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

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 April 1813 - USS Gallatin (1807), a post-Revolutionary War sailing vessel that the U.S. Department of the Treasury purchased at Norfolk, Virginia, for the Revenue Cutter Service was destroyed by an explosion on board


USS Gallatin (1807) was a post-Revolutionary War sailing vessel that the U.S. Department of the Treasury purchased at Norfolk, Virginia, for the Revenue Cutter Service in December 1807. An explosion on board destroyed her in 1813.


Revenue cutter operations
On 5 December 1807, in Norfolk, Daniel McNeil paid US$$9,432.93 for the Gallatin. He was her first master and he sailed her to Charleston, South Caroline to assume revenue cutter services. His master's commission for the State of South Carolina bears the same date.

In February 1808 Gallatin arrested the schooner Kitty for violating the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves of March 1807. She had 32 slaves on board and the seizure gave rise to a court case. The court voided the seizure on the grounds that the law was passed after Kitty had left the United States and her captain could not have known of its passage.

War of 1812 service
America's declaration of war, in mid-June 1812, was followed shortly by the Enemy Trade Act of 1812 on 6 July, which employed similar restrictions as previous legislation such as the Embargo Act of 1807, including prohibiting all trade with Great Britain; the 1812 Act was as ineffective as prior acts.

On 7 July 1812, Norfolk native and experienced merchant Edward Herbert, of Norfolk, and an experienced merchant captain, replaced McNeil as master of Gallatin. Then in August 1812 the Treasury transferred Gallatin from Charleston back to Norfolk.

On 1 August 1812, Gallatin, under the command of Daniel McNeil, captured the brig General Blake, which was sailing from London to Amelia Island. General Blake was flying the Spanish flag and carried an illegal cargo, including African slaves. The capture was adjudicated in Charleston, South Carolina. A French privateer captured the General Blake as she departed Charleston in January 1813.

According to a newspaper report, Gallatin captured a British letter of marque on 6 August as the British vessel was sailing to Jamaica. However, the New York Evening Post later declared the report false, and likely referencing the capture of the General Blake.

On 12 August Gallatin escorted the British schooner HMS Whiting out of American waters at Hampton Roads. The Norfolk privateer Dash had captured Whiting, which had been bringing official dispatches to the US government from Britain and which was unaware of the outbreak of war. The US government ordered the release of Whiting. Unfortunately for the schooner, the French privateer Diligent or Diligence captured Whiting shortly after she was released.

On 2 September Gallatin escorted the ship Tom Hazard into Norfolk. The privateer Comet had captured her and the master of Comet had kept the ship's papers and manifest before releasing her. As far as McNeil was concerned, Tom Hazardwas carrying an illegal cargo of British goods.

Then on 10 October, Gallatin detained the Active, of London, and the Georgiana, of Liverpool, for violation of the Enemy Trade Act. Nine days later, while on a cruise, Gallatin sighted a British warship near Savannah, Georgia.

John Hubbard Silliman replaced Herbert as master after Gallatin returned to Charleston. His commission as a revenue cutter master in the State of South Carolina is dated 22 October 1812.

On 7 November, Silliman sailed Gallatin in company with the privateer Saucy Jack to attempt to intercept the British privateer Caledonia. They were unsuccessful.

In the new year, on 27 March 1813, the captain of the schooner Malaparte published a letter thanking Silliman and his men for helping to save his schooner's cargo after she went ashore near Savannah.

Fate
Gallatin sank on 1 April in the harbour at Charleston, South Carolina. The cause of the sinking was an explosion that killed three men and seriously wounded five more.

Gallatin had returned from a cruise the day before and Silliman had gone ashore, leaving orders that the crew clean the muskets and pistols. They were engaged on this task when the ship's powder room exploded. The cause of the explosion was never determined.

Post script
On 31 March 1814 a Charleston newspaper reported that salvors had built a diving bell to retrieve ordnance and equipment from the sunken cutter.

USRC Gallatin (1807) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Archaeologists seek cutter lost 200 years ago

A research team led by underwater archaeologists from the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology began searching this week for a revenue cutter that exploded in Charleston Harbor …

southcarolina1670.wordpress.com

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 April 1820 - HMS Echo, launched in 1797 at Dover, wrecked in the Coral Sea


HMS Echo was launched in 1797 at Dover. She served on the Jamaica station between 1799 and 1806, and there captured a small number of privateers. The Navy sold her in 1809 and she became a whaler. She made four complete whale-hunting voyages and was wrecked in the Coral Sea in April 1820 during her fifth whaling voyage.



Design
Echo was the sole vessel of her class. Her designer was John Henslow, and she was identical with his contemporaneous Busy except that Echo was a ship-sloop and Busy was a brig-sloop.
Henslow's designs were in competition with a brig-sloop and a ship-sloop designed at the same time by Sir William Rule. Rule's design won as the Admiralty ultimately ordered 106 Cruizer-class brig-sloops.





Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board outline, sheer lines with scroll figurehead, for Busy (1797), an 18-gun brig sloop to be built at Harwich by Mr Graham, and for Echo (1797), an 18-gun Ship Sloop to be built by Mr King at Dover. Signed by John Henslow [Surveyor of the Navy, 1784-1806] and William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813].

Naval career
Commander Graham Hammond commissioned Echo in October 1797 for the North Sea.

On 23 March 1798 Echo was scouting ahead of Apollo and the rest of her squadron when Echo discovered a cutter that she immediately chased. The cutter ran ashore a few miles north of Camperdown where her crew abandoned her when boats from the ships of the squadron deployed to attempt to bring her off. Surf, and the lateness of the hour prevented the British from recovering the cutter so they destroyed her. She had been armed with 10 guns and was out of Dunkirk.

Commander John Allen replaced Hammond in January 1799 and sailed Echo to the Jamaica station.

Captain E.T. Smith of Hannibal, and senior officer of a squadron patrolling off Havana, instructed Allen on 14 May to proceed to New Providence to re-provision and refill his water casks. After he had completed this, Allen sailed to stretch between the Dry Tortugas and the Colorados in an attempt to rejoin the squadron. Although Allen and Echo remained there until 3 July.

On that morning Allen sighted three vessels, the largest of which seemed the most suspicious. Echo gave chase and at 7p.m. the quarry raised French colours and fired a shot. Echo caught up with her at 9p.m., and after a few shots from Echo, and a few broadsides from the French vessel, she struck. She was the letter of marque barque Amazon(e), armed with ten 6-pounder guns and carrying a crew of 60. She was sailing from Jacquemel to Bordeaux with a cargo of coffee. When Echo took her prisoners out of Amazon they proved to be quite unwell. Allen and his officers decided to put the prisoners on a Spanish sloop that Echo had taken a few days earlier and they then directed the sloop to the nearest Spanish port. Echo's sails needed a complete overhaul, and with the squadron nowhere in sight, Allen escorted Amazon to Port Royal.

At some point Commander Robert Philpot (who had been promoted to Commander on 3 January 1799), replaced Allen.

Between 1 and 26 June, Echo was in company with Greyhound and Solebay. The shared in Greyhound's capture on 29 April of Virgin del Carmen, a Spanish xebec of two guns, 16 men, and 80 tons. She had been sailing from Veracruz to Cadiz with a cargo of cochineal and sugar.

The same three warships shared in the proceeds of the capture or detainment of three unarmed merchant vessels:

Spanish schooner Conception, with $111,000 on board, which had been sailing from Veracruz to Havana under the command of an ensign in the Spanish navy;Spanish brig Campeacheana, which had been sailing from Campeachy to Havana with log wood;Ship Adventure, under American colours, sailing from Campeachy to a market, carrying log wood and suspicious papers.
Hannibal, Thunderer, Maidstone, York, Volage, and Echo shared the proceeds of the capture or detention between 26 June and 21 July of the vessels:

Spanish schooner Nostra Senora del Carmen, sailing from Havana to Vera Cruz, carrying dry goods;Brig Quinty Bay Cook, under American colours, sailing from St. Thomas to Havana, carrying 97 bags of quicksilver (the captors took out the cargo and freed the vessel);Schooner Pegasus, under American colours, sailing from Jamaica to Havana with 68 slaves;Schooner Sally, under American colours, sailing from Havana to Charlestown with 72 boxes of sugar (the captors took out the cargo and freed the vessel).
Between 21 July and 27 October, Echo captured three merchant vessels:

Schooner Hawke, under American colours, which had been sailing from Baltimore to Santiago de Cuba, carrying flour;French Schooner Petit Victoire, sailing from Porto Rico to Saint Domingo, carrying wine and planks; andSchooner Mary Magdalen, under Danish colours, sailing from Cape Francoise to Saint Thomas, carrying rum and sugar.
On 14 October Philpot chased a brig into Lagnadille Bay at the north-west of Puerto Rico. There he saw other vessels also, some of them loaded. The following day he sent his pinnace and jolly boat in to see what they could cut out. The British found that they could not catch any vessels at anchor, but they were able to capture a Spanish brig laden with cocoa and indigo that she was carrying from "Camana" to "Old Spain". The brig was armed with two 4-pounders and had a crew of 20 men. The British made another sweep through the bay on the 16th. This time the brig they had first followed in two days before hailed them. She was armed with twelve 4-pounders and was moored about half a cable's length from the shore, broadside on, and flanked by two field pieces, one 18-pounder, and some smaller carriage guns on the beach. The 30 men on board were all on deck with matches lighted and guns primed. Still, when the 14 men from Echo boarded over the bow the French and Spanish crew fled below deck. The British cut the mooring cables as the guns on the beach opened fire. The fire from shore hulled the brig several times and sank the pinnace, but brig and jolly boat were soon out of range. The only loss to the British was the pinnace with her arms and ammunition; there were no casualties. The brig was an American-built French letter of marque under the command of enseigne de vaisseau Pierre Martin, who was ashore. She had a valuable cargo and was due to sail in two days for Curacoa where she was to be fitted out as a privateer. She appears to have been Alliance, renamed Bonaparte in September 1799; she was probably from Saint-Malo and operated out of Guadeloupe.

At some point between 27 October 1799 and 20 February 1800, Diligence detained Margaretta, a Danish schooner that had been sailing from Jacquemel to St. Thomas's with coffee and cotton had fallen prey to a Spanish privateer; Echo captured the privateer.

Between 20 February and 28 May, Echo shared in only one capture, that of the Swedish brig Betsey. She was carrying coffee and sugar when Volage and Echo detained her.

On 1 July 1800 Philpot was made post captain into Prompte. John Serrell was made Commander into Echo, replacing Philpot. Serrell was promoted to post captain on 27 January 1803 and appointed to Garland.

During the period 3 August 1800 and 3 January 1801, Echo recaptured the British ship Bellona.

On 14 April Echo captured the Spanish privateer Santa Theresa.

Admiral Sir John Duckworth, commander-in-chief of the Jamaica station, promoted Edmund (or Edmond) Boger into Echo on 27 January 1803 to replace Serrell. He also put on board a young volunteer named Samuel Roberts.

On 13 October 1803 Echo and Badger captured the French schooner Fanny.

Roberts supposedly used one of Echo's boats, and 13 men armed only with side and small arms, to capture five vessels carrying 250 soldiers. Then one day Echo inadvertently left him behind when she sailed from Jamaica. While he was on shore he observed a French privateer capture the West Indiaman Dorothy Foster. Roberts gathered some volunteer sailors and took another merchant vessel in pursuit, recapturing Dorothy Foster. For this feat Boger informally made Roberts an acting lieutenant.

Boger then put Roberts in command of a tender armed with one 12-pounder carronade and two 4-pounder guns, and gave him a crew of 21 men. Boger assigned Roberts to watch for Spanish vessels leaving Havana for Europe. Unfortunately for Roberts and his crew, they encountered two Spanish vessels, one of 12 guns and 60 men, and the other of eight guns and 40 men. Roberts fought for half-an-hour until his vessel sank, taking with it his dead and wounded. The Spaniards then took him (and presumably the other survivors) prisoner.

Early in 1804 Echo was escorting a convoy of nine merchant vessels through the Gulf of Florida to Jamaica. Boger learned that 2,000 French troops were about to sail from Havana for New Providence, Bahamas. The next morning Echosighted the enemy transports with the 20-gun corvette Africaine and two 18-gun-brigs as escorts. When the corvette approached Echo and her convoy, Boger ordered his charges to close around the largest and most formidable-appearing vessel, and had her fly a pennant. The French, assuming that vessel to be a frigate, retreated. Even so, Echo was able to cut off and capture a transport with 300 troops on board. A gale on 22 April later hit the French convoy, possibly destroying it.

The British believed that Africaine was wrecked with all hands on the Charlestown bar. However, the truth was less tragic and more interesting in that it gave rise to a landmark legal case. The gale had cost Africaine her mizzenmast and 16 men swept overboard, as well as six guns that the crew had thrown overboard to lighten her, but she had reached Charleston bar in the evening of 3 May. It was low tide and although a pilot from Charleston had come aboard, she had to anchor and await high tide so that she could cross. Early on 4 May, the British privateer brig Garland, William Pindar, master, accompanied by a ship, came up and after firing a shot, caused Africaine to strike. Pindar then took Africaine into Charleston as his prize. The French commercial agent in Charleston, Jean Francis Soult, sued to have the vessel freed on the grounds that the capture had taken place within the territorial waters of the United States, a neutral party. In the case Jean Francis Soult v. Corvette L'Africaine, Judge Thomas Bee of the South Carolina District Court consulted maps and heard testimony, the upshot of which was that Garland had seized Africaine more than one league (three nautical miles or 3.452 miles) offshore, and hence outside U.S. territorial waters. The case established that territorial waters were to be measured from the low-tide line from the shore, with shoals completely under water not counting for the determination of shore or coast.

During early 1804 Echo recaptured the ship Mary Ann.

Echo delivered some dispatches for Admiral Dacres aboard Surveillante and then Boger, per his instructions, proceeded to patrol off Curaçao. Echo had just reached Bonnaire on 30 September when she encountered a French lugger. After having endured a two-hour chase by `Echo, the lugger's crew ran her ashore. Boger deployed his boats and they succeeded in retrieving the lugger, which turned out to be Hasard, a new, fast-sailing vessel from Guadeloupe. She was pierced for 16 guns but had only ten 4-pounder guns mounted. Her crew of 50 men was under the command of Citizen Lambart. She had been cruising for 10 days but had only captured the brig Hawk, from Trinidad. Hawk's master and two crew members were on board Hasard so Boger put them in charge of her with orders to sail her to Jamaica. Hasard reached Jamaica on 15 October.

On or about 1 May 1805 the schooner Sarah Ann. which was, by agreement, acting as a tender to Echo, captured two Spanish schooners, Santa Rosa and Nostra Senora del Regla. The prize money notice also covered a parcel of Spanish grass rope, and bark landed from Echo.

Between 4 and 25 January, Echo captured and sent into Jamaica Eliza Ann (sailing from St Thomas to Santo Domingo), Janet (from Caro Bay), and the American schooner Cornelia (from Curacoa).

Boger was appointed captain of Brave, which HMS Donegal had captured on 6 February 1806 at the Battle of San Domingo. He was her captain when she foundered shortly thereafter on 12 April (without loss of life) while en route to Britain. His promotion to post captain, however, was dated 22 May.

Echo escorted to Jamaica two vessels that had been taken and recaptured, Imperial, Galt, master, which had been sailing from Jamaica to Liverpool, and Sarah had been sailing from Jamaica. Atlas had recaptured them.

It is not clear who replaced Boger in command of Echo.

Echo shared with Surveillante and Fortunee in the proceeds of the capture on 9 July of several merchant vessels laden with sugar.

Echo shared with Surveillante, Fortunée, Superieure, and Hercule, in the proceeds of the capture on 5 July 1806 of the Spanish ship La Josepha, laden with quicksilver.

Disposal: Echo sailed back to Britain where in October 1806 she was laid up at Deptford. The "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy" first offered "Echo...lying at Depford" for sale on 12 January 1809. The Navy sold her there on 18 May 1809.

Whaler
Daniel Bennett purchased Echo and she made four complete whaling voyages for him. Echo wrecked on her fifth voyage for Daniel and his brother William. Echo was mentioned in the 1809 Protection List, which exempted her crewmen from impressment when she was outbound.

See also: List of ships owned by Daniel Bennett & Son
For her first whaling voyage Echo left Britain on 18 September 1809 and returned on 2 October 1811. Her master was Henry Rowe. Lloyd's Register for 1810 gave her destination as the South Seas.

Echo's master for her second whaling voyage was Joseph Whiteus (or J. Whitehouse, or Whiting). She left Britain on 23 November 1811 and returned on 12 August 1813.

Echo had a new master for third whaling voyage. There are two names, Graham and Robinson, suggesting that she may have changed masters during the voyage. Echo left Britain on 7 February 1816 and returned there on 10 April 1818 with 150 casks.

Echo left Britain on her fourth whaling voyage on 17 May 1818, with Mowatt, master, and destination South Georgia. She was reported there on 3 February 1819. She returned to Britain on 6 May with 280 casks and 250 skins.

Fate
William Spence sailed Echo on her last, ill-fated voyage. She left Britain on 24 September 1819, bound for New Zealand. She was reported to have been at Bay of Islands in March 1820. She was wrecked on Cato Reef, in the Coral Sea, on 1 April 1820. Her crew were rescued and they arrived at Port Jackson early in July. They had taken to two boats and set out for Port Jackson. One boat under the command of the mate encountered the schooner Sinbad, Payne, master, of Port Jackson, and reached Port Jackson on 5 July. The boat under Spence's command encountered Cumberland near Moreton Island. She brought those survivors too to Port Jackson.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for Echo (1797), an 18-gun Ship Sloop to be built at Dover by Mr King. This plan was returned to the Navy Office in 1798 after the ship had been built. Signed by John Henslow [Surveyor of the Navy, 1784-1806] and William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813].


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile, upper deck and lower deck with platforms for Echo (1797) an 18-gun Ship Sloop building at Dover by Mr King. The plan includes alterations to the mast positions and fittings on both decks as desired by Captain Graham Hamond [Hammond], dated August 1798. These were undertaken at Sheerness Dockyard

HMS Echo (1797) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 April 1873 - RMS Atlantic – On the ship's 19th voyage, on 1 April 1873, she ran onto rocks and sank off the coast of Nova Scotia, 560 people died, 415 survived


RMS Atlantic was a transatlantic ocean liner of the White Star Line that operated between Liverpool, United Kingdom, and New York City, United States. During the ship's 19th voyage, on 1 April 1873, she struck rocks and sank off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, killing at least 535 people. It remained the deadliest civilian maritime disaster in the North Atlantic Ocean until the sinking of SS La Bourgogne on 2 July 1898 and the greatest disaster for the White Star Line prior to the loss of Titanic in April 1912.


The Steam-ship "Atlantic," Wrecked on Mars Head on the Morning of April 1, 1873, a wood engraving published in Harper's Weekly, April 1873.

History
Atlantic was built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast in 1870, and was the second ship built for the newly born White Star Line. She was powered by a steam engine producing 600 horsepower(450 kW) driving a single propeller, along with four masts rigged for sail. She sailed for New York City on her maiden voyage on 8 June 1871.

Disaster

Quartermaster John Speakman led a number of survivors ashore by swimming to nearby rocks, creating a link from the vessel to land


John Hindley, the only child survivor of the Atlantic

On 20 March 1873 Atlantic departed on her 19th voyage from Liverpool with 952 people on board, of whom 835 were passengers. En route, because of heavy seas and strong headwinds slowing their progress, Captain Williams became concerned that they may run out of coal for the boilers before reaching New York. They in fact had more than enough remaining fuel, but the ship's engineer had been purposefully under-reporting coal reserves to increase the margin for error in favor of safety. Thus convinced they were short of coal -- and unable to hoist sail as a backup because of the strong headwind -- the captain decided to divert to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to refuel.

During the approach to Halifax on the evening of 31 March, the captain and third officer were on the bridge until midnight while Atlantic made her way through a storm, proceeding at 12 knots (22 km/h) for the entrance of Halifax harbour, experiencing intermittent visibility and heavy seas. Unbeknownst to the crew or passengers, winds and currents had put Atlantic approximately 12 1⁄2 miles (20.1 km) off-course to the west of Halifax Harbour. Because almost none of the crew had ever been to Halifax before, they were unaware of the dangers of the approach; no one took soundings, posted a masthead lookout, reduced speed, or woke the captain as they approached the unfamiliar coast. They did not spot the Sambro Lighthouse, the large landfall lighthouse which warns mariners of the rocky shoals to the west of the harbour entrance. As the night wore on without any sight of the lighthouse, the helmsman -- the only crew member familiar with Halifax -- became convinced that something was wrong, and relayed his concerns to the officers on duty, but was ultimately ignored.

At 3:15 a.m. local time on 1 April 1873, Atlantic struck an underwater rock off Marr's Head, Meagher's Island (now Mars Head, Mars Island), Nova Scotia. All 10 lifeboats were lowered by the crew but were all washed away or smashed as the ship quickly filled with water and partially capsized. Survivors were forced to swim or climb ropes first to a wave-swept rock and then to a barren shore. Residents of the tiny fishing village of Lower Prospect and Terence Bay soon arrived to rescue and shelter the survivors, but at least 535 people died, leaving only 371 survivors. The ship's manifest indicates that of the 952 aboard, 156 were women and 189 were children (including two who had been born during the voyage). All women and all children perished except for one twelve-year-old boy, John Hindley. Ten crew members were lost, while 131 survived. This was the worst civilian loss of life in the North Atlantic until the wreck of La Bourgogne on 2 July 1898. The Canadian government inquiry concluded with the statement, "the conduct of Captain Williams in the management of his ship during the twelve or fourteen hours preceding the disaster, was so gravely at variance with what ought to have been the conduct of a man placed in his responsible position."

Recovery of the dead


Winslow Homer drawing of an Atlantic victim cast up by the sea


Wreck of Atlantic during body and cargo recovery, April 1873


Burial service for victims of Atlantic shipwreck, April 1873, Lower Prospect, Halifax County, N.S.

Recovery and burial of the large numbers of victims took weeks. Divers were paid rewards for recovering the many bodies trapped within the hull. According to one newspaper account, a body of one of the crew members was discovered to be that of a woman disguised as a man. "She was about twenty or twenty-five years old and had served as a common sailor for three voyages, and her sex was never known until the body was washed ashore and prepared for burial. She is described as having been a great favorite with all her shipmates, and one of the crew, speaking of her, remarked: 'I didn't know Bill was a woman. He used to take his grog as regular as any of us, and was always begging or stealing tobacco. He was a good fellow, though, and I am sorry he was a woman."

A young doctor from Germany, Emil Christiansen, had been listed as dead in transcripts of the passenger lists sent to newspapers, but it appears he had survived. Apparently, Dr. Christiansen had survived the wreck with only a broken arm and left for the United States. It is believed that he did not speak very much English and did not know to report his status to the proper authorities. It is not known how he traveled to the United States, but it is known that he married in 1876 and had four children. A descendant of Dr. Christiansen had visited the SS Atlantic Heritage Park and Interpretation Centre and pointed out the error in the passenger list at the museum site. Also, the spelling of the name was different on the passenger list transcripts, possibly leading to some confusion; on various copies of the list, it had been sometimes spelled "Emile Christianson". Many names on the list were spelled phonetically resulting in the possibility of mistaken identities.

Legacy

The Wreck of the "Atlantic" -- Breakfast to Survivors in Faneuil Hall, Boston, 1873 engraving

RMS Atlantic was the second liner commissioned by White Star (Oceanic being first) but carried the notoriety of being the first White Star Line steamer to sink. (The company had previously lost the clipper Tayleur in Dublin Bay in 1854.) Other White Star Line ships lost in the North Atlantic include Naronic in 1893, Republic in 1909, and Titanic in 1912.

Today, most of the ship lies heavily fragmented under 40 to 60 feet (12 to 18 m) of water. Artifacts recovered from several salvage operations are on display at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia and also at the SS Atlantic Heritage Park and Interpretation Centre, in Terence Bay, Nova Scotia. A monument to the wreck is located at the mass grave near the interpretation centre in the Terence Bay Anglican Cemetery, while a smaller monument marks a second mass grave at the Catholic cemetery.

When the 1929 film Atlantic was released, everyone knew it was a thinly disguised story about the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Though this film was based on a stage play it also was made only seventeen years after the actual Titanic sinking and the public, especially survivors and their families, felt uncomfortable with a direct reference to Titanic. The producers of the film decided to release the movie under the title Atlantic, apparently unaware of the previous White Star Line disaster.

P.G. Wodehouse wrote a story in 1921 called "The Girl On The Boat" in which six chapters of the romance take place on a White Star liner he named "Atlantic", crossing from New York to Southampton. As the real "Atlantic" disaster had occurred 48 years before the story and 8 years before he was born, it is unlikely that he knew about it. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20717

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Atlantic
http://www.ssatlantic.com/ssatlantic/history/

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 April 1901 – Launch of SMS Panther, one of six Iltis-class gunboats of the Kaiserliche Marine and, like its sister ships, served in Germany's overseas colonies.


SMS Panther was one of six Iltis-class gunboats of the Kaiserliche Marine and, like its sister ships, served in Germany's overseas colonies. The ship was launched on 1 April 1901 in the Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig. It had a crew of 9 officers and 121 men.



Design
Panther was 66.9 meters (219 ft) long overall and had a beam of 9.7 m (32 ft) and a draft of 3.54 m (11.6 ft) forward. She displaced 1,193 metric tons (1,174 long tons; 1,315 short tons) at full load. Her propulsion system consisted of a pair of vertical triple-expansion steam engines each driving a single screw propeller, with steam supplied by four coal-fired Thornycroft boilers. Panther could steam at a top speed of 13.7 knots (25.4 km/h; 15.8 mph) at 1,344 indicated horsepower (1,002 kW). The ship had a cruising radius of about 3,400 nautical miles (6,300 km; 3,900 mi) at a speed of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph). She had a crew of between 9 officers and 121 enlisted men. Panther was armed with a main battery of two 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/40 guns, with 482 rounds of ammunition. She also carried six machine guns.

Service history
Panther was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) in Danzig in 1900. She was launched on 1 April 1901 and was commissioned into the German fleet on 15 March 1902.

In September 1902, after the Haitian rebel ship Crête-à-Pierrot hijacked the German steamer Markomannia and seized weapons destined for the Haitian government, Germany sent Pantherto Haiti. Panther found the rebel ship. The rebel Admiral Killick evacuated his crew and blew up Crête-à-Pierrot, which was by then under fire from Panther. There were concerns about how the United States would view the action in the context of the Monroe Doctrine. But despite legal advice describing the sinking as "illegal and excessive", the US State Department endorsed the action. The New York Times declared that "Germany was quite within its rights in doing a little housecleaning on her own account".

Some months later, in December 1902, the Panther was in the German naval contingent during the Naval Blockade of Venezuela, during which she bombarded the settlement of Fort San Carlos, near Maracaibo. The shallow waters that connected lake Maracaibo with the sea were passable for major ships only in the strait that separated San Carlos from the island of Zapara, yet even there it needed the help of a local pilot to avoid the sand banks and shallow waters of the passage. The battle started when the fort's gunners opened fire as Panther was crossing the bar. Panther returned fire, but the shallow waters limited its effectiveness. Inside the fort, two gunners (Manuel Quevedo and Carlos José Cárdenas) managed to score several hits on Panther with their 80-millimeter Krupp gun, causing considerable damage. After half an hour of exchanging fire, the Germans retreated.

In 1905, Panther was sent to the Brazilian Port of Itajahy, where its crew conducted an unauthorized search in their pursuit of a German deserter by the name of Hassman. They ended up kidnapping, inexplicably, the German Fritz Steinhoff. This incident became known as the "Panther Affair" ("Caso Panther").

Agadir Crisis


Panther in 1931 shortly before her disposal
Main article: Agadir Crisis

Panther became notorious in 1911 when it was deployed to the Moroccan port of Agadir during the "Agadir Crisis" (also called the "Second Moroccan Crisis"). Panther was supposedly sent to protect German citizens in the port. (A German sales representative, Hermann Wilberg, had been sent to Agadir on behalf of the Foreign office, but only arrived three days after Panther.) The ship's actual mission was to apply pressure on the French, as the latter attempted to colonize Morocco, to extract territorial compensation in French Equatorial Africa. This was an example of "gunboat diplomacy". The incident contributed to the international tensions that would lead to the First World War.

The ship was scrapped in 1931.

SMS Panther - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 April 1933 – Launch of Admiral Scheer, a Deutschland-class heavy cruiser (often termed a pocket battleship) which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II.


Admiral Scheer was a Deutschland-class heavy cruiser (often termed a pocket battleship) which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. The vessel was named after Admiral Reinhard Scheer, German commander in the Battle of Jutland. She was laid down at the Reichsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven in June 1931 and completed by November 1934. Originally classified as an armored ship (Panzerschiff) by the Reichsmarine, in February 1940 the Germans reclassified the remaining two ships of this class as heavy cruisers.


The German cruiser ("pocket battleship") Admiral Scheer in port at Gibraltar, circa 1936. Note the Spanish Civil War neutrality markings (red, white & black stripes) painted on her forward gun turret.

The ship was nominally under the 10,000 long tons (10,000 t) limitation on warship size imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, though with a full load displacement of 15,180 long tons (15,420 t), she significantly exceeded it. Armed with six 28 cm (11 in) guns in two triple gun turrets, Admiral Scheer and her sisters were designed to outgun any cruiser fast enough to catch them. Their top speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) left only a handful of ships in the Anglo-French navies able to catch them and powerful enough to sink them.

Admiral Scheer saw heavy service with the German Navy, including a deployment to Spain during the Spanish Civil War, where she bombarded the port of Almería. Her first operation during World War II was a commerce raiding operation into the southern Atlantic Ocean; she also made a brief foray into the Indian Ocean. During the operation, she sank 113,223 gross register tons (GRT) of shipping, making her the most successful capital ship surface raider of the war. Following her return to Germany, she was deployed to northern Norway to interdict shipping to the Soviet Union. She was part of the abortive attack on Convoy PQ 17 and conducted Operation Wunderland, a sortie into the Kara Sea. After returning to Germany at the end of 1942, the ship served as a training ship until the end of 1944, when she was used to support ground operations against the Soviet Army. She was sunk by British bombers on 9 April 1945 and partially scrapped; the remainder of the wreck lies buried beneath a quay.

Design
Main article: Deutschland class cruiser


Recognition drawing of Admiral Scheer

Admiral Scheer was 186 meters (610 ft) long overall and had a beam of 21.34 m (70.0 ft) and a maximum draft of 7.25 m (23.8 ft). The ship had a design displacement of 13,440 long tons (13,660 t) and a full load displacement of 15,180 long tons (15,420 t), though the ship was officially stated to be within the 10,000-long-ton (10,000 t) limit of the Treaty of Versailles.[3] Admiral Scheer was powered by four sets of MAN nine-cylinder double-acting two-stroke diesel engines. The ship's top speed was 28.3 knots (52.4 km/h; 32.6 mph), at 52,050 shaft horsepower (38,810 kW). At a cruising speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), the ship could steam for 9,100 nautical miles (16,900 km; 10,500 mi). As designed, her standard complement consisted of 33 officers and 586 enlisted men, though after 1935 this was significantly increased to 30 officers and 921–1,040 sailors.

Admiral Scheer's primary armament was six 28 cm (11.0 in) SK C/28 guns mounted in two triple gun turrets, one forward and one aft of the superstructure. The ship carried a secondary battery of eight 15 cm (5.9 in) SK C/28 guns in single turrets grouped amidships. Her anti-aircraft battery originally consisted of three 8.8 cm (3.5 in) L/45 guns, though in 1935 these were replaced with six 8.8 cm L/78 guns. By 1940 the ship's anti-aircraft battery was significantly increased, consisting of six 10.5 cm (4.1 in) C/33 guns, four twin-mounted 3.7 cm (1.5 in) C/30 guns and up to twenty-eight 2 cm (0.79 in) Flak 30 guns. By 1945, the anti-aircraft battery had again been reorganized and comprised six 4 cm guns, eight 3.7 cm guns, and thirty-three 2 cm guns.

The ship also carried a pair of quadruple 53.3 cm (21.0 in) deck-mounted torpedo launchers placed on her stern. The ship was equipped with two Arado Ar 196 seaplanes and one catapult. Admiral Scheer's armored belt was 60 to 80 mm (2.4 to 3.1 in) thick; her upper deck was 17 mm (0.67 in) thick while the main armored deck was 17 to 45 mm (0.67 to 1.77 in) thick. The main battery turrets had 140 mm (5.5 in) thick faces and 80 mm thick sides.[2] Radar initially consisted of a FMG 39 G(gO) set, though in 1941 this was replaced with an FMG 40 G(gO) set and a FuMO 26 system


Admiral Scheer in 1935


The Deutschland class was a series of three Panzerschiffe ("armored ships"), a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the Reichsmarine officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. The ships of the class, Deutschland, Admiral Scheer and Admiral Graf Spee, were all stated to displace 10,000 long tons (10,000 t) in accordance with the Treaty, though they actually displaced 10,600 to 12,340 long tons (10,770 to 12,540 t) at standard displacement. Despite violating the weight limitation, the design for the ships incorporated several radical innovations to save weight. They were the first major warships to use welding and all-diesel propulsion. Due to their heavy armament of six 28 cm (11 in) guns and lighter weight, the British began referring to the vessels as "pocket battleships". The Deutschland-class ships were initially classified as Panzerschiffe or "armored ships", but the Kriegsmarine reclassified them as heavy cruisers in February 1940.

The three ships were built between 1929 and 1936 by the Deutsche Werke in Kiel and the Reichsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven. They saw heavy service with the German Navy. All three vessels served on non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War. While on patrol, Deutschland was attacked by Republican bombers, and in response, Admiral Scheer bombarded the port of Almería. In 1937, Admiral Graf Spee represented Germany at the Coronation Review for Britain's King George VI. For the rest of their peacetime careers, the ships conducted a series of fleet maneuvers in the Atlantic and visited numerous foreign ports in goodwill tours.

Before the outbreak of World War II, Deutschland and Admiral Graf Spee were deployed to the Atlantic to put them in position to attack Allied merchant traffic once war was declared. Admiral Scheer remained in port for periodic maintenance. Deutschland was not particularly successful on her raiding sortie, during which she sank or captured three ships. She then returned to Germany where she was renamed Lützow. Admiral Graf Spee sank nine vessels in the South Atlantic before she was confronted by three British cruisers at the Battle of the River Plate. Although she damaged the British ships severely, she was herself damaged and her engines were in poor condition. Coupled with false reports of British reinforcements, the state of the ship convinced Hans Langsdorff, her commander, to scuttle the ship outside Montevideo.

Lützow and Admiral Scheer were deployed to Norway in 1942 to join the attacks on Allied convoys to the Soviet Union. Admiral Scheer conducted Operation Wunderland in August 1942, a sortie into the Kara Sea to attack Soviet merchant shipping, though it ended without significant success. Lützow took part in the Battle of the Barents Sea in December 1942, a failed attempt to destroy a convoy. Both ships were damaged in the course of their deployment to Norway, and eventually returned to Germany for repairs. They ended their careers bombarding advancing Soviet forces on the Eastern Front; both ships were destroyed by British bombers in the final weeks of the war. Lützow was raised and sunk as a target by the Soviet Navy, and Admiral Scheer was partially broken up in situ, with the remainder of the hulk buried beneath rubble.




Deutschland in 1936

German cruiser Admiral Scheer - Wikipedia

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Deutschland-class cruiser - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 April 1939 – Launch of Tirpitz, the second of two Bismarck-class battleships built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine (navy)


Tirpitz was the second of two Bismarck-class battleships built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine (navy) during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy), the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and her hull was launched two and a half years later. Work was completed in February 1941, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. Like her sister ship Bismarck, Tirpitz was armed with a main battery of eight 38-centimetre (15 in) guns in four twin turrets. After a series of wartime modifications she was 2000 tonnes heavier than Bismarck, making her the heaviest battleship ever built by a European navy.

After completing sea trials in early 1941, Tirpitz briefly served as the centrepiece of the Baltic Fleet, which was intended to prevent a possible break-out attempt by the Soviet Baltic Fleet. In early 1942, the ship sailed to Norway to act as a deterrent against an Allied invasion. While stationed in Norway, Tirpitz was also intended to be used to intercept Allied convoys to the Soviet Union, and two such missions were attempted in 1942. This was the only feasible role for her, since the St Nazaire Raid had made operations against the Atlantic convoy lanes too risky. Tirpitz acted as a fleet in being, forcing the British Royal Navy to retain significant naval forces in the area to contain the battleship.

In September 1943, Tirpitz, along with the battleship Scharnhorst, bombarded Allied positions on Spitzbergen, the only time the ship used her main battery in an offensive role. Shortly thereafter, the ship was damaged in an attack by British mini-submarines and subsequently subjected to a series of large-scale air raids. On 12 November 1944, British Lancaster bombers equipped with 12,000-pound (5,400 kg) "Tallboy" bombs scored two direct hits and a near miss which caused the ship to capsize rapidly. A deck fire spread to the ammunition magazine for one of the main battery turrets, which caused a large explosion. Figures for the number of men killed in the attack range from 950 to 1,204. Between 1948 and 1957 the wreck was broken up by a joint Norwegian and German salvage operation.

Characteristics
Main article: Bismarck-class battleship


Recognition drawing prepared by the US Navy

The two Bismarck-class battleships were designed in the mid-1930s by the German Kriegsmarine as a counter to French naval expansion, specifically the two Richelieu-class battleships France had started in 1935. Laid down after the signing of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 1935, Tirpitz and her sister Bismarck were nominally within the 35,000-long-ton (36,000 t) limit imposed by the Washington regime that governed battleship construction in the interwar period. The ships secretly exceeded the figure by a wide margin, though before either vessel was completed, the international treaty system had fallen apart following Japan's withdrawal in 1937, allowing signatories to invoke an "escalator clause" that permitted displacements as high as 45,000 long tons (46,000 t).

Tirpitz displaced 42,900 t (42,200 long tons) as built and 52,600 tonnes (51,800 long tons) fully loaded, with a length of 251 m (823 ft 6 in), a beam of 36 m (118 ft 1 in) and a maximum draft of 10.60 m (34 ft 9 in). She was powered by three Brown, Boveri & Cie geared steam turbines and twelve oil-fired Wagner superheated boilers, which developed a total of 163,023 PS (160,793 shp; 119,903 kW) and yielded a maximum speed of 30.8 knots (57.0 km/h; 35.4 mph) on speed trials. Her standard crew numbered 103 officers and 1,962 enlisted men; during the war this was increased to 108 officers and 2,500 men. As built, Tirpitz was equipped with Model 23 search radars mounted on the forward, foretop, and rear rangefinders. These were later replaced with Model 27 and then Model 26 radars, which had a larger antenna array. A Model 30 radar, known as the Hohentwiel, was mounted in 1944 in her topmast, and a Model 213 Würzburg fire-control radar was added on her stern 10.5 cm (4.1 in) Flak rangefinders.

She was armed with eight 38 cm SK C/34 L/52 guns arranged in four twin gun turrets: two superfiring turrets forward—Anton and Bruno—and two aft—Caesar and Dora. Her secondary armament consisted of twelve 15 cm L/55 guns, sixteen 10.5 cm L/65 and sixteen 3.7 cm (1.5 in) L/83, and initially twelve 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 antiaircraft guns. The number of 2 cm guns was eventually increased to 58. After 1942, eight 53.3 cm (21.0 in) above-water torpedo tubes were installed in two quadruple mounts, one mount on each side of the ship. The ship's main beltwas 320 mm (13 in) thick and was covered by a pair of upper and main armoured decks that were 50 mm (2.0 in) and 100 to 120 mm (3.9 to 4.7 in) thick, respectively. The 38 cm turrets were protected by 360 mm (14 in) thick faces and 220 mm (8.7 in) thick sides.

Service history


Tirpitz sliding down the slipway at her launch

Tirpitz was ordered as Ersatz Schleswig-Holstein as a replacement for the old pre-dreadnought Schleswig-Holstein, under the contract name "G". The Kriegsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven was awarded the contract, where the keel was laid on 20 October 1936. The hull was launched on 1 April 1939; during the elaborate ceremonies, the ship was christened by Ilse von Hassell, the daughter of Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the ship's namesake. Adolf von Trotha, a former admiral in the Imperial German Navy, spoke at the ship's launching, which was also attended by Adolf Hitler. Fitting-out work followed her launch, and was completed by February 1941. British bombers repeatedly attacked the harbour in which the ship was being built; no bombs struck Tirpitz, but the attacks did slow construction work. Tirpitz was commissioned into the fleet on 25 February for sea trials, which were conducted in the Baltic.

After sea trials, Tirpitz was stationed in Kiel and performed intensive training in the Baltic. While the ship was in Kiel, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. A temporary Baltic Fleet was created to prevent the possible break-out of the Soviet fleet based in Leningrad. Tirpitz was briefly made the flagship of the squadron, which consisted of the heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer, the light cruisers Köln, Nürnberg, Leipzig, and Emden, several destroyers, and two flotillas of minesweepers. The Baltic Fleet, under the command of Vice Admiral Otto Ciliax, patrolled off the Aaland Islands from 23 to 26 September 1941, after which the unit was disbanded and Tirpitz resumed training. During the training period, Tirpitz tested her primary and secondary guns on the old pre-dreadnought battleshipHessen, which had been converted into a radio-controlled target ship. The British Royal Air Force (RAF) continued to launch unsuccessful bombing raids on Tirpitz while she was stationed in Kiel.


A recognition drawing of Tirpitz prepared by the US Navy



The Bismarck class was a pair of fast battleships built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine shortly before the outbreak of World War II. The ships were the largest and most powerful warships built for the Kriegsmarine; displacing more than 41,000 metric tons (40,000 long tons) normally, they were armed with a battery of eight 38 cm (15 in) guns and were capable of a top speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph). Bismarck was laid down in July 1936 and completed in September 1940, while her sister Tirpitz's keel was laid in October 1936 and work finished in February 1941. The ships were ordered in response to the French Richelieu-class battleships and they were designed with the traditional role of engaging enemy battleships in home waters in mind, though the German naval command envisioned employing the ships as long-range commerce raiders against British shipping in the Atlantic Ocean. As such, their design represented strategic confusion that dominated German naval construction in the 1930s.


Bismarck in 1940

Both ships had short service careers. Bismarck conducted only one operation, Operation Rheinübung, a sortie into the North Atlantic to raid supply convoys sent from North America to Great Britain. During the operation, she destroyed the British battlecruiser HMS Hood and damaged the new battleship Prince of Wales in the Battle of the Denmark Strait. Bismarck was defeated and sunk in a final engagement after a three-day chase by the Royal Navy. Disagreements over the cause of the sinking persist with chiefly British sources claiming responsibility for the sinking of the ship. Evidence reviewed by Robert Ballard and James Cameron indicates that her loss was most likely due to scuttling as originally claimed by her surviving crew-members.

Tirpitz's career was less dramatic; she operated in the Baltic Sea briefly in 1941 before being sent to Norwegian waters in 1942, where she acted as a fleet in being, threatening the convoys from Britain to the Soviet Union. She was repeatedly attacked by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force between 1942 and 1944, but she was not seriously damaged in these attacks. In 1944, Lancaster bombers hit the ship with two Tallboy bombs, which caused extensive internal damage and capsized the battleship. Tirpitz was broken up for scrap between 1948 and 1957.

German battleship Tirpitz - Wikipedia

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Bismarck-class battleship - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 April 1942 - Italian cruiser Giovanni delle Bande Nere en route to La Spezia to repair storm damage, was hit by two torpedoes from the submarine HMS Urge.
She broke in two and sank with the loss of 381 men; 391 men were saved.


Giovanni dalle Bande Nere was an Italian light cruiser of the Giussano class, which served in the Regia Marina during World War II. She was named after the eponymous 16th-century condottiero and member of the Medici family. Her keel was laid down in 1928 at Cantieri Navali di Castellammare di Stabia, Castellammare di Stabia; she was launched on 27 April 1930, and her construction was completed in 1931. Unlike her three sisters, the finish and workmanship on the vessel were not rated highly. She was sunk on 1 April 1942 by the British submarine HMS Urge.

The Giussano type of cruiser sacrificed protection for high speed and weaponry, as a counter to new French large destroyers.




Service
Bande Nere's service was entirely in the Mediterranean, initially as a precaution during the Spanish Civil War and afterwards in the Navy Ministry's Training Command. At the outbreak of Italy's war in June 1940, she formed the 2nd Cruiser Division with Luigi Cadorna. She did some mine-laying in the Sicilian Channel on 10 June and in July covered troop convoys to North Africa.

Bande Nere and Bartolomeo Colleoni, en route from Tripoli to Leros, took part in the Battle of Cape Spada (17 July 1940), when the light protection was clearly exposed. In the fight between the two Italian light cruisers and the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney with five British destroyers, the Allies sank Colleoni and damaged Bande Nere. Colleoni was disabled by a shell that penetrated to her engine room, allowing the destroyers to torpedo and sink her. Bande Nere scored a hit on Sydney and returned to Tripoli.

From December 1940 into 1941, she was assigned to the 4th Cruiser Division and covered several important troop convoys and attempts to interdict Malta. In June 1941, Bande Nere and Alberto da Giussano laid a defensive minefield off Tripoli which, in December, effectively destroyed the hitherto aggressive and successful British Force K; a cruiser and a destroyer were sunk and two more cruisers damaged. Further minelaying was done in July in the Sicilian Channel.

In 1942, Bande Nere continued to support Italian convoys and interdict British ones. The Italian operation K7 ran supplies from Messina and Corfu to Tripoli with heavy naval support and there was an attempt to block the British convoy MW10, which led to the Second Battle of Sirte on 22 March 1942. Bande Nere was part of the battleship Littorio's flotilla. The Italian cruiser scored a hit on a British counterpart HMS Cleopatra during this engagement, damaging her after turrets. Other reports state that Cleopatra's radar and radio installations were disabled.

On 23 March, Bande Nere was damaged in storms and, needing repairs, was sent to La Spezia on 1 April 1942. While en route, she was hit by two torpedoes from the submarine HMS Urge, broke in two and sank with the loss of 381 men.

During the war, Bande Nere participated in 15 missions: four interceptions, eight convoy escorts, and three mine layings, for an overall total of 35,000 miles.

1940

• 7 July: Battle of Calabria
• 19 July: Battle of Cape Spada

1941

• 8 May: attack against Tiger convoy

1942

• 21 February: operation K 7 (convoy escort to Libya)
• 22 March: Second Battle of Sirte
• On the morning of 1 April 1942, Bande Nere left Messina for La Spezia, escorted by the destroyer Aviere and patrol boat Libra. Eleven miles from Stromboli, at 0900, the group was intercepted by the British submarine Urge; a torpedo broke the Bande Nere into two sections, and she sank quickly with the loss of 381 of the 772 men aboard

Discovery
On 9 March 2019 it was reported that an Italian Navy minesweeper had discovered the wreck of Bande Nere. From photos shown, at least part of the cruiser lies on its port side in 1,400 meters of water.



Bartolomeo Colleoni in Venice

The Alberto da Giussano class of light cruisers were a sub-class of the Condottieri class built before World War II for the Italian Regia Marina, to gain predominance in the Mediterranean Sea. They were designed by general Giuseppe Vian and were named after Condottieri (military commanders) of the Italian Mediaeval and Renaissance periods.

Between the World Wars, the world powers started a rush to gain the supremacy on the seas. In 1926, France started to produce the Le Fantasque class of destroyers, which were superior in displacement and firepower to other destroyers of that period. To counter the French menace, the Regia Marina decided to produce a new class of cruiser that would be of intermediate size between the new French destroyer class and cruisers. The Italian ships equated to the British Leander-class cruisers.

There were 4 ships, all laid down in 1928: Alberto da Giussano, Alberico da Barbiano, Bartolomeo Colleoni and Giovanni delle Bande Nere.

Meant to hunt down and overwhelm the big French destroyers, the emphasis on firepower and speed resulted in these ships being virtually unprotected against gunfire and underwater threats; this was a major factor in all four ships being sunk by torpedoes.





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

Giussano-class cruiser - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 April 1945 - Awa Maru – the cargo and passenger ship was intercepted and sunk in the Taiwan Strait by the U.S. submarine USS Queenfish which mistook her for a destroyer.
Only One person of the 2,004 aboard survived - "Titanic of Japan"


The Awa Maru (阿波丸) was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The ship was built in 1941–1943 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan. The vessel was designed for passenger service, but the onset of war by the time work was completed changed requirements, and she was requisitioned by the Japanese Navy.
While sailing as a hospital ship under the protection of the Red Cross in 1945, she was torpedoed by USS Queenfish (SS-393), killing all but one of 2,004 people aboard.

The ship's name came in part from the ancient province of Awa on the island of eastern Shikoku in the modern prefecture of Tokushima. This mid-century Awa Maru was the second NYK vessel to bear this name. A 6,309-ton Awa Maru was completed in 1899 and taken out of service in 1930.


This is an aerial photo of Awa Maru

History
The ship was built by Mitsubishi at Nagasaki on the southern island of Kyushu. The keel was laid down in the summer of 1941 (July 10, 1941). The Awa Maru was launched on August 24, 1942; and she was completed on March 5, 1943.

Pacific War
The Awa Maru was requisitioned and refitted for auxiliary use by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. On 26 March 1943, Awa Maru left Japan carrying 3,000 tons of ammunition for Singapore. Awa Maru traveled to Singapore with convoy Hi-3 in July 1943, and returned to Japan with convoy Hi-14 in November. She again traveled to Singapore with convoy Hi-41 in February 1944, and returned to Japan with convoy Hi-48 in March. She then transported troops to Burma with convoy Hi-63 in May, and returned to Japan with convoy Hi-66 in June.

Awa Maru was attached to convoy Hi-71 carrying Operation Shō reinforcements to the Philippines. The convoy sailed into the South China Sea from Mako naval base in the Pescadores on 17 August, and was discovered that evening by USS Redfish. Redfish assembled USS Rasher, Bluefish and Spadefish for a radar-assisted wolfpack attack in typhoon conditions on the night of 18/19 August. Awa Maru was one of several ships torpedoed that night, but beached at Port Currimao to avoid sinking, and was towed to Manila on 21 August. Awa Maru was repaired in Singapore, and returned to Japan with convoy Hi-84 in January 1945.



Sinking
In 1945 the Awa Maru was employed as a Red Cross relief ship, carrying vital supplies to American and Allied prisoners of war (POWs) in Japanese custody. Under the Relief for POWs agreement, she was supposed to be given safe passage by Allied forces, and Allied commanders issued orders to that effect.

Having delivered her supplies, Awa Maru took on several hundred stranded merchant marine officers, military personnel, diplomats and civilians at Singapore. In addition, there were stories that the ship carried treasure worth approximately US$5 billion: 40 metric tons of gold, 12 (or 2) metric tons of platinum (valued at about $58 million), and 150,000 carats (30 kg) of diamonds and other strategic materials. Less dramatic and more credible sources identify the likely cargo as nickel and rubber. The ship was observed in Singapore being loaded with a cargo of rice in sacks; however, that evening the docks were reportedly cleared and troops were brought in to first unload the rice and then re-load her with contraband.

Her voyage also corresponded with the last possible location of the fossil remains of Peking Man, which were in Singapore at the time and were, on their own, priceless in value. There are various theories regarding the disappearance of a number of Peking Man fossils during World War II; one such theory is that the bones sank with the Awa Maru in 1945.

The ship departed Singapore on March 28, but on April 1 was intercepted late at night in the Taiwan Strait by the American submarine USS Queenfish (SS-393), which mistook her for a destroyer. The Awa Maru was sailing as a hospital ship under the protection of the Red Cross, and under the agreed rules, she disclosed to the Allies the route she would take back to Japan. Her original route was promulgated through a minefield, an apparent ruse to draw attackers into the mined area. The area was known as mined, and would have been avoided at any rate. Her final route avoided the mines.

The torpedoes of the Queenfish sank the ship. Only one of the 2,004 passengers and crew, Kantora Shimoda, survived. He was the captain's personal steward, and it was the third time in which he was the sole survivor of a torpedoed ship. The commanding officer of the Queenfish, Commander Charles Elliott Loughlin was ordered by Admiral Ernest King to an immediate general court-martial. As the Awa Maru sank "she was carrying a cargo of rubber, lead, tin, and sugar. Seventeen hundred merchant seamen and 80 first-class passengers, all survivors of ship sinkings, were being transported from Singapore to Japan.…[The] survivor said no Red Cross supplies were aboard, they having been previously unloaded."

Aftermath
Commander Loughlin was found guilty of negligence, and the U.S. Government offered, via neutral Switzerland, to replace the Awa Maru with a similar ship. Japan demanded full indemnification.

On the very day of Japan's surrender, 14 August 1945, Foreign Minister Togo forwarded a message to the United States through Bern, Switzerland, demanding payment of 196,115,000 yen ($45 million) for the loss of 2,003 lives; 30,370,000 yen ($7.25 million) for the goods aboard the Awa Maru; and various other claims, for a total demand of 227,286,600 yen or approximately $52.5 million.…No gold bullion is mentioned in the message.

The Japanese bill was never paid, and in 1949 the matter was closed.

In 1980, the People's Republic of China launched one of the biggest salvage efforts on a single ship in history. They had successfully located and identified the wreck site in 1977 and were convinced that the vessel was carrying billions in gold and jewels. After approximately 5 years and $100 million spent on the effort, the search was finally called off. No treasure was found. However, several personal artifacts were returned to Japan.

In the aftermath of the salvage attempt, the NSA scoured thousands of intercepted communications to determine what exactly happened to the treasure. From the communications, they determined that the treasure was not to be taken back to Japan. It was to be sent from Japan to Singapore where it would then be delivered to Thailand. The gold was successfully delivered and the Awa Maru was reloaded with a cargo of tin and rubber for the return trip to Japan.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Awa_Maru_(1942)

Awa Maru-Titanic of Japan

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 April 1945 - April 1 - June 22 - Beginning of the Battle of Okinawa -
The Japanese lose their last significant naval force, including the battleship Yamato.


The Battle of Okinawa (Japanese: 沖縄戦 Hepburn: Okinawa-sen) (Okinawan: 沖縄戦, translit. Uchinaa ikusa), codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Marine and Army forces against the Imperial Japanese Army. The initial invasion of Okinawa on April 1, 1945, was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The 82-day battle lasted from April 1 until June 22, 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were planning to use Kadena Air Base on the large island of Okinawa as a base for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands, 340 mi (550 km) away.



The United States created the Tenth Army, a cross-branch force consisting of the 7th, 27th, 77th, and 96th infantry divisions of the US Army with the 1st, 2nd, and 6th divisions of the Marine Corps, to fight on the island. The Tenth was unique in that it had its own tactical air force (joint Army-Marine command), and was also supported by combined naval and amphibious forces.

The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English, and tetsu no ame ("rain of steel") or tetsu no bōfū ("violent wind of steel") in Japanese. The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of Japanese kamikaze attacks, and the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific, with approximately 160,000 casualties on both sides: at least 75,000 Allied and 84,166–117,000 Japanese, including drafted Okinawans wearing Japanese uniforms. 149,425 Okinawans were killed, committed suicide or went missing, a significant proportion of the estimated pre-war 300,000 local population.

In the naval operations surrounding the battle, both sides lost considerable numbers of ships and aircraft, including the Japanese battleship Yamato. After the battle, Okinawa provided a fleet anchorage, troop staging areas, and airfields in proximity to Japan in preparation for the planned invasion.

Battle of Okinawa - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 1 April


1678 - Tiger Prize 48 (ex-Algerine, captured 1 April 1678) – sunk as a breakwater 1696.


1684 – Launch of French Vermandois 60, later 62 guns (designed and built by Étienne Hubac, launched 1 April 1684 at Brest) – hulked 1715 and broken up 1727.


1691 - Fougueux 54, later 60 guns (designed and built by Jean Guérouard, launched 15 August 1671 at Toulon) – grounded and lost in the Charente 1 April 1691.


1721 – Launch of French Éclatant 62, later 64 guns (launched 1 April 1721 at Brest, designed and built by Julien Geslain) - hulked 1745 and taken to pieces 1764.


1726 - Gran Princesa de los Cielos 80 (purchased 2 October 1720 at Genoa) - wrecked 1 April 1726


1741 – Launch of French Volage, (24-gun design by Pierre Morineau, with 24 x 8-pounder guns, 36.4 x 10.2 x 4.4 x 4.8 meters, 480 French tons, complement 180 peace / 215 war, launched 1 April 1741 at Rochefort) – captured by British Navy 4 April 1746, retaken by the French the following day and deleted 1753.


1742 HMS Eltham (44), Cptn. Edward Smith, and HMS Lively (20), Cptn. Stewart, engaged three Spanish ships of 60, 40 and 30 Guns off St. Kitts.

HMS Lively (1740) was a 20-gun sixth rate launched in 1740 and sold in 1750.

Capture of Vigilant - Wikipedia

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1797 HMS Hazard (18), Alexander Ruddach, captured French brig-privateer Hardi (18) off the Skellocks, Ireland.

Late in March, Vice-Admiral Lord Kingsmill received intelligence that a French cruiser had been seen off the Skellocks on the coast of Ireland. Kingsmill dispatched Hazard on 28 March, and on 1 April she found the French vessel. After a chase of seven hours, Hazard caught her quarry, but only because the privateer had lost both topmasts. The privateer was the brig Hardi, of 18 guns and 130 men. Hardi had been built at Cowes, about two years earlier, for the Spaniards. Hardi had left Brest on 17 March and during her cruise had escaped two British frigates that had chased her. She had captured only one prize, a small Portuguese vessel of little value.

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


Drawing of the Hazard, 1793

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hazard_(1794)

HMS Hardi (1797) - Wikipedia

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1809 Boats of HMS Mercury (28), Cptn. Henry Duncan, cut out Venetian gunboat Ledaat Rovigno.

HMS Mercury (1806) was a 14-gun brig launched in 1806 and converted to a coal hulk by 1865.


1809 - HMS Amelia (38), Cptn. Frederick Paul Irby, destroyed batteries in Aix Roads.

Proserpine was a 38-gun Hébé-class frigate of the French Navy launched in 1785 that HMS Dryad captured on 13 June 1796. The Admiralty commissioned Proserpine into the Royal Navy as the fifth rate, HMS Amelia. She spent 20 years in the Royal Navy, participating in numerous actions in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, capturing a number of prizes, and serving on anti-smuggling and anti-slavery patrols. Her most notable action was her intense and bloody, but inconclusive, fight with Aréthuse in 1813. Amelia was broken up in December 1816.


HMS "Amelia" Chasing the French Frigate "Aréthuse" 1813. Painted in 1852 by John Christian Schetky


sheer & profile (ZAZ2260)

HMS Amelia (1796) - Wikipedia

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Collections - National Maritime Museum

1817 – Launch of French Cléopatre (launched 1 April 1817 at Cherbourg) – deleted 30 September 1823.

Three more of this design – Androméde, Emeraude and Cornélie – were begun at Bayonne but never reached launch stage, while three more were completed post-war:

Antigone (launched 14 March 1816 at Bordeaux) – deleted 3 August 1829.
Cléopatre (launched 1 April 1817 at Cherbourg) – deleted 30 September 1823.
Magicienne (launched 11 April 1823 at Rochefort) – deleted 29 November 1840.


1893 - Navy General Order 409 establishes the rank of Chief Petty Officer.


1899 - A landing party of 60 men from USS Philadelphia (C 4) and a force of 100 friendly natives join 62 men from HMS Porpoise and Royal Isle in Samoa to establish order over Samoan throne.

In March 1899, with Commander-in-Chief Rear Admiral Albert Kautz embarked, Philadelphia steamed to the Samoan Islands for duty in connection with the settlement of civil difficulties by the Samoan Commissioners of the United States, Great Britain, and Germany. A landing party from Philadelphia went ashore in the vicinity of Vailele 1 April to act in concert with a British landing party. The combined force, ambushed by adherents of Chief Mataafa, sustained seven killed and seven wounded, including two American officers, Lieutenant Philip Lansdale and Ensign John R. Monaghan, and two sailors killed, including Seaman Norman Edsall, and five bluejackets wounded. Philadelphia remained in the Samoan Islands until 21 May 1899, when she steamed for the west coast via Honolulu.

The fourth USS Philadelphia (C-4) (later IX-24) was the sixth protected cruiser of the United States Navy. Although designed by the Navy Department, her hull was similar to the preceding British-designed Baltimore, but Philadelphia had a uniform main armament of twelve 6-inch guns.
She was laid down 22 March 1888 by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, launched 7 September 1889, sponsored by Miss Minnie Wanamaker, daughter of merchant and philanthropist John Wanamaker; and commissioned 28 July 1890, Capt. Albert S. Barker in command.

USS Philadelphia (C-4) - Wikipedia

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1911 – Launch of Chikuma (筑摩) was the lead ship in the Chikuma class of protected cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Chikuma (筑摩) was the lead ship in the Chikuma class of protected cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Chikuma had two sister ships, Hirado and the Yahagi. Chikuma was named for the Chikuma River in Nagano prefecture.


Chikuma in 1912 during commissioning

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cruiser_Chikuma_(1911)

Chikuma-class cruiser - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1943 - USS Shad (SS 235) torpedoes and damages the Italian blockade runner Pietro Orseolo, shortly after the Italian ship reaches the Bay of Biscay and her escort of four German destroyers


1945 - Under heavy naval gunfire and aircraft support, U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops begin the invasion of Okinawa, the last major amphibious assault of World War II.


2002 - Maria Carmela - the ferry caught fire while traveling from Masbate to Quezon province. After burning for three days the ship sank off Pagbilao island in Quezon. Of those on board 44 were killed in the incident

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 April 1798 – Launch of HMS Dragon, a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Rotherhithe.


HMS Dragon was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 2 April 1798 at Rotherhithe. She was designed by Sir William Rule, and was the only ship built to her draught.





HMS Dragon by Antoine Roux

French Revolutionary Wars
In 1799, she sailed to the Mediterranean as part of a squadron under Sir Charles Cotton. In February 1801 she was part of a squadron under Sir John Warren off Cadiz.

Because Dragon served in the navy's Egyptian campaign between 8 March 1801 and 2 September, her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants.

Napoleonic Wars
In April 1803, Dragon was sailing from Gibraltar to Britain in company with Alligator and the store ship Prevoyante when they sighted two French ships of the line off Cape St. Vincent. The French ships veered off rather than engage the British vessels.

On 18 June 1803, Dragon and Endymion captured the French naval 12-gun brig Colombe. Colombe was copper-bottomed and pierced for 16 guns. She had a crew of 65 men under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau Caro. Colombe had been returning from Martinique and was bound for Brest when the British captured her off Ouessant. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Colombe.

In 1805, Dragon took part in Admiral Robert Calder's action at the Battle of Cape Finisterre.

From 1806-8 she served in the Channel Squadron. In September 1810 she commissioned as the flagship of Sir F. la Faey and sailed for the Leeward Islands in October.

On 18 October 1810, Dragon was in Hamoaze. There she ran into and dismasted the brig Eliza Ann, Rees, master, which had been sailing from Neath to London.

War of 1812
Dragon participated in the War of 1812 with the United States, under the command of Robert Barrie, and took part in a number of engagements. She also captured a number of vessels.

On 12 September 1812, Dragon captured Anna Maria.

On 20 or 22 December, Dragon destroyed the American privateer Tartar, of ten guns and 47 men.

In August 1814, Dragon took part in an expedition up the Penobscot River in Maine. The first ships to go were Sylph, Dragon, Endymion, Bacchante, Peruvian, as well as some transports. Bulwark, Tenedos, Rifleman, and Pictou joined on the 31st. On the evening of 31 August, Sylph, Peruvian, and the transport Harmony, accompanied by a boat from Dragon, embarked marines, foot soldiers and a detachment from the Royal Artillery, to move up the Penobscot under the command of Captain Robert Barrie of Dragon. The objective was the American frigate Adams, of twenty-six 18-pounder guns, which had taken refuge some 27 miles up stream at Hampden, Maine. Here Adams had landed her guns and fortified a position on the bank with fifteen 18-pounders commanding the river. Moving up the river took two days, but eventually, after the Battle of Hampden, the British were able to capture the American defenders at Bangor, though not until after the Americans had burnt the Adams. The British also captured 11 other ships and destroyed six. The British lost only one man killed, a sailor from Dragon, and had several soldiers wounded.

In January 1815, Dragon was the flagship for Admiral Sir George Cockburn at the Battle of Fort Peter and the capture of St. Marys, Georgia.

Fate
Dragon was on harbour service in 1824, becoming a Marine barracks at Portland in 1829. She was renamed HMS Fame in 1842. She was broken up in 1850.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for building 'Dragon' (1798), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, at Deptford by Messrs John and William Wells (Wells & Co.). Signed by William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813]


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) proposed (and approved) for 'Dragon' (1798), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker.

HMS Dragon (1798) - Wikipedia

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Collections - National Maritime Museum

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 April 1801 - The Battle of Copenhagen of 1801 (Danish: Slaget på Reden) was a naval battle in which a British fleet fought a large force of the Dano-Norwegian Navy anchored near Copenhagen on 2 April 1801.
British under Vice Ad. Nelson destroy moored Danish ships under Cptn. Johan Olfert Fischer.
Part I

The Battle of Copenhagen of 1801 (Danish: Slaget på Reden) was a naval battle in which a British fleet fought a large force of the Dano-Norwegian Navy anchored near Copenhagen on 2 April 1801.


The Battle of Copenhagen, as painted by Nicholas Pocock. The British bomb vessels placed diagonally across the foreground, the city of Copenhagen in the background and in-between, the Danish line.



As the British ships attempted to enter the harbour the Danish fleet, stationed in the city's inlet, formed a blockade. The Danish mainly used older ships not meant to sail in the sea as blockades. Denmark defended the capital with these ships and bastions on both sides of the harbour inlet, Kastellet, Trekroner, Lynetten (which all still exist) as well as Quintus, Sixtus and Strickers. It was the second attempt by the British to scare Denmark, as the British had already entered Øresund with a navy in August 1800, in order to force Denmark to sign an alliance with Britain. Now Britain would have Denmark's entire navy and merchant fleet, so it would not fall into the hands of the French. The British were not aware that the modern Royal Danish Navy and many merchant ships were well hidden in the Roskilde fjord, a bluff which was never called by the British.


Where the Battle of Copenhagen harbour occurred in 1801, and where Roskildefjord is located. It could have been very dangerous for the British Navy to sail into the fjord, which is very narrow

Background
The battle was the result of multiple failures of diplomacy in the latter half of the 18th century. At the beginning of 1801, during the French Revolutionary Wars, Britain's principal advantage over France was its naval superiority. The Royal Navy searched neutral ships trading with French ports, seizing their cargoes if they were deemed to be trading with France. It was in the British interest to guarantee its naval supremacy and all trade advantages that resulted from it. The Russian Tsar Paul, having been a British ally, arranged a League of Armed Neutrality comprising Denmark, Sweden, Prussia, and Russia, to enforce free trade with France. The British viewed the League to be very much in the French interest and a serious threat. The League was hostile to the British blockade and, according to the British, its existence threatened the supply of timber and naval stores from Scandinavia.

In early 1801, the British government assembled a fleet off Great Yarmouth at Yarmouth Roads, with the goal of breaking up the League. The British needed to act before the Baltic Sea thawed and released the Russian fleet from its bases at Kronstadt and Reval (now Tallinn). If the Russian fleet joined with the Swedish and Danish fleets, the combined fleets would form a formidable force of up to 123 ships-of-the-line. The British fleet was under the command of Admiral Hyde Parker, with Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson as second-in-command.

Frustrated by the delay, Nelson sent a letter to Captain Thomas Troubridge, a friend and a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty. This prompted the Earl of St Vincent (First Lord of the Admiralty) to send a private note, which resulted in the fleet sailing from Yarmouth on 12 March. Orders were sent to Parker to go to Copenhagen and detach Denmark from the League by 'amicable arrangement or by actual hostilities', to be followed by 'an immediate and vigorous attack' on the Russians at Reval and then Kronstadt. The British fleet reached the Skaw (Danish: Skagen) on 19 March, where they met a British diplomat, Nicholas Vansittart, who told them that the Danes had rejected an ultimatum.

Although the Admiralty had instructed Parker to frustrate the League, by force if necessary, he was a naturally cautious person and moved slowly. He wanted to blockade the Baltic despite the danger of the combination of fleets; Nelson wanted to ignore Denmark and Sweden, who were both reluctant partners in the alliance, and instead sail to the Baltic to fight the Russians. In the end Nelson was able to persuade Sir Hyde to attack the Danish fleet currently concentrated off Copenhagen. Promised naval support for the Danes from Karlskrona, in Sweden, did not arrive perhaps because of adverse winds. The Prussians had only minimal naval forces and also could not assist. On 30 March, the British force passed through the narrows between Denmark and Sweden, sailing close to the Swedish coast to put themselves as far from the Danish guns as possible; fortunately for the British, the Swedish batteries remained silent.

Attacking the Danish fleet would have been difficult as Parker's delay in sailing had allowed the Danes to prepare their positions well. Most of the Danish ships were not fitted for sea but were moored along the shore with old ships (hulks), no longer fit for service at sea, but still powerfully armed, as a line of floating batteries off the eastern coast of the island of Amager, in front of the city in the King's Channel. The northern end of the line terminated at the Tre Kroner (Three Crowns — Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, referring to the Kalmar Union) forts armed with 68 guns (equal to twice the broadside of a ship-of-the-line). North of the fort, in the entrance to Copenhagen harbour, were two ships-of-the-line, a large frigate, and two brigs, all rigged for sea, and two more hulks. Batteries covered the water between the Danish line and the shore, and further out to sea a large shoal, the Middle Ground, constricted the channel. The British had no reliable charts or pilots, so Captain Thomas Hardy spent most of the night of 31 March taking soundings in the channel up to the Danish line. Even so, the British ships were not able to locate the deepest part of the channel properly and so kept too far to seaward.

Battle


Sketch of the battle

Preparations
Parker gave Nelson the twelve ships-of-the-line with the shallowest drafts, and all the smaller ships in the fleet.[citation needed] Parker himself stayed to the north-east of the battle with the heavier ships – whose deeper drafts did not allow them to safely enter the channel – screening Nelson from possible external interference and moving towards Copenhagen to engage the northern defences. Nelson transferred his command from the large 98-gun HMS St George to the shallower 74-gun HMS Elephant for this reason.

On 30 March Nelson, and his second-in-command, Rear Admiral Thomas Graves, accompanied by Captain Domett and the commanding officer of the troops, sailed in the hired lugger Lark to reconnoitre the Danish defences at Copenhagen. They found the defences to be strong and so spent the evening discussing the plan. Fixed batteries had a significant advantage over ship borne cannon owing to their greater stability and larger guns, and the Danes could reinforce their ships during the battle. On the other hand, their ships were a motley collection, many of them small, and out-gunned if engaged by the whole of Nelson's force.

Nelson's plan was for the British ships to approach the weaker, southern end of the Danish defences in a line parallel to the Danish one. As the foremost ship drew alongside a Danish ship, it would anchor and engage that ship. The remainder of the line would pass outside the engagement until the next British ship drew alongside the next Danish ship, and so on. The frigate HMS Desirée, together with small gun-brigs, would rake the Danish line from the south, and a force of frigates, commanded by Captain Edward Riou of HMS Amazon, would attack the northern end of the line. Troops would land and assault the Tre Kroner fortress once the fleet had subdued the Danish line of ships. Bomb vessels would sit outside the British line and bombard the Danes by firing over it. Should the British be unable to subdue the stronger, northern defences, the destruction of the southern ships would be enough to allow the bomb vessels to approach within range of the city and force negotiations to prevent the bombardment of the city.

Action
With a southerly wind on 2 April, Nelson picked his way through the shoals. However, HMS Agamemnon ran aground before entering the channel, and took no part in the battle. Then HMS Russell and HMS Bellona ran aground on the Middle Ground, severely restricting their role in the battle. The loss of the three vessels required hurried changes in the line and weakened the force's northern end.

The Danish batteries started firing at 10:05 am, the first half of the British fleet were engaged in about half an hour, and the battle was general by 11:30 am. Once the British line was in place there was very little manoeuvring. The British ships anchored by the stern about a cable from the line of Danish ships and batteries, which was relatively long range, and the two exchanged broadsides until a ship ceased firing. The British encountered heavy resistance, partly because they had not spotted the low-lying floating batteries, and partly because of the courage with which the Danes fought. The northern Danish ships, which were rigged and manned, did not enter the battle but remained on station as reserve units, even though the wind direction forced Parker's squadron to approach only slowly.[6]


The Battle of Copenhagen. Painting by Christian Mølsted

At 1 pm, the battle was still in full swing. Prøvesteenen's heavier fire would have destroyed HMS Isis if it had not been raked by Desirée, assisted by HMS Polyphemus. HMS Monarch suffered badly from the combined fires of Holsteen and Sjælland.

Battle of Copenhagen (1801) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 April 1801 - The Battle of Copenhagen of 1801 (Danish: Slaget på Reden) was a naval battle in which a British fleet fought a large force of the Dano-Norwegian Navy anchored near Copenhagen on 2 April 1801.
British under Vice Ad. Nelson destroy moored Danish ships under Cptn. Johan Olfert Fischer.
Part II


Signal to retreat
Admiral Parker could see little of the battle owing to gun smoke, but could see the signals on the three grounded British ships, with Bellona and Russell flying signals of distress and Agamemnon a signal of inability to proceed. Thinking that Nelson might have fought to a stand-still but might be unable to retreat without orders (the Articles of War demanded that all ranks 'do their utmost' against the enemy in battle), at 1:30pm Parker told his flag captain:

"I will make the signal of recall for Nelson's sake. If he is in condition to continue the action, he will disregard it; if he is not, it will be an excuse for his retreat and no blame can be imputed to him."

Nelson ordered that the signal be acknowledged, but not repeated. He turned to his flag captain, Thomas Foley, and said "You know, Foley, I only have one eye — I have the right to be blind sometimes," and then, holding his telescope to his blind eye, said "I really do not see the signal!" Rear Admiral Graves repeated the signal, but in a place invisible to most other ships while keeping Nelson's 'close action' signal at his masthead. Of Nelson's captains, only Riou, who could not see Nelson's flagship HMS Elephant, followed Parker's signal. Riou withdrew his force, which was then attacking the Tre Kroner fortress, exposing himself to heavy fire that killed him.

End of the Battle


The Battle of Copenhagen by Christian Mølsted. It shows a situation in the battle where Admiral Nelson sends a message - the small boat carrying Union Jack and a white flag - to the Danish side.

It was at this time that the battle swung decisively to the British, as their superior gunnery took effect. The guns of the dozen southernmost Danish ships had started to fall silent owing to the damage they had sustained, and the fighting moved northward. According to British eyewitness accounts, much of the Danish line had fallen silent by 2 pm. The cessation of firing left the way open for the British bomb vessels to approach Copenhagen. In addition, the reinforcements of the ships from the shore batteries were causing the latter to become ineffective.

Nyborg tried to leave the line with Aggershuus in tow, but both sank. The most northerly ship, the frigate Hjælperen, successfully withdrew. The Danish commander, Commodore Olfert Fischer, moved from Dannebrog at 11:30 am, when it caught fire, to Holsteen. When Indfødsretten, immediately north of Holsteen, struck its colours at about 2:30 pm, he moved on to the Tre Kroner fortress. There he engaged three of Parker's ships, which had lost their manoeuvrability after being badly damaged and had drifted within range. Indfødsretten resumed firing after Captain Schrodersee was ferried to it and took command of the ship.

Perhaps because of inexperienced crews, several Danish ships fired on British boats sent out to them after their officers had signalled their surrender. Nelson said that he "must either send on shore and stop this irregular proceeding, or send in our fire ships and burn them" and went to his cabin to write a note to the Danes. He sent it with a Danish-speaking officer, Captain Sir Frederick Thesiger, under a flag of truce to the Danish-Norwegian regent, Crown Prince Frederik, who had been watching the battle from the ramparts of the Citadel. The note read:

To the Brothers of Englishmen, the Danes
Lord Nelson has directions to spare Denmark when she is no longer resisting, but if firing is continued on the part of Denmark, Lord Nelson will be obliged to set on fire the floating batteries he has taken, without having the power of saving the brave Danes who have defended them.
— Nelson,

Some British and Danish officers thought the offer of a truce a skilful ruse de guerre, and some historians have suggested that the battle would have been lost if it had not been adopted. Many of the British ships, like many of the Danish ships in the battle, could not carry on fighting much longer. Furthermore, neither side had deployed the ships which they both held in reserve, of which the Danish reserve was arguably the larger, and the truce effectually prevented this deployment at a moment where the British fleet was exposed. Though the British had lost no ships, most were severely damaged, just like the Danish ships. Three British ships of the line had lost all their manoeuvrability and had at the time of the truce drifted within the range of Tre Kroner's heavy guns which, like the other fortresses, had until then been out of range of the British ships. All action ceased when Crown Prince Frederick sent his Adjutant General, Hans Lindholm (a Danish member of parliament), asking for the reason for Nelson's letter. He[who?] was asked to put it in writing, which he did, in English, while making the joke:

If your guns are not better pointed than your pens, then you will make little impression on Copenhagen.
— -,

In reply, Nelson wrote a note:

Lord Nelson's object in sending the Flag of Truce was humanity; he therefore consents that hostilities shall cease, and that the wounded Danes may be taken on shore. And Lord Nelson will take his prisoners out of the Vessels, and burn and carry off his prizes as he shall see fit.

Lord Nelson, with humble duty to His Royal Highness the Prince of Denmark, will consider this the greatest victory he has ever gained, if it may be the cause of a happy reconciliation and union between his own most gracious Sovereign, and His Majesty the King of Denmark.
— Nelson,

which was sent back to the Crown Prince. He then referred Lindholm to Parker on HMS London. Following him there at 4 pm,[clarification needed] a twenty-four-hour ceasefire was agreed.

Aftermath
After fighting had ended, the Danish flagship Dannebrog exploded at 4:30 pm, killing 250 men. By the end of the afternoon, three more badly-damaged British ships ran aground, including Elephant. The Danish-Norwegian ships had been partly manned by volunteers, many having little or no naval experience, and as they were not all listed after the battle, it is uncertain what the exact Danish-Norwegian losses were. Estimates vary between 1,135 and 2,215 captured, killed or wounded. The official report by Olfert Fischer estimated the Danish-Norwegian casualties to be between 1,600 and 1,800 captured, killed or wounded. According to the official returns recorded by each British ship, and repeated in dispatches from Nelson and forwarded by Parker to the Admiralty, British casualties were 963 killed and wounded.

Of the Danish ships engaged in the battle, two had sunk, one had exploded, and twelve had been captured. The British could not spare men for manning prizes as they feared that further battles were to come. They burned eleven of the captured ships, and only one, Holsteen, was sailed to England with the wounded under surgeon William Fergusson. Holsteen was then taken into service with the Royal Navy and renamed HMS Holstein (later HMS Nassau).

Subsequent events


Another view of The Battle of Copenhagen

The next day, Nelson landed in Copenhagen to open negotiations. Colonel Stewart reported that "the population showed an admixture of admiration, curiosity and displeasure". In a two-hour meeting with the Crown Prince (who spoke English), Nelson was able to secure an indefinite armistice. He then tried to convince first Fischer (whom he had known in the West Indies), and then the Prince, of British protection against the Russians. Negotiations continued by letter and on 8 April Nelson returned in person with a formal agreement.

The one sticking point out of the seven articles was a sixteen-week armistice to allow action against the Russians. At this point Stewart claims that one of the Danes turned to another and said in French that disagreement might lead to a renewal of hostilities. "Renew hostilities!" responded Nelson, and turning to his interpreter said "Tell him that we are ready in a moment; ready to bombard this very night!" Hurried apologies followed (the British fleet now occupied positions that would allow the bombardment of Copenhagen) and agreement was reached and signed the next day. The armistice was reduced to fourteen weeks, but during it Armed Neutrality would be suspended and the British were to have free access to Copenhagen. Danish prisoners were also paroled. In the final hour of negotiations, the Danes found out (but not the British) that Tsar Paul had been assassinated. This made the end of the League of Armed Neutrality very likely and freed the Danes from the fear of Russian reprisals against them, allowing them to easily come to agreement. The final peace agreement was then signed on 23 October 1801.

On 12 April, Parker sailed to Karlskrona and on the British approach, the Swedish fleet returned to the port where Parker attempted to persuade them to also leave the League. Parker refused to sail into the eastern Baltic and instead returned to Copenhagen, where he found that news of his lack of vigour had reached London. On 5 May, he was recalled and ordered to hand his command over to Nelson. Nelson sailed eastwards again and, leaving six ships-of-the-line at Karlskrona, he arrived at Reval on 14 May to find that the ice had melted and the Russian fleet had departed for Kronstadt. He also found out that negotiations for ending the Armed Neutrality had started and so withdrew on 17 May. As a result of the battle, Lord Nelson was created Viscount Nelson of the Nile.

This was not to be the end of the Danish-Norwegian conflict with the British. In 1807, similar circumstances led to another British attack, in the Second Battle of Copenhagen.


"The Bombardment of Copenhagen" by John Ternouth, relief on the east face of the plinth of Nelson's Column in London

Legacy
The death of Tsar Paul of Russia changed the diplomatic scene and reduced the political importance of the battle, and material losses in the battle were of little importance to the fighting strength of either navy (the Danish side had taken great care to spare its first-class ships), it did however demonstrate that British determination to ensure continued naval superiority in the war against France was supreme.

Battle of Copenhagen (1801) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 April 1801 - The Battle of Copenhagen of 1801 (Danish: Slaget på Reden) was a naval battle in which a British fleet fought a large force of the Dano-Norwegian Navy anchored near Copenhagen on 2 April 1801.
British under Vice Ad. Nelson destroy moored Danish ships under Cptn. Johan Olfert Fischer.
Part III - Order of Battle



The British fleet is shown passing up the sound between Denmark and Sweden on 28th March 1801. The drawing has the names of some of the vessels shown, written in the margin of the picture, and notes on the places shown (see inscriptions). The 'Elephant' (Nelson’s flagship) is shown second in the line of British ships, behind the 'Monarch'. The hired armed lugger 'Lark', used to reconnoitre the Danish defences prior to the passage of the fleet, is shown on the far right. The information concerning the position of the ships is acknowledged in the inscription of the aquatint after this watercolour, dedicated to "Robinson Kittoe Esqr., late secretary to Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves KB" (PAJ2500). Pocock is likely to have worked from the eyewitness sketch by Robinson Kittoe (PAH4028).

Ships involved

United Kingdom

Nelson's squadron
Polyphemus 64 (Captain John Lawford)
Isis 50 (Captain James Walker)
Edgar 74 (Captain George Murray)
Ardent 64 (Captain Thomas Bertie)
Glatton 54/56 (Captain William Bligh)
Elephant 74 (flag of Vice-Adm. Lord Nelson, Captain Thomas Foley)
Ganges 74 (Captain Thomas Francis Fremantle)
Monarch 74 (Captain James Robert Mosse †[23])
Defiance 74 (2nd flag of Rear-Adm. Thomas Graves, Captain Richard Retalick)
Russell 74 (Captain William Cuming)
Bellona 74 (Captain Thomas Boulden Thompson)
Agamemnon 64 (Captain Robert Devereux Fancourt)
Désirée 36 (Captain Henry Inman)
Amazon 38 (Captain Edward Riou †[23])
Blanche 36 (Captain Graham Eden Hamond)
Alcmène 32 (Captain Samuel Sutton)
Jamaica 24 (Captain Jonas Rose)
Arrow (ship-sloop, Captain William Bolton)
Dart (ship-sloop, Captain John Ferris Devonshire)
Cruizer (brig-sloop, Cmdr. James Brisbane)
Harpy (brig-sloop, Cmdr. William Birchall)
Discovery (bomb, Cmdr. John Conn)
(bomb, Cmdr. John Henry Martin)
Hecla (bomb, Cmdr. Richard Hatherhill)
Sulphur (bomb, Cmdr. Hender Whitter)
Terror (bomb, Cmdr. Samuel Campbell Rowley)
Volcano (bomb, Cmdr. James Watson)
Zebra (bomb, Cmdr. Edward Sneyd Clay)
Otter (fireship, Cmdr. George M'Kinley)
Zephyr (fireship, Cmdr. Clotworthy Upton)

Parker's reserve
London 98 (flag of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, with 1st Captain William Domett and 2nd Captain Robert Walker Otway)
St George 98 (Captain Thomas Masterman Hardy)
Warrior 74 Captain Charles Tyler
Defence 74 (Captain Henry Paulet)
Saturn 74 (Captain Robert Lambert)
Ramillies 74 (Captain James William Taylor Dixon)
Raisonnable 64 (Captain John Dilkes)
Veteran 64 (Captain Archibald Collingwood Dickson)


Mounted aquatint and etching, after the watercolour made in January 1802 by Pockock (PAJ2305). Portfolio. The British fleet is shown passing up the sound between Denmark and Sweden on 28 March 1801. The 'Elephant' (Nelson’s flagship) is shown second in the line of British ships, behind 'Monarch'. One of the small vessels on the far right is the lugger 'Lark'


Denmark-Norway

Fischer's division in the King's Deep
(order south–north. Only Siælland and Holsteen were in good condition, also note the age of the ships.)
Prøvesteenen 52/56 (3-decker battleship, rebuilt as a two-deck defensionsskib ("Defense-ship"), Kaptain L. F. Lassen
Wagrien 48/52 (2-decker ship of the line, 1775), Kaptajn F.C. Risbrich
Rendsborg 20 (pram), Kaptajnløjtnant C.T. Egede
Nyborg 20 (pram) Kaptajnløjtnant C.A. Rothe
Jylland 48/54 (Originally 70 gun 2-decker ship of the line, 1760), Kaptajn E.O. Branth
Sværdfisken 18/20 (radeau, 1764), Sekondløjtnant S.S. Sommerfeldt
Kronborg 22 (frigate, 1779), Premierløjtnant J.E. Hauch
Hajen 18/20 (radeau, 1793), Sekondløjtnant J.N. Müller
Dannebrog 60 (flag, 2-decker ship of the line, 1772), Kaptajn F.A. Bruun
Elven 10 (frigate, 1800), Kaptajnløjtnant H. Holsten
Flådebatteri No. 1 20 (Grenier's float/Floating Battery No. 1 1787), Søløjtnant Peter Willemoes
Aggershus 20 (Defensionsfartøj "Defence vessel") 1786), Premierløjtnant T. Fassing
Siælland 74 (2-decker ship of the line, 1776), Kaptajn F.C.L. Harboe
Charlotte Amalia 26 (Old Danish East Indiaman), Kaptajn H.H. Kofoed
Søehesten 18 (radeau 1795), Premierløjtnant B.U. Middelboe
Holsteen 60 (ship of the line, 1772), Kaptajn J. Arenfelt
Indfødsretten 64 (2-decker ship of the line, 1778), Kaptajn A. de Turah
Hielperen 16 (Defensionsfregat "Defence frigate"), Premierløjtnant P.C. Lilienskiold

Fischer's division in the Inner Run
(These ships did not see action)
Elephanten 70
Mars 74
Sarpen 18-gun brig
Nidelven 18-gun brig
Danmark 74
Trekroner 74 (not to be confused with Tre Kroner fortress)

Fortifications
Sea battery TreKroner 68 guns.
Sea Battery Lynetten ? guns.
Land battery Sixtus ? guns.
Land battery Quintus ? guns.
Fortress Kastellet ? guns.

Steen Bille's division
These ships did not see action, the list is incomplete. Around 14 modern ships of the line and the same number of smaller ships were kept in the harbour.
Iris 40
Nykøbing
Aalborg
Christiansund
Arendal
Langesund
Odense
Flensborg
Stege
Staværn
Viborg
Naskau



During the French Revolutionary War, Denmark's position and neutrality made her relationship with the principal protagonists, France and Britain, especially difficult. British insistence on searching neutral ships for contraband destined for France led to a deterioration of relations with Copenhagen and, in the autumn of 1800, Tsar Paul of Russia took up the Danish cause against the British. By sequestering British property he invoked part of the Armed Neutrality with Sweden and persuaded Denmark to join them. The following March a British fleet was dispatched to the Baltic to break this alliance. Early on the morning of 30 March 1801 the British fleet sailed for the narrow neck of the Sound between Kronborg Castle, at Elsinore, and Sweden, the event recorded in this painting. Although very narrow the range was too great for the Danish batteries to inflict any damage. The leading British ship, the 'Monarch', 74 guns, commanded by Captain James Robert Mosse, is in the right foreground, almost bow on and in port-bow view. She is followed to the right by the 'Elephant', 74 guns, in starboard-bow view, with Nelson flying his flag as Vice-Admiral of the Blue. These leading ships and several others following to the left have passed the batteries of Kronborg Castle, but those following in the centre background are in action, including the Commander-in-Chief's, Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, whose flag can be seen above the smoke. Kronborg Castle stands on the left, this side of the gun-smoke in the middle distance, with a little harbour for small craft in the left foreground. The rearmost British ships are in the left background, in starboard-bow view, leaving the Kattegat to enter the Sound. They cleared the Sound the same day to anchor off the Swedish island of Hven, ready for the attack on Copenhagen.


This painting presents the opening of the Battle of Copenhagen with the English on the left sailing into position to anchor abreast of the Danes on the right. Nelson in the Elephant heads part of the English squadron on the left. Most of the Danish ships are not fitted for sea but anchored as floating batteries to shield Copenhagen, which can be seen in the distance on the right


Destruction of the Danish Fleet before Copenhagen, April 2nd 1801 (PAD5673)

Battle of Copenhagen (1801) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 April 1804 - HMS Apollo (36), Cptn. John William Taylor Dixon, wrecked running on shore in Mondego Bay, Portugal.


HMS Apollo, the fourth ship of the Royal Navy to be named for the Greek god Apollo, was a fifth-rate frigate of a nominal 36 guns. She was the name ship of the Apollo-class frigates. Apollo was launched in 1799, and wrecked with heavy loss of life in 1804.


Apollo sinks on 2 April 1804



French Revolutionary Wars
Apollo was built at Deptford Wharf in 1799, taking her name from the fifth-rate Apollo, which had been wrecked off Holland in January. She was commissioned in October under Captain Peter Halkett — who had commanded the previous Apollo when she was lost — and was posted to the West Indies, cruising there and escorting convoys to Britain.

While she was escorting a convoy on 11 January 1800 Apollo saw a suspicious vessel some distance away. After a four-hour chase she captured the Spanish warship Aquilla. Aquilla was pierced for 22 guns on the main deck but had only four mounted. She was under the command of Don Mariano Merino and was on a cargo voyage from Buenos Ayres to A Coruña. At the time, the sloop Hornet was in company with Apollo.

At daybreak on 15 January, Apollo sighted a vessel that proceeded to attempt to evade closer scrutiny. After a short chase Apollorecaptured Lady Harewood, which had been part of the convoy that Apollo was escorting, but which had gotten separated on 1 January at the onset of gale. On 13 January the French privateer ship Vautour, of 20 guns, had captured her.

Apollo captured Cantabria (or Cántabro), of 18 guns, off Havana on 27 January. In at least one account the vessel is described as the "Cantabrian Spanish ship of 18 guns".

Between 20 May and 19 September, Apollo captured two vessels:

• Spanish warship of 18 guns and 110 men, with "a valuable cargo"; and a
• Spanish xebec sailing from Malaga to Vera Cruz.

On 10 November, Apollo chased a xebec and then, coming up on a brig, chased and captured her. The brig was Resolution, a sloop of war, of 18 guns and 149 men, under the command of Don Francisco Darrichena. She was the former British navy cutter Resolution and had sailed from Vera Cruz three days earlier. After securing the prize, Apollo set out after the xebec, sighting her an hour after daybreak. Apollo finally captured the xebec Marte, of 75 tons, at three in the afternoon. She had been sailing from Vera Cruz for Havana. Apollo towed Resolution until 27 November, when she lost her mast. Resolution was in such an irreparable state Halkett destroyed her. Then on 7 December Apollo captured the schooner St Joseph, of 70 tons.

In addition to these three vessels, between 3 August 1800 and 3 January 1801, Apollo captured two other Spanish merchant vessels:

• brig Santa Trinidad, of 140 tons, carrying dry goods;
• polacre V. Del Carmen, of 100 tons, carrying dry goods.

On 18 February 1801, Apollo captured the French 14-gun privateer Vigilante.

Head money for Aquilla, Cantabria and Vigilante was paid in August 1828. First-class shares were worth ₤77 18s 3d (Aquilla), ₤163 18s 5¾d (Cantabria), and ₤61 18s 6d (Vigilante); fifth-class shares, the shares of an able seaman, were worth 4s 8d, 9s 10½d and 4s 0½d.

In mid-July 1801, Apollo picked up the crew of Meleager from Vera Cruz. Meleager had wrecked on the Triangles Shoals in the Bay of Campeche on 9 June but the crew had been able to take to the boats in time and sail to Vera Cruz.

Apollo returned to Portsmouth in March 1802, to be paid off after the Peace of Amiens. However, she was rushed into commission again in October of that year, for service on the Irish station under Captain John William Taylor Dixon.


The inscription on this print lists 'Apollo' as a frigate of 44 guns. However, she is listed, and apparently shown in the picture, as a 5th rate of 38 guns.



Napoleonic Wars
On 21 June 1803, Apollo captured the French ship Bon Accord. Then on 29 June, Apollo captured the French navy brig Dart, which sailing from Martinique to Lorient. She was armed with four guns and had a 45-man crew. She and several other vessels had been carrying cargo to Martinique. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Dart.

Fate
On 26 March 1804, Apollo sailed from Cork with a convoy of sixty-seven merchantmen, accompanied by HMS Carysfort, immediately encountering a strong gale. At 3:30 in the morning of 2 April, Apollo unexpectedly ran aground when their calculations showed them well offshore. In the morning Apollo discovered that she had run aground about nine miles south of Cape Mondego on the coast of Portugal. Twenty-five or six of the vessels in the convoy, traveling closely behind due to the low visibility and bad weather, were also wrecked. Next day some more vessels wrecked. In all, 29 vessels ran aground.

All the boats of the frigate were destroyed, and it took two days to transfer Apollo's crew to land. Sixty-two officers and men died; around twenty of the crew died in the first few hours, but most perished of exposure waiting to be rescued. The number of dead in the merchant vessels is not known, but the Naval Chronicle reported that "dead bodies were every day floating ashore, and pieces of wreck covered the beach upwards of ten miles."

Carysfort had shifted course on the evening of 1 April, and so escaped grounding. She gathered the 38 surviving vessels and proceeded with the convoy.

At the time, accounts blamed strong currents. Later it was discovered that Apollo had taken on board an iron tank, but that no one had adjusted her compass for the influence of this large magnetic mass. Consequently, a small error in direction accumulated over the course of the five days; at the time Apollo struck Dixon thought she was forty or so miles out to sea. Because the convoy had endured bad weather since leaving Cork, no one had taken sightings that would have enabled them to correct their estimates of their position. Instead, they had relied on an approximately known speed and a biased heading for their estimate.




Scale: 1:48. A model of one of the nine ships of the 'Artois/Apollo' class of 38-gun frigates designed by Sir John Henslow and built between 1793 and 1795.

The Apollo-class sailing frigates were a series of twenty-seven ships that the British Admiralty commissioned be built to a 1798 design by Sir William Rule. Twenty-five served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, two being launched too late.

Of the 25 ships that served during the Napoleonic Wars, only one was lost to enemy action. Of the entire class of 27 ships, only two were lost to wrecking, and none to foundering.

The Admiralty ordered three frigates in 1798–1800. Following the Peace of Amiens, it ordered a further twenty-four sister-ships to the same design between 1803 and 1812. The last was ordered to a fresh 38-gun design. Initially, the Admiralty split the order for the 24 vessels equally between its yards and commercial yards, but two commercial yards failed to perform and the Admiralty transferred these orders to its own dockyards, making the split 14–10 as between the Admiralty and commercial yards.

Ships in class

• Apollo class, 27 ships, 36-gun fifth rates 1799–1819, designed by William Rule.
  • HMS Apollo 1799
  • HMS Blanche 1800
  • HMS Euryalus 1803
  • HMS Semiramis 1808
  • HMS Owen Glendower 1808
  • HMS Curacoa 1809
  • HMS Saldanha 1809
  • HMS Malacca 1809
  • HMS Orpheus 1809
  • HMS Theban 1809
  • HMS Leda 1809
  • HMS Manilla 1809
  • HMS Belvidera 1809
  • HMS Hotspur 1810
  • HMS Astraea 1810
  • HMS Galatea 1810
  • HMS Havannah 1811
  • HMS Maidstone 1811
  • HMS Stag 1812
  • HMS Magicienne 1812
  • HMS Barrosa 1812
  • HMS Dartmouth 1813
  • HMS Creole 1813
  • HMS Tartar 1814
  • HMS Brilliant 1814
  • HMS Pallas 1816
  • HMS Blonde 1819 - completed to fresh 46-gun design

HMS Apollo (1799) - Wikipedia

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Apollo-class frigate - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 April 1804 - HMS Hindostan (54), Cptn. John Le Gros, caught fire off the coast of Spain and blew up after the crew got ashore.


HMS Hindostan (later variously Hindustan) was a 56-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was originally the East Indiaman Hindostan, launched in 1789, that the Admiralty bought in 1795. She is known for two events, her voyage to China between 1792 and 1794 when she carried Lord George Macartney on a special embassy to China, and her loss in a fire at sea in 1804.



The East Indiaman Hindostan, by Thomas Luny, National Maritime Museum



East India Company

Lord George Macartney

She was launched by William Barnard of Deptford on 3 November 1789 as Hindostan. From 17 January 1790 to 29 June 1791, under Captain William Mackintosh, she made one round trip for the East India Company to China.

She left the Downs on 17 January 1790 and was at Madeira by 31 January. She reached Madras on 2 June. From there she sailed to Penang(arriving 10 August), and Whampoa, where she arrived on 11 September. For the return trip she crossed the Second Bar on 7 January 1791, reached Cape Town on 9 April, St Helena on 28 April, and anchored in the Downs on 27 June.

The British Government then chartered her to take Lord Macartney to China in an unsuccessful attempt to open diplomatic and commercial relations with the Chinese empire. The voyage lasted from 1 October 1792 to 30 September 1794.[3] The Hindostan traveled in the company of the 64-gun HMS Lion under Captain Sir Erasmus Gower, and the brig Jackall.

Hindostan left Torbay on 1 October 1792, arrived at Madeira nine days later, and Tenerife 11 days after that. She next stopped at São Tiago on 2 November, Rio de Janeiro on 30 November, and Tristan de Cunha on 3 December. On 1 February 1793 she was at St Paul's Island, by 5 March at Batavia, by 16 May at Condore, by 26 May Cochin China, by 2 July Chusan, by 25 July she was off Teinchin, but then returned to Chusan on 2 September. She arrived at Whampoa on 11 December.

While Hindostan was at Whampoa anchorage in December there were several other East Indiamen there that on their return to Britain the Admiralty would also purchase: Ceres, Earl of Abergavenny, and Warley, and Royal Charlotte.[4] Part of the remuneration of the captain of an Indiaman was the right to carry up to some 50 tons of cargo for his own account. Mackintosh managed to conduct private trade in Guangzhou from the voyage amounting to £7,480. The total private trade on Hindostan amounted to £9,633.

On her return trip Hindostan crossed the Second Bar on 4 February 1794, reaching St Helena on 18 June and the Downs on 7 September.


A scene showing the ‘Hindustan’ in full sail off the coast of China. A Chinese craft is sailing past on the left of the painting with a figure visible in the stern managing both the sails and the tiller. The junk is covered with a small awning. Another British ship can be seen in the far distance on the left. The painting is thought to commemorate the ‘Hindustan’s’ first voyage for the East India Company to China at the start of 1790, returning just over a year later in January 1791. Luny was commissioned to produce five paintings of the ‘Hindustan’ from this voyage.


A scene bathed in golden light showing the East Indiaman ‘Hindustan’ and another vessel, at anchor off the coast of China. The 'Hindustan' is probably drying its sails. A ship’s boat is pulling away from the ship and there are several Chinese junks in the water. The painting is thought to commemorate the ‘Hindustan’s’ first voyage for the East India Company to China at the start of 1790, returning just over a year later in January 1791 under Captain William Mackintosh. Luny was commissioned to produce five paintings of the ‘Hindustan’ from this voyage.

Naval service
The Admiralty bought Hindostan on 9 March 1795. Barnard fitted her for service with the Royal Navy at a cost of £11,062. In April, Captain Robert Moorsom commissioned her for service in the North Sea. Captain Thomas Bertie took command in November.

On 28 January 1796, a gale of wind at Cork caused Hindostan to run into Santa Margarita, causing Santa Margarita to lose her masts, bowsprit, and rigging. Hindostan nevertheless sailed for Jamaica on 24 February 1796.

In the West Indies she participated in the operations against San Domingo. Captain Francis Collingswood took command in October 1796. She returned to England, arriving at Portsmouth in late May, having convoyed four ships; and was paid off in August 1797. She served for a year until June 1798 as a guardship at Plymouth.

In December Captain Joshua Mulock commissioned her as a 28-gun storeship for Cork. At this time she gave up her lower deck guns.

Hindostan sailed for the Mediterranean on 18 January 1800. On 20 May, she and Pearl captured the Ragusan ship Veloce and her cargo of bale goods and cochineal while Veloce was sailing from Marseilles to Petuan on the Barbary coast.[8]Mustapha Bashaw, Dey of Algiers and named Algerian owners of the ship claimed the vessel and cargo. After the Vice-Admiralty court in Minorca had ruled the vessel and its cargo a prize the case went to appeal in England. In September 1802 the crews of Hindostan and Pearl shared ₤12,000, representing an advance payment of prize money.

Hindostan refitted at Deptford between November 1800 and January 1801 (for £10,292) before sailing for the Cape of Good Hope in March. By 6 May 1801 she was a storeship again, and under Captain Samuel Mottley.

On 17 September 1801 she arrived at Cape Town from Rio de Janeiro, together with Jupiter and Euphrosyne, after a voyage of about a month. Lion had escorted a convoy of East Indiamen bound for China to Rio, together with Hindostan. They had arrived there on 1 August. Captain Losack, of Jupiter, decided to accompany the convoy eastward until they were unlikely to encounter some Spanish and French vessels known to be cruising off Brazil.

In December Lieutenant William Fothergill took command. Although a storeship, Hindostan shared with Diomede, Jupiter and Braave in the capture of the Union on 27 May 1803.

Then in 1804 Captain John Le Gros replaced Fothergill. On 12 February 1804 Le Gros sailed Hindostan for the Mediterranean to carry supplies to Horatio Nelson, who was at the time Commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean fleet.

Loss


Loss of the Hindostan by fire, engraving from 1805.

Arriving at Gibraltar in March, Hindostan sailed from there to join Nelson off Toulon in company with the frigate Phoebe, but became separated from Phoebe during a gale in the Gulf of Lyons.

On the morning of 2 April, while about 30 miles to the south-east of Cape St. Sebastian, thick smoke was seen coming from the fore and main hatchways. Attempts were made to find the source of the fire but no flames could be discovered. Orders were given to throw the ship's gunpowder overboard and an unsuccessful attempt was made to flood the magazine.

Captain Le Gros had the boats prepared and hoisted out in case it became necessary to abandon ship. He also had the marines parade with loaded muskets to prevent anyone from fleeing in panic. The crew either threw overboard or dampened whatever gunpowder they could reach.

After struggling to fight the fire for about 7 hours, but when they were still 15 miles (24 km) from shore, flames suddenly erupted from the hatchways. The crew was able to run Hindostan aground in Rosas Bay, about a mile from the Fort of Ampurius and the Church of Saint Peter. By the time she beached, about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the shore, she was completely aflame. Local vessels were initially afraid to approach too closely, but using the ship's own boats and an improvised raft, the ship's passengers and crew were saved shortly before the ship blew up.

Spanish launches ferried survivors from the ship's boats to the shore. The order of rescue was women and children, ship's crew, officers, and the captain. The evacuation was orderly and no more than three men were lost of her 259 people on board, including passengers.


The Wreck of the Hindostan; East-Indiaman, on the Wedge Sand, off Margate, Jan 11 1803 showing the Margate Boat saving part of the Crew (PAD6362)

Aftermath
On 19 April a court martial on board Royal Sovereign honourably acquitted Captain Le Gros, his officers, and the ship's company. The board praised Le Gros for his actions in saving so many of Hindostan's crew and passengers. Nelson himself remarked that the preservation of the crew seemed little short of a miracle. The board recommended Hindostan's acting lieutenant, Thomas Banks, to Nelson for promotion for his conduct during the wreck; his promotion to lieutenant was confirmed on 23 June 1804.

The cause of the fire was much debated. It was suggested that the fire may have been due to spontaneous combustion of hemp cordage or sails being stored when not completely dry. Nelson later wrote of the incident, "the fire must have originated from medicine chests breaking down or from wet getting down which causes things to heat. I have never read such a journal of exertions in my whole life."

HMS Hindostan (1795) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 April 1814 - HMS Gleaner (12), Lt. Alexander Barclay Branch, fouled by other vessels off the mouth of the Adour in a storm and driven ashore.


HMS Gleaner was the mercantile ketch Gleaner, launched in 1802. She served the Royal Navy as the "hired ketch Gleaner" from 12 July 1808 until the Navy purchased her in 1809. Initially she served as a light vessel and survey vessel. From early 1811 to August 1811 she served in the Mediterranean, where she captured an Ottoman vessel. She then became a yard lighter and a light vessel again. Then in 1812 she was on the North American station where she participated in the capture of several merchant vessels. Next she returned to the Mediterranean where she captured a privateer. Finally, she served off the north coast of Spain where she was wrecked on 2 March 1814.




Gleaner
Gleaner was launched in 1802 and the Royal Navy hired her from 12 July 1808. She was under the command of Lieutenant Andrew Green. On 2 December Green and Gleaner captured the Danish sloop Emanuel, Jeffen, master. She had been sailing from Droutheim to Bordeaux and arrived at Plymouth on 7 December.

On 17 January 1809, Gleaner was on the coast of Spain, ready to take dispatches back to Britain.

HMS Gleaner
The Navy purchased Gleaner in 1809 and ordered her to be "fitted out as a float light for Thornton Ridge," (51°34′30″N 3°0′30″E), "established with guns and men."[6] Although the Navy purchased Gleaner, many subsequent reports still refer to her as a "hired ketch" or "Hired armed ketch".

Already by early 1810 Gleaner was carrying dispatches and capturing vessels. In March she detained the America, Dunkin, master, which was sailing from Baltimore and Lisbon. Gleaner sent her into Plymouth. On 30 October Gleaner was at Falmouth, having brought mails from Surinam. Eleven days later she sailed for Surinam again.

In 1811 Gleaner sailed for the Mediterranean. Early in 1811, Lieutenant Alexander Branch was first lieutenant on Pylades, which was operating in the Aegean archipelago. Captain Charles Ferguson of Pylades ordered Branch to take charge of the "armed ketch" Gleaner, during the temporary absence of her proper commander, and to search all the Greek vessels he could find to see if they were carrying French cargoes under a neutral flag. Off Samos, Gleaner encountered a polacca of 12 long guns and 70 men. A two-hour single-ship action ensued before the polacca struck. During the action a cannon ball mangled Branch's right leg. He lay essentially untreated until Gleaner was able to reach Smyrna five days later, where his leg was amputated. He then endured three months of suffering before he was able to heal. Despite the gallantry of the action, Branch did not receive promotion, and it was another two years before he received a pension for his injuries. As soon as he was able to move on crutches, Lieutenant Branch returned to Pylades and remained senior lieutenant on her until she returned to England in late 1811. The Sublime Porte claimed the polacca on the grounds that she belonged to an Ottoman subject. The British Ambassador to the Sublime Porte argued that she should be declared a legitimate prize, but was unable to prevail and she was restored to Ottoman control.

In August 1811, Gleaner became a dockyard lighter, and a light vessel for the Galloper Sands (51°46.864′N 01°57.871′E). In 1812 Gleaner was under the command of her master, Mr. J. Trickey.

On 19 June she sailed for North America. She was reported to have arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 22 July to verify the news of war, but then sailed to New York. Before Gleaner arrived at Halifax, she participated in some captures. On 18 July Ringdove, which was apparently serving on the Halifax, Nova Scotia station, captured the ship Magnet, of 172 tons (bm), from Belfast, bound to New York, with passengers, and a small quantity of linen. The Royal Navy took Magnet into service as a prison ship at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Ringdove was in company with Gleaner. The next day Ringdove captured the schooner Rover, of 98 tons (bm), sailing from Liverpool for Amelia Island. Rover was carrying coals, earthenware, and hardware Once again Gleaner was in sight.

On 27 February 1813, the "Gleaner hired armed ketch", Lieutenant William Knight, captured the schooner Amphrite, of 164 tons (bm). She was sailing from New York to Bordeaux with a cargo of cotton and potash.

One month later, Knight wrote that Gleaner had captured the French privateer Adelaide some six leagues WNW of Cape St Vito (Sicily). While both vessels were lying becalmed, the privateer used her sweeps to bring her into position to attack Gleaner. Adelaide was armed with six guns and had a crew of 46 men. Nevertheless, she struck to Gleaner. Adelaide was five days out of Naples and had taken nothing. Knight's letter was dated at Plymouth on 6 May, suggesting that Gleaner had been in the Mediterranean carrying dispatches, and then returned.

On 23 October 1813 Gleaner, still under the command of William Knight, was in sight when Andromache captured the French frigate Trave after an engagement of only 15 minutes. Trave, although a new vessel, had lost her masts in a storm and was sailing under jury-rigged masts and so unable to maneuver. She was armed with twenty-eight French 18-pounder long guns and sixteen 18-pounder carronades, and had a crew of 321 men, almost all Dutch. Before she struck she had one man killed, and 28 men wounded, including her commander capitaine de frégate Jacob Van Maren. Andromache had little damage and only two men wounded. The Royal Navy took Trave into service as the troopship Trave.

Lieutenant Alexander Branch returned to command of Gleaner on 2 December 1813, on the north coast of Spain. As the Duke of Wellington moved on Bayonne, Gleaner blockaded the Ardour river. On 24 February 1814 when a flotilla of hired and purchased boats crossed the highly dangerous waters at the bar to the river, preparatory to erecting a floating bridge, Rear-Admiral Penrose hoisted his flag on Gleaner to supervise the operation. Although some boats had been lost and a number of men drowned, 25 chasse marees and some gunboats succeeded in getting into the river. There they formed a 900-yard long floating bridge.

In January 1819, the London Gazette reported that Parliament had voted a grant to all those who had served under the command of Admiral Viscount Keith in 1812, between 1812 and 1814, and in the Gironde, the grant to include the vessels that had crossed the bar of the Ardour. Gleaner was listed among the vessels that had served under Keith in 1813 and 1814.

Fate
Admiral Penrose chose Gleaner to take the dispatches concerning the operation to create the bridge back to Britain, but asked Branch to wait at Saint-Jean-de-Luz for the arrival of one of General Lord Wellington's officers with dispatches from the general. The weather worsened on 1 April but Gleaner was well-anchored and prepared and rode out the storm until the morning of 2 April. Unfortunately, the storm drove a merchant sloop across Gleaner's bows. Gleaner's crew separated the two vessels, and the crew of the sloop was able to take shelter on the ketch before their sloop sank. As the winds worsened they drove Gleaner under the bows of a transport brig, where she became so trapped that she started to come apart from the action of the wind and waves. By 5pm Gleaner was so damaged that her crew and that of the sloop transferred to the transport brig. The combined crews were able to cut Gleaner free. The waves swept her onto the beach and she disappeared within minutes. The brig was able to rid out the storm until the next day, but then her crew was forced to cut her cables and to drive her on to the beach. All the survivors made it safely ashore. In all, the storm wrecked 17 vessels.

The subsequent court martial acquitted Lieutenant Branch, his officers, and crew of any culpability in the loss of Gleaner. On 6 June 1814 the Admiralty promoted Branch and gave him command of Swinger.

HMS Gleaner (1809) - Wikipedia

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[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 April 1828 – HMS Black Joke captures Providentia (14)


The third HMS Black Joke was probably built in Baltimore in 1824, becoming the Brazilian slave ship Henriquetta. The Royal Navy captured her in September 1827 and purchased her into the service. The Navy re-named her Black Joke, after an English song of the same name, and assigned her to the West Africa Squadron (or Preventative Squadron). Her role was to chase down slave ships, and over her five-year career she freed many hundreds of slaves. The Navy deliberately burnt her in May 1832 because her timbers had rotted to the point that she was no longer fit for active service.






Henriquetta – slaver
Built as a Baltimore clipper (possibly as the vessel Griffen), Henriquetta (also Henri Quatre) was a brig designed to be fast. Brazilian owners purchased her in 1825, and she worked for a slave dealer at Bahia, making 80,000 pounds (approximately £6,450,000 in 2018, when adjusted for inflation), by running 3,040 slaves across to Brazil in six voyages over a period of three years.
HMS Sybille captured her on 6 September 1827.[5] Commodore Francis Collier of Sybille wrote to the Admiralty noting that at the time of her capture Henriquetta was 257 tons, mounted three guns and had a crew of 38 men. She had 569 enslaved Africans on board "and had landed at Bahia 3,360 slaves in the last two years".

She was sold at auction in Sierra Leone on 5 January 1828, for £330 (approximately £28,000 in 2018).

The Navy took her into service as a tender to Sybille, under the command of Lieutenant William Turner of Sybille. During her service with the Navy, Black Joke's crew included an assistant surgeon, three midshipmen, thirty seamen and five marines as well as a number of Liberian Kroomen for use on detached boat service. Her armament consisted of one long 18-pounder on a pivot mount.

On 5 January 1828 she sailed with Sybille and the 20-gun post ship Esk. On 12 January she captured the Spanish schooner Gertrudes (or Gertrudis), which carried 155 slaves. Gertrudes had outrun the other two British warships, but not Black Joke.

On 2 April a Spanish 14-gun brig fired on Black Joke as she approached the brig. After two hours of exchanging shots, and after suffering several casualties, the brig hoisted a flag of truce. She turned out to be the Providentia, of 14 guns and a crew of 80 men. She had fired on the Black Joke as Providentia's captain had been warned that a Colombian privateer answering to the same description as Black Joke was in the area. Turner therefore released her. Black Joke suffered no casualties; Providentia had numerous of her crew killed and wounded.

On 1 May 1828 Black Joke fought the large and well-armed pirate Presidenté. After two hours of action, and following the death of their captain and two others, as well as the wounding of a number more, the crew of the Presidenté sought a truce. (Black Joke sustained one killed and a number wounded.) The crew of Presidenté underwent an examination before being committed for trial on charges of piracy. Many of her crew appeared to be British or have anglicized names, and they were sent back to England for trial. The next day Black Joke retook the Portuguese vessel Hosse, which Presidenté had taken as a prize. Presidente was lost at sea on her way to Sierra Leone but Black Joke earned salvage money for Hosse.

On 16 May, Black Joke captured Vengador.[9] She had a crew of 45 men and eight guns but offered no resistance. She carried 645 slaves, the most ever captured on a single ship.

On 14 September Black Joke was in company with Primrose when Primrose captured the Zephirina or Zephorina. Zephorina was carrying 218 slaves.

On 14 November Turner received promotion to commander. He turned over command of Black Joke to Lieutenant Henry Downes of Sybille. In November of the same year Black Joke was forced to leave the coast of Bioko (Fernando Po), due to fever on board.


HMS Black Joke and prizes (clockwise from top left) Providentia, Vengador, Presidenta, Marianna, El Almirante, and El Hassey

In January 1829 Black Joke saw a Spanish brig as the Spaniard loaded slaves and set sail for Havana. Black Joke chased the Spaniard for 31 hours and on 1 February, when the wind dropped, resorted to sweeps to bring herself within gunshot of her prey. El Almirante mounted a total of 14 guns (ten Gover's 18-pounder cannon and four long 9-pounders) and had a crew of 80 men. Black Joke was almost half the size of El Almirante and mounted two guns. Good ship-handling, the discipline of the Royal Navy gun crew, and light winds gave Lieutenant Downes the advantage. In 80 minutes he defeated and captured the slaver, which suffered 15 dead, including the captain and the first and second mates, and a further 13 wounded, while Black Joke suffered six wounded, two of whom died later. El Almirante held 466 slaves, who were later landed.

On 6 March Black Joke captured the 2-gun brigantine Carolina, which carried 420 slaves.[9][Note 9] After this capture Downes was invalided home because of illness, and received a promotion to Commander on his return in recognition of the capture of El Almirante. He had freed a total of 875 slaves.

Black Joke then came under the command of Lieutenant E.J. Parrey. On 11 October he captured the Christina (or Cristina), a Spanish schooner of three guns and 24 crew members. She was carrying 354 slaves. Lieutenant William Coyde replaced Parrey, and on 1 April 1830 captured the Spanish brigantine Manzanares of three guns and 34 crew. She was carrying 354 slaves.

Later that month Black Joke was in refit in Sierra Leone. Coyde's replacement in Black Joke was Lieutenant William Ramsay.

On 9 November she captured Dos Amigos, a Baltimore schooner with a crew of 34 and armed with a single carronade; Dos Amigos had 567 African captives aboard, but may have relanded them before her capture. The Admiralty put Dos Amigos up for auction where the commodore of the British Anti-Slavery Squadron, Jonathan Hayes, bought her and named her Fair Rosamond. In December Black Joke was cruising in the Bight of Benin with Medina.

On 21 or 22 February 1831 Black Joke captured a slaver with 300 slaves on board. This was probably the Spanish schooner Primeira. At the time Black Joke was acting as a tender to Dryad, and was under the temporary command of W L Castle.

In a famous action on 25 or 26 April 1831, Black Joke was again under Ramsey's command when she captured the Marinerito. Black Joke captured the much larger and more heavily armed Spanish slaver off the island of Bioko. At one point, 14-year-old Midshipman Hinde from Black Joke took command and rescued the boarding party, including Ramsey, which had become stranded on the Spanish slaver's deck. Marinerito had 15 of her crew killed; Black Joke lost one man killed and four wounded, one of whom was Ramsey. Of the 496 slaves on Marinerito, 26 were found to have died and 107 were in so weakened a state that they were landed on Bioko, where more than half subsequently died. The remainder were taken to freedom in Sierra Leone.

In September, in company with Fair Rosamond, Black Joke chased two Spanish slavers into the Bonny River. Lieutenant Ramsey, reported that "during the chase they were seen to throw their slaves overboard, by twos shackled together by the ankles, and left in this manner to sink or swim." Fair Rosamond captured the Spanish vessels, Regulo and Rapido, on 10 September and took them to Sierra Leone, where the Admiralty Court condemned them. Black Joke freed 39 slaves, for which a half bounty was paid to the captain and crew. A further bounty was paid for the 29 slaves who died between the capture and the condemnation of the Regulo.

Ramsey received promotion to the rank of commander for the capture of Marinerito and handed over command to Lieutenant H V Huntley. On 15 February 1832, Black Joke captured Spanish schooner Frasquita, alias Centilla, which was armed with two guns and had a crew of 31 men. Frasquitta yielded bounty money for the 290 slaves on board her.

In all, between November 1830 and March 1832, Black Joke and Fair Rosamond accounted for 11 out of the squadron's take of 13 slavers.

Fate
A survey held on the Black Joke in 1832 stated that her timbers were rotten, and that "she is not, in our opinion, a vessel calculated fit for H.M. Service." There were discussions about further use of Black Joke, including use as a government vessel for Sierra Leone. She was due to be transferred to the governor when the rear admiral changed his mind and ordered that Black Joke be destroyed. She was burnt on 3 May 1832 and her stores sold. The surveyors attached examples of her timber; all that now remains of the famous slave-chaser is an envelope filled with brown dust in The National Archives. In 1958 "a small quantity of the 'testings' of the timber of Black Joke were sent to Lagos for exhibition in the museum there".

When the Royal Navy ordered that Black Joke be burned, Peter Leonard, surgeon of HMS Dryad, wrote that she was the ship "which has done more towards putting an end to the vile traffic in slaves than all the ships of the station put together."

HMS Black Joke (1827) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 April 1833 - Launch of HMS Royal William, a 120-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Pembroke Dock.


HMS Royal William was a 120-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 2 April 1833 at Pembroke Dock.



Royal William was fitted with screw propulsion in 1860. She later was lent to the Liverpool Roman Catholic Reformatory Society, who renamed her Clarence. Clarence was destroyed by arson on 26 July 1899 on the River Mersey near New Ferry on the Wirral Peninsula in England.

The figurehead of Royal William (in its original state) was for many years placed beside the historic 1775 Mutton Cove "covered slip number 1" in Plymouth harbour. In the 1990s it was replaced by a fiberglass copy, the wooden original is now preserved in Devonport dockyard.



Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Neptune' (1832), 'Royal William' (1833), 'Waterloo' (1833), 'Saint George' (1840), and 'Trafalgar' (1841), all 120-gun First Rate, three-decker, similar to the 'Caledonia' (1808), but with increased breadth. Signed by H. Spiven [unknown, but signed on behalf of Master Shipwright]

The Caledonia-class ships of the line were a class of nine 120-gun first rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir William Rule. A tenth ship (Royal Frederick) was ordered on 29 October 1827 to the same design, but was launched in 1833 as Queen to a fresh design by Sir William Symonds.

The armament remained the same for the first three ships of the class, with the exception of an increase in firepower on the poop deck from 2 to 6 18-pounder carronades. The armament for the fourth ship was significantly modified, with two of the 32-pounders on the main gun deck being replaced with 68-pounder carronades, all guns on the middle and upper gun decks being replaced with the same number of 32-pounders, four of the 12-pounder guns on the quarterdeck were replaced with 32-pounder carronades, and the remaining two were increased to 18-pounders, along with the two 12-pounders on the forecastle, and the carronades on the poop deck were removed. The remaining five ships were built to a slightly broadened version of the draught, and this sub-class was armed in the same way as the last of the standard Caledonias, HMS Royal George. Except for Caledonia herself, all these ships were converted into steam-powered screw battleships during the 1850s.





Scale: 1:48. A contemporary sectional model of the 'Caledonia' (1808), a 120-gun three-decker ship of the line, built plank on frame in the Georgian style. Model is partially decked and is one of a pair of longitudinal half models, which together form a full hull model. This is the port half, which depicts the method of construction of square bow and stern in practice before adoption of the system introduced by Sir Robert Seppings. SLR2822 is the starboard half, which shows improvements and modifications of the round bow and stern made by Seppings, about 1814. This new system enabled larger and stronger ships to be built which in turn allowed more guns to be carried. The 'Caledonia’ was built at the Royal Dockyard, Plymouth and was the first ship in the Royal Navy to be rated as of 120 guns. Measuring 205 feet along the gun deck and a beam of 54 feet, it had a tonnage of 2602 burden. In 1857 after a fairly uneventful career, the 'Caledonia’ replaced the 'Dreadnought’ as the Seaman’s Hospital in the Thames and was moored just off Greenwich, taking on the name of its predecessor. It was finally broken up in 1875.




Scale: 1:48. Sectional model of the 'Caledonia' (1808), a 120 gun three-decker ship of the line. Model is decked and is one of two longitudinal half models which together forms a full hull model. SLR0120 is the port half, which depicts the method of construction in practice before adoption of the system introduced by Sir Robert Seppings. This is the starboard half, which shows improvements and modifications made by Seppings, about 1814.

Ships
Standard group

• HMS Caledonia

Builder: Plymouth Dockyard
Ordered: 19 January 1797
Laid down: 1 January 1805
Launched: 25 June 1808
Fate: Broken up, 1875

• HMS Britannia

Builder: Plymouth Dockyard
Ordered: 11 June 1812
Laid down: December 1813
Launched: 20 October 1820
Fate: Broken up, 1869

• HMS Prince Regent

Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 6 January 1812
Laid down: 17 July 1815
Launched: 12 April 1823
Fate: Broken up, 1873

• HMS Royal George

Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 2 June 1819
Laid down: June 1823
Launched: 22 September 1827
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1875

Broadened group

• HMS Neptune

Builder: Portsmouth Dockyard
Ordered: 12 February 1823
Laid down: January 1827
Launched: 22 September 1832
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1875

• HMS Royal William

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard
Ordered: 30 December 1823
Laid down: October 1825
Launched: 2 April 1833
Fate: Burnt, 1899

• HMS Waterloo

Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 9 September 1823
Laid down: March 1827
Launched: 10 June 1833
Fate: Burnt, 1918

• HMS St George

Builder: Plymouth Dockyard
Ordered: 2 June 1819
Laid down: May 1827
Launched: 27 August 1840
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1883

• HMS Trafalgar

Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 22 February 1825
Laid down: November 1829
Launched: 21 June 1841
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1906



Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for the 'Saint George' (1840), to be built at Plymouth Dockyard, and later for 'Royal George' (1827). The plan was altered in 1824 and a copy sent to the respective dockyards for 'Saint George' and 'Royal George', and again for 'Neptune' (1832), 'Royal William' (1833), and 'Trafalgar' (1841), all 120-gun First Rate, three-decker. Signed by Henry Peake [Surveyor of the Navy, 1806-1822] and Robert Seppings [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1832]









Scale: 1:36. A model of the port side of the Caledonia (1808), made entirely in wood with metal fittings and painted in quasi-realistic colours. The model is depicted on chocks in a stylised slipway and has two brass stabilizer supports. The model, together with its pendant, SLR2533, occupy a bespoke display case that splits into two with each half of the case containing a half hull model and allowing the interiors of those models to be viewed. The hull is painted white below the waterline, black above, and with bright yellow stripes along the three gundecks. The gunports themselves have no lids, the interiors are painted bright red with stylised perspective shading. The decks are unplanked but the deck frames are depicted. The longitudinal section shows the deck configuration, deck support posts, main and filling frames, diagonal bracings and other internal and structural details. The support for the figurehead is a scroll painted in black and yellow but the figurehead itself is missing. The stern has two open galleries the rails made in brass. On hand-written metal label "A model (on 3/8 scale) of a first rate ship of war (such as the "Caledonia" class) The starboard side built upon the old principle of shipbuilding in use up to about 1814, with standards and riders running square from the body and without shelf under the beams or thick water way upon the beams. The port built upon the improved principle introduced by Sir Robert Seppings about 1814 with the diagonal wood riders longitudinal and truss pieces, thick water way on the beam and shelf under the beam, truss work between the ports and diagonal deck also showing the round stern and round bow.". Numbers "36" and "39" on original case.


Scale: 1:48. Plans showing a section though the Caledonia (1808), a 102 gun First Rate, Three Decker, illustrating the use of John Hearle's Fire and Wash deck Engine Pump as fitted to the ship. The plan is annotated with a reference to the details shown. This plan has two related documents: ZAZ6850.2: Letter dated 18 April 1831 from J. Hearle to Sir Robert Seppings ZAZ6850.1: Printed form relating to directions for fixing and using the wash deck and fire pump.


Scale: 1:24. Plan showing the fore body plan, fore part of the longitudinal half-breadth, and fore part of the sheer lines for Caledonia (1808), a 120-gun First Rate, three-decker. The plan illustrates the circular bow added to Caledonia after her initial design to remove the beakhead bulkhead.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Royal_William_(1833)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledonia-class_ship_of_the_line

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 April 1836 – Launch of French Jemmapes, a late 100-gun Hercule-class ship of the line of the French Navy.


Jemmapes was a late 100-gun Hercule-class ship of the line of the French Navy.



Service history
Ordered in 1824 as Indomptable and soon renamed Royal Charles, Jemmapes was laid down in 1825 but not completed before 1840. She took her definitive name after the July Revolution, on 9 August 1830.

In 1844, Jemmapes took part in the Bombardment of Mogador in Joinville's squadron. In October or November 1848, she was driven ashore at Civitavecchia, Papal States. Deactivated in 1851, she took part in the Crimean War, first in the Baltic Sea in 1854, and in the Black Sea the next year.

Decommissioned in 1864, Jemmapes was first used as a transport, and then hulked, before being scrapped in 1890


1/40th-scale model of the 100-gun Hercule, lead ship of Jemmapes ' class, on display at the Musée national de la Marine.


The Hercule class was a late type of 100-gun ships of the line of the French Navy. They were the second strongest of four ranks of ships of the line designed by the Commission de Paris. While the first units were classical straight-walled ships of the line, next ones were gradually converted to steam, and the last one was built with an engine.

Design
The Hercule class evolved as an enlargement of the straight-walled, 90-gun Suffren class, suggested by Jean Tupinier.

With the Henri IV, a rounded stern was introduced. The next ships were built with the rounded stern, and it was retrofitted on the early units of the class.


Scale model of Tage on display at the Musée National de la Marine in Paris

Hercule class, of the Commission de Paris

• Hercule 100 (launched 29 July 1836 at Toulon)
• Tage 100 (launched 15 August 1847 at Brest)
• Henri IV 100 (launched 14 September 1848 at Cherbourg)
• Jemmapes 100 (launched 2 April 1840 at Lorient)
• Lys 100 originally (1821), renamed Ulm and commissioned as an 82-gun, steam-powered ship

Hercule class ships of the line (further ships of this class)
The ships of the Hercule class, designed to be 100-gun sailing ships of the line, were modified and transformed into 90-gun steam ships of the line

• Tage 90 (launched 15 April 1847 at Brest) – Transport 1875
• Austerlitz 90 (launched 15 September 1852 at Cherbourg) – Stricken 1872
• Fleurus 90 (launched 2 December 1853 at Toulon) – Stricken 1869
• Prince Jérôme 90 (launched 2 December 1853 at Lorient) – Transport 1872
• Duguay-Trouin 90 (launched 29 March 1854 at Lorient) – Stricken 1872
• Turenne 90 (launched 15 April 1854 at Rochefort) – Stricken 1867
• Ulm 90 (launched 13 May 1854 at Rochefort) – Hulk 1867
• Wagram 90 (launched 19 June 1854 at Lorient) – Stricken 1867
• Navarin 90 (launched 26 July 1854 at Toulon) – Transport 1873
• Eylau 90 (launched 15 May 1856 at Toulon) – Stricken 1877

1/75th-scale model of Prince Jérôme, on display at the Swiss Museum of Transport.


The Austerlitz in 1854, drawing by Louis Le Breton


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Jemmapes_(1840)

Hercule-class ship of the line - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Hercule-class ship of the line - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org