demerara River, Guyana on 24 February 1813, between the sloop of war USS Hornet and the Cruizer-class brig-sloop HMS Peacock. After an exchange of broadsides, Hornet was able to rake Peacock, forcing her to strike. Peacock was so badly damaged that she sank shortly after surrendering.


USS Hornet captures HMS Peacock, February 1813

Prelude
On 26 October 1812, the frigate USS Constitution and sloop Hornet sortied from Boston, Massachusetts. (The frigate USS Essexwas supposed to accompany them but was undergoing repairs. Several rendezvous were assigned for Essex to meet the other two ships, but the arrangements miscarried.)

On 13 December, the two American ships arrived off Salvador, Bahia on the coast of Brazil, where they found the British sloop of war HMS Bonne Citoyenne. Commodore William Bainbridge, commanding Constitution, sent a letter to the captain of Bonne Citoyenne, challenging him to fight Hornet, an equal match. The British captain refused, as his ship was carrying a valuable cargo of bullion. Bainbridge left Hornet to blockade Bonne Citoyenne and cruised to the south, looking for other prizes. Eventually he found and sank the frigate HMS Java.

Aboard Hornet, Master Commandant James Lawrence was aware from Portuguese sources that a British ship of the line was expected. On 24 January 1813, HMS Montagu appeared and Lawrence retreated into Portuguese territorial waters. After dark, he headed north along the South American coast. On 14 February, Hornet encountered and captured the British packet brig Resolution, which was carrying twenty thousand dollars in gold and silver.



Battle
On 24 February, Lawrence pursued a British merchant brig into the mouth of the Demerara River. As evening drew on, Lawrence then noted a British brig-sloop, HMS Espiegle, at anchor in the river, and another, Peacock, approaching from seaward.

Hornet beat to windward and gained the advantage of the windward position. Lawrence then tacked, and as Hornet and Peacock passed each other on opposite tacks they exchanged broadsides at "half pistol shot". Even at this close range, the British fire went high. Some American sailors were killed and wounded at the mastheads. Peacock suffered heavy damage to the hull.

Captain Peake of Peacock turned downwind to bring his opposite battery to bear, but Lawrence had carried out the same maneuver more rapidly. The starboard bow of Hornet came up against the stern of Peacock from where the British could bring no guns to bear, and from this position, Hornet's gunners shattered Peacock in a mere four minutes. Peake was killed, and his First lieutenant surrendered and almost immediately made a distress signal.

Although Espiegle was in sight throughout the engagement, it made no attempt to intervene, and Espiegle's captain later claimed that he was not aware of the action.

Casualties
The British lost 5 men killed and 33 wounded (three mortally); the Americans lost only one man killed and four wounded (one mortally), most to Peacock's first broadside.

Aftermath
Both vessels anchored. (Peackock's main mast fell at this point.) An American prize crew went aboard Peacock and tried to plug the holes below the waterline and throw the guns overboard to lighten the brig, but Peacock sank suddenly. Three Americans and nine British sailors were trapped below deck and drowned. Peacock sank in only 33 feet (10 m) of water, and four British sailors saved themselves by climbing the foremast, the top of which remained above the water. Four others escaped to the shore in a boat in the confusion.

The survivors of Peacock were taken aboard Hornet, where they joined some other prisoners from captured British merchant vessels. Together with some American sailors from a recaptured prize, Hornet was now carrying 277 people. Hornet made for Martha's Vineyard, the nearest point of the American coast known not to be watched by the Royal Navy. Even so, all on board were suffering severely from shortage of water when they arrived[9] on 19 March. The surviving officers of Peacock nevertheless testified to the generosity of Hornet's crew. Eventually, Peacock's surviving officers and crew were put on a cartel on which they reached Britain in June.

Although Peacock was more lightly armed than Hornet, mounting eighteen 24-pounder carronades to Hornet's eighteen 32-pounder carronades, the overwhelming defeat was more probably due to poor training and lack of practice at the guns. It was said that Captain Peake had concentrated on the appearance of his command rather than its fighting efficiency


HMS Peacock was a Cruizer-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1806 and had a relatively uneventful career until she had the misfortune to encounter the USS Hornet in February 1813. Hornet captured Peacock, which then sank.



Career
Peacock was commissioned under Commander William Peake in February 1807 for the North Sea. On 5 September Peacock was in company with the sloop Kite at the capture of Der Fruhllng. A week later Peacock was in company with the 74-gun Defence at the capture of the Danish ship Anna Karina.

In 1812 Peacock transferred to the Jamaica station. There, on 1 August, she captured the American ship Forester.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board outline, sheer lines with scroll figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Cruiser (1797), and later for Ferret (1806), Scorpion (1803), Swallow (1805), Musquito (1804), Scout (1804) and Despatch (1804), all 18 gun Brig Sloops. The plan also shows the mast alterations (to ship-rigged) for Snake (1797) and Victor (1798), both 18 gun Ship Sloops.



Loss
Main article: Sinking of HMS Peacock
On 24 February 1813 Peacock encountered the USS Hornet off the mouth of the Demerara River. As she sailed out of the anchorage where she had left her classmate Espiegle she encountered the 20-gun Hornet sailing in. Peacock and Hornet sailed opposite each other and exchanged broadsides at 5:25pm. Peacock then turned to discharge her other broadside but Hornet got on Peacock' starboard quarter and proceeded to pour fire into her. Hornet's fire was accurate, while Peacock's was poor. Within 15 minutes Peake was dead, British casualties were heavy, and Peacock was a wreck. She struck and both vessels anchored. It became clear that Peacock was sinking and the Americans rescued her crew. She had suffered five men killed and 33 men wounded. Three of her wounded later died aboard Hornet. Four of her men, who escaped in a small boat, may also have been lost. Hornet had one man killed and four wounded, one of whom died later.

Peacock sank in five and a half fathoms of water of the Caroband Bank. In sinking she took nine of her men with her, and three Americans. The wreck was visible for some time thereafter.

Lloyd's List initially reported that Captain Peake of Peacock and eight of her crew were killed in the action, and 27 were wounded; 19 men, who could not be rescued, went down with her when she sank and Hornet rescued the rest. Furthermore, she herself had lost only one man killed and two wounded. She then arrived at Martha's Vineyard on 19 March.

Three men on Peacock's crew were Americans, one of whom was killed in the action. When it became clear that an engagement was imminent, the Americans asked to be permitted to go below so as not to have to fight against their countrymen. Peake refused the request and the men had to serve the guns. One of the two surviving Americans turned out to be a cousin of the wife of Captain James Lawrence, captain of Hornet. Her captured ensign was on display at Mahan Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy, but was removed on 27 February 2018 for preservation.

Eventually, Peacock's surviving officers and crew were put on a cartel on which they reached Britain in June.

There was a dispute as to whether or not Espiegle was in sight during the action and had failed to come out and join the action. The Americans said she was, while the British said she was not. If the reported position of the wreck of Peacock is correct, Espiegle was not in sight. In 1814 Commander John Taylor underwent a court martial, the charges including that he had failed to join the engagement. However, he was acquitted of this charge.


The third USS Hornet was a brig-rigged (later ship-rigged) sloop-of-war in the United States Navy. During the War of 1812, she was the first U.S. Navy ship to capture a British privateer.



Design
Hornet was launched 28 July 1805 in Baltimore and commissioned there on 18 October, Master Commandant Isaac Chauncey in command.[1]

Hornet's design was a compromise between the six original U.S. frigates and coastal gunboats championed by President Thomas Jefferson. The fledgling Navy needed a light-draft ship that was fast and maneuverable, but also possessing sufficient firepower to deter or defeat enemy ships. Hornet’s design is attributed to Josiah Fox but her builder, William Price, is said to have altered it based on the successful lines of the Baltimore Clipper, of which he had significant experience.[2]

During his time as captain, Chauncey reported significant problems with Hornet’s rigging, hindering her overall potential. In response to these reports, Hornet's sister ship, Wasp, constructed at the Washington Navy Yard, had her rigging changed to three masts and afterward reported excellent performance at sea.




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

USS Hornet (1805) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Collections - National Maritime Museum

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 February 1815 – Launch of HMS Wellesley, a 74-gun third rate, named after the Duke of Wellington,


HMS Wellesley was a 74-gun third rate, named after the Duke of Wellington, and launched in 1815. She captured Karachi for the British, and participated in the First Opium War, which resulted in Britain gaining control of Hong Kong. Thereafter she served primarily as a training ship before gaining the distinction of being the last British ship of the line to be sunk by enemy action and the only one to have been sunk by an air-raid.


Wellesley sailing along a rocky coastline

Construction and class
Although Wellesley was ordered as a Black Prince-class ship of the line, plans meant for her construction were lost in December 1812 when USS Constitution captured HMS Java. She was therefore built to the lines of HMS Cornwallis, a Vengeur-class ship of the line which had just been launched at Bombay. The East India Company built her of teak, at a cost of £55,147, for the Royal Navy and launched her on 24 February 1815 at Bombay Dockyard.



Active duty
In 1823 Wellesley carried Sir Charles Stuart de Rothesay on a mission to Portugal and Brazil to negotiate a commercial treaty with Pedro I of Brazil. The artist Charles Landseer, brother of the famed artist Edwin Henry Landseer, accompanied the mission.

Between 25 November 1824 and 30 January 1825, her tender, Wolf, took several prizes, for which prize money was payable.

Wellesley was the flagship of Rear Admiral Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland in the Mediterranean between 1827 and 1830.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Black Prince' (1816), 'Melville' (1817), 'Hawke' (1820) and 'Wellesley' (1815), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers, based on the design of the captured Danish 74-gun 'Christian VII'. Note that the 'Wellesley' was originally of this design, but was changed to follow the lines of the 'Cornwallis' (1813) of the Armada/Conquestadore/Vengeur class. Signed by William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813] and Henry Peake [Surveyor of the Navy, 1806-1822].

Karachi
On 19 June 1837 Captain Thomas Maitland took command of Wellesley, which became the flagship of Rear-Admiral Frederick Lewis Maitland.

On 2 and 3 February 1839 Wellesley, HMS Algerine and troops captured Kurrachee (modern Karachi). Wellesley sailed into the harbour and proceeded to fire at the mud fort on Manora Island, quickly pulverising it. The purpose of the unprovoked attack was to induce the local rulers to sign a new treaty with the East India Company.

In March 1839 relations between Persia and Britain came to a confrontation over a number of British demands, including that the Shah permit the British a permanent base on Kharg Island, which they had occupied. Attacks on the British Residency in Bushireled to the dispatch of Wellesley and Algerine to Bushire. The outcome was the Anglo-Persian Treaty, signed 28 October 1841, which recognised a mutual freedom to trade in the territory of the other and for the British to establish consulates in Tehran and Tabriz.

Admiral Maitland died on 30 November whilst at sea on board Wellesley, off Bombay; Commodore Sir James Bremer replaced him.

First Opium War
Wellesley saw active service in the Far East during the First Opium War. Led by Commodore James Bremer in Wellesley, a British expedition captured Chusan in July 1840 after an exchange of gunfire with shore batteries that caused only minor casualties to the British.[3] When she returned from this service, some 27 cannonballs were found embedded in her sides.


Wellesley (second from left) in the second capture of Chusan on 1 October 1841

On 7 January 1841 she participated in the Second Battle of Chuenpi and the bombardment of fortifications at Tycocktow; both Chuenpi and Tycocktow guarded the seaward approaches to Canton on the Bocca Tigris (Bogue). This campaign resulted in the British taking possession of Hong Kong Island on 26 February 1841.

That same day Wellesley participated in the Battle of the Bogue, which involved bombardments, landings, capture and destruction of nearly all the Chinese forts and fortifications on both sides of the Bocca Tigris up to Canton. Next day, seamen and Royal Marines of the naval squadron attacked and captured the fort, camp and guns at a Chinese position during the Battle of First Bar. The squadron also destroyed the Chinese Admiral's vessel Cambridge, formerly a 34-gun East Indiaman.

Between 23 and 30 May, she participated in joint operations that led to the capture of Canton, and subsequent payment by the Chinese of a six million dollar reparations payment imposed on them. Rear-Admiral Sir William Parker replaced Commodore Sir James Bremer as commander-in-chief of the squadron in China on 10 August.

On 26 August Wellesley participated in the destruction of batteries and defences surrounding Amoy. At one point Captain Maitland placed the Wellesley within 400 yards of the principal battery. This action included the temporary occupation of that town and island, along with its key defensive positions on the Island of Koo-Lang-Soo, which were garrisoned. Lastly, on 1 October the British, who had withdrawn in February, reoccupied Chusan and the city of Tinghae. The British proceeded to capture Amoy, Ningpo, Woosung and Shanghai, ending with the seizure of Chinkiang and closing the entrance to the Grand Canal on 21 July 1842.

For his services during the war, Captain Maitland was nominated a Companion of the Bath. He was knighted in 1843. Some 609 officers, men and marines of Wellesley qualified for the China Medal. In all, 18 crew and 17 marines died, though not all did so in combat.

Harbour service and training

Monument to the 11 crew of HMS Wellesley that died at Halifax, Royal Navy Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

In 1854 Wellesley was a guard ship in ordinary at Chatham. That same year she became a harbour flagship and receiving ship at Chatham.

In 1868 the Admiralty loaned her to the London School Ship Society, which refitted her as a Reformatory School. She was renamed Cornwalland was moored off Purfleet in April. Later, Cornwall, renamed Wellesey, was moved to the Tyne and served as The Tyne Industrial Training Ship of Wellesley Nautical School. In 1928, due to industrial development at that location, she was moved to Denton, below Gravesend.

Loss

Figurehead of HMS Wellesley

On 24 September 1940 a German air-raid severely damaged Wellesley and she subsequently sank.[4] She was raised in 1948 and beached at Tilbury, where she was broken up. Some of her timbers found a home in the rebuilding of the Royal Courts of Justice in London, while her figurehead now resides just inside the main gates of Chatham Dockyard.


Scale: 1:24. Plan showing the midship section with profiles of the chocks and knees illustrating the method of attaching the beams to the sides for Wellesley (1815), with copies sent for Melville (1817), Black Prince (1816), and Redoubtable (1815), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. On 20 October 1812 a copy of this plan was forwarded to Portsmouth Dockyard for dispatch to Bombay onboard the ex-French frigate Java (captured 1811). However, as the Java was captured by the USS Constitution in December 1812, a second copy was dispatched on 26 March 1813 onboard the 74-gun Third Rate Stirling Castle (1811). A duplicate plan was also sent to Portsmouth on 25 May 1814 to be forwarded in the custody of Mr Joseph Seaton, passenger, onboard the East India Company Extra Ship Tigris.


The Black Prince-class ships of the line were a class of four 74-gun third rates built for the Royal Navy in the closing years of the Napoleonic War. The draught for this class of ship was essentially a reduced version of the captured Danish ship Christian VII.

Wellesley, while ordered to be built to this design and always officially so classified, was actually built to the design of and used the moulds of Cornwallis, a Vengeur/Armada class ship previously built at Bombay; this was because the set of plans sent from the Navy Board and intended for the construction of Wellesley were lost en route to India when the ship carrying them was captured and burnt by the Americans.

Hawke was converted to screw propulsion in the 1850s when adapted as a 60-gun "blockship".

Black Prince class
Note that, while Wellesley belonged officially to this class, plans meant for her construction were lost in 1812 when aboard the Java which was captured by the Americans; so she was actually built to the lines of the Cornwallis (see above).

• Black Prince 74 (1816) – broken up 1855
• Melville 74 (1817) – hulked as hospital ship Hong Kong 1857, sold 1873
• Hawke 74 (1820) – converted to 60-gun screw blockship 1854–55, broken up 1865

Cornwallis class – teak-built versions of Armada class

• Cornwallis 74 (1813) – converted to 60-gun screw blockship 1854–55, hulked as a jetty at Sheerness 1865, renamed Wildfire 1916 as base ship, broken up 1957 [9]
• Wellesley 74 (1815) – hulked as harbour flagship and receiving ship at Chatham 1862,to Purfleet for the London School Ship Society as a reformatory and renamed Cornwall1868, sunk by the Luftwaffe 1940 (the only ship-of-the-line ever to be sunk in an air attack)
• Carnatic 74 (1823) – hulked as coal deport Portsmouth 1860, floating magazine for the War Office 1886, returned to the Admiralty 1891, sold 1914

HMS Wellesley (1815) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Black Prince-class ship of the line - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Collections - National Maritime Museum

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 February 1875 – The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high-profile civil servants and dignitaries.


The SS Gothenburg was a steamship that operated along the British and then later the Australian and New Zealand coastlines. In February 1875, she left Darwin, Australia en route to Adelaide when she encountered a cyclone-strength storm off the north Queensland coast. The ship was wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef north-west of Holbourne Island on 24 February 1875. Survivors in one of the lifeboats were rescued two days later by Leichhardt, while the occupants of two other lifeboats that managed to reach Holbourne Island were rescued several days later. Twenty-two men survived, while between 98 and 112 others died, including a number of high-profile civil servants and dignitaries.



Description and history
Gothenburg was commissioned in 1855 following her construction at Lungley's building yards in Millwall, London.[2] She was a 501-ton, 197-foot-long (60 m) vessel, with a 120-horsepower (89 kW), coal-burning engine. She was rigged as barquentine, with her funnel set well aft between the main and mizzen masts. She was fitted with four lifeboats, two port and two starboard.

Her first owner, the North of Europe Steam Navigation Company, operated her between Irongate Wharf, near the Tower of London, and Sweden.[4] In 1857, she was acquired by the Union Castle Line and renamed as RMS Celt. In June 1862, McMerkan, Blackwood and Co. of Melbourne purchased her for the Australian trade and in that year she made a protracted voyage from England to Australia by sail. She was one of the most modern vessels working around the Australian coastline in the 1860s, and became a popular ship as she was considered reliable. After many years on the Australia-New Zealand run, her owners transferred her to the Australian coastal service.

In 1873, she was lengthened and refitted in Adelaide to enable longer distances under steam and greater passenger and cargo capacity. Following her modifications, her name reverted once again to Gothenburg.


SS Gothenburg docked at Port Adelaide wharf after her lengthening in 1873.

In November 1874, several shipowners were contracted for two years from the South Australian government to provide ten round trips between the colonial capital of Adelaide and its furthest outpost, Port Darwin. Port Darwin was feeling the effects of a gold rush at Pine Creek and growing quickly as a trade post with the Dutch East Indies. However, all the local banks sent their money, together with government paperwork and the Royal Mail, around the east coast to Adelaide. On successful completion of each voyage, the South Australian government would pay the owners £1000 sterling.

When Gothenburg left Port Darwin on Tuesday, 16 February 1875, Captain Robert George Augustus Pearce was under orders to make best possible speed. Pearce had been her captain on the Adelaide-Darwin run for some time and had built up a solid reputation. He was a man of the sea, a man of sobriety and kindness and was well respected by his fellow sea captains.


Captain R.G.A. Pearce

Amongst the approximately 98 passengers and 37 crew (surviving records vary) were government officials, circuit court judges, Darwin residents taking their first furlough and miners. Also aboard was the French Vice Consul Edouard Durand and James Millner, the medical officer in George W. Goyder's 1869 expedition to found the first colony at Port Darwin. There were also several prisoners aboard, bound for the Adelaide jail. Locked in the Captain's cabin was approximately 93 kilograms (3,000 ozt) of gold valued at £40,000 consigned to the ES&A Bank in Adelaide. (approx US$2.6 million in 2008). Durand reportedly also carried a tin box with him containing gold sovereigns and coins worth in excess of £3,000.

In three days of fine weather, Gothenburg travelled 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) from Palmerston (Darwin) to Somerset on Cape York. The weather began to worsen so the ship stopped to take on ballast at Somerset. While she was anchored, conditions deteriorated to a point where both anchor chains parted. After the loss of the anchors, Gothenburg was forced to prematurely steam out 13 kilometres (7.0 nmi) because of strong currents; at that point, she brought up for the night.

Two days later, Tuesday 23 February, Gothenburg passed Cooktown at about 2:00 pm. The wind and rain severely increased and cloud cover became so thick it blocked out the sun. Despite this, she continued the journey south into worsening weather, in a deep water passage between the North Queensland coastline and the Great Barrier Reef, known as the inner route. Although taking this route provided some protection from the open sea, captains had to navigate and thread their way through a number of then uncharted reefs. All passengers and crew expected to be in Newcastle on Sunday evening for a scheduled stopover.

Shipwreck
On the evening of 24 February 1875, the ship was still heading south in almost cyclonic conditions with fore, top and mainsails set and the steam engines running at full speed. Flooding rains lashed the entire Queensland coast and Captain Pearce reportedly could not see land or sun. At approximately 7:00 pm, and for reasons undetermined, he altered course and shortly afterwards, at full speed (11 to 12 knots), hit a section of the Great Barrier Reef at low tide 31 miles (50 km) north west of Holbourne Island. Gothenburg struck with such force that she was left high up on the reef. Immediately, an order came out to lower the sails. At first, there was no panic and many passengers returned to their cabin bunks expecting Gothenburg would come off the reef at high tide.

In an attempt to refloat her, Captain Pearce ordered Gothenburg to be lightened forward. Water casks used as ballast and passengers were positioned aft in an endeavour to refloat her as the tide rose, but without success. Finally, a fatal attempt was made to refloat her, by reversing the engine hard. The vessel came half off the reef, but holed herself badly and then slewed broadside to the waves, in a much worse position. However, with the tide rising and some cargo now being dumped overboard, all aboard still expected Gothenburg to float free. With strong winds changing direction and seas increasing, the boiler fires were extinguished by water rising through the damaged stern. Around midnight, the chief engineer came on deck to report that the engine room was flooded and the engine was of no further use. With heavy seas now rushing down hatchways and into the cabins, Gothenburg was doomed and Captain Pearce was forced to admit that the situation had become desperate.


Steamer Gothenburg

The storm made launching the lifeboats almost impossible. At about 3:00 am, Captain Pearce ordered the two port lifeboats lowered, each with four crew on board. While being passed astern one of the boats broke the painter and became adrift. Her crew tried hard to pull up to the ship's side, but it was impossible in the heavy squall. The other was accidentally let go and both boats, in heavy seas, were unable to be retrieved.

At about 3:30 am on Thursday, 25 February, Gothenburg continued to heel over. The deck became so steep that passengers and crew had to climb over the rails to get on her side.[6] At about 4:00 am, the two remaining starboard lifeboats were lowered and were rushed by the passengers. One starboard lifeboat, crammed with women and children, capsized when others tried to board it. Some half dozen men righted her in the water, but, damaged and without oars, food or water, it quickly drifted away and was never found. The second starboard lifeboat also capsized when the sea crashed over, washing all the occupants into the sea. One passenger recalled the sea on the downwind side of the ship being covered with human heads bobbing up and down like corks. Five or six men and one woman climbed onto the upturned hull. The boat was still connected to its painter, but it was unable to be recovered from the heavy sea and wind which swept the woman off and drowned her. A passenger, John Cleland, swam to the connected, but upturned lifeboat and further secured it with a rope tied to Gothenburg. In less than fifteen minutes, nearly 100 people had drowned; washed away or trapped in their water-filled cabins.[6] By this time, several sharks were circling the wreck.


Artist impression of the wreck of the steamer Gothenburg

Those still on board Gothenburg tried to cling to the rigging, but throughout the early morning of 25 February, several more people were drowned after they were swept overboard by large broadside waves. Many passengers associated with the gold diggings were unwilling to let go of their gold and money belts, as it was probably their life savings; these individuals insisted on keeping them tied and once overboard reportedly drowned very quickly.

Survivors
By morning of the 25 February, only the masts were visible protruding from the water, with 14 people clinging to the rigging, where they remained for the next twenty four hours in cyclonic weather. At low tide, Gothenburg sank stern first and the wreck fell apart. However, the remaining starboard lifeboat, which had capsized, was still held by her painter and the rope attached by Cleland. At first light on 26 February the weather eased and the survivors managed to right the boat and bail it out; they prepared a makeshift sail and paddled for the mainland. About seven hours later they realised they could not make mainland, so they altered course for an island that could be seen in the distance. When they arrived, they were met by four of the crew from one of the port lifeboats. Their lifeboat had been severely damaged on the rocks on the opposite side of the island in an attempt to land there the day before.


Gothenburgs's Turtle Shell Roll

The other port lifeboat, with four crew on board, was picked up by the steamer Leichhardt at an island at the entrance to Whitsunday Passage two days after the disaster. The steamer immediately reversed course back towards the wreck, which she reached at approximately 3.30 pm on Friday, 26 February. Gothenburg was a complete wreck; the funnel was gone and she had sunk to the eyes of the lower rigging. Leichhardt's Chief Officer and four hands went alongside, but nothing other than her masts could be seen above the water except for the body of a naked man floating nearby. They assumed the other victims had been taken by sharks. Leichhardt searched for survivors until last light and then made way for Bowen where the alarm was raised.

At Holbourne Island, the other 18 survivors were living off raw bird's eggs and rain water that had pooled in the island rocks. Because rescue was uncertain, they engraved ship details and their names on the concave side of a large turtle shell, in the hope that it would be found in the future. On Sunday, 28 February 15 of them set off in the starboard lifeboat for an island about 20 miles away to the south, which appeared to be closer to the main shipping lane. A rescue ship, sent looking for survivors, picked up the group and took them safely to Bowen. Another rescue ship, Bunyip from Townsville, subsequently returned to Holbourne Island and rescued the three remaining survivors.

SS Gothenburg - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 February 1887 – Launch of Spanish Reina Regente was a Reina Regente-class protected cruiser of the Spanish Navy


Reina Regente was a Reina Regente-class protected cruiser of the Spanish Navy. Entering service in 1888, she was lost in 1895 during a storm in the Gulf of Cádiz while she was travelling from Tangier, Morocco to Cádiz, Spain.



Construction
Reina Regente was the first cruiser built of her class. She was laid down on 20 June 1886 and launched on 24 February 1887 at the J&G Thomson shipyard in Govan, United Kingdom. She was completed on 1 January 1888 and named Reina Regente after Maria Christina, queen of Spain, and queen regent during the minority of her son, Alfonso XIII. The cruiser was part of the Spanish Navy from 1888 until her loss in 1895. Her sister ships were with sister ships Alfonso XIII and Lepanto. The ship was 97.3 metres (319 ft 3 in) long, with a beam of 15.4 metres (50 ft 6 in) and a draught of 8.92 metres (29 ft 3 in). The ship was assessed at 4,725 tons. She had 2 triple expansion engines driving a single screw propeller and 4 cylindrical boilers. The engine was rated at 11.500 nhp.


Reina Regente in 1889

Fate
On 10 March 1895, Reina Regente sailed from Tangier, Morocco to Cádiz, Spain with 420 crew on board under the command of Captain Francisco Sanz de Andino. She was never seen again. A severe storm struck the Gulf of Cádiz during the time she was passing through it. In the following days a search was undertaken in the hope of finding the ship somewhere sheltered in an African port. However, wreckage from the cruiser started to wash up on the beaches of Tarifa and Algeciras. The cruiser had disappeared and had probably sunk somewhere in the Gulf of Cádiz with the loss of her entire crew. The current location of the ship is still unknown. This incident remains one of the deadliest shipwrecks of the Spanish Navy.

Spanish cruiser Reina Regente (1887) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 24 February


1692 – Launch of french Vainqueur 84 guns (designed and built by Laurent and Pierre Coulomb, launched 24 February 1692 at Lorient) – broken up 1722



1808 HMS Hirondelle (16), Lt. Joseph Kidd, wrecked on shore the coast of Barbary.

HMS Hirondelle was the French privateer Hirondelle that Bittern captured in 1804. The Royal Navy took her into service under her existing name. She captured a number of vessels in the Mediterranean and participated in one notable action against a Turkish vessel. She was wrecked in 1808 with the loss of almost her entire crew.

On 23 February 1808 Hirondelle was under the command of Lieutenant Joseph Kidd and transporting despatches from Malta to Tunis. Suddenly breakers were sighted ahead and though the crew threw over anchors, it was too late and she grounded. Waves swamped a boat carrying some of the crew that were leaving the ship. The brig then capsized. In all, next morning there were only four survivors, with Kidd not being among them. The survivors walked to a nearby village. The court martial found that Hirondelle had probably steered a wrong course that led her into Cape Bon.

HMS Hirondelle (1804) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1808 – Launch of HMS Cherokee was the lead ship of her class of 10-gun brig-sloops of the British Royal Navy

HMS Cherokee was the lead ship of her class of 10-gun brig-sloops of the British Royal Navy, which saw service during the Napoleonic Wars.

Design and construction
Cherokee was ordered on 30 March 1807, based on a design by Henry Peake. The ship was laid down in December 1807 by John Perry at Blackwall Yard, London. As built, the ship had a burthen of 237 38⁄94 tons, and was 90 feet 1 5⁄8 inches (27.47 m) long at the gun deck, and 73 feet 8 5⁄8 inches (22.47 m) at the keel. She was 24 feet 7 inches (7.49 m) wide, and drew 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) at the bows and 9 feet 2 inches (2.79 m) aft. The ship was armed with eight 18-pounder carronades, with two 6-pounder guns mounted as bow chasers, and had a complement of 75. She was launched on 24 February 1808.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile, upper deck, and lower deck of Parthian (1809), a 10-gun Brig to be built by contract by Messrs Barnard and Roberts of Deptford. The only Cherokee class ship to be built by this firm in 1807/8 was the Parthian. The title has been erased and re-dated to 25 February 1817 and refers to the Atholl (1820), a 28-gun Brig Sloop built of larch. The dimensions of the ship do not match the plan, although the alterations in green may be relevant to the Atholl. These alterations relate to the capstan, forecastle deck addition, extended platforms and the removal of bulkheads. Initialled by Joseph Tucker [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1831], Henry Peake [Surveyor of the Navy, 1806-1822], and Robert Seppings [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1832].

HMS Cherokee (1808) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1810 – Launch of HMS Pigmy was a Pigmy-class 10-gun schooner of the Royal Navy.

HMS Pigmy was a Pigmy-class 10-gun schooner of the Royal Navy. She was launched in February 1810. She served in the North Sea and was sold in 1823.

HMS Pigmy (1810) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1942 - Task Force 16, commanded by Vice Adm. William F. Halsey Jr., leads the Wake Island Raid in an attempt to destroy the Japanese installations on the island.


1944 - PBY-5As (VP 63) employing Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) gear, bomb and sink German submarine U 761 as she attempts to transit the Straits of Gibraltar.


1945 - USS Lagarto (SS 371) sinks Japanese submarine I 371 and freighter Tatsumomo Maru off Bungo Strait, Kyushu.

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 February 1758 – Launch of HMS Lenox, a 74-gun Dublin-class third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy,


HMS Lenox was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 25 February 1758 at Chatham Dockyard.

She was sunk as a breakwater in 1784.





Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the profile (no waterlines) with some inboard detail, and a superimposed longitudinal half-breadth for Sandwich (1759), a 90-gun Second Rate, three-decker, building at Chatham Dockyard. Reverse: Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the sheer lines with some inboard detail, and a superimposed basic longitudinal half-breadth for (possibly) Lenox (1758), a 70-gun (later 74-gun) Third Rate, two-decker, building at Chatham Dockyard.

The Dublin-class ships of the line were a class of seven 74-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade.

Design
The Dublin-class ships were the first 74-gun ships to be designed for the Royal Navy, and marked the beginning of a more dynamic era of naval design than that in the ultra-conservative Establishment era preceding it.

Slade's draught was approved on 26 August 1755 when the first two orders were transmitted to Deptford Dockyard. The design was some 4½ feet longer than the preceding 70-gun ships of the 1745 Establishment, with the extra length making provision for an additional (14th) pair of 32-pounder guns on the lower deck compared with the 13 pairs of the 70-gun ships. They were nominally ordered as 70-gun ships (although always designed to carry 74), but redesignated as 74-gun during construction.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the upper deck and gun deck (lower deck) proposed (and approved) for 'Dublin' (1757), 'Norfolk' (1757), 'Shrewsbury' (1758), 'Warspite' (1758), 'Resolution' (1758), 'Lenox' (1758), and 'Mars' (1759) all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers.

Ships

• HMS Dublin

Builder: Deptford Dockyard
Ordered: 26 August 1755
Laid down: 18 November 1755
Launched: 6 May 1757
Completed: 1 July 1757
Fate: Broken up, May 1784

• HMS Norfolk

Builder: Deptford Dockyard
Ordered: 26 August 1755
Laid down: 18 November 1755
Launched: 28 December 1757
Completed: 23 February 1758
Fate: Broken up, December 1774

• HMS Shrewsbury

Builder: Wells & Company, Deptford
Ordered: 28 October 1755
Laid down: 14 January 1756
Launched: 23 February 1758
Completed: 2 May 1758 at Deptford Dockyard
Fate: Condemned and scuttled at Jamaica 12 June 1783

• HMS Lenox

Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 28 October 1755
Laid down: 8 April 1756
Launched: 25 February 1758
Completed: 26 May 1758
Fate: Sunk as breakwater, 1784; later raised and broken up May 1789

• HMS Mars

Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 28 October 1755
Laid down: 1 May 1756
Launched: 15 March 1759
Completed: 12 April 1759
Fate: Sold to be broken up, August 1784

• HMS Warspite

Builder: Thomas West, Deptford
Ordered: 14 November 1755
Laid down: November 1755
Launched: 8 April 1758
Completed: 27 July 1758 at Deptford Dockyard
Fate: Broken up, November 1801

• HMS Resolution

Builder: Henry Bird, Northam, Southampton
Ordered: 24 November 1755
Laid down: December 1755
Launched: 14 December 1758
Completed: 23 March 1759 at Portsmouth Dockyard
Fate: Wrecked, 20 November 1759 during Battle of Quiberon


HMS Resolution (on her starboard side in the foreground)


Scale: 1:48. Plans showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Dublin' (1757), 'Norfolk' (1757), 'Shrewsbury' (1758), 'Warspite' (1758), 'Resolution' (1758), 'Lenox' (1758), and 'Mars' (1759) all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Lenox_(1758)

Dublin-class ship of the line - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 February 1781 - The Action of 25 February 1781
was a small naval engagement which was fought off Cape Finisterre between a Spanish naval frigate sixth rate Graña of thirty guns and a Royal Naval fifth rate frigate HMS Cerberus of thirty two guns.


The Action of 25 February 1781 was a small naval engagement which was fought off Cape Finisterre between a Spanish navalfrigate sixth rate Graña of thirty guns and a Royal Naval fifth rate frigate HMS Cerberus of thirty two guns. The British were victorious when Graña surrendered after a hard fight.



On 25 February 1781, whilst cruising twenty leagues off Cape Finisterre, the Royal Naval frigate HMS Cerberus of thirty two guns under Captain Robert Mann sighted the Spanish twenty gun frigate Graña, under Don Nicolás de Medina.


Captain Robert Mann

Graña was a month out of Ferrol but had not had a successful cruise - capturing very little. Cerberus closed on the Spanish and soon an action began. Within fifteen minutes the British got the better of the Graña as Cerberus's broadsides took effect. The Spanish officers fought as long as they could, but their men deserted them. Further action for the Spanish seemed pointless so De Medina struck her colors and Graña was taken possession of. In the action with Cerberus, Graña lost her first lieutenant and six men killed, and seventeen wounded, out of her crew of 166 men of whom the rest were taken prisoner. Captain Mann in contrast was highly pleased with the behaviour of the officers and men of the Cerberus, in which only two were wounded. The captured ship was purchased into the Royal Navy under the same name, and rated as a twenty eight gunner and sold on in 1806. Mann as a result of the victory was rewarded a captaincy of the sixty-four gunner HMS Scipio.


HMS Cerberus (1779) was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate launched in 1779 and wrecked on Bermuda in 1783.


Lines & Profile (ZAZ3042)


Frame (ZAZ3043)


Scale: 1:24. Plan showing a plan and side elevation through the deck for an 18 pounder carronade mounted on the 'inside' principle, for Cerberus (1779), a 32-gun Fifth Rate frigate and Cyclops (1779), 26-gun Sixth Rate. The Alcide (1779), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, was not fitted with the system. The plan is annotated: 'A copy sent from Woolwich Received 11 September 1779 [,] give the original to Mr Pukey [Puckey, Assistant to Master Shipwright, 1775-1788] to cause them to be fitted on board Cyclops[.] the Alcide sailed this day not fitted here, 13 September 1779.' This system of mounting carronades was abandoned due to the threat of setting the rigging on fire. The three-step elevation system was also abandoned. An Admiralty Order for the Enterprize class, of which the Cyclops was one, dated 2 February 1780 ordered the quarterdeck armament to include 4x 18 pdr carronades and the forecastle deck 2x 18 pdr carronades. The Amazon class, of which Cerberus was one, were also fitted with 18 pdr carronades.

Action of 25 February 1781 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Collections - National Maritime Museum

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 February 1798 - British hired 12-gun cutter HMS Marechel de Coburg (1794) sunk French Privateer 16-gun lugger 'Revanche' (1797)



On the 25th of February 1798, at 7 a.m., Cromer, bearing west-south-west, distant 16 leagues, the British hired armed cutter Marquis-Cobourg, of twelve 4-pounders and 66 men and boys, Lieutenant Charles Webb, alter a nine hours chase and a run of 100 miles, during half the time before a hard sale of wind at west-north-west, came up with the French lugger-privateer Revanche, of 16 guns and 62 men: and to a smart fire from whose musketry and stern-chasers the Cobourg had been exposed for the last two hours of the nine. A spirited action now ensued, during which the lugger made two attempts to board the cutter, but was repulsed. After a two hours' running fight, close alongside, a well-directed broadside from the Cobourg shot away the Revanche's main and mizzen masts by the hoard and also her fore-yard: whereupon the privateer's men called for quarter.

No sooner was the Revanche taken possession of, than she was found to be sinking, the effects of more than 40 shots which the lugger had received between wind and water. The utmost promptitude was used in shifting the prisoners and getting back the Cobourg's people, who had been placed in possession; nor was it without the utmost difficulty that the whole were saved from going to the bottom in the prize. The Cobourg had sustained considerable damage in her spars. Sails, and rigging; and was fortunate enough to escape with only two men wounded. Her fire, on the other hand, had killed seven, and wounded eight men belonging to the lugger, described as the largest that sailed out of Calais.


His Majesty's hired armed vessel Marechal de Cobourg served the British Royal Navy under contract during the French Revolutionary Wars. Contemporary records also referred to her as Marshall de Cobourg, Marshall Cobourg, Marshall Cobourg, Marquis Cobourg, Marquis de Cobourg, Cobourg, Coborg, and Saxe Cobourg. Further adding to the difficulty in tracking her through the records, is that although she was originally a cutter, later the Navy converted her to a brig.

Her contract ran from 16 October 1794 to 2 November 1801. As a cutter she had a burthen of 20268⁄94 tons (bm), and carried twelve 4-pounder guns. As a brig she had a burthen of 210 tons, was armed with 16 guns, and had a crew of 60 men.

Service
In March—April 1795, Saxe Coburg was part of a squadron under the command of Commodore John Willett Payne, who had hoisted his pennant in Jupiter, Captain William Lechmere commanding. The squadron's task was to escort George, Prince of Wales's official wife, Caroline of Brunswick to Britain. Princess Caroline left from Cuxhaven on 28 March 1795 in Jupiter and, delayed by poor weather, landed at Greenwich on 5 April.

Marshall de Cobourg was under the command of Lieutenant Charles Webb on 12 December 1796 when she captured the French privateer lugger Espoir off Dungeness. Espoir was armed with two guns and had a crew of 18 men.

Marechall de Cobourg recaptured Anson, of Wells, on 21 September.

At some point before October 1797, Marshall de Cobourg recaptured the ship Watts, of Mary Port, and the brig Blackest and Ridley, of North Shields.[8] Webb and Marechal de Cobourg also recaptured the ship William, of Whitby, and the brig Eliza, of Sunderland.

At 7.a.m. on 25 February 1798 Cobourg, still under Webb's command, encountered a French privateer lugger at about 16 leagues from Cromer. A nine-hour chase ensued, including two hours of close combat. The lugger twice attempted to board but Coburg repulsed her, before a broadside brought down the lugger's main and mizzen masts, and took away her fore yard; at that point the lugger struck. She turned out to be Revanche, of 16 guns and 62 men, and she had lost seven men killed and eight wounded; Coburg had only two men lightly wounded. Webb just succeeded in evacuating all the prisoners and getting his own boarding party back, when Revanche sank, having taken more than 40 shots between wind and water. She was an entirely new vessel, the largest to have sailed out of Calais, and was six days into a one-month cruise, but had taken nothing.

Lord Spencer appointed Lieutenant Terence O'Neill commander of Marechal de Cobourg on 30 April 1798. At that time she was a brig.

Between 2 and 6 May 1798, Coburg (still described in prize money notices as a cutter), captured Werf Lust, Eendragt, Verwagting, Hoop, Jonge Paulus, and Jonge Adriana, which were Dutch fishing vessels.

On 14 September Marshall de Cobourg captured Mentor. Also in September Ranger and Cobourg captured Neptunus.

On 18 January 1799 Admiral Lord Viscount Duncan sent O'Neill and Marshall de Cobourg to cruise off the Texel. On 1 February, north of the Texel, Marshall de Cobourg sighted a cutter sailing towards them. The cutter's movements and signals suggested an enemy vessel, so O'Neill executed several deceptions to decoy her closer. When she came close enough Marshall de Cobourg fired a few shots and the cutter struck. The British took possession of the cutter and found that she was the Dutch privateer Flushinger, armed with four 2-pounder guns, and having a crew of 28 men under the command of Mynheer Van C. G. Hamendel. She was three days out of Helvoet, and had not captured anything. Marshall de Cobourg then returned to Yarmouth, but had to sail on to the Nore to replenish her ordnance stores.

O'Neill frequently carried messages from Duncan to the Dutch authorities at the Texel and earned their. On one occasion, when supplies on Cobourg were running low, the Dutch commodore, Commodore Capelle, sent O'Neill an abundant supply of provisions with a warm note.

The British and Dutch came to an agreement in autumn 1799 that they would, within certain limits, permit each other's fishermen to fish without interference. Therefore, on 25 March 1800 Admiral Lord Viscount Duncan wrote a letter to Admiral de Winter concerning a British fisherman's complaint that a Dutch privateer had chased him, and dispatched O'Neill and Cobourg to deliver the letter. de Winter replied that the privateer had been French, and so beyond his control.

On 25 April 1800 O'Neill received an appointment to Tromp as master and commander. (O'Neill sailed Tromp to the West Indies but on arrival had to give up command due to there being an officer there who had also been appointed to command her.)

There is evidence that Lieutenant James Watson commanded the cutter Saxe Cobourg in the North Sea from some point in 1800 until he received promotion to Commander in January 1801. Earlier, he had commanded the gun-brig Mastiff.

A few days after O'Neill's promotion, on 4 and 5 May, Coburg was among the vessels that captured 12 outward-bound Greenland ships. The other vessels included the hired armed cutter Fox, Jalouse, and Cruizer, though most were much larger and included Monmouth, Glatton, Ganges, Director, and America, among others.[18]

The hired cutters Rose and Cobourg shared the proceeds of the capture on 11 July of Kleine Charlotte.

On 2 March 1801, observers on shore in Southwold Bay observed a French vessel of 12 to 14 guns and 50 to 60 men working her way towards some coasters, and capturing a sloop. The Sea Fencibles were alerted, as was a detachment of dragoons, and a local shore battery fired a number of shots. The shots both drove off the privateer, and alerted other vessels in the area. Among the vessel the shots alerted were Cobourg and the hired lugger Speculator.

At nine o'clock in the evening the "Hired Brig Cobourg" was a few miles off the land and under the command of Lieutenant Mayson Wright when she captured the French privateer lugger Bienvenu (or Bien Venu), of Calais. She was armed with 14 carriage guns and was two days out of Calais. She had a crew of 80 men.

At the time of her capture two of her prizes were in sight and Wright hoped to recapture them. As it happened, Speculator succeeded in recapturing the sloop Adventure, which Bienvenu had captured.

Jalouse and Marshal de Cobourg captured several Dutch vessels on 22 and 23 July:

Negotie and Zeeward (22 July)Hoop (same) Jusfrouw Dirkje (23 July)
Coborg, Kite, and Espeigle shared in the proceeds of the capture on 3 October of Juffrow Catharine.

Three days later Cobourg captured the fishing vessel Jonge Jan. Kite shared by agreement with Cobourg in the proceeds.


Revanche was commissioned in January 1798. She was laid down in November 1797 and planned to be launched in December. She was 62 feet long and 57 feet at the keel (French feet), and was pierced for 12 guns. At the time of her commissioning under Jean Hedde she reportedly carried six 6-pounders and had a crew of 55 men. The discrepancy between the number of guns per French records and the number per her captors is an open issue. It may represent simply a discrepancy in the enumeration of swivel guns.

Hired armed cutter Marechal de Cobourg - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=11678

British hired cutter 'Marechel de Coburg' (1794)

British hired cutter 'Marechel de Coburg' (1794). Dates of service, name changes, previous and next incarnations, dimensions, armament, commanders, officers and crewmen, actions, battles, sources

threedecks.org

Collections - National Maritime Museum

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 February 1811 - HMS Shamrock (8), Lt. Wentworth Parsons Croke, wrecked on Cape Santa Maria


HMS Shamrock was a schooner built at Bermuda in 1808 of Bermuda cedar. She was built for the Royal Navy and was the name-ship of her class of 10-gun schooners. She was wrecked in 1811.



Career
Sahmrock was commissioned under Lieutenant Abraham Bowen in 1808. There was a report that she had been lost on a passage from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Barbados, and some official mentions to that effect, but these are clearly in error.

In 1809 Lieutenant Wentworth Parsons Croke replaced Bowen. Between 22 December 1810 and 16 January 1811 Shamrock underwent repairs at Portsmouth. She then departed carrying dispatches for Lisbon.

Loss
Lloyd's List initially reported on 2 April 1811 that "HM schooner Shamrock" had been lost off Cape St Mary's, and that her crew had been saved.

Lieutenant Croke was cruising south east of Cape St Vincent when Shamrock pursued two merchant vessels that she did not catch. She then turned north to regain her station. At 10:30 pm on 23 February 1811 she ran aground, which came as a considerable shock as Croke had thought himself well-clear of land. It proved impossible to get her off and as waves poured over her and she filled with water he had Shamrock's masts cut away. They fell towards shore and the crew used them to scramble to safety. Still, two men died in the wrecking. When the sun rose, Croke was able to see that Shamrock was about one and a half miles south of Cabo de Santa Maria. The location was approximately 36°55′N 7°48′W.

The subsequent court-martial admonished Croke to be more careful in the future. The causes of the loss were a miscalculation in navigation and strong currents that had put Shamrock much further north than he had realized. But Croke had failed to take necessary precautions when approaching land.


British Shamrock Class

HMS Shamrock (1808) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

British Shamrock Class

Details and list of Ships built to the Shamrock Class design

threedecks.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 February 1813 - HMS Linnet (14), Lt. John Tracey, taken by French frigate Gloire (40), Cptn Albin-Réné Roussin, in the Channel.


HMS Linnet was originally His Majesty’s revenue cutter Speedwell, launched in 1797, that the Royal Navy purchased in 1806. Linnet captured a number of privateers before the French frigate Gloire captured her in 1813. The French sold or transferred her to the Americans, who operated her as the privateer Bunkers Hill. In March 1814 the British recaptured her, but did not return her to service.



Customs service
Speedwell was one of four revenue cutters present when the boats of a squadron under the command of Sir John Borlase Warren cut out the French privateer Guëppe on 30 August 1800.

Royal Navy service
Having purchased Speedwell and having renamed her linnet, the Royal Navy commissioned her in December 1806 under Lieutenant Joseph Beckett.[1] In 1807 Lieutenant John Tracey (or Treacy, or Treacey, or Tracy) transferred from the hired armedcutter Princess Augusta to replace Beckett. On 29 July, Tracey was captain of Linnet when she and Decade captured the French sloop Victor.

Puissant and the "armed cutter" Linnet shared in the detention on 27 August of the Danish ship Deodaris. At the time, Puissantwas an unarmed third rate serving as a receiving ship in the harbor at Portsmouth. That same day Linnet was in company with the cutter Sprightly when they captured Kron Prinz Frederick.

On 4 November, Linnet detained the galiot Wilhelmina, Willem Elderts, master. Wilhelmina, Eddarts, master, had been sailing from Petersburg. Linnet sent her into Portsmouth. About a month later a Wilhelmina, carrying cordage and timber, and detained by the Linnet, also arrived at Portsmouth.

On 16 January 1808, Linnet was some six or seven leagues from Cape Barfleur when she saw a French lugger pursuing two English vessels, a ship and a brig. Linnet joined up with the English vessels and towards night was able to close with the lugger. After an engagement of a little over two hours, the French lugger was in a sinking state and so struck. She was the privateer Courier, of 18 guns. She had a complement of 60 men under the command of Captain Alexander Black, and had lost her second captain killed and three men wounded. (Linnet had no loses.) Courier had been out four days and had been sheltering from a gale at the Îles Saint-Marcouf. She had not captured anything before herself being captured. However, earlier that day Courier apparently unsuccessfully engaged for two hours the merchant vessel Tagus, Connolly, master, which had been sailing from Monte Video and Cork.

In March Linnet captured two French fishing vessels. The first was the Aimable Henriette (26 March) and the second was the Marie Alexandre.

Linnet was in company with Boadicea and Solebay and so shared in the salvage for the recapture on 10 August of the Pappenbourg galiot Young Hariot. Later that month, on 30 August, Linnet captured the French privateer lugger Foudroyant off Cherbourg. Foudroyant was out of Saint Malo and had been armed with ten 6-pounder guns, six of which she had thrown overboard during the chase. She had a complement of 25 men, under the command of Michael Pierre Gamier, but only 15 or 18 were on board. Linnet sent Foudroyant into Portsmouth.

On 30 October, Linnet recaptured the Harmony, Watson, master, which had been sailing from Oporto to London with wine. A little over two weeks later, on 16 November, Linnetand Port Mahon worked together to capture the privateer General Paris, of Calais. General Paris was armed with three guns and had a crew of 38 men under the command of Mons. T. Sauville. She was three days out of Havre but had not taken any prizes.

Linnet is listed as one of the many vessels that took part in the ill-fated Walcheren Campaign between 30 July and 18 August 1809.

In December 1810 Linnet recaptured the ship John, of Newcastle. John, Bertie, master, had been sailing from Newcastle to Jamaica when the French captured her on 9 December off the Owers. Linnet sent John into Portsmouth.

On 29 May 1812, Linnet took the privateer Petit Charles off Start Point, by Start Bay. The privateer had a crew of 26 men, armed with small arms. She was four days out of Roscoff and had not captured anything. Prize money was paid some two to three years later. Linnet brought Petit Charles into Portsmouth on 32 May; the report of her arrival refers to her as carrying two guns.

When news of the outbreak of the War of 1812 reached Britain, the Royal Navy seized all American vessels then in British ports. Linnet was among the Royal Navy vessels then lying at Spithead or Portsmouth and so entitled to share in the grant for the American ships Belleville, Janus, Aeos, Ganges and Leonidas seized there on 31 July 1812. A few days later, Linnet and the sloop Parthian captured the American brig Nancy.

Capture and fate
Linnet was sailing in the western approaches to the Channel on 25 February 1813 in high winds and heavy seas. She sighted a large vessel that proceeded to give chase, and did not identify itself. By 1430 hours, the frigate had gotten close enough to Linnet to identify herself as the Gloire, and to call on Lieutenant John Tracey to surrender. Instead, Tracey managed by adroit sailing to hold off his attacker for over an hour until shots from Gloire did sufficient damage to Linnet's rigging forcing Tracy to surrender. The court martial of Lieutenant Tracy on 31 May 1814 for the loss of his vessel acquitted him, noting his seamanship, courage, judgment, and his attempt to disable the enemy vessel. The Navy subsequently promoted Tracey to the rank of commander.

Gloire took Linnet into Brest, arriving on 27 February.[30] The French transferred or sold Linnet to American owners who sailed her as the privateer Bunkers Hill or Bunker Hill. In August she was under the command of Captain Jacob Lewis when she sent into Chatham a British brig that had been carrying rum from Jamaica to Halifax. Then on 18 August the British brig James arrived in Boston. She had been sailing from Halifax when Bunker Hill had captured her. On 29 August there arrived in New York a British brig that had been sailing from Quebec to Bermuda when she had fallen prey to Bunker Hill.

On 4 March 1814, Pomone and Cydnus, were sailing on the east coast when they captured Bunker's Hill. She carried 14 guns and had a crew of 86 men. Previously very successful, she had been cruising for eight days out of Morlaix without having made a single capture. The Navy did not take her back into service.




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

Gloire was a 44-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class.



She took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805. On 18 July, she captured and burnt a Prussian cutter to maintain the secrecy of the movements of the fleet, in spite of the neutrality of Prussia at the time. The next day, along with Armide, she captured HMS Rangerand burnt her.

In the Action of 25 September 1806, Armide, Gloire, Minerve and Infatigable were captured by a four-ship squadron under Samuel Hood.

She was brought into British service as HMS Gloire, and broken up in 1812.

HMS Linnet (1806) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

French frigate Gloire (1803) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Collections - National Maritime Museum

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 February 1814 - HMS Eurotas (38), Cptn. John Phillimore, captured Clorinde (42) about 250 miles south of Cape Clear


Clorinde was a 40-gun Pallas-class frigate of the French Navy, designed by Sané. The British Royal Navy captured her in 1814 and renamed her HMS Aurora. After 19 years as a coal hulk she was broken up in 1851.




Lines & Profile (ZAZ2569)

French frigate
From June 1809, she was stationed with the 16-gun Milan and the 38-gun Renommée. In September, she sailed with Renommée, Loire, and Seine to Guadeloupe. On 13 December, she and Renommée captured HMS Junon.

On 15 December 1809, Clorinde ran aground, and freed herself by dropping guns and ammunition overboard.

She took part in the Action of 20 May 1811, fought off Madagascar, and returned to Brest. Captain Jacques Saint-Cricq was found guilty of failing to properly support his commodore, and demoted of rank, expelled from the Legion of Honour, and sentenced to three years in prison.

On 6 December 1813, Clorinde captured the British merchant vessel Lusitania in the Atlantic Ocean (44°30′N 10°30′W). Lusitania, Johnston, master, had been sailing from London to Suriname. Clorinde then put the crews of four other vessels that she had captured aboard Lusitania and sent her into Plymouth. The other four were:

• Blenden Hall, of 473 tons (bm), Barr, master, which had been sailing from London to Bermuda;
• John O'Gaunt, of 426 tons (bm), P. Inglis, master, which had been sailing from London to Martinique;
• Aurora, Scheidt, master, which had been sailing to Amelia Island; and,
• Superb, R. Roberts, of 130 tons (bm), which had been sailing from Gibraltar to England.

Clorinde abandoned Blenden Hall at sea, where the Falmouth packet Eliza, homeward bound from Malta, found her floating. HMS Challenger brought Blenden Hall into Plymouth. They arrived on 19 December, on the same day as Lusitania.


Action between the Eurotus and Clorinda frigates 1814 (Drawing) (PAF6086)


Clorinde fighting HMS Eurotas

On 25 February 1814, at 47°40′N 9°30′W, and under Commander René Joseph Marie Denis-Lagarde, she was chased by the 38-gun HMS Eurotas. A violent fight ensued for two hours and 20 minutes that left both ships dismasted, Eurotas suffering 20 killed and 30 wounded (including Captain John Phillimore), and Clorinde, 40 killed and 80 wounded. During the night, the ships built jury rigs and resumed the pursuit the next day, when HMS Dryad and HMS Achates intervened. The helpless Clorinde struck after the first cannon shot from Dryad, who towed her to Portsmouth.

British frigate
Clorinde was brought into British service as HMS Aurora. She served off South America during the years 1821–25,[6] and in the Caribbean, 1826–28.

Fate
From January 1832, she was used as a coal depot in Falmouth. She was eventually broken up in May 1851.


Aurora' is depicted in the foreground with two ship boats. Portsmouth harbour provide the backdrop, along with various vessels. Inscribed: "Aurora 46 gns"; and on the left "Portsmouth". Sketches of Shipping in Portsmouth Harbour, drawn and etched by Henry Moses (part of an album). Signed by artist: "Moses del et sculpt".


HMS Eurotas (1813) was a 38-gun fifth rate launched in 1813 and broken up in 1817.




Inboard profile plan (ZAZ2392)

French frigate Clorinde (1808) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Pallas-class frigate (1808) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Collections - National Maritime Museum

Collections - National Maritime Museum

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 February 1843 – Lord George Paulet occupies the Kingdom of Hawaii in the name of Great Britain in the Paulet Affair (1843).


The Paulet affair was the five-month occupation of the Hawaiian Islands in 1843 by British naval officer Captain Lord George Paulet, of HMS Carysfort.


Lord George Paulet, instigator of the Paulet Affair

Occupation
Paulet had become captain of HMS Carysfort on 28 December 1841, serving on the Pacific Station under Rear-Admiral Richard Darton Thomas (1777–1857).

Richard Charlton, who had been the British Consul to the Kingdom of Hawaii since 1825 met Paulet off the coast of Mexico in late 1842. Charlton claimed that British subjects in the Hawaiian Islands were being denied their legal rights. In particular, Charlton had a claim to land that was under dispute. Paulet requested permission from Admiral Thomas to investigate the allegations.

Paulet arrived at Honolulu and requested an audience with King Kamehameha III on 11 February 1843. He was told the King was on another island and would take six days to arrive. His next letter on 16 February, although keeping the polite tone of formal diplomatic correspondence, becomes a bit more demanding:

"I have the honour to acquaint your Majesty of the arrival in this port of Her Britannic Majesty's ship under my command, and according to my instructions I am desired to demand a private interview with you, to which I shall proceed with a proper and competent interpreter."

The King replied that American Gerrit P. Judd, as chief government minister, could be trusted to handle any written communication. This seemed to infuriate Paulet who had been told by Charlton that Judd was acting as "dictator". Paulet refused to speak with Judd, and accused him of fabricating the previous response. Paulet then listed specific demands.

Paulet warned Captain Long of an American ship, USS Boston on 17 February:

"Sir, I have the honour to notify you that Her Britannic Majesty's Ship Carysfort, under my command, will be prepared to make an immediate attack upon this town, at 4 o'clock P.M. to-morrow, (Saturday) in the event of the demands now forwarded by me to the King of these Islands not being complied with by that time.
Sir, I have the honour to be your most obedient humble servant, George Paulet, captain"

Boston did not interfere.


King Kamehameha III confers with his Privy Council. At left is William Richards and Gerrit P. Judd sitting across from Robert Crichton Wyllie.

On 18 February the Hawaiian government wrote back that they would comply with the demands under protest, and hoped that a diplomatic mission already in London could settle any conflicts. Between the 20th and 23rd daily meetings were held by Alexander Simpson, acting consul and Paulet with the King. Kamehameha III agreed to reopen the disputed cases but refused to overrule the courts and ignore due process. On 25 February the agreement was signed ceding the land subject to any diplomatic resolution. Paulet appointed himself and three others to a commission to be the new government, and insisted on direct control of all land transactions.

Paulet destroyed all Hawaiian flags he could find, and raised the British Union Flag for an occupation that would last six months. He cleared 156 residents off of the contested Charlton land. The dispute would take years to resolve.

James F. B. Marshall, an American merchant of Ladd and Company was invited aboard Boston where he secretly met chief Hawaiian Kingdom minister Judd. Judd gave Marshall an emergency commission as "envoy extraordinary" and sent him to plead the case for an independent Hawaii in London. Paulet closed down all shipping, but wanted to send Alexander Simpson back to England so that his side of the case could be heard first. Paulet rechristened the Hawaiian ship Hoikaika as Albert, and both Simpson and Marshall (telling Paulet he was only on a business mission) sailed to San Blas, Mexico. On 12 April they left overland and reached Veracruz by 1 May. Simpson continued to England, while Marshall went by ships and trains to Boston by 2 June. He spread the news in the American press, and met 4 June with fellow Bostonians such as U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Webster and business partner and future minister to Hawaii Henry A. Peirce. Webster gave him letters for Edward Everett who was the American minister to the United Kingdom.

On 30 June Marshall arrived in London and met with Everett. Two other envoys from Hawaii, William Richards and Timothy Haʻalilo were in Paris, France negotiating treaties. They had already received verbal assurance that Hawaii's independence would be respected.


Richard Darton Thomas

The USS Constellation arrived in Honolulu under Commodore Lawrence Kearny in early July. Acting American Agent William Hooper protested the takeover to Kearny.[8] American Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones arrived with the USS United States on 22 July, but first landed in Hilo on the island of Hawaiʻi where he consulted with American missionary Titus Coan. By this time Admiral Thomas heard conflicting reports about the surprising developments in Hawaii. He had also heard how Jones had briefly occupied Monterey, California and some historians think he was trying to defuse the situation before it spiralled into a larger conflict.

On 26 July Admiral Thomas sailed into Honolulu harbor on his flagship HMS Dublin and requested an interview of the king. This time Kamehameha was more than happy to tell his side of the story. On 31 July, with the arrival of American warships, Thomas informed Kamehameha III the occupation was over; he reserved the right to protect British citizens, but respected the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The site of a ceremony raising the flag of Hawaii was made into a park in downtown Honolulu named Thomas Square in his honor. The pathways are shaped in the form of the British flag. 31 July is celebrated as Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea or Restoration Day holiday. A phrase from the speech made by Kamehameha III became the motto of the Hawaiian Kingdom and state, and is included on the coat of arms and Seal of Hawaii: Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono, roughly translated from the Hawaiian language into English as "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."[10]Jones tried to hasten the peace process, by inviting the British officers to dinners, and celebrations including the restored king.

Paulet affair - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 February 1911 – Launch of The Peking,
a steel-hulled four-masted barque. A so-called Flying P-Liner of the German company F. Laeisz, it was one of the last generation of cargo-carrying windjammers used in the nitrate trade and wheat trade around Cape Horn.



The Peking is a steel-hulled four-masted barque. A so-called Flying P-Liner of the German company F. Laeisz, it was one of the last generation of cargo-carrying windjammers used in the nitrate trade and wheat trade around Cape Horn.



History
Peking was made famous by the sail training pioneer Irving Johnson; his footage filmed on board during a passage around Cape Horn in 1929 shocked experienced Cape Horn veterans and landsmen alike at the extreme conditions Peking experienced. It made this trip around the cape to Chile 34 times.

Nitrate trade
Peking was launched in February 1911 and left Hamburg for her maiden voyage to Valparaiso in May of the same year. After the outbreak of World War I she was interned at Valparaiso and remained in Chile for the duration of the war. Awarded to Italy as war reparation she was sold back to her original owners Laeisz brothers in January 1923.

She remained in the nitrate trade until traffic through the Panama Canal proved quicker and more economical.



Arethusa
In 1932, she was sold for £6,250 to Shaftesbury Homes. She was first towed to Greenhithe, renamed Arethusa II and moored alongside the existing Arethusa I. In July 1933, she was moved to a new permanent mooring off Upnor on the River Medway, where she served as a children's home and training school. She was officially "opened" by HRH Prince George on 25 July 1933. During World War II she served in the Royal Navy as HMS Pekin.

The ship is featured in many exterior shots of the 1964 Miss Marple film, Murder Ahoy! standing in as the Battledore, a charity-run training vessel for wayward boys.

Museum ship in New York
Arethusa II was retired in 1974 and sold to Jack Aron as Peking, for the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City, where she remained for the next four decades. However, the Seaport NYC did not see the Peking as part of its long-term operational plans, and was planning to send the Peking to the scrap yard. A 2012 offer to return the ship to Hamburg, where she was originally built, as a gift from the city of New York, was contingent upon raising an endowment in Germany to ensure the preservation of the vessel.


During her stay in New York

Return to Germany
In November 2015 the 'Maritim Foundation' purchased the ship for US $100. Peking is intended to become part of the German Port Museum (Deutsches Hafenmuseum) at Schuppen 52 in Hamburg for which €120 million of federal funds will provided. She was taken to Caddell Dry Dock, Staten Island, on September 7, 2016, to spend the winter. On July 17, 2017, she was docked, and two days later, she was transported, at a cost of some €1 million, in the hold of the semi-submersible heavy-lift ship Combi Dock III across the Atlantic, arriving on July 30, 2017 at Brunsbüttel.



Refurbishment in Germany
On August 2, 2017, she was transferred to Peters Werft located at Wewelsfleth for a 3 year refurbishment at estimated cost of €32 million:

• New rigging
• New double floor steel plates
• Dismounting of all masts, because these are too rotten
• Docking in dry-dock and renewal of the steel structure
• Removal of the cement that fills the lower three and a half metres of the Hull
• The ship spent about a year in dry dock.
• Peking was refloated on 07 September 2018 with Primer paint Hull.
• She stayed on Peters Werft Pier for about 2 months and goes to dry dock again.
• Teak will be reinstalled before she will be taken to Hamburg to the German Port Museum.

There might also be an opportunity to make her sail again.


The Peking docked at the yard in Wewelsfleth in 2018 during restoration

Peking (ship) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Flying P-Liner - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 February 1917 - Cunard ocean liner RMS Laconia was torpedoed by SM U-50


RMS Laconia was a Cunard ocean liner built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, launched on 27 July 1911, with the wife of the U.S. Ambassador Mrs. Whitelaw Reid christening the vessel. Laconia was delivered to the Cunard Line on 12 December 1911, and began service on 20 January 1912.[2] She was the first Cunard ship of that name.



Laconia was intended for the Liverpool-Boston service with cruising from New York to the Mediterranean off season. The ship was the first British ship and first North Atlantic liner to be equipped with anti-roll tanks.

Drafted into war service
On the outbreak of World War I, Laconia was converted into an armed merchant cruiser in 1914. She was fitted with eight six inch guns and for a time she carried two seaplanes, which were housed on the quarter deck. She was based at Simon's Town, South Africa in the South Atlantic, from which she patrolled the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean until April 1915. She was then used as a headquarters ship stationed at Zanzibar and engaged in operations for the capture of Tanga and the colony of German East Africa. She was mainly employed on patrol duties but on one occasion, was engaged at the bombardment of Tanga. She continued to serve on the East Africa station, and made several trips from Durban and Cape Town with troops for the army in British East Africa. The 'Laconia' returned home to the UK with a convoy in June 1916, with a large shipment of gold ingots from Cape Town, and was paid off at Devonport.

Returned to Cunard
She was handed back to Cunard in July 1916 and on 9 September resumed service.

On 25 February 1917, she was torpedoed by SM U-50 6 nautical miles (11 km) northwest by west of Fastnet while returning from the USA to England with 75 passengers (34 first class and 41 second class) and a crew of 217 commanded by Captain Irvine. The first torpedo struck the liner on the starboard side just abaft the engine room, but did not sink her. 20 minutes later a second torpedo exploded in the engine room, again on the starboard side, and the vessel sank at 10:20 pm. A total of 12 people were killed; six crew and six passengers. Two of the killed passengers were American citizens, Mrs. Mary Hoy and her daughter, Miss Elizabeth Hoy, who were originally from Chicago. The death of the Hoys stirred up public opinion in America against the Germans, and raised public support for the United States entering the war.

Chicago Tribune reporter Floyd Gibbons was aboard Laconia when she was torpedoed and gained fame from his dispatches about the attack, his graphic account of the sinking read to both Houses of Congress and was credited with helping to push the United States into joining the war.

Rediscovery
In March 2009, it was announced that the wreck of the Laconia was located in November 2008 and claimed by Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., a commercial archaeology company in Tampa, Florida. She was found about 160 nautical miles (300 km) off of the coast of Ireland. "Britain claims it is the legitimate owner of the wrecks because, under a wartime insurance scheme, it paid the owners of the vessels when they sank, in effect making the remains the property of the taxpayer."[4] The search for the wreck was featured on an episode of Discovery Channel's Treasure Quest titled "The Silver Queen". Items salvaged were 852 bars of silver and 132 boxes of silver coins worth an estimated £3m. One of the artifacts recovered during their investigation of the wreck happened to be the remains of a left shoe that likely belonged to one of the ship's female passengers.

RMS Laconia (1911) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Jimsky]

I am shocked and a shame (at the same time) as I work in this area, I mean 5 minutes to walk and I have never realized Peking is no longer there. I am speechless, what a shame...

 

[Uwek]

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


1761 Adam Duncan promoted Captain into HMS Valiant (74).

Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan (1 July 1731 – 4 August 1804) was a British admiral who defeated the Dutch fleet off Camperdown (north of Haarlem) on 11 October 1797. This victory is considered one of the most significant actions in naval history.



As a commander Duncan had no further service, but on 25 February 1761 he was posted and appointed to the HMS Valiant, fitting for Keppel's broad pennant. In her he had an important share in the reduction of Belle Île in June 1761, and of Havana in August 1762. He returned to Britain in 1763, and, notwithstanding his repeated request, had no further employment for many years.

Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1797 – Colonel William Tate and his force of 1000–1500 soldiers surrender after the Last invasion of Britain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tate_(soldier)

Battle of Fishguard - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1861 Sloop of war USS Saratoga, member of U.S. African Squadron, captures slaver sloop Express

USS Saratoga, a sloop-of-war, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Battle of Saratoga of the American Revolutionary War. Her keel was laid down in the summer of 1841 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard. She was launched on 26 July 1842 and commissioned on 4 January 1843 with Commander Josiah Tattnall in command.

USS Saratoga (1842) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1869 – Launch of SMS Lissa, named for the Battle of Lissa, was a unique ironclad warship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy

SMS Lissa, named for the Battle of Lissa, was a unique ironclad warship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1860s and 1870s, the only member of her class. She was the first casemate ship built for Austria-Hungary, she was armed with a main battery of twelve 9-inch (229 mm) guns in a central armored casemate, unlike the earlier broadside ironclads. Construction of the ship lasted from June 1867 to May 1871, and was delayed by budgetary shortfalls; the lack of funding also plagued the ship during her career, preventing her from taking an active role in the fleet. She spent the majority of her time in service laid up in Pola, apart from a lengthy reconstruction in 1880–1881. Lissa was ultimately stricken from the fleet in 1892 and broken up for scrap starting the following year.



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


1891 – Launch of HMS Spartan was an Apollo-class cruiser of the Royal Navy constructed in 1891.

HMS Spartan was an Apollo-class cruiser of the Royal Navy constructed in 1891. The design was a variant of the Marathon-class cruiser. The ships had quick firing guns which were effective as a broadside, but less so when attempting to fire fore or aft.

In late 1899 she had a refit, and when completed in early February 1900 she was placed in the A division of the Devonport Fleet reserve. From 1907 she was placed on harbour duty. In 1921 she became part of the Royal Navy torpedo school at Devonport, HMS Defiance, which was based in floating obsolete ships, and named for the first ship which had housed the school. Spartanbecame Defiance II in August 1921. She was sold for scrapping on 26 June 1931.

HMS Spartan (1891) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1917 - Marines and a naval landing force from USS Connecticut (BB 18), USS Michigan (BB 27), and USS South Carolina (BB 26) move into Guantanamo City, Cuba to protect American citizens during the sugar revolt.


1925 – Launch of Furutaka (古鷹 重巡洋艦 Furutaka jūjun'yōkan) was the lead ship in the two-vessel Furutaka-class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy

Furutaka (古鷹 重巡洋艦 Furutaka jūjun'yōkan) was the lead ship in the two-vessel Furutaka-class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. The ship was named after Mount Furutaka, located on Etajima, Hiroshima immediately behind the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy. It was commissioned in 1926 and was sunk 12 October 1942 by USS Salt Lake City and Duncan at the Battle of Cape Esperance.

Japanese cruiser Furutaka - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1933 – The USS Ranger is launched. It is the first US Navy ship to be designed from the start of construction as an aircraft carrier.

USS Ranger (CV-4) was the first ship of the United States Navy to be designed and built from the keel up as an aircraft carrier. Ranger was a relatively small ship, closer in size and displacement to the first US carrier—Langley—than later ships. An island superstructure was not included in the original design, but was added after completion. Deemed too slow for use with the Pacific Fleet's carrier task forces against Japan,[10] the ship spent most of World War II in the Atlantic Ocean where the German fleet was a weaker opposition. Ranger saw combat in that theatre and provided air support for Operation Torch. In October 1943, she fought in Operation Leader, air attacks on German shipping off Norway. The ship was sold for scrap in 1947.

USS Ranger (CV-4) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1941 Operation Abstention

Operation Abstention was a code name given to a British invasion of the Italian island of Kastelorizo, off Turkey, during the Second World War, in late February 1941. The goal was to establish a base to challenge Italian naval and air supremacy on the Greek Dodecanese islands.[3] The British landings were challenged by Italian land, air and naval forces, which forced the British troops to re-embark amidst some confusion and led to recriminations between the British commanders for underestimating the Italians.

Operation Abstention - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1941 Armando Diaz – On 25 February 1941 the Italian cruiser Armando Diaz was torpedoed and sunk by the British submarine HMS Upright off the island of Kerkennah in the early hours of 25 February. Of the 633 aboard 484 were killed.

Armando Diaz was a light cruiser of the Condottieri class and the sister-ship of the Luigi Cadorna. She served in the Regia Marinaduring World War II. She was built by OTO, La Spezia, and named after Armando Diaz, an Italian Field Marshal of World War I.
She was launched on 29 April 1933 and served in the Mediterranean after her completion. From 1 September 1934 until February 1935 she made a cruise to Australia and New Zealand.
During the Spanish Civil War she served in the western Mediterranean and was based at Palina and Melilla.
In July 1940, she was present at the Battle of Calabria, also called the battle of Punta Stilo. In October she took part in a mission to Albania, and in December she came under direct orders of Supermarina (Naval Headquarters) for special duties in connection with the protection of traffic to Albania from January 1941. However, the following month an important supply convoy to Tripoli required her use for cover, in company with the light cruiser Giovanni dalle Bande Nere and some destroyers.
In the course of this operation the ship was torpedoed and sunk by the British submarine HMS Upright off the island of Kerkennahin the early hours of 25 February. It took the Italian cruiser only six minutes to sink after her magazine blew up, with the loss of 484 men.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_cruiser_Armando_Diaz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Upright


1944 Ryusei Maru – On 25 February 1944 the Japanese troop transport Ryusei Maru, while part of a Japanese convoy off Bali, was sunk by USS Rasher. About 5.000 people were killed.

SS Ryūsei Maru - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1944 Tango Maru – On 25 February 1944 the Japanese prisoner transport ship, often referred to as a hell ship, Tango Maru was traveling between Java and Ambon while crammed with 3,500 Javanese labourers (romusha) and hundreds of Allied POWs. The US submarine USS Rasher sank the ship with three torpedo hits. About 500 Javanese survived the sinking. On the same day Rasher also sank Ryusei Maru killing some 5,000 Japanese soldiers.

Tango Maru - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1944 - USS Hoe (SS 258) attacks a Japanese convoy at the mouth of Davao Gulf, sinking the fleet tanker Nissho Maru and damaging the fleet tanker Kyokuto Maru, while USS Rasher (SS 269) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Ryusei Maru and freighter Tango Maru off the north coast of Bali.

USS Hoe - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

I am shocked and a shame (at the same time) as I work in this area, I mean 5 minutes to walk and I have never realized Peking is no longer there. I am speechless, what a shame...

Yes - she is back at home

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 February 1708 – Launch of HMS Falmouth, a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line built for the Royal Navy


HMS Falmouth was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 18th century. The ship participated in several battles during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–15) and the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–48).



Description
Falmouth had a length at the gundeck of 130 feet (39.6 m) and 107 feet (32.6 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 35 feet 1 inch (10.7 m) and a depth of hold of 14 feet (4.3 m). The ship's tonnage was 700 45⁄94 tons burthen. Officially rated at 50 guns, her armament consisted of 22 twelve-pounder guns on the lower gundeck and 22 six-pounder guns on the upper deck. On the quarterdeck were 8 six-pounder guns with another pair on the forecastle. The ship had a crew of 185–280 officers and ratings.

When rebuilt in 1724, Falmouth had a length at the gundeck of 134 feet 2 inches (40.9 m) and 109 feet (33.2 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 36 feet 1 inch (11.0 m) and a depth of hold of 15 feet 2 inches (4.6 m). The ship's tonnage was 760 61⁄94 tons burthen. Her armament was upgraded and now consisted of 22 eighteen-pounder guns on the lower gundeck and 22 nine-pounder guns on the upper deck. The number of six-pounder guns on the quarterdeck was reduced to four, but the pair on the forecastle were retained. The ship now had a crew of 280 officers and ratings.


Scale: 1:48. A block design model of the ‘Falmouth’ (1729), a 50-gun, small two-decker. The name ‘Falmouth’ appears on the stern.

Construction and career
Falmouth was the third ship in the Royal Navy to be named after the eponymous port. Built to the 1706 Establishment design, the ship was ordered on 8 February 1707. She was built at Woolwich Dockyard under the direction of Master Shipwright Richard Stacey, and was launched on 26 February 1708

On 14 May 1724 Falmouth was ordered to be taken to pieces and rebuilt according to the 1719 Establishment at Woolwich Dockyard, from where she was relaunched on 3 April 1729.

HMS Falmouth (1708) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Collections - National Maritime Museum