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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
5 November 1816 - HMS Briseis (10), George Dourett, wrecked on reef off Point Pedras, Cuba.


HMS Briseis was a 10-gun Cherokee-class Royal Navy brig launched in 1808 at Upnor, on the River Medway.
James Clark Ross joined the Navy in April 1812 and served in this ship under the command of his uncle, John Ross.
On 25 October 1810 Briseis and Snake were in company at the recapture of Ulrica Wilhelmina.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile, upper deck, lower deck, and platforms for Frolic, a 10-gun Brig as fitted as a Packet. The plan was later altered at the Navy Office and copies sent to the Royal Dockyards for Goldfinch (1808), Redpole (1808), Hope (1824), Magnet (1823), Procris (1822), Weazle (1822), Hearty (1824), Lapwing (1825), Harpy (1825), Fairy (1826), Espoir (1826), Calypso (1826), Recruit (1829), Rapid (1829), Myrtle (1825), Musquito (1825), Briseis (1829, and Hyaena (cancelled 1831), all 10-gun Brigs to be fitted as Packets. Signed by Edward Churchill [Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1815-1830].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/84921.html#LVBAkfmOwAROproe.99


Loss
Commander George Dommett sailed Briseis on 24 October 1816 from Trinidad, Cuba, bound for Nassau. On 5 November she sighted unknown land and Dommett sailed closer to attempt an identification of their location. He hove-to for the night off shore only to discover that a current was taking her inshore. Although the crew tried to save her, she grounded. Next morning she fell on her side and filled with water. The crew took to the boats and reached shore safely. There they discovered that they were at Point Pedras, about nine miles west of Bahia Honda on Cuba's northern coast.

The subsequent courtmartial faulted both Dommett's performance, and that of the Master. It sentenced Dommett to two years loss of seniority for "great want of attention". It placed the Master at the bottom of the list of Masters; he was not employed again as a Master for two years.

In fiction
Briseis appears as part of Jack Aubrey's squadron in Patrick O'Brian's The Hundred Days, where she is described as "the little Briseis, one of that numerous class called coffin-brigs" (however, the real Briseis did not serve in the Mediterranean, where the novel's action is set).

Class and type: Cherokee-class brig-sloop
Tons burthen: 239 bm
Length: 90 ft 3 in (27.51 m)
Beam: 24 ft 7 in (7.49 m)
Draught: 11 ft 0 in (3.35 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Brig
Complement: 75 men and boys
Armament:

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Longitudinal section of HMS Beagle as of 1842

The Cherokee class was a class of brig-sloops of the Royal Navy, mounting 10 guns. Brig-sloops are sloops-of-war with two masts (a fore mast and a taller main mast) rather than the three masts of ship sloops. Orders for 115 vessels were placed, including 5 which were cancelled and 6 for which the orders were replaced by ones for equivalent steam-powered paddle vessels.

Many of these sailing vessels served as mail packet ships, and more than eight assisted with exploration and surveys. The best known of the class was HMS Beagle, then considerably modified for Beagle's second survey voyage under Robert FitzRoy, with the gentleman naturalist Charles Darwin on board as a self-funded supernumerary.

Design
The carronade, nicknamed the "smasher" or "devil gun", was significantly smaller and lighter than conventional cannon. It was also found to have a more destructive broadside at close range, so that a smaller (and cheaper) ship could be more effective in naval actions than a much larger man-of-war. Sir Henry Peake designed a small ship to operate in both shallow and deep waters, carrying eight 16-pounder or 18-pounder carronades plus two long 6-pounder cannon as forward-mounted chase guns.

Henry Peake completed the design for the Cherokee class in 1807. The design was approved on 26 November 1807, with the first four vessels having been ordered in March 1807 but not laid down until December; by the end of 1808 another 30 vessels had been ordered to this design. After these 34, a further 2 were ordered in 1812 which were built of teak at Bombay. The design was revived after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and another 78 were ordered in two batches between 1817 and 1827. The first batch of these later vessels consisted of 35 orders (of which one was cancelled) whilst the second amounted to 44 new vessels of which 4 were cancelled and 6 replaced by orders for paddle vessels.

The class was much criticised, being popularly known as 'coffin brigs', following the loss by wrecking or foundering of a number of them. There seems to have been no particular fault in their design, but they were considered to be somewhat too small for the global duties they took on. Almost a quarter of them were lost, and they were also nicknamed "Half Tide Rock" as they had low freeboard so the deck was frequently awash with water, and solid bulwarks preventing the water from being shed quickly. William James, in his Naval History written before May 1827, dismissed the supposed design faults, and said that it would be "surprising indeed that the navy board would continue adding new individuals by dozens at a time" to "this worthless class". These open flush-decked ships lacked a forecastle to deflect heavy seas crashing over the bow: one was added to Beagle in 1825 before its first voyage, together with a mizzen mast which improved the handling. Despite these modifications to the design, Captain Pringle Stokes protested that "our decks were constantly flooded".

Further extensive modifications were made for the second voyage of HMS Beagle. Darwin noted in his journal in April 1833 that "It blew half a gale of wind; but it was fair & we scudded before it. — Our decks fully deserved their nickname of a "half tide rock"; so constantly did the water flow over them", but John Lort Stokes who was on all three survey expeditions praised Beagle: "The reader will be surprised to learn that she belongs to that much-abused class, the '10-gun brigs'—coffins, as they are not infrequently designated in the service; notwithstanding which, she has proved herself, under every possible variety of trial, in all kinds of weather, an excellent sea boat."

Service
Few of the Cherokee class ships took part in sea battles of any importance. Large numbers of them went on to serva as passenger and mail carrying packet ships, running from the UK to the USA and Canada.

Several assisted with exploration and survey expeditions, including HMS Barracouta, which served with William Fitzwilliam Owen's survey of African and Arabian coasts between 1821 and 1826 before being converted to a barque-rigged packet in 1829 and then being sold in 1836.

The first voyage of Beagle set out in 1826 under Captain Pringle Stokes as part of Phillip Parker King's survey of South American coasts, which returned late in 1830 with Beagle by then commanded by Robert FitzRoy. Captain Henry Foster commanded HMS Chanticleer on his survey around the South Atlantic, known as his "pendulum expedition", from 1827 to 1831. Chanticleer was then intended to be used for FitzRoy's next survey expedition, but was found to be in poor condition. Instead, the Beagle was repaired and modified for its famed second survey voyage from 1831 to 1836, which took along the naturalist Charles Darwin as a self-funded supernumerary. The Beagle subsequently carried out a survey of coasts of Australia from 1837 to 1843 under John Clements Wickham and John Lort Stokes.

From 1838 to around 1841 HMS Britomart, commanded by Owen Stanley, carried out survey work and other duties around Australia and New Zealand.[11] Other survey ships of this class included HMS Fairy from about 1832 to 1840, Scorpion from 1848 to 1858 and Saracen from 1854 to 1860.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Briseis_(1808)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee-class_brig-sloop
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
5 November 1940 – World War II: The British armed merchant cruiser, HMS Jervis Bay, is sunk by the German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer.


HMS Jervis Bay was a British liner later converted into an armed merchant cruiser, pennant F40. She was launched in 1922, and sunk on 5 November 1940 by the German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer.

JervisBayatDakar1940.jpg

Design
The ship was launched as the Commonwealth Line steamer Jervis Bay, named after the Australian bay of that name (the line named all its passenger liners after bays). She was requisitioned by the Royal Navy in August 1939 at the outbreak of the Second World War, and armed with seven 1898-vintage 6 in (150 mm) guns and two 3 in (76 mm) guns of 1894 design.

Service history
After her acquisition and commissioning, Jervis Bay was initially assigned to the South Atlantic station before becoming a convoy escort in May 1940, based at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda. Given brief repairs at Halifax, Nova Scotia, she became the sole escort for the 37 merchant ships of Convoy HX-84 from Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia to Britain.

When the convoy encountered the German warship Admiral Scheer about 755 nautical miles (1,398 km) south-southwest of Reykjavík, the Captain of Jervis Bay, Edward Fegen, ordered the convoy to scatter, and set his own ship on a course towards the German warship to draw its fire. Jervis Bay was hopelessly outgunned and outranged by the 28 cm (11 inch) guns of the German ship, but it attacked the larger ship with its guns, firing more to distract the German ship from the merchantmen than with hopes of doing any damage. Although the German's shells ravaged the Jervis Bay, and Fegen was wounded and many crew killed, Fegen and the surviving crew fought on until their ship was sunk. Captain Fegen, and many of the crew, went down with the ship.

Jervis Bay's sacrifice bought enough time for the convoy to begin to scatter. Further time was bought by the freighter SS Beaverford which engaged Admiral Scheer for over four hours. In the end the German cruiser was only able to sink five merchant ships and the remainder of the convoy escaped.

Sixty-eight survivors of Jervis Bay's crew of 254 were picked up by the neutral Swedish ship Stureholm (three later died of their injuries). Guy Byam was one of the survivors of the sinking, he was later killed while covering an air raid over Germany for the BBC.

Captain Fegen was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross as a result of this action. The citation for his award reads:

"for valour in challenging hopeless odds and giving his life to save the many ships it was his duty to protect. On the 5th of November, 1940, in heavy seas, Captain Fegen, in His Majesty's Armed Merchant Cruiser Jervis Bay, was escorting thirty-eight Merchantmen. Sighting a powerful German warship he at once drew clear of the Convoy, made straight for the Enemy, and brought his ship between the Raider and her prey, so that they might scatter and escape. Crippled, in flames, unable to reply, for nearly an hour the Jervis Bay held the German's fire. So she went down: but of the Merchantmen all but four or five were saved."

Memorials

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Plaque to the Caithness crew of HMS Jervis Bay, Wick

There is a monument to Jervis Bay at Albouy's Point, in Hamilton, Bermuda, from where Jervis Bay had departed on her final mission. Bermuda was a formation point for trans-Atlantic convoys in both World Wars. During the Second World War, convoys formed at Bermuda and coded BHX merged at sea with those formed at Halifax, which were coded HX, before crossing the Atlantic as it was easier to protect one large convoy than two smaller.

The monument was unveiled on 5 November, 1941, in front of a Guard of Honour provided by the Royal Marines detachment of HMS Despatch, by Vice Admiral Sir Charles Kennedy-Purvis, Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station, who said:

To-day is the anniversary of a very gallant naval deed, that of the action of H.M.S. "Jervis Bay", in which the ship was lost with most hands, carrying out her duty on November 5th, 1940.... The "Jervis Bay" was serving at the time under my command on this station and she was well-known in this City, where her officers and ship's company had many friends....The "Jervis Bay" was a medium-sized liner of 16 knots, used on the Australian trade. She was taken up at the beginning of the war and armed with eight 6-inch guns, of which four could be fired on one broadside. She was manned by a crew mostly Royal Naval Reserve and Mercantile Marine. The only Royal Naval Officer was Captain Fegen, her Commander - that was all. On November 5th towards evening she was steaming in the centre of the front line of a big convoy of nearly forty ships. These ships were disposed in columns of four with the columns abeam of each other. Suddenly, the port wing ship sighted smoke on the port bow, and very soon afterwards the foretop of a man-of-war.... Captain Fegen instructed the Commandant of the convoy, if this proved to be an enemy ship, to turn his convoy to starboard and to scatter, while he went out to port to engage the enemy. It soon became plain that the ship was German - one of the pocket battleships. The "Jervis Bay" steamed out ahead and turned to port. The convoy turned to starboard, dropping smoke floats and soon after scattered. The "Jervis Bay" proceeded on her course and was soon enveloped in the fire of six 11-inch guns. She was heavily straddled and hit and took fire. As soon as he was within range with his own guns, Captain Fegen opened fire and kept his 6-inch guns firing until the last. The ship became a blazing wreck and after an hour's action went to the bottom. A few survivors were picked up that night. The "Jervis Bay" delayed an attack on the convoy for a while and in that time the convoy was all over the ocean, with the result that only some 20% of the ships were lost and 80% of the convoy reached home. Now, that is a tremendous decision to take when you are faced with overwhelming odds, but I know that in Captain Fegen's case there were no second thoughts. He had been brought up by his training of nearly forty years in His Majesty's Navy and by tradition to believe that the duty of an escort of a convoy is to protect that convoy at all costs. This he did. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for bravery which His Majesty the King can award.​
A small ceremony is held before the monument every Remembrance Day (following the larger parade in front of the Cenotaph commemorating all of the territory's dead of the two world wars) in which personnel from the Royal Navy, the Royal Naval Association, and the Sea Cadet Corps take part.

There is a monument to Captain Fegen and the crew of Jervis Bay at Ross Memorial Park in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. This is the port where she was refitted for war service in the summer of 1940. In 2006 the Scottish town of Wick erected a plaque to the Caithness members who died in the sinking of the ship. The ship was crewed extensively from Caithness, and Wick in particular.

There was also a monument in London. The main room of the Merchant Navy Hotel (closed, 2002) was known as the "Jervis Bay Room", and included a display detailing the action. It was the custom for everyone entering the room to salute the display.

The Australian poet Michael Thwaites wrote a ballad about Jervis Bay in 1941, while he was serving as a naval officer in the Atlantic. It can be read in The Faber Book of War Poetry.

The final action of Jervis Bay was portrayed in the movie San Demetrio London, released in 1943, regarding the tale of heavy damage and subsequent survival of MV San Demetrio, one of the vessels of Convoy HX-84. The encounter between Jervis Bay and Admiral Scheer is also narrated in a short story in Alistair MacLean's book "The Lonely Sea". Jervis Bay is also commemorated by the Jervis Bay Memorial Pipe Band, located in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.

The ship is featured as a model in Scarborough's "Naval Warfare" holiday show, which takes place in the summer at Peasholm Park; in the show the ship fights off an enemy battleship and submarine.

In the Ant and Cleo novels by Dominic Green, a British space fleet names one of its cruisers in the Jervis Bay's honour.

It is also the subject of issue 47 of Hitman and in volume 6 of the collection, which the protagonists take as an example of how to live.

The ship was later honoured by the Sea Cadets and Marine Cadets Detachment in Brock Barracks in Reading, who adopted TS Jervis Bay (Training Ship) as the name of the unit.


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.

Admiral_Scheer_in_Gibraltar.jpg

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_ONI.jpg

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.

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Admiral Scheer capsized in Kiel


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Jervis_Bay
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cruiser_Admiral_Scheer
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 5 November


1813 - HMS Tweed (18), William Mather, wrecked on a rock in Shoal Bay, Newfoundland

HMS Tweed (1807), a ship-sloop wrecked in 1813.


1915 - Lt. Cmdr. Henry C. Mustin, in an AB-2 flying boat, makes the first underway catapult launch from a ship, USS North Carolina (ACR 12) at Pensacola Bay, Fla. This experimental work leads to the use of catapults on battleships and cruisers through World War II and to the steam catapults on present-day aircraft carriers.

USS North Carolina (ACR-12/CA-12) was a Tennessee-class armored cruiser of the United States Navy and the second Navy ship so named. She was also known as "Armored Cruiser No. 12" and later renamed and reclassified Charlotte (CA-12).

USSNorthCarolinaACR12.jpg

She was laid down on 21 March 1905 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia, launched on 6 October 1906, sponsored by Miss Rebekah Glenn, daughter of the Governor of North Carolina R. B. Glenn, and commissioned at Norfolk on 7 May 1908, Captain William A. Marshall in command.[3]

She was sold for scrap on 29 September 1921

1280px-1916_catapult_sea_plane.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_North_Carolina_(ACR-12)


1917 - While escorting a convoy en route to Brest, France, USS Alcedo (SP 166) is torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine UC-71. Twenty-one crewmembers are lost with the ship.

USS Alcedo (SP-166) was a yacht in the United States Navy. She was the first American vessel lost in World War I.

USS_Alcedo_(SP-166).jpg

Alcedo was built in 1895 at Glasgow, Scotland, by D. and W. Henderson and Company. She was purchased by the Navy on 1 June 1917 from Mr. George W. C. Drexel of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and commissioned at New York City on 28 July 1917, Lieutenant Commander William T. Conn, Jr., in command.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Alcedo_(SP-166)


1945 - Ensign Jake C. West, embarked with VF-51 on board USS Wake Island (CVE 65) for carrier qualifications with the FR-1 aircraft, loses power on the forward radial engine shortly after taking off, forcing him to start his rear engine. Returning to his ship, he makes a successful landing, thus becoming the first jet landing on board an aircraft carrier.

While moored at North Island, San Diego, the carrier took on board six Avengers, 10 Wildcats, 53 officers, and 13 men of VC-75 for training and carrier aircraft landing qualifications off San Nicholas Island. She continued to conduct flight qualifications through December 1945.

USS_Wake_Island_CVE-65.jpg

This period was distinguished on 6 November when the first jet-propelled landing on an aircraft carrier was made on Wake Island. Personnel of VF-41 and representatives of Ryan Aeronautical came on board during the morning of 5 November, and the escort carrier got underway from the Naval Air Station, San Diego, in company with O'Brien. For two days, she conducted tests and landing qualifications for the FR Fireball. Ensign J. C. West took off from the USS Wake Island in a Ryan FR-1 Fireball, a combination prop-jet design, and soon experienced problems with the Wright R-1820-72W Cyclone radial piston engine. Before the reciprocating powerplant failed completely, he started the General Electric I-16 jet engine and returned to the ship, thus making the first ever landing by jet power alone on a carrier.

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


1986 – USS Rentz, USS Reeves and USS Oldendorf visit Qingdao (Tsing Tao) China – the first US Naval visit to China since 1949.


On 5 November 1986, Rentz was part of an historic visit to Qingdao (Tsing Tao; 青岛) China—the first US Naval visit to China since 1949. Rentz was accompanied by two other ships, the Reeves and Oldendorf. The visit was officially hosted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Previously, USS Dixie was the last ship to moor in China, departing in 1949 when the communists forced the Americans to leave the Chinese mainland.

During the port call hundreds of Navy men took advantage of several tours, arranged by their Chinese hosts, that included stops at Qingdao's carpet, embroidery, jade and shell factories. Others made it a point to sample the beer at the city's world-renowned Tsingtao brewery. A fortunate few were able to leave the port city on tours to Qufu, birthplace of Confucius, the capital city of Beijing, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall of China.

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Reeves is the first U.S. Navy ship to visit China in 40 years. (1986)

The port visit was important because it provided visible evidence of growing Sino-American cooperation. Adm. James Lyons, commander of the United States Pacific Fleet, was embarked in Reeves during the visit. Shortly after arriving in Qingdao, he said there are "three pillars" in the US-China military relationship; high level visits, military exchanges and a limited amount of military technology cooperation. "I see this port visit as strengthening all three pillars," he said.

Throughout their stay, the crews of the visiting ships held lectures and discussion sessions on Navy shipboard organization, management, training, propulsion, logistics and weapons systems for their Chinese hosts. At the time such navy-to-navy orientations were conducted with many countries. However, this was the Navy's first opportunity for such an exchange with China.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Rentz_(FFG-46)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Reeves_(DLG-24)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Oldendorf
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 November 1793 - Launch of HMS Minotaur, a 74-gun third-rate Courageux-class ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Woolwich

HMS Minotaur was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 6 November 1793 at Woolwich. She was named after the mythological bull-headed monster of Crete. She fought in three major battles - Nile, Trafalgar, and Copenhagen (1807) - before she was wrecked, with heavy loss of life, in December 1810.

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Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Colossus' (1787), 'Leviathan' (1790), 'Carnatic' (1783), and 'Minotaur' (1793), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers based on the lines for the captured French Third Rate 'Courageux' (captured 1761). Signed by John Williams [Surveyor of the Navy, 1765-1784] and Edward Hunt [Surveyor of the Navy 1778-1784].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/80773.html#vsfDoYSRj9b3iZjo.99


Career
On 26 September 1795 Minotaur and Porcupine recaptured Walsingham Packet. The French corvette brig Insolent, of 18 guns and 90 men, had captured Walsingham Packet, which was sailing from Falmouth to Lisbon, on 13 September. Insolent narrowly escaped being herself captured at the recapture of Walsingham Packet, getting into Lorient as the British ships came into range.

Minotaur fought at the battle of the Nile in 1798, engaging the Aquilon with HMS Theseus and forcing her surrender. In the battle Minotaur lost 23 men dead and 64 wounded.

After the French surrendered Rome on 29 September 1799, Captain Thomas Louis had his barge crew row him up the Tiber River where he raised the Union Jack over the Capitol.

In May 1800, Minotaur served as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Lord Keith at the siege of Genoa. On 28 April, the squadron captured the Proteus, off Genoa.

On 8 January 1801 Penelope captured the French bombard St. Roche, which was carrying wine, liqueurs, ironware, Delfth cloth, and various other merchandise, from Marseilles to Alexandria. Swiftsure, Tigre, Minotaur, Northumberland, Florentina, and the schooner Malta, were in sight and shared in the proceeds of the capture.

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She was present at the landings in Aboukir Bay during the invasion of Egypt in 1801 where she lost a total of three men killed, and six wounded. Because Minotaur served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (8 March to 8 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty authorised in 1850 to all surviving claimants.

On 28 May 1803 Minotaur, in company with Thunderer, and later joined by Albion, captured the French frigate Franchise. Franchise was 33 days out of Port-au-Prince, and was pierced for twenty-eight 12-pounder guns on her main deck and sixteen 9-pounders on her quarterdeck and forecastle, ten of which were in her hold. She had a crew of 187 men under the command of Captain Jurien.

Minotaur was present at the surrender of the French garrison at Civitavecchia on 21 September 1804. She shared the prize money for the capture of the town and fortress with Culloden, Mutine, Transfer, and the bomb vessel Perseus. The British also captured the French polacca Il Reconniscento.

Minotaur, under Captain Charles John Moore Mansfield, participated in the Battle of Trafalgar. There she was instrumental in capturing the Spanish ship Neptuno, although Neptuno's crew recaptured her in the storm that followed the battle.

Minotaur was towards the rear of Nelson’s wing of his fleet at Trafalgar. Mansfield pledged to his assembled crew that he would stick to any ship he engaged "till either she strikes or sinks – or I sink". Late in the battle he deliberately placed Minotaur between the damaged Victory and an attacking French ship; he was later awarded a sword and gold medal for his gallantry. Both are now in the National Maritime Museum.

In 1807 Minotaur served as the flagship of Rear-Admiral William Essington at the battle of Copenhagen.

Then on 25 July, during the Anglo-Russian War, 17 boats from a British squadron under the command of Captain Charles Pater, consisting of Minotaur, Princess Caroline, Cerberus and Prometheus, attacked a flotilla of four Russian gunboats and a brig off Aspö Head near Fredrickshamn in the Grand Duchy of Finland, Russia (present-day Hamina, Finland). Captain Forrest of Prometheus commanded the boats and succeeded in capturing gunboats Nos. 62, 65, and 66, and the transport brig No. 11. The action was sanguinary in that the British lost 19 men killed and 51 wounded, and the Russians lost 28 men killed and 59 wounded. Minotaur alone lost eight men killed and had 30 wounded, of whom four died of their wounds on the next day or so. In 1847 the Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "25 July Boat Service 1809" to surviving claimants from the action. Cerberus then moved to the Mediterranean in 1810.

Shipwreck_turner.jpg
This mezzotint depicts in detail the wrecking of the Minotaur on 22nd December 1810 on Haak Sands off Texel, in a stormy, tempestuous scene of chaos. On the left of the image, the stern portion of the hull looms large, heeled far over on its port side, masts broken off a few feet above deck level. Sailors crowd at the upper, starboard rail and cling to mast stumps and ropes. Several ship's rowing boats, overloaded with men, are overwhelmed by the waves as they try to rescue their comrades. Even a small gaff-rigged cutter, under full sail, looks doomed. Flotsam of yards, sails and chests, torn from the ship, surge in the boiling sea.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/232929.html#mhrKPghKhxlSBOJ4.99


Shipwreck
Whilst sailing from Gothenburg to Britain, under the command of John Barrett, Minotaur in darkness and heavy weather struck the Haak Bank, or Razende Bol, on the Texel off the Netherlands, then part of the First French Empire, in the evening of 22 December 1810, after becoming separated from her consorts, HMS Plantagenet and Loire. Minotaur got stuck in the sand, rolled on her side and quickly made water. It was decided to cut all the masts to lighten the ship; this destroyed some of the boats. By the early morning, the ship had nevertheless sunk deeper, flooding the forecastle. Waves pounded the hull. Around 08:00, the hull split asunder. The crew, taking refuge on the poop deck, tried to evacuate on a remaining launch and two yauls. Thirty-two men escaped on a yaul. When they reached the Dutch coast, this inspired another eighty-five to use the launch; they too reached the shore. Captain Barrett, together with about a hundred men, then tried to escape with the remaining yaul but it was swamped and all drowned. Around 14:00, the Minotaur turned completely, drowning the remaining crew. The 110 of her crew that had taken to her boats informed the Dutch authorities of the disaster. Another twenty survivors were rescued by a pilot vessel. The authorities placed the survivors under custody and refused to dispatch more rescue vessels until the following morning. The rescue party found however that apart from four men who had reached shore by clinging to wreckage, no survivors remained on the vessel or in the surrounding water. The death toll therefore was between 370 and 570 men. All survivors were taken to France as prisoners of war.


The Noorderhaaks bank, in the mouth of the Texel, is today an island

Three and a half years later, when the prisoners were released, the customary court martial decided that the deceased pilots were to blame for steering the ship into an unsafe position, having misjudged their location by over 60 miles because of the weather. Some of the survivors, including Lieutenant Snell, criticized the Dutch authorities for their failure to despatch rescue boats sooner. Snell stated "The launch which had brought on shore eighty-five men, was of the smallest description of 74 launches, with one gunwale entirely broken in, and without a rudder. This will better prove than anything I can say how easy it would have been for the Dutch admiral in the Texel to have saved, or to have shown some wish to have saved, the remaining part of the crew". Reports from the Dutch chief officer of the marine district of the North coast indicated that the Dutch had sent two boats out to examine the wreck site on the morning of 23 December, but the wind and the seas prevented them from approaching. Maritime historian William Stephen Gilly concluded in 1850 that "There is not the slightest doubt but that, had the Dutch sent assistance, the greater part of the ship's company would have been saved".

Legacy
The famed landscape painter J. M. W. Turner depicted the sinking, though the subject was not originally the Minotaur, but a generic merchant ship. Turner had been producing sketches in preparation for the painting as early as 1805, but by the time he had completed the painting in 1810, the recent wreck of Minotaur was a subject of much discussion. He named the painting to capitalise on this public interest.

The shipwreck of Minotaur remains the largest ever, in terms of loss of life, on the Dutch coast, with the possible exception of the loss of HMS Hero on 24/25 December 1811, on the same location. The tragic event, and the British accusations, made the Dutch realise that, despite the notoriously dangerous shoals in their waters, they lacked specialised equipment to save the crews of wrecked ships. In response on 11 November 1824, for the area of the Texel the Koninklijke Noord-Hollandsche Redding-Maatschappij was founded, the first Dutch sea-rescue organisation.

Master’s mate Stephen Hilton brought home the Union Jack from Minotaur at Trafalgar as a souvenir, along with an Austrian flag from a captured Spanish ship. His descendants presented the flags to St Mary’s Church in Kent in 1930, where they hung until 2011 when the church sold them to the National Maritime Museum for a reported sum of £175,000. After conservation work the flag was put on display in October 2015 in the National Maritime Museum to mark Trafalgar Day. It has lost its right-hand edge, and an oblong section that may have been cut away as a souvenir, but was in surprisingly good condition. After cleaning and gently ironing out 200 years’ worth of creases and crumples it gained several centimetres, and now measures an imposing 233 x 310 cm.

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British Union Flag (post 1801 pattern) belonging to HMS 'Minotaur' and believed to have been flown as a battle flag at Trafalgar. It belonged to Master's Mate Stephen Hilton (1787-1872). The flag is made of hand-sewn wool bunting. The diagonals of the saltire do not meet up in a straight line across the flag - a characteristic of early 19th century Union Flags. There are fabric losses at the fly end. The linen hoist is a machine-sewn replacement, probably added in the 1930s.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/618890.html#D3O2eG5SFPXSzc0w.99


Name: HMS Minotaur
Ordered: 3 December 1782
Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Laid down: January 1788
Launched: 6 November 1793
Honours and awards:
  • Participated in:
  • Battle of the Nile
  • Battle of Trafalgar
  • Battle of Copenhagen (1807)
  • Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Egypt"
Fate:Wrecked, 22 December 1810

Class and type: Courageux class ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1723 (bm)
Length: 172 ft 3 in (52.50 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 47 ft 9 in (14.55 m)
Depth of hold: 20 ft 9 1⁄2 in (6.3 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament:
  • Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pounder guns
  • QD: 14 × 9-pounder guns
  • Fc: 4 × 9-pounder guns

The Courageux-class ships of the line were a class of six 74-gun third rates of the Royal Navy. Their design was a direct copy of the French ship Courageux, captured in 1761 by HMS Bellona. This class of ship is sometimes referred to as the Leviathan class. A further two ships of the class were built to a slightly lengthened version of the Courageux draught. A final two ships were ordered to a third modification of the draught.

Standard group
Builder: Dudman, Deptford
Ordered: 14 July 1779
Launched: 21 January 1783
Fate: Broken up, 1825
Builder: Clevely, Gravesend
Ordered: 13 December 1781
Launched: 4 April 1787
Fate: Wrecked, 1798
Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 9 December 1779
Launched: 9 October 1790
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1848
Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 3 December 1782
Launched: 6 November 1793
Fate: Wrecked, 1810

Lengthened group
Builder: Brindley, Frindsbury
Ordered: 24 November 1802
Launched: 18 November 1807
Fate: Sold, 1838

HMS_Aboukir_(1807).jpg
HMS Aboukir (1807)
Builder: Deptford Dockyard
Ordered: 23 July 1805
Launched: 28 March 1808
Fate: Broken up, 1825

Modified group
Builder: Deptford Dockyard
Ordered: 30 October 1805
Launched: 23 August 1808
Fate: Sold, 1816
Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 30 October 1805
Launched: 3 March 1809
Fate: Sold, 1816




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Minotaur_(1793)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courageux-class_ship_of_the_line
 
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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 November 1794 - Action of 6 November 1794 - Part I
HMS Canada (74), Cptn. Charles Powell Hamilton, and HMS Alexander (74), Cptn. Richard Rodney Bligh, which had been escorting merchantmen as far as the western approaches, were chased by a French squadron of five 74's and three large frigates, under Rear Ad. Neilly. After separating to confuse they tried to rejoin for mutual support but Alexander was taken.


HMS_Alexander,_Shortly_before_Striking_Her_Colours_to_the_French_Squadron,_6_November_1794.jpg
HMS Alexander . . . Shortly before Striking Her Colours to the French Squadron, 6 November 1794, William Shayer, 1819, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom collection

The Action of 6 November 1794 (Known in French as the Combat du 16 Brumaire an III) was a naval engagement during the French Revolutionary Wars. Two British ships of the line, HMS Alexander and HMS Canada were intercepted while returning to Britain through the Celtic Sea by a large French squadron. The French squadron had sailed from Brest in search of an inward bound British convoy in October, but instead encountered the two British ships returning from escorting an outward-bound convoy. There had been no warning of the French approach as the British force assigned to watch Brest was absent at Plymouth due to the policy of operating a distant blockade.

The British ships separated and attempted to escape, but the French commander Contre-amiral Joseph-Marie Nielly simply split his forces in response, and although Canada was eventually able to outrun pursuit, Alexander was slower and was caught by several French ships in succession. The first two opponents were driven off, but the third succeeded in coming alongside and, in a fierce and close fought duel, compelled Captain Richard Rodney Bligh to surrender his ship in the face of overwhelming odds. The battle was a rare French victory, lying between the significant British victories at the Glorious First of June and the Battle of Groix, in the Royal Navy campaign against the French fleet at Brest.

Background
In February 1793, following years of rising tension, the French Republic that had emerged from the French Revolution declared war on the Kingdom of Great Britain. For the Royal Navy one of the most immediate concerns was to contain the French Atlantic Fleet based in the massively fortified harbour at Brest in Brittany. This port was ideally positioned to disrupt the merchant shipping convoys that passed through the Celtic Sea and the Bay of Biscay en route to Britain from all over the world, and it was therefore imperative that the French fleet was not permitted to put to sea without being challenged. For the French, Brest was a vital port for the receipt of grain supplies from the Americas and so French fleets regularly sailed on missions to escort these convoys into the harbour and to disrupt British convoys entering the English Channel.

In May 1794, a large French fleet put to sea to ensure the safety of an American grain convoy and was intercepted far out in the Atlantic at the Glorious First of June by the British Channel Fleet, the most powerful of the Royal Navy's fleets and the force assigned to restrict French movements from Brest. The French suffered a serious defeat, losing seven ships, but managed to retire in good order and saved the grain convoy. Later in June 1794 the British Fleet again put to sea, but was caught in a storm and many ships were badly damaged. Its commander Lord Howe retired with his fleet to the anchorage in Torbay and thus there was no British fleet at sea in late October when a powerful French squadron sailed from Brest with the intention of attacking a large merchant convoy sailing from Lisbon to Britain. The force, under the command of Contre-amiral Joseph-Marie Nielly, consisted of the 74-gun ships of the line Marat, Tigre, Droits de l'Homme, Pelletier and Jean-Bart with the frigates Charente, Fraternité, Gentille and the corvette Papillon.

In addition to the Lisbon convoy, a number of other vulnerable British targets were in the region, including a second convoy from the Mediterranean Sea under Rear-Admiral Philip Cosby en route to Britain and the first-rate HMS Victory, which was sailing independently with Lord Hood on board. Nielly had information concerning these movements, and was cruising in a pattern that was intended to cover the Western approaches to the English Channel. The French force cruised in the Celtic Sea for several days, until on 6 November at 02:30 two unidentified ships were spotted on the northeastern horizon. These vessels were the British 74-gun ships of the line HMS Alexander under Captain Richard Rodney Bligh and HMS Canada under Captain Charles Powell Hamilton, returning northeastwards to rejoin the Channel Fleet after escorting a Lisbon and Mediterranean bound convoy to a safe latitude.

Chase
On sighting the French force, the British captains first sought to establish the identity of the strange ships, shortening sail and tacking to port so that they could close with the squadron. At 04:00 they were about 0.5 nautical miles (0.93 km; 0.58 mi) away, ordering their crews to set more sail, ready to attempt to escape should the squadron be revealed to be French. At 05:00, lookouts on the British ships discovered that the squadron, which had favourable wind, was approaching fast and this convinced Bligh and Hamilton that the unidentified ships were hostile. Bligh ordered Hamilton to separate in the hope that he could escape without the slower Alexander, Hamilton adjusting his course to a more northerly direction. Nielly had deliberately sought to disguise his squadron's nationality in an effort to lure the British close enough that he could catch and overwhelm them, the trap springing successfully as three ships of the line pursued Alexander while two ships of the line, including Nielly's flagship, and two frigates followed Canada. To continue the deception, Nielly ordered his ships to raise the Union Flag at 07:30, to which the British ships replied at 08:15 by raising their own, having shifted their direction of flight to the eastwards to make better use of the available wind.

The raising of the British flags on Alexander and Canada was a clear indicator to Nielly that the British were aware of his identity, and he instead ordered his squadron to hoist the French tricolour, finally abandoning the ruse that his ships were British. During the preceding three hours, the division of the French squadron in pursuit of Alexander had steadily closed the gap between the ships, Alexander responding by firing stern-chasers at the pursuers. The French ships responded by firing their bow-chasers at the British vessel. At 09:00 Canada too came in range, Nielly ordering his flagship Marat to fire on the Hamilton's ship, the shot flying over the vessel and harmlessly into the sea. Hamilton responded with fire from his own stern-chasers and Bligh issued signals for Alexander and Canada to form a line, Canada in the lead, so that the British vessels might mutually support one another.

Nielly recognised Bligh's intentions as soon as Canada began to move however, and interposed his division so that they blocked Hamilton's manoeuvre, both ships of the division now firing on Hamilton's ship. Bligh was thus isolated, Alexander falling further behind Canada. At 11:00, the French ship Jean-Bart was able to draw close enough to Alexander to discharge its main broadside at the British vessel, the two ships engaging in a fierce duel for 30 minutes, both suffering damage. At 11:30 Jean-Bart sheered away from the engagement, assisted by a French frigate, and its place was taken by the next French ship in line, Tigre. Tigre could not pull directly alongside Bligh's ship, but was still able to attack the British ship with heavy fire, receiving a battering in turn that shot away the French ship's main and mizen topmasts and inflicted severe damage to its rigging.

Tigre too turned away at about 12:00 and was again replaced by the third ship in the French line, Marat, which pulled alongside and battered the already damaged Alexander for an hour, taking damage in its turn. At 13:00, with his rigging and sails tattered, his masts shot through, hull shattered and several fires raging on board, Bligh surrendered Alexander in the face of overwhelming French odds as Nielly's division pulled within range and began to fire on his ship. Hamilton in Canada had been able to pull ahead of Nielly and escape, most of the French shot flying over the British ship: so ineffectual had been the attack on Canada that Hamilton reported no damage or casualties at all.

Aftermath
Consolidating his battered prize, Nielly ordered his squadron to return to Brest without waiting for the British convoys that had been his intended targets: unknown to the French, both the Lisbon and Mediterranean convoys were less than 180 nautical miles (330 km; 210 mi) away from the action. Alexander was in a sinking condition, and it was only with difficulty that the ship was brought back to port afloat. The captured crew were distributed among the French squadron and as a result Bligh was unable to make a full casualty list. He later estimated losses of approximately 40 men killed or wounded aboard Alexander, although French accounts give 28 killed and 30 wounded. British histories reported French casualties in the engagement as the enormous figure of 450 men killed and wounded, although as French historian Charles Rouvier noted in 1868, this is an absurdly inflated total: Rouvier gave French losses as 10 wounded, all on Marat. Bligh was returned to Brest in the custody of Captain Jean François Renaudin, who had commanded the ship Vengeur du Peuple at the Glorious First of June until his ship was sunk. Bligh, who had, unknown to him, been promoted to rear-admiral whilst at sea, later commended Renaudin for his conduct while Bligh was a prisoner and wrote to the Admiralty that he had been treated with "great Kindness and Humanity". However, historian Edward Pelham Brenton reported in 1825 that at Brest:

"the populace insulted the prisoners as they marched to their place of confinement: officers and men shared the same lot; they were denied the commonest rations of provisions, and reduced to starvation. A wretched dog that crept into the cells was killed, and his head alone sold for a dollar, to satisfy the cravings of nature: a prisoner, in a state of delirium, threw himself in the well within the prison walls, and his dead body, after lying some time, was taken out, but no other water was allowed to the people to drink."​
— "the officers who were present", quoted in Edward Pelham Brenton, The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 1, 1825,​
Bligh was exchanged shortly after the action and returned to Britain. On 27 May 1795 he sat before a court-martial, standard practice when a Royal Navy ship was lost in action, and was honourably acquitted of blame in the loss of Alexander. In France, the National Convention commended Nielly on his victory and the captured ship was repaired and taken into the French Navy, joining the Atlantic Fleet. It was however a poor sailor and in June 1795 was with the French fleet that participated in Cornwallis's Retreat and the Battle of Groix: at the latter action Alexandre was overrun by the British fleet and recaptured, rejoining the Royal Navy. The historical assessment of the capture of Alexander has been summed up by the historian Robert Gardiner, who wrote in 1996 that "The capture of a British 74 was a rare event during these wars – only five were lost . . . However, the one sided nature of the conflict was not apparent in 1794 and what has been called the Royal Navy's 'habit of victory' was not yet established."



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_6_November_1794
 
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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 November 1794 - Action of 6 November 1794 - Part II - the captured HMS Alexander


HMS Alexander was a 74-gun third-rate of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Deptford Dockyard on 8 October 1778. During her career she was captured by the French, and later recaptured by the British. She fought at the Nile in 1798, and was broken up in 1819. She was named after Alexander the Great.

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The launch of the 74-gun warship HMS 'Alexander' at Deptford Dockyard. The 'Alexander' can be seen on the stocks in the background. There are a number of barges and smaller vessels, full of spectators, watching her launch. In the foreground, several Royal Navy vessels are moored off the dockyard, including the 'Royal Caroline' on the far left. The 'Alexander' later served at the Battle of the Nile in 1798. In the painting the festive celebrations are emphasized through the inclusion of flags and pennants and the representation of crowds of spectators on the quayside and in boats the water. With its low horizon the work recalls Dutch 17th-century marine painting. Like his father, John Cleveley the Younger depicted the Royal Dockyards at Deptford, Woolwich and Chatham and in many works the son followed his father’s example in producing paintings commemorating launches. However, the artist abandoned his father’s stiff, documentary style in favour of a more open, atmospheric view. John Cleveley the Younger and his brother Robert, who also worked as an artist, treated a much wider range of subjects and addressed a wider audience through making pictures for reproduction in prints.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/13354.html#GiCiSRkXkDEdlThc.99


British service and capture
On 13 March 1780, Alexander and HMS Courageaux captured the 40-gun French privateer Monsieur after a long chase and some exchange of fire. The Royal Navy took the privateer into service as HMS Monsieur.

In 1794, whilst returning to England in the company of HMS Canada after escorting a convoy to Spain, Alexander, under the command of Rear-Admiral Richard Rodney Bligh, fell in with a French squadron of five 74-gun ships, and three frigates, led by Joseph-Marie Nielly. In the Action of 6 November 1794 Alexander was overrun by the Droits de l'Homme, but escaped when she damaged the Droits de l'Homme's rigging. Alexander was then caught by Marat, which came behind her stern and raked her. Then, the 74 gun third-rate Jean Bart closed in and fired broadsides at close range, forcing Bligh to surrender Alexander. In the meantime, Canada escaped. The subsequent court martial honourably acquitted Bligh of any blame for the loss of his ship.

The French took her to Brest and then into their French Navy under the name Alexandre. On 22 June 1795, she was with a French fleet off Belle Île when the Channel Fleet under Lord Bridport discovered them. The British ships chased the French fleet, and brought them to action in the Battle of Groix. During the battle HMS Sans Pareil and HMS Colossus recaptured Alexander. After the battle, HMS Révolutionnaire towed her back to Plymouth.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with stern quarter decorations, longitudinal half-breadth for Alexander (1778) and Warrior (1781), and later for Montague (1779), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. The plans sent to Woolwich Dockyard were returned as no ship was built there. Signed by John Williams [Surveyor of the Navy, 1765-1784].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/80477.html#u6k87jeHLZTeaSPE.99


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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board outline, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for Alexander (1778), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, as built at Deptford Dockyard. The Navy Office subsequently ordered on 30 June 1779 another ship to be built to this design, which was to be paid for by the Honourable East India Company. However, this ship is not recorded in the sources. [Rif Winfield contacted, 15/10/2010, JM] Signed by John Williams [Surveyor of the Navy, 1765-1784].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81739.html#61eAJvIzVobI7Msl.99


Return to British service
The Alexander took part in the Battle of the Nile in 1798, under the command of Captain Alexander Ball. She was the second ship to fire upon the French fleet, engaging the flagship, L'Orient. The Alexander sank three French ships before she had to withdraw due to a small fire on board. The Alexander was one of the few ships not carrying a detachment of soldiers.

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The fourth, but fifth in order of events, in a series of ten drawings (PAF5871–PAF5874, PAF5876, PAF5880-PAF5881 and PAF5883–PAF5885) of mainly lesser-known incidents in Nelson's career, apparently intended for a set of engravings. Pocock's own numbered description of the subject in a letter of 2 June 1810 (see below) is: '4. Storm the "Agamemnon" [sic, in error: it is 'Vanguard'] having lost her Main and Mizen topmasts is saved from being lost on a lee shore – by the exertions of Capt Ball of the "Alexander" who towed her Clear at the Imminent peril of both floundering [sic].' This incident occurred at the start of the chase of the French that ended with the Battle of the Nile, when Nelson's 'Vanguard' (Capt Edward Berry) was dismasted by carrying too much canvas in a gale in the Gulf of Lions and only saved from loss by being taken in tow by Alexander Ball's 'Alexander'. 'Vanguard' subsequently reached Oristano Bay in southern Sardinia where she was successfully re-rigged in difficult conditions. For the rather complex circumstances of the commissioning of these ten drawings, and Pocock's related letters, see ' View of St Eustatius with the "Boreas"' (PAF5871). Signed by artist and dated in the lower right. Exhibited: NMM Pocock exhib. (1975) no. 48. It was shown with PAF5877 (as no.49) which is probably an unfinished copy, rather than a preliminary version, by Pocock's son William Innes Pocock.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/100703.html#LrHPkHvWYxVEtSpY.99


Northumberland, Alexander, Penelope, Bonne Citoyenne, and the brig Vincejo shared in the proceeds of the French polacca Vengeance, captured entering Valletta, Malta on 6 April.

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

Fate
From 1803 she was out of commission in Plymouth, and was finally broken up in 1819

Class and type: Alfred-class ship of the line
Type: Third rate
Tons burthen: 1621 (bm)
Length: 169 ft (52 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 47 ft 2 in (14.38 m)
Depth of hold: 20 ft (6.1 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament:
  • Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pounder guns
  • QD: 14 × 9-pounder guns
  • Fc: 4 × 9-pounder guns

The Alfred-class ships of the line were a class of four 74-gun third rates for the Royal Navy by Sir John Williams.[1][2] They were an enlarged version of the Royal Oak class

Ships
Builder: Deptford Dockyard
Ordered: 21 July 1773
Launched: 8 October 1778
Fate: Broken up, 1819
Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 13 August 1772
Launched: 22 October 1778
Fate: Broken up, 1814
Builder: Portsmouth Dockyard
Ordered: 13 July 1773
Launched: 18 October 1781
Fate: Broken up, 1857
Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 16 July 1774
Laid Down: 30 January 1775
Launched: 28 August 1779
Completed for Sea: 23 September 1779
Fate: Broken up, 1818
  • A fifth ship Edgar was also ordered (16 July 1774) to this design, but on 25 August 1774 was altered to the modified Arrogant design.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Alexander_(1778)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred-class_ship_of_the_line
 
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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 November 1813 - HMS Woolwich (44), Cdr. Thomas Ball Sulivan, wrecked off Barbados


HMS Woolwich was an Adventure-class frigate launched in 1784. She essentially spent her career as a storeship before being wrecked in 1813.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with alterations to the head, longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for Woolwich (1785), and later used for Sheerness (1787), Severn (1786), Adventure (1784), Gorgon (1785), Chichester (1785), Dover (1786), and Expedition (1784), all 44-gun Fifth Rate, two-deckers. Signed by Edward Hunt [Surveyor of the Navy, 1778-1784]
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81958.html#beGBw1yvd0sciLBu.99


Career
It is not clear when Woolwich was completed. She was not commissioned until 1790, under the command of Commander William Nowell, who paid her off in November.

Commander John Parker recommissioned her on 18 January 1793 as a storeship. He sailed her to the Mediterranean, before returning to Britain in October. She then sailed for the Leeward Islands on 26 November 1793, arriving in time to be present at the capture of Martinique in February 1794 under Admiral Sir John Jervis. She also participated in the capture of Guadeloupe. Woolwich was among the vessels whose crews qualified for the Naval General Service Medal (NGSM), which the Admiralty issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants, with clasp "17 Mar. Boat Service 1794" for the capture of the French frigate Bienvenue and other vessels in Fort Royal Bay.

The London Gazette published details for four tranches of prize and head money payments for Jervis's campaign. In all some 36 ships qualified, including Woolwich

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In 1795 Woolwich was under the command of Commander William Charles Fahie. However, Lieutenant Henry Probyn assumed acting command on 8 December. In March 1796 Commander Daniel (or William) Dobree was appointed to command Woolwich. Between 21 April and 25 May Woolwich took part in Admiral Sir Hugh Cloberry Christian and Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby's invasion of Santa Lucia. Dobree commanded a division of flat boats for the landings at Choc Bay and Anse La Raye. He returned her to Britain in October 1797 and paid her off.

Commander Michael Halliday (or Haliday) recommissioned Woolwich in August 1798 for the Channel Fleet. She then sailed for the Cape of Good Hope. In 1799 she lost most of her armament, becoming armed en flute. On 29 June 1799 Halliday was promoted to post captain in Leander.

In October 1799 Commander George Jardine replaced Halliday. Jardine sailed for the Mediterranean on 9 January 1801. He carried as passengers the Earl of Cork and the Honourable Colonel Bligh, who were going to join their regiments. Because Woolwich served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (8 March to 2 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the NGSM. Woolwich returned to Britain in July 1801.

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A series of commander followed. In August Commander Robert Campbell replaced Jardine, who died on board the packet Arabella on 21 June as he was returning to England. In February 1802 Commander Richard Bridges replace Campbell. Then in May, Commander Ulick Jennings replaced Bridges. He sailed Woolwich to the West Indies in September. On 14 September Woolwich was at Madeira when the Portuguese vessel Aurora caught fire after an explosion. Woolwich was nearby and her boats were able to rescue two men; the other 32 people on board Aurora perished, including her captain. Jennings returned to Britain on 11 February 1803. Commander Thomas Burton replaced Jennings in March 1803. Woolwich then went into ordinary in May.

In October 1804 Commander Thomas Garth recommissioned her. In June 1805 Commander Francis Beaufort joined her as she was fitting out. She went first to the East Indies and then escorted a convoy of East Indiamen back to Britain. Then the Admiralty tasked him with of conducting a hydrographic survey of the Rio de la Plata estuary in South America during Home Popham's unsuccessful campaign to capture Buenos Aires. On the way Woolwich, Porpoise, and the brig Rolla on 14 May 1806 detained and sent into the Cape of Good Hope the Danish packet ship Three Sisters (or Trende Sostre). After the failure of the British invasion, Woolwich returned to the Cape and then to the Mediterranean. In 1808 Beaufort moved to Blossom.

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

In 1809 Richard Turner was master of Woolwich, which served in the Mediterranean. In 1812 she was in the West Indies under Richard Rumer, master.

In February 1813 Woolwich came under the command of Commander Thomas Ball Sullivan. She then conveyed Sir James Lucas Yeo, 36 officers, and some 450 seamen, as well as the frames of several gun-vessels, from England to Quebec, arriving on 6 May. The gun-vessels were intended for service on the Great Lakes.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the outboard planking expansion of the hull and upperworks for Woolwich, a 44-gun Fifth Rate, two-decker. Initialled by three unidentified draughtsman. The signatures do not match the names of the Master Shipwright at Deptford or Woolwich, or their Assistants. The plan is dated to sometime around 1805, as the paper is watermarked with 1805. NMM, Progress Book, volume 6, folio 292, states that the 'Woolwich' was at Deptford Dockyard between February and May 1805 having her copper replaced, and then at Woolwich Dockyard in July 1805 to be fitted as a Store ship.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81960.html#C17t11vLtLxpOqMF.99


large (4).jpg
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard planking expansion of the hull and upperworks for Woolwich, a 44-gun Fifth Rate, two-decker. Initialled by three unidentified draughtsman. The signatures do not match the names of the Master Shipwright at Deptford or Woolwich, or their Assistants. The plan is dated to sometime around 1805, as the paper is watermarked with 1805. NMM, Progress Book, volume 6, folio 292, states that the 'Woolwich' was at Deptford Dockyard between February and May 1805 having her copper replaced, and then at Woolwich Dockyard in July 1805 to be fitted as a Store ship.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81961.html#VEAgVGYhIh7EKFIJ.99


Fate
Woolwich sailed from Bermuda on 26 August 1813 in company with a merchant vessel bound for Dominica. On 8 September the weather worsened and by 11 September Woolwich was caught in a gale. By six o'clock land suddenly appeared under her bow and within minutes she was aground. She lost her rudder, bilged immediately, and fell on her side. By morning the weather had cleared and her crew went ashore on what they discovered was the island of Barbuda. Sullivan and his officers were surprised as they had thought that they were 90 miles from the island. However, the gale and a strong current had driven Woolwich off-course. The crew was saved.

Vine, Thompson, master, the merchant vessel that Woolwich had been escorting, also wrecked on Barbuda. However, her cargo was saved.


Tons burthen: 906 80⁄94 (bm)
Length:
  • 1,407 ft 0 in (428.9 m) (overall)
  • 115 ft 2 1⁄2 in (35.1 m) (keel)
Beam: 38 ft 6 in (11.7 m)
Depth of hold: 16 ft 9 1⁄4 in (5.1 m)
Complement: 300 (294 from 1794)
Armament:
  • 1792:
  • Lower deck: 20 x 18-pounder guns
  • UD: 22 x 12-pounder guns
  • QD:4 x 12-pounder guns
  • Fc:2 x 6-pounder guns
  • 1793:
  • Lower deck: 20 x 18-pounder guns
  • UD:22 x 24-pounder carronades
  • QD:4 x 13-pounder guns
  • Fc:2 x 6-pounder guns
  • 1799:22 x 9-pounder guns (UD)

The Adventure-class ship was a class of eight 44-gun sailing two-decker warships of the Royal Navy, classed as a fifth rate like a frigate, but carrying two complete decks of guns, a lower battery of 18-pounders and an upper battery of 12-pounders. This enabled the vessel to deliver a broadside of 318 pounds.

The class was designed in 1782 by Edward Hunt, Surveyor of the Navy, as a successor to the Roebuck class design of Sir Thomas Slade. The design saw a slight increase in breadth over the Roebuck class, but was otherwise very similar.

Like the Roebuck class, the Adventure class were not counted by the Admiralty as frigates; although sea officers sometimes casually described them and other small two-deckers as frigates, the Admiralty officially never referred to them as such. By 1750, the Admiralty strictly defined frigates as ships of 28 guns or more, carrying all their main battery (24, 26 or even 28 guns) on the upper deck, with no guns or openings on the lower deck (which could thus be at sea level or even lower). A frigate might carry a few smaller guns – 3-pounders or 6-pounders, later 9-pounders – on their quarterdeck and (perhaps) on the forecastle. The Adventure-class ships were two-deckers with complete batteries on both decks, and hence not frigates.

Eight ships were ordered during 1782 and completed to this design, although none were ready to take part in the American War of Independence. Most were not brought into service until the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War, and survived to serve the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic War.

Ships in class
  • HMS Woolwich
    • Builder: Thomas Calhoun & John Nowlan, Bursledon
    • Ordered: 5 March 1782
    • Laid down: January 1783
    • Launched: 15 December 1785
    • Completed: 1786 at Portsmouth Dockyard
    • Fate: Wrecked off Barbuda on 11 September 1813.
  • HMS Severn
    • Builder: James Martin Hillhouse, Bristol
    • Ordered: 17 April 1782
    • Laid down: June 1783
    • Launched: 29 April 1786
    • Completed: 17 July 1793 at Plymouth Dockyard
    • Fate: Wrecked off Jersey on 21 December 1804
  • HMS Sheerness
  • HMS Chichester
    • Builder: Crookenden, Taylor & Smith, Itchenor
    • Ordered: 13 May 1782
    • Laid down: August 1782
    • Launched: 10 March 1785
    • Completed: 28 October 1787 at Portsmouth Dockyard
    • Fate: Broken up in July 1815
  • HMS Adventure
    • Builder: Perry & Hankey, Blackwall Yard
    • Ordered: 5 June 1782
    • Laid down: October 1782
    • Launched: 19 July 1784
    • Completed: 28 October 1784 at Woolwich Dockyard
    • Fate: Broken up in September 1816
  • HMS Expedition
  • HMS Gorgon
    • Builder: Perry & Hankey, Blackwall Yard
    • Ordered: 19 June 1782
    • Laid down: December 1782
    • Launched: 27 January 1785
    • Completed: 15 December 1787 at Portsmouth Dockyard
    • Fate: Broken up in February 1817
  • HMS Dover
    • Builder: George Parsons, Bursledon
    • Ordered: 8 July 1782
    • Laid down: August 1783
    • Launched: May 1786
    • Completed: 1787 at Portsmouth Dockyard
    • Fate: Burnt by accident 20 August 1806


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Woolwich_(1785)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure-class_ship
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 November 1865 – American Civil War: CSS Shenandoah is the last Confederate combat unit to surrender after circumnavigating the globe on a cruise on which it sank or captured 37 unarmed merchant vessels.


CSS Shenandoah, formerly Sea King, was an iron-framed, teak-planked, full-rigged sailing ship with auxiliary steam power chiefly known for her adventures under Lieutenant Commander James Waddell as part of the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War.

CSSShenandoah.jpg
CSS Shenandoah in dry dock in Williamstown, Victoria, Australia, 1865

The Shenandoah was originally a British merchant vessel launched as Sea King on August 17, 1863, but was later re-purposed as one of the most feared commerce raiders in the Confederate Navy. During a period of 12 1⁄2 months from 1864 to 1865, the ship undertook commerce raiding around the world in an effort to disrupt the Union economy, resulting in the capture and sinking or bonding of thirty-eight merchant vessels, mostly New Bedford whaleships. She finally surrendered on the River Mersey, Liverpool, England, on November 6, 1865, six months after the war had ended. Her flag was the last sovereign Confederate flag to be officially furled. The Shenandoah is also known for having fired the last shot of the Civil War, across the bow of a whaler in waters off the Aleutian Islands

CSS_Shenandoah_world_travels_1865.png
Map of Shenandoah's 12½-month voyage around the world (21st-century boundaries shown)

Surrender of CSS Shenandoah

Lieutenant John Grimball (1840–1922) of C.S.S. Shenandoah by Georges Penabert, French photographer.


Editorial cartoon satirizing James Waddell still engaging in combat after the American Civil War was widely regarded as over


The River Mersey with Liverpool on the right bank. CSS Shenandoahsurrendered approximately where the ship is in mid-river. The open sea is to the top.


Liverpool Town Hall. The very last act of the Civil War was Captain Waddell walking up the steps.

Regardless of Davis's proclamation and knowing the unreliability of newspapers at the time, Captain Waddell and his crew knew returning to a U.S. port would mean facing a court sympathetic to the Union. News of President Lincoln's assassination only served to further diminish any expectation for leniency. The crew predicted that surrendering to federal authorities would run the risk of being tried in a U.S. court and hanged as pirates.[discuss] Commerce raiders were not included in the reconciliation and amnesty that Confederate soldiers were given. Perhaps more importantly, Waddell would have been aware that the U.S. government no longer had to consider the threat of Confederate retaliation against Union prisoners while determining his crew's fate. Likely not known to Waddell was that Captain Raphael Semmes of CSS Alabama had managed to escape charges of piracy by surrendering on May 1, 1865, as an army general under Joseph E. Johnston. Semmes' former sailors surrendered as artillerymen.

Captain Waddell eventually decided to surrender his ship at the port of Liverpool, where Confederate Commander Bulloch was stationed.

Last lowering of the Confederate flag
CSS Shenandoah sailed from off the west coast of Mexico via Cape Horn to Liverpool, a voyage of three months and over 9,000 nautical miles (10,000 mi; 17,000 km), all the while being pursued by Union vessels. She anchored at the Mersey Bar at the mouth of the estuary awaiting a pilot to board to guide the ship up the river and into the enclosed docks. Not flying any flag, the pilot refused to take the ship into Liverpool unless they flew a flag; the crew raised the Confederate flag. CSS Shenandoah sailed up the River Mersey with the flag fully flying to crowds on the riverbanks.

CSS_Shenandoah-art.jpg
19th-century artwork depicting Shenandoah under sail

The Liverpool Mercury reported the event on Tuesday, 7 November 1865:

THE CONFEDERATE CRUISER SHENANDOAH IN THE MERSEY.
Considerable excitement was caused on "Change" yesterday morning by circulation of the report that the Confederate cruiser Shenandoah, of whose exploits amongst the American whalers in the North Pacific so much has been heard, was passed about 8 o'clock by the steamer Douglas at anchor at the bar, of Victoria Channel, apparently waiting for high water. By many the report was discredited, it being thought that those on board the Douglas were in error, and had mistaken some other craft for the celebrated ex-Confederate cruiser. At half past ten, however, all doubts on the point were set at rest, with the Shenandoah steaming up the Victoria Channel with the Palmetto flag flying from her masthead.
HMS Donegal happened to be anchored in mid-river between Toxteth in Liverpool and Tranmere in Birkenhead. Captain Waddell maneuvered his ship near to the British man-of-war, dropping anchor. The CSS Shenandoah was surrendered by Captain Waddell to Captain Paynter of HMS Donegal on 6 November 1865. The Confederate flag was lowered again for the very last time, under the watch of a Royal Navy detachment and the crew.

CSS Shenandoah had struck her colors twice. This marked the last surrender of the American Civil War and the last official lowering of the Confederate flag. The very last act of the Civil War was Captain Waddell walking up the steps of Liverpool Town Hall with a letter to present to the mayor surrendering his vessel to the British government. In so doing, the Shenandoah became the only Confederate warship to circumnavigate the globe.

The United States Naval War Records published in 1894:

The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of Rebellion
November 5 – Arrived in the Mersey, off Liverpool, and on Monday, the 6th, surrendered the Shenandoah to the British nation, by letter to Lord John Russell, premier of Great Britain. (signed) JAMES I WADDELL.
After the surrender, the CSS Shenandoah was berthed in the partially constructed Herculaneum Dock awaiting her fate. Once the international legalities were settled, she was turned over to the United States government.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_Shenandoah
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 November 1942 - SS City of Cairo was a British passenger steamship. She was sunk by german U-boot U-68 in the Second World War with heavy loss of life, most after the sinking, but before being rescued.


SS City of Cairo was a British passenger steamship. She was sunk in the Second World War with heavy loss of life, most after the sinking, but before being rescued.

She was built by Earle’s Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd, Hull in 1915 for Ellerman Lines Ltd of London. She was 449.9 ft (137.1 m) long, had two decks, two masts and 8,034 gross register tons (GRT). She was registered in Liverpool.

On 29 January 1929, City of Cairo′s propeller struck the British tug Speedy at Liverpool. Speedy sank

SS-City-Of-Cairo-1346x673.jpg

Final voyage
City of Cairo was requisitioned during the Second World War to bring supplies to the United Kingdom. Her last voyage, under the command of her master, William A. Rogerson, was to take her from Bombay, which she departed on 1 October 1942 for the United Kingdom, via Durban, Cape Town, and Pernambuco, Brazil.

The ship departed Cape Town at 0600 hours on the morning of 1 November, carrying 101 passengers, including 28 women and 19 children. Also on board were 10 DEMS Gunners from the Army and Royal Navy. Among the total complement were two spare Lascar crews recruited in India for service on British ships. She was carrying 7,422 tons of general cargo, including pig iron, timber, wool, cotton, manganese ore and 2,000 boxes of silver coins.

She sailed north for 800 miles (1,300 km), zigzagging during the day and keeping about 45 miles (72 km) off the African coast, before turning westwards across the South Atlantic towards Brazil and her next port of call. She was unescorted and capable of only 12 knots (22 km/h). Her problems were exacerbated by the excessive smokiness of her engines which increased her visibility.

Torpedoed
On 6 November, the smoke trail was sighted by the German submarine U-68 under the command of Karl-Friedrich Merten. At 2136 hours, U-68 fired a torpedo at the lone merchant ship. The torpedo struck City of Cairo abreast of the after-mast. The master gave the order to abandon ship. All of the women and children left the ship safely; only six people, two crewmen and four passengers, were lost in the evacuation. The ship, still underway, had stabilised, but she was slowly settling by the stern. A distress call was sent, which was acknowledged by the U-68, which provided the callsign of the Walvis Bay station in South Africa.

Merten fired a second torpedo 20 minutes after the first, which caused the ship to sink by the stern about 480 miles (770 km) south of St Helena. One of the two crewmen lost in the sinking, Chief Radio Officer Harry Peever, was killed by this strike. He had remained in the wireless room to send distress signals. Once City of Cairo had sunk, U-68 surfaced alongside the six lifeboats that had been launched. Merten spoke to the occupants of No. 6 boat, asked the ship's name, cargo and whether it was carrying prisoners of war. He then gave a course for the nearest land, which by now was either the Brazilian coast, approximately 2,000 miles (3,200 km) away, Africa was 1,000 miles (1,600 km) and St Helena was 500 miles (800 km). Merten then left them, with the words "Goodnight, and sorry for sinking you". He privately thought that they had little chance of survival.

Journey
There were 189 survivors: 54, 54, 55, 57 and 55 aboard the larger lifeboats 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8, respectively, whilst the smaller Lifeboat 2 held 17 people (for a total of 292 survivors). After assessing the situation, it was decided to attempt to reach the nearest land, St Helena, despite the danger of overshooting the small island and becoming lost. Each boat had a compass, but there was only one sextant which had been recovered from his belongings as the ship went down by second officer Les Boundy. These, along with Master William Rogerson's Rolex watch, would be needed for navigation, and this would require the boats to remain together. The survivors hoped to reach St Helena within two or three weeks, and water was rationed at 110 ml a day per person, despite the tropical heat.

Over the next three weeks, most of the boats lost contact with each other, and numerous occupants died. Rogerson had hoped to prevent the dispersal of the boats for as long as possible, but as the situation worsened, he was compelled to allow one of the faster boats, which was short of supplies and taking on water, to press on ahead. The boats also suffered damage, with rudders or masts being broken, causing some to lag behind. Eventually, most of the boats had lost sight of each other and proceeding alone.

Rescue
Three of the boats, carrying Rogerson and 154 survivors, were eventually rescued on the morning of 19 November by Clan Alpine, en route to St Helena. The survivors reported that there were three other boats at sea, but by now were unsure where they were. After fruitless searching, the Clan Alpinelanded the survivors at St Helena, though more would die after being transferred to the hospital. On the evening of 19 November, another boat with 47 survivors was rescued by the SS Bendoran, and taken to Cape Town. These four boats had been at sea for 13 days before being rescued. Of those picked up, one man later died aboard the Bendoran, two aboard the Clan Alpine, and another four died in hospital in St Helena.

One boat with 17 people on board, having not sighted St Helena by 23 November, decided that they must have overshot it. Several of the occupants were already dead, and rather than trying to search the area for the island, decided to head west for the coast of South America 1,500 miles (2,400 km) to the west. On 27 December, after a voyage of 51 days, only the third officer and a female passenger were still alive when their boat was spotted by the Brazilian Navy minelayer Caravelas. They had got within 80 miles (130 km) of the Brazilian coast and were landed at Recife. The third officer was awarded the MBE. He was repatriated on the City of Pretoria, but was killed when the ship was torpedoed and sunk by U-172 on 4 March 1943. The female survivor, Margaret Gordon, was awarded the BEM, but refused to cross the Atlantic until the war was over.

Another three survivors were picked up by the German merchant ship and blockade runner Rhakotis, which was travelling from Japan to Bordeaux, on 12 December 1942. They had spent 36 days at sea. One of the survivors then died aboard the Rhakotis. The Rhakotis was intercepted by the cruiser HMS Scylla, torpedoed and sunk off Cape Finisterre on 1 January 1943. The two remaining survivors from City of Cairo managed to make it to different lifeboats and survive their second sinking. One was picked up the next day by U-410 and landed at Saint-Nazaire three days later. The submarine was almost destroyed en route, when she was detected and attacked by British bombers. The other survivor's lifeboat eventually landed in Spain.

Out of a total of 311 people aboard City of Cairo, 104 died, including 79 crew members, three gunners and 22 passengers, with 207 surviving. Six are known to have died in the sinking, 90 in the boats, and seven after being rescued. Some of the names of those lost are inscribed on the Tower Hill Memorial.

Rediscovery
In April 2015, it was announced that the wreck had been rediscovered in 2011 and that £34 million of silver, a "large percentage" of the total, had been salvaged by September 2013. The money generated from this recovery was shared between the UK Treasury and the salvagers, Deep Ocean Search.

150415170824-01-dos-silver-coins-0415-exlarge-169.jpg



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_City_of_Cairo
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 6 November

1683 – Launch of french Solide, (ex-Railleuse) 44 guns, at Dunkirk – wrecked August 1694 off Tortuga.

Solide class, designed by F. Hendrick with 20 x 12-pounder, 20 x 6-pounder and 4 x 4-pounder guns:


1703 - Hazardous 52 (fourth rate) (1701, ex-French Hasardeux, captured 6 November 1703 – wrecked 1706

Captured ships, War of Spanish Succession


1798 - Horatio Nelson created Baron Nelson of The Nile.

Nelson wrote dispatches to the Admiralty and oversaw temporary repairs to the Vanguard, before sailing to Naples where he was met with enthusiastic celebrations. The King of Naples, in company with the Hamiltons, greeted him in person when he arrived at the port and William Hamilton invited Nelson to stay at their house. Celebrations were held in honour of Nelson's birthday that September, and he attended a banquet at the Hamiltons', where other officers had begun to notice his attention to Emma. Jervis himself had begun to grow concerned about reports of Nelson's behaviour, but in early October word of Nelson's victory had reached London. The First Lord of the Admiralty, Earl Spencer, fainted on hearing the news. Scenes of celebration erupted across the country, balls and victory feasts were held and church bells were rung. The City of London awarded Nelson and his captains swords, whilst the King ordered them to be presented with special medals. The Tsar of Russia sent him a gift, and Selim III, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, awarded Nelson the Order of the Turkish Crescent for his role in restoring Ottoman rule in Egypt. Lord Hood, after a conversation with the Prime Minister, told Fanny that Nelson would likely be given a Viscountcy, similar to Jervis's earldom after Cape St Vincent and Duncan's viscountcy after Camperdown. Earl Spencer however demurred, arguing that as Nelson had only been detached in command of a squadron, rather than being the commander in chief of the fleet, such an award would create an unwelcome precedent. Instead, Nelson received the title Baron Nelson of the Nile.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Nelson,_1st_Viscount_Nelson


1799 - HMS Speedy (1798 - 14), Jahleel Brenton, engaged twelve Spanish gunboats off Europa Point protecting her convoy.


HMS Speedy was one of five warships rushed into service, quickly built from green timber at Cataraqui (present-day Kingston) in 1798, to help defend British Upper Canada from the perceived threat from the newly formed United States. That threat was later realised as the War of 1812, but Speedy would not survive to see service in that conflict. Speedy carried four-pound guns and had a 55-foot (17 m), two-masted hull plus an over 20-foot (6 m) bowsprit, bringing her close to 80 ft (24 m) in total length. In spite of her name, Speedy was considered slow for her era. Because she was constructed from improperly seasoned green timber, she almost immediately began to suffer problems with leaks and dry rot after her commissioning.

The schooner or gunboat HMS Speedy sank in a snowstorm in Lake Ontario south of Brighton, Ontario and west of Prince Edward County, on 8 October 1804, with the loss of all hands. The sinking changed the course of Canadian history because of the prominence of the citizens of the tiny colony of Upper Canada lost in the disastrous event.

The ship was built for the Provincial Marine in 1798 at the Point Frederick Navy Depot and was used to transport government officials and supplies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Speedy_(1798)


1807 - Boats of HMS Renommee (44), Cptn. Sir Thomas Livingstone, and HMS Grasshopper (18), Thomas Searle, under a heavy fire of grape and canister from the Torre de Estacio, near Cartagena, took possession of a Spanish brig (6) and a French tartan (6). With little wind and a strong current both ran aground and it was impossible to get them off. They were not burnt when abandoned due to the number of men, women and children, many wounded, on board.

Galathée-Dumoulin-IMG_5509.JPG
Galathée, sister-ship of Républicaine française

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


1941 - USS Omaha (CL 4) and USS Somers (DD 381) intercept the German blockade runner Odenwald disguised as a U.S. freighter and board her after the German crew abandon the ship.

1280px-USS_Omaha_(CL-4)_passing_through_the_Panama_Canal,_circa_1925-1926_(NH_43054).jpg
USS Omaha (CL-4) passing through the Panama Canal, c. 1925–1926 (NH 43054)

Capture of Odenwald

1280px-USS_Omaha_(CL-4)_with_German_blockade_runner_Odenwald,_6_November_1941_(NH_49935).jpg
Omaha CL-4 with German Odenwald 1941, taken from Somers.

Even though the hunt for the "raider" had been unsuccessful it ultimately proved to not be entirely fruitless. On 6 November, as Omaha and Somers, were en route back to Recife, returning from a 3,023 mi (4,865 km) patrol in the equatorial waters of the Atlantic, smoke was spotted, at 05:06, on the horizon. Captain Theodore E. Chandler, Omaha's commander, put her on an intercept course with the sighting. As Omaha approached the ship, which was flying US colors with the name Willmoto, out of Philadelphia, identifying her on her stern, she began taking evasive action. While multiple attempts were made to signal the merchant ship, they either went unanswered or they were given suspicious responses. Omaha's lookouts also reported that many of the crew visible on the deck of the ship were "uniquely un-American in appearance."

The ship, which identified herself as Willmoto, did not satisfactorily identify herself to the American warships. After ordering "Willmoto" to heave to, Omaha's captain dispatched an armed boarding party. At 05:37 Lieutenant George K. Carmichael, along with the boarding party, began to make way for the vessel. Around this time, the merchant hoisted the signal flags "Fox Mike", indicating that the ship was sinking and that they required assistance. Two distinct explosions could be heard within the ship when the boarding party began to climbing the ship's ladder. In an attempt to leave the sinking ship, several of the crew had lowered lifeboats, but Lt. Carmichael ordered them to return to the ship. At 05:58, Carmichael signaled to Omaha that the ship was indeed a German ship and that the crew had attempted to scuttle her. She was identified as Odenwald, a German blockade runner and that her holds were filled with 3,857 t (3,796 long tons; 4,252 short tons) of rubber, along with 103 B. F. Goodrich truck tires and sundry other cargo that totaled 6,223 t (6,125 long tons; 6,860 short tons) total.

1280px-Crewmembers_of_USS_Omaha_(CL-4)_aboard_the_German_blockade_runner_Odenwald,_18_November...jpg
Omaha crew members posing on the deck of Odenwald

A diesel engine specialist was brought over from Somers's crew to assisted with the repairs and prevent Odenwald's sinking. Omaha's SOC floatplanes and Somers guarded the area while the boarding party made Odenwald sea worthy. With repairs finished the three ships set course for Port of Spain, Trinidad, to avoid possible difficulties with the government of Brazil.

Omaha arrived at Port of Spain, on 17 November 1941, with Odenwald flying the German flag on the mast with the US flag flying over it. It was not until 30 April 1947, that a case was brought by Odenwald's owners in the District Court for Puerto Rico, against the US. Their claim stated that because a state of war between the United States and Germany did not exist at the time of capture the vessel could not be taken as a prize or bounty. The court however, given the fact that Odenwald was rescued from sinking by the US crew, declared that the seizing of the ship was defined as a legal salvage operation. The US was awarded the profits that were made from Odenwald and her cargo. All the men of the original boarding party received $3,000 each, while the rest of the crewmen in Omaha and Somers, at the time, were entitled to two months' pay and allowances. The laws have since been revised, making this the last time that US Navy members received such an award

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Omaha_(CL-4)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
7 November 1782 – Launch of french Centaure, a 74 gun Centaure-class


The Centaure was the name ship of the Centaure class of 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.

She was surrendered to the Anglo-Spanish forces at Toulon on 29 August 1793. When Toulon was evacuated by the Allies, the British burnt this ship (among others) on 18 December 1793. The remains were refloated in 1805 and taken to pieces in the following year.


The Centaure class was a class of 74-gun ships of the line of the French Navy, comprising four ships, all of which built at Toulon Dockyard to a design dated 28 March 1782 by Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb in the year following the close of the American Revolutionary War. The first pair were ordered on 15 February 1782, and were named on 13 April. After the first two ships were begun, the design was amended for the second pair (which were 5¼ feet longer, and also had slightly less breadth and depth in hold) – which are accordingly often described as the Séduisant Class. This second pair were ordered on 1 June 1782 and named on 21 August. All four ships were destroyed or captured by the British navy during the French Revolutionary War.

Ships in class
Builder: Toulon
Ordered: 15 February 1782
Begun: 12 May 1782
Launched: 7 November 1782
Completed: December 1782
Fate: Burnt by the British Navy during the evacuation of Toulon on 18 December 1793.
Builder: Toulon
Ordered: 15 February 1782
Begun: 12 May 1782
Launched: 19 December 1782
Completed: April 1783
Fate: Burnt by the British after the Battle of the Nile, 2 August 1798.

The Heureux was a Centaure class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
She cruised in the Mediterranean in 1794 and 1795.
Under Captain Jean-Pierre Etienne, she took part in the Expedition to Egypt, and in the Battle of the Nile. The first ship to spot the British fleet on 1 August, Heureux fought the next day and was forced to strike her colours. Too badly damaged for repairs, she was burnt.
Builder: Toulon
Ordered: 1 June 1782
Begun: August 1782
Launched: 5 July 1783
Completed: 1783
Fate: Wrecked while sailing from Brest, 16 December 1796

Séduisant was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of the sub-class.
She was renamed Pelletier on 30 September 1793, in honour of Louis Michel le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau. Under Savary, she was one of the last ships of the line at the Glorious First of June.
On 30 May 1795 her name was changed back to Séduisant. She sank accidentally on 16 December 1796 while leaving Brest for the Expédition d'Irlande. Out of 600 crew and 610 soldiers, only 60 survived.
Other sources speak of 650-680 survivors. The wreck was rediscovered in 1986.
Builder: Toulon
Ordered: 1 June 1782
Begun: August 1782
Launched: 4 August 1783
Completed: 1783
Fate: Burnt by the British after the Battle of the Nile, 2 August 1798

The Mercure was a 74-gun Séduisant-class ship of the line of the French Navy.
She took part in the Battle of the Nile under Captain Cambon. She fought against HMS Majestic and was captured by HMS Alexander. Damaged beyond repair and aground, she was burnt.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Centaure_(1782)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaure-class_ship_of_the_line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Nile
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
7 November 1790 – Launch of French Jean Bart, a 74-gun Temeraire-class


Jean Bart was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.

illustration-2-20130306091345.jpg

Ship history
The ship was laid down at Lorient on 1 June 1788 from a design by Jacques-Noël Sané, and launched on 7 November 1790. Construction was delayed by lack of materials, and she was not completed until March 1791.

In 1793, she was part of the squadron led by Van Stabel. Along with the Tigre, she rescued the Sémillante which was in danger of being captured by the British.

She took part in the Atlantic campaign of May 1794, and in the capture of HMS Alexander on 6 November. She was also part of the Croisière du Grand Hiver winter campaign in 1794/95, serving in Van Stabel's division, and was present at the Battle of Genoa in March 1795, and in Cornwallis's Retreat and the subsequent Battle of Groix in June 1795.

In 1800, she sailed to the Mediterranean and made her homeport at Toulon.

In February 1809, she formed part of a French fleet which departed from Brest intending to aid the French colony of Martinique which was under threat from invasion. The fleet sailed for Basque Roads to rendezvous with the Rochefort squadron but upon entering the roadstead they were immediately blockaded by the British. On 26 February 1809, the Jean Bart grounded on a shoal near Île Madame while attempting to enter the anchorage south of Ile d'Aix and was subsequently declared a wreck. In April, the British seized the wreck and burnt the remains.

Replica
A full-scale model is under construction in Gravelines, France






https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Jean_Bart_(1791)
https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/cont...seau-du-xviieme-siecle-reconstruit-gravelines
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
7 November 1800 - HMS Netley (16), Lt. Francis Godolphin Bond, captured Spanish privateer schooner San Miguel (9) off Lisbon.


HMS Netley was launched in 1798 to an experimental design. During the French Revolutionary Wars she spent some years on the Oporto station, where she captured many small privateers. The French captured her in 1806, early in the Napoleonic Wars. They lengthened her and she became the 17-gun privateer Duquesne. In 1807 the British recaptured her and the Royal Navy returned her to service as the 12-gun gun-brig HMS Unique. She was expended in an unsuccessful fire ship attack at Guadeloupe in 1809.

large.jpg
Scale: 1:48. A plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth of Netley (1797), a 16-gun Schooner-rigged Gun Vessel. This ship was designed by Brigadier General Sir Samuel Bentham [Inspector of Naval Works, 1796-1806].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/85955.html#DzGsk0Sxb1EAtFW4.99


Design
Netley was built to a design by Sir Samuel Bentham. She was a modified and somewhat enlarged version of Milbrook, which was a somewhat smaller version of his Dart-class vessels. Bentham's designs featured little sheer, negative tumblehome, a large-breadth to length ratio with structural bulkheads, and sliding keels. They were also virtually double-ended

Tons burthen: 22464⁄94 (bm)
Length:
73 ft 6 in (22.40 m) (overall);
54 ft 10 1⁄2 in (16.726 m) (keel)
Beam: 27 ft 9 in (8.46 m)
Depth of hold: 10 ft 10 in (3.30 m)
Complement:
  • Netley:50
  • Dusquesne:120
  • Unique: n.a.
Armament:
  • Netley:16 x 18-pounder carronades
  • Duquesne:16 x 24-pounder carronades, one "26-pounder long gun", and four swivel guns
  • Unique: 12 cannons

The long carreer you can find in wikipedia ......


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Netley_(1798)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-334318;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=N
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
7 November 1820 – Launch of HMS Southampton, a fourth-rate, 52-gun ship. She was one of the six Southampton-class frigates.


HMS Southampton was the third ship of the Royal Navy to carry the name Southampton. She was a fourth-rate, 52-gun ship. She was one of the six Southampton-class frigates.

large (1).jpg
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for Southampton (1820) and Worcester (1843), both 60-gun Fourth Rate Frigates. The plan may relate to the rest of the class: Portland (1822), Lancaster (1823), Winchester (1822), and Chichester (1843). Signed by Henry Peake [Surveyor of the Navy, 1806-1822], Joseph Tucker [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1831], and Robert Seppings [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1832].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81366.html#xif12rK8YSC2gjbB.99


Construction and Early years
HMS Southampton was built at Deptford Dockyard and laid down in March 1817. The ship was launched on 7 November 1820 and completed on 11 May 1821. On completion she went into ordinary.

The story of the ship in the period 1821 to 1860 is told in the Naval Database website.
The early 1830s see her making a voyage to India, Ceylon, and travelling as far as Singapore before returning to England.
The 1840s and 1850s see her at various times mainly in Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo and Cape Town.
In 1860 she went into ordinary at Sheerness, and she served as a Coastguard ship in Harwich until 1867.

large (2).jpg
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for Southampton (1820), Worcester (1843), Portland (1822), Lancaster (1823), Winchester (1822), and Chichester (1843), all 60-gun Fourth Rate Frigates. The plan illustrates the use of additional timbers between the ports, and the framing and bolting of the port timbers. Signed by Robert Seppings [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1832]

Certified Industrial Training Ship at Sammy's Point, Hull
In 1867 Southampton left Harwich and moved to Hull and, on 18 June 1867, began service as a Certified Industrial Training Ship.

Certificated Industrial Training ships were special kinds of Certified Industrial Schools which were set up to attempt to solve the problem of destitute children who, before the Education Act of 1870, were largely neglected and consequently often drifted into crime as a result of squalid living conditions and criminal associates. In 1846 the Education Department had offered grants to build workshops, workhouses or kitchens, and to provide provide schools, and the Committee of Council extended these industrial grants in 1856 and 1857. The aims were to prevent boys falling into bad company and to give industrial training. However, the whole national picture was changed in 1860 when Industrial Schools were transferred to the charge of the Home Secretary, and they became allied with Reformatory Schools. The scope of Industrial Schools was widened when previous legislation was consolidated by the Industrial Schools Act of 1866. Under this Act children under 14 years could be sent by two justices to an Industrial School if not under proper control and guardianship, if an orphan, or in danger of adopting a criminal life. Children under 12 years could be committed if found guilty of an offence punishable by imprisonment, but had not previously been found guilty of felony. Later Acts allowed children to be committed if their mothers were convicted of crime, if they were living with common or reputed prostitutes, or if under 16 years and had been assaulted or neglected likely to cause injury. The Education Act of 1870 allowed School Boards to take over the powers of the prison authorities; they could contribute to the upkeep of voluntary Industrial Schools, build new ones, or enter into agreement with managers which resulted in children being committed for persistent truancy. However, following the Education Act of 1876 these children were largely accommodated in Truant Schools and Day Industrial Schools.

While at Hull Southampton was moored off Sammy's Point. Sammy's Point is on the east bank of the River Hull at the confluence with the Humber. It takes its name from the Martin Samuelson Shipyard[3], which once occupied the site.

Southampton, moored on the River Humber at Hull, was established as a training ship in 1866. On 31 July 1868, the ship was officially certified as an industrial school ship, allowing it to take boys committed by magistrates. The vessel could accommodate 240 boys aged from 11 to 15. By the end of 1909, Southampton had trained 2,600 boys, 57 per cent of whom had gone into the Merchant Service, and 5 per cent to the Royal Navy.

From 1879 to 1900, she was under the command of Captain George Doherty Broad[4]. Those present on the ship at the time of the 1881 England Census are listed on "1881 Ships in Port in the UK". At the time of the 1911 England Census[6], there were 175 inmates aboard the ship, less than the capacity of 240. The ship was under the command of the captain, Henry Jeffreys De Winton Kitcat. His wife, son, and six members of staff were also present.

Disposal
The ship was closed on 28 March 1912. The boys were transferred to the training ship Mount Edgcumbe, which was the renamed HMS Winchester, anchored in the River Tamar at Devonport. Southampton was sold on 26 June 1912 and sent to Blyth to be broken up by the Hughes Bolckow company[9]. She was towed from the Humber and on arrival a Luncheon was held on board for 50 or so local notables. Lord Ridley knocked out the first bolt. Hughes Bolckow paid £2,655 for her and many people trooped to Blyth to see her. One commented: "Her seasoned timbers will be turned scientifically into enduring articles of furniture, which will defy the worst efforts of railway porters or furniture removers to demolish."

large (3).jpg
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile with alterations to the stern for Southampton (1820), Worcester (1843), Portland (1822), Lancaster (1823), Winchester (1822), and Chichester (1843), all 60-gun Fourth Rate Frigates. The plan illustrates the layout of the riders, and the altered circular stern.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81368.html#wTM1cwqdFVvj2Ok3.99


Type: Fourth-rate sailing frigate
Tons burthen: 1,468 11/94 bm (as designed)
Length:
  • 172 ft (52 m) (gundeck)
  • 144 ft 9 in (44 m) (keel)
Beam: 44 ft 3.25 in (13 m)
Depth of hold: 14 ft 6 in (4 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Complement: 450
Armament:
  • As built:
  • UD: 30 × 24-pdr guns
  • QD & FC: 16 × 42-pdr carronades and 6 × 24-pdr guns
  • Re-armed:
  • UD: 26 × 32-pdr guns
  • QD & FC: 20 × 32-pdr guns and 4 × 8-inch shell guns
  • Except Worcester:
  • UD: 30 × 32-pdr guns
  • QD & FC: 16 × 32-pdr carronades, 4 × 24-pdr guns & 2 x 12-pdrs

large (4).jpg
Scale: 1:24. Plan showing the midship section for Southampton (1820); Worcester (1843); Portland (1822); Lancaster (1823); Winchester (1822); Chichester (1843), all 60-gun Fourth Rate Frigates. The plan illustrates the iron knees and riders, as well as the alterations dated 1829 and 1836.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81369.html#fR3uz1KPwq0ybsL0.99



The Southampton-class frigates launched from 1820 onwards were 52-gun sailing frigates of the fourth rate produced for the Royal Navy following the close of the Napoleonic War. They were designed in 1816 to carry sixty guns, but were completed with fifty-two guns only. The design, a joint effort by the Surveyors of the Navy, was modified from that of the Java launched in 1815.

A total of four ships were ordered on 23 May 1816, with two more in 1817 and 1818; however the last pair were delayed and were not launched until 1843 with a substantially altered armament. Two further ships were ordered to a very slightly enlarged version of this design in 1825, to have been built at Plymouth Dockyard as Liverpool and Jamaica, but were cancelled on 5 March 1829 without ever being laid down.

Ships in class
  • Southampton
    • Ordered: 23 May 1816
    • Built by: Deptford Dockyard.
    • Keel laid: March 1817
    • Launched: 7 November 1820
    • Completed: 11 May 1821.
    • Fate: Became a Coastguard vessel in 1857 and a training ship in 1867. Sold to break up on 26 June 1912.
  • Portland
    • Ordered: 23 May 1816
    • Built by: Plymouth Dockyard.
    • Keel laid: August 1817
    • Launched: 8 May 1822
    • Completed: 20 August 1833.
    • Fate: Sold to break up on 19 May 1862.
  • Lancaster
    • Ordered: 23 May 1816
    • Built by: Plymouth Dockyard.
    • Keel laid: 18 July 1818
    • Launched: 23 August 1823
    • Completed: 8 October 1823.
    • Fate: Never commissioned; fitted out to become a fever hospital ship but was never used. Sold to break up at Plymouth on 17 February 1864.
  • Winchester
    • Ordered: 23 May 1816
    • Built by: Woolwich Dockyard.
    • Keel laid: November 1818
    • Launched: 21 June 1822
    • Completed: 16 September 1822.
    • Fate: Became training ship Conway at Liverpool in November 1861, renamed Mount Edgcumbe on 1 September 1876. Sold to break up on 8 April 1921.
H.M.S._Winchester_RMG_PY0825_(cropped).jpg
H.M.S. Winchester Print H.M.S. Winchester

HMS Winchester was a 60-gun Southampton-class sailing frigate of the Royal Navy. She was laid down in 1816 at Woolwich Dockyard, and launched on 21 June 1822. Although designed for 60 guns, she and the rest of the class carried 52 guns. From 1831 to 1861 she served in North America and South East Asia. In 1861 she became the training ship Conway at Liverpool, and from 1876 she was the training ship Mount Edgcumbe. She was sold in 1921.
  • Chichester
    • Ordered: 23 July 1817
    • Built by: Woolwich Dockyard.
    • Keel laid: July 1827
    • Launched: 12 July 1843
    • Completed: 23 February 1844.
    • Fate: Became training ship at Greenhithe in 1866. Sold to break up in May 1889.
  • Worcester
    • Ordered: 21 July 1818
    • Built by: Deptford Dockyard.
    • Keel laid: December 1820
    • Launched: 10 October 1843
    • Completed: November 1843 at Sheerness Dockyard.
    • Fate: Became training ship at Greenhithe in 1862. Sold to break up in August 1885.
HMS Worcester was a 52-gun 1,500 ton fourth rate frigate of the Royal Navy, belonging to the six-ship Southampton class. She was laid down in Deptford in 1820 but only launched in 1843. She was lent as a training ship in 1862 to form the Thames Marine Officer Training School (later known as the Thames Nautical Training College), with nearly £1,000 spent on her conversion. In that role she was moored on the Thames at Blackwall Reach, Erith by 1863, Southend in 1869 and finally at Greenhithe in 1871. She was broken up in 1885 and succeeded by the renamed HMS Frederick William.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Southampton_(1820)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southampton-class_frigate_(1820)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-349413;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=S
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
7 November 1913 – The first day of the Great Lakes Storm of 1913, a massive blizzard that ultimately killed 250 and caused over $5 million (about $118,098,000 in 2013 dollars) damage. Winds reach hurricane force on this date.


The Great Lakes Storm of 1913, historically referred to as the "Big Blow," the "Freshwater Fury," or the "White Hurricane," was a blizzard with hurricane-force winds that devastated the Great Lakes Basin in the Midwestern United States and the province of Ontario in Canada from November 7 through November 10, 1913. The storm was most powerful on November 9, battering and overturning ships on four of the five Great Lakes, particularly Lake Huron. Deceptive lulls in the storm and the slow pace of weather reports contributed to the storm's destructiveness.

The deadliest and most destructive natural disaster to hit the lakes in recorded history, the Great Lakes Storm killed more than 250 people, destroyed 19 ships, and stranded 19 others. The financial loss in vessels alone was nearly US $5 million (or about $123,805,000 in today's dollars).[8] This included about $1 million at current value in lost cargo totalling about 68,300 tons, such as coal, iron ore, and grain.

The storm, an extratropical cyclone, originated as the convergence of two major storm fronts, fueled by the lakes' relatively warm waters—a seasonal process called a "November gale". It produced 90 mph (145 km/h) wind gusts, waves over 35 feet (11 m) high, and whiteout snowsqualls. Analysis of the storm and its impact on humans, engineering structures, and the landscape led to better forecasting and faster responses to storm warnings, stronger construction (especially of marine vessels), and improved preparedness.

On the lakes

Charles_S_Price_upside_down,_1913.png
The 504-ft (154 m) Charles S. Price, upside down on the southern end of Lake Huron.

The greatest damage was done on the lakes. Major shipwrecks occurred on all but Lake Ontario, with most happening on southern and western Lake Huron. Lake masters recounted that waves reached at least 35 feet (11 m) in height. Being shorter in length than waves ordinarily formed by gales, they occurred in rapid succession, with three waves frequently striking in succession. Masters also stated that the wind often blew in directions opposite to the waves below. This was the result of the storm's cyclonic motion, a phenomenon rarely seen on the Great Lakes.

In the late afternoon of November 10, an unknown vessel was spotted floating upside-down in about 60 feet (18 m) of water on the eastern coast of Michigan, within sight of Huronia Beach and the mouth of the St. Clair River. Determining the identity of this "mystery ship" became of regional interest, resulting in daily front-page newspaper articles. The ship eventually sank, and it was not until early Saturday morning, November 15, that it was finally identified as the Charles S. Price. (This was the first time in Great Lakes history that a fully loaded ore carrier had been capsized.) The front page of that day's Port Huron Times-Herald extra edition read, "BOAT IS PRICE — DIVER IS BAKER — SECRET KNOWN". Milton Smith, an assistant engineer who decided at the last moment not to join his crew on premonition of disaster, aided in identifying any bodies that were found.

The final tally of financial loss included US$2,332,000 for vessels totally lost, $830,900 for vessels that became constructive total losses, $620,000 for vessels stranded but returned to service, and approximately $1,000,000 in lost cargoes. This figure did not include financial losses in coastal cities.

The storm had several long-term consequences. Complaints against the USDA Weather Bureau of alleged unpreparedness resulted in increased efforts to achieve more accurate weather forecasting and faster realization and communication of proper storm warnings. Criticism of the shipping companies and shipbuilders led to a series of conferences with insurers and mariners to seek safer designs for vessels. This resulted in the construction of ships with greater stability and more longitudinal strength. Immediately following the blizzard of Cleveland, Ohio, the city began a campaign to move all utility cables underground, in tubes beneath major streets. The project took half a decade.

Ships foundered
Main article: Shipwrecks of the 1913 Great Lakes storm

1280px-Great_Lakes_1913_Storm_Shipwrecks.png
Geographical diagram of ships wrecked during the storm


Bodies from Wexford washed ashore near Goderich, Ontario.

The following list includes ships that sank during the storm, killing their entire crews. It does not include the three victims from the freighter William Nottingham, who volunteered to leave the ship on a lifeboat in search of assistance. While the boat was being lowered into the water, a breaking wave smashed it into the side of the ship. The men disappeared into the near-freezing waters below. The following shipwreck casualties have been documented:

screenCapture_519970546_3660954624_0.jpg
Of the twelve ships that sank in the storm, two have never been found: Leafield and James Carruthers. The most recent discovery is Hydrus, which was located in the summer of 2015. The last wreck found previous to Hydrus was Henry B. Smith in 2013.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Storm_of_1913
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shipwrecks_of_the_1913_Great_Lakes_storm
 

Attachments

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
7 November 1941 – World War II: Soviet hospital ship Armenia is sunk by German planes while evacuating refugees and wounded military and staff of several Crimean hospitals. It is estimated that over 5,000 people died in the sinking.


The Soviet hospital ship Armenia (Russian: теплоход «Армения») was a transport ship operated by the Soviet Union during World War II to carry both wounded soldiers and military cargo. It had originally been built as a passenger ship for operations on the Black Sea.

Armenia was sunk on 7 November 1941 by German aircraft while evacuating civilians and wounded soldiers from Crimea. It has been estimated that approximately 5,000 to 7,000 people were killed during the sinking, making it one of the deadliest maritime disasters in history. There were only 8 survivors.

HS_Armenia.jpg

Career
Armenia, built in 1928 at Baltic Shipyards in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), was one of four Adzharia-class passenger liners specifically designed for use on the Black Sea. They were the first passenger ships to be built in the newly formed Soviet Union. Armenia was a mid-sized vessel capable of carrying 1,000 tons of cargo as well as about 550 passengers in first-, second-, and third-class accommodations. On short trips it could carry 4-500 more on deck. Her shallow draft (5.5 meters) allowed access to the shallow-water ports of the Crimean Peninsula. Throughout the 1930s she and her sister ships – Adzharia, Abkhazia, and Ukraina – reliably ferried passengers, mail, and cargo between Black Sea ports such as Odessa, Mariupol, Sevastopol, Yalta, and Batum.

Following the invasion of the Soviet Union by German forces on 22 June 1941, Armenia was requisitioned by the Soviet Navy for use as a transport and hospital ship. By late October 1941 the German Wehrmacht's 11th Army, under General Erich von Manstein, had cut off the Crimean Peninsula, laying siege to Sevastopol. For the Soviets, the only way in or out of the beleaguered city was by sea. In early November Armenia, painted with the large red crosses of a hospital ship, was tasked with removing wounded Russian soldiers, medical personnel, and civilians from Sevastopol.

Sinking

Approximate site of sinking, MV Armenia

On the night of 6/7 November 1941 Armenia took on thousands of passengers at Sevastopol, amid scenes of chaos. Although the city would end up withstanding the German siege for nine months before falling, at the time enemy seizure appeared imminent. Entire Soviet hospital staffs and civilian officials and their families were taken aboard alongside the thousands of wounded, bound for the town of Tuapse, 250 miles away on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea. After leaving port in the early morning hours of the 7th, Armenia's captain, Vladimir Plaushevsky, received orders to put in at Yalta, a few miles east of Sevastopol, where the already overloaded ship was to pick up yet more passengers. Here, no attempt was made at registering the embarkees; wounded soldiers and civilians were simply crammed onto the decks. Plaushevsky was eager to get underway while darkness still provided some protection, but was ordered to wait for escorts to arrive. At 7am Armenia finally departed Yalta, accompanied by two armed boats and two fighter planes.

The Germans and their Romanian and Italian allies had only a few surface vessels on the Black Sea; as such, it remained essentially under Soviet control throughout the Second World War. However, in the earlier part of the war the Axis had complete air superiority. Over a hundred Soviet merchant ships were sunk,[1] as were dozens of naval vessels. Only the most heavily armed and escorted ships could travel in daylight with reasonable hope of safety; ships caught alone or in port in the western part of the Black Sea were very likely to be attacked.

Armenia's status as a hospital ship was uncertain. Though her sides and top were painted with large red cross symbols, she had light anti-aircraft armament, had previously transported troops and military stores, and, on the morning of 7 November, was traveling with military escort, inadequate though it was.

Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-343-0694-21,_Belgien-Frankreich,_Flugzeug_Heinkel_He_111.jpg
Heinkel He 111

At 11:30am, about 25 miles from Yalta, Armenia was attacked by a Heinkel He 111 medium bomber of 1.Staffel (Lufttorpedo)/KG 28, which dropped two torpedoes. One torpedo missed; the other scored a direct hit. The ship broke in two and sank within four minutes. Only eight people were rescued.

Even by the lowest estimate of about 5,000 dead, the sinking of Armenia remains the deadliest maritime disaster in Russian and Soviet history. In terms of loss of life in the sinking of a single ship, it is often listed as third worst in world history, after the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff and the Goya, German naval ships transporting military personnel and civilian refugees, which were torpedoed by Soviet submarines in the Baltic Sea in 1945.

In 2014, an Australian company GeoResonance claimed to have located the hulk of Armenia in 2005 at a depth of 520m, using an undisclosed remote sensing technique. However this claim has not been substantiated. All three of her Adzharia-class sister ships were also lost during the war.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_hospital_ship_Armenia
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 7 November


1664 – Launch of French Hirondelle, 30 guns, design by Hendrick, at Dunkirk – deleted 1679.

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


1782 – Launch of HMS Serapis, a Roebuck-class ship was a class of twenty 44-gun sailing two-decker warships of the Royal Navy.

The Roebuck-class ship was a class of twenty 44-gun sailing two-decker warships of the Royal Navy. The class carried two complete decks of guns, a lower battery of 18-pounders and an upper battery of 9-pounders. This battery enabled the vessel to deliver a broadside of 285 pounds. Most were constructed for service during the American Revolutionary War but continued to serve thereafter. By 1793 five were still on the active list. Ten were hospital ships, troopships or storeships. As troopships or storeships they had the guns on their lower deck removed. Many of the vessels in the class survived to take part in the Napoleonic Wars. In all, maritime incidents claimed five ships in the class and war claimed three.

Classification
The Royal Navy classed the Roebuck class as fifth rates like frigates but did not classify them as frigates. Although sea officers sometimes casually described them and other small two-deckers as frigates, the Admiralty officially never referred to them as frigates. By 1750, the Admiralty strictly defined frigates as ships of 28 guns or more, carrying all their main battery (24, 26 or even 28 guns) on the upper deck, with no guns or openings on the lower deck (which could thus be at sea level or even lower). A frigate might carry a few smaller guns - 3-pounders or 6-pounders, later 9-pounders - on their quarterdeck and (perhaps) on the forecastle. The Roebuck-class ships were two-deckers with complete batteries on both decks, and hence not frigates.

Design and construction
The Admiralty assigned the contract for Roebuck to Chatham Dockyard on 30 November 1769. Some seven years after the design was first produced, the Admiralty re-used it for a second batch of nineteen ships. The Admiralty ordered them to meet the particular requirements of the American War of Independence for vessels suitable for coastal warfare in the shallow seas off North America (where deeper two-deckers could not sail). The first five vessels of the class, and the later Guardian, had two rows of stern lights (windows), like larger two-deckers though actually there was just the single level of cabin behind. Most, if not all, of the other ships of the class - from Dolphin onwards - had a 'single level' frigate-type stern.

Ship_Argo_with_russian_ship_1799,_Gibraltar.jpg
The 44-gun ship Argo with russian ship 1799 at Gribraltar

Roebuck class 1774-83 (Thomas Slade)
  • HMS Roebuck 1774 - hospital ship 1790, troopship 1799, floating battery 1803, broken up 1811
  • HMS Romulus 1777 - taken by France 1781
  • HMS Actaeon 1778 - hulked 1793
  • HMS Janus 1778 - troopship 1789, wrecked 1800
  • HMS Charon (I) 1778 - sunk 1781
  • HMS Dolphin 1781 - hospital ship 1781, troopship 1800, storeship 1804, broken up 1817
  • HMS Ulysses 1779 - sold 1816
  • HMS Serapis (I) 1779 - taken by John Paul Jones' Bonhomme Richard 1779
  • HMS Endymion 1779 - lost 1790
  • HMS Assurance 1780 - troopship 1791, transport 1796, hulked 1799
  • HMS Argo 1781 - troopship 1791, sold 1816
  • HMS Diomede 1781 - lost 1795
  • HMS Guardian 1784 - sold 1791
  • HMS Mediator 1782 - storeship and renamed Camel 1788, broken up 1810
  • HMS Regulus 1785 - troopship 1800, broken up 1816
  • HMS Resistance 1782 - blown up 1798
  • HMS Serapis (II) 1782 - storeship 1798, broken up 1819
  • HMS Gladiator 1783 - hulked 1807
  • HMS Experiment 1784 - troopship, 1793, hulked 1805
  • HMS Charon (II) 1783 - hospital ship 1794, troopship 1800, broken up 1805
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roebuck-class_ship


1782 – Launch of HMS Thalia, a 36-gun Flora-class frigate

The Flora-class frigates were 36-gun sailing frigates of the fifth rate produced for the Royal Navy. They were designed in 1778 by Sir John Williams in response to an Admiralty decision to discontinue 32-gun, 12-pounder (5.4 kg), vessels. Williams proposed a frigate with a main battery of twenty-six 18-pound (8.2 kg) guns and a secondary armament of ten 6 pounders (2.7 kg). Four 18-pounder carronades and 12 swivel guns were added to the upperworks in September 1799 and the 6-pound long guns were upgraded to 9-pounders in April 1780, before any of the ships were completed.

The drafted vessel had a 137 ft (42 m) gundeck, she was 113 ft (34.4 m) at the keel, with a 38 ft (12 m) beam, and a depth in the hold of 13 ft (3.962 m); she was 868 53⁄94 tons burthen. Initially intended for a crew of 260 this was increased to 270 when the secondary armament was boosted on 25 April 1780.

The first of the class, HMS Flora was ordered on 6 November 1778. The second ship, ordered on 19 December 1780, had the position of its hawseholes changed to just above the cheeks. This design modification carried over to the last two ships, requested between August and December 1781, which also had their lines slightly altered.

Flora-class frigates served in the American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars. The last to be built, HMS Romulus was ordered in December 1781 by which time, Williams' Latona-class frigate was in service, a 38-gun 18-pounder built to compete with Edward Hunt's Minerva-class

HMS_Crescent,_capturing_the_French_frigate_Réunion_off_Cherbourg,_20th_October_1793.jpg
HMS Crescent, capturing the French frigate Réunion off Cherbourg, 20th October 1793

Flora class 36-gun fifth rates 1780, designed by John Williams.
  • HMS Flora 1780 - wrecked and destroyed on the Dutch coast on 19 January 1808.
  • HMS Thalia 1782 - broken up 1814.
  • HMS Crescent 1784 - wrecked on the Coast of Jutland on 6 December 1808.
  • HMS Romulus 1785 - converted to troopship in 1799, hulked as hospital ship at Bermuda in 1813, broken up 1816.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora-class_frigate


1795 - HMS Scourge (1779 - 14), William Stap, foundered off the Dutch coast

HMS Scourge (1779) was a 14-gun brig-sloop launched in 1779. In 1793 she captured Sans Cullote and she foundered in 1795.


1808 - HMS Excellent (74), Cptn. John West, and HMS Meteor engaged French land forces at Rosas.

HMS Excellent was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Harwich on 27 November 1787. She was the captaincy of John Gell before he was appointed an Admiral.

Excellent took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797.

On 9 October 1799, Excellent chased the 18-gun Aréthuse. Aréthuse attempted to flee but part of her rigging broke during the night, and Excellent caught her. After a brief fight, Aréthuse struck her colours. She was recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Raven.
On 9 April 1802, the 8th West India Regiment revolted in Dominica. They killed three officers, imprisoned the others and took over Fort Shirley. On the following day, Magnificent, which was anchored in Prince Rupert's Bay, sent a party of marines ashore to restore order. The mutineers fired upon the Magnificent with no effect. Excellent, the frigate Severn, and the sloop Gaiete assisted Magnificent, also supplying marines.
On 12 April, Governor Cochrane entered Fort Shirley with the Royal Scots Regiment and the 68th Regiment of Foot. The rebels were drawn up on the Upper Battery of Fort Shirley with three of their officers as prisoners and presented arms to the other troops. They obeyed Cochrane's command to ground their arms but refused his order to step forward. The mutineers picked up their arms and fired a volley. Shots were returned, followed by a bayonet charge that broke their ranks and a close range fire fight ensued. Those mutineers who tried to escape over the precipice to the sea were exposed to grape-shot and canister fire from Magnificent.

Fate
In 1820, Excellent was reduced to a 58-gun ship. From 1830 she was serving as a training ship. She was broken up in 1835.

HMS_Bellerophon_and_Napoleon-cropped.jpg
HMS Bellerophon, a sistership

Arrogant class (Slade) – modified Bellona class
  • Arrogant 74 (1761) – broken up 1810
  • Cornwall 74 (1761) – scuttled/burnt 1780
  • Edgar 74 (1779) – broken up 1835
  • Goliath 74 (1781) – razéed to 58 guns 1813, broken up 1815
  • Zealous 74 (1785) – broken up 1816
  • Audacious 74 (1785) – broken up 1815
  • Elephant 74 (1786) – razéed to 58 guns 1818, broken up 1830
  • Bellerophon 74 (1786) – sold 1836
  • Saturn 74 (1786) – razéed to 58 guns 1813, broken up 1868
  • Vanguard 74 (1787) – broken up 1821
  • Excellent 74 (1787) – razéed to 58 guns 1820, broken up 1835
  • Illustrious 74 (1789) – wrecked 1795
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Excellent_(1787)


1815 – Launch of French Montebello 74 at Venice – completed by Austrians, who renamed her Cesare but never finished her

Montebello, was one of the ships built in the various shipyards captured by the First French Empire in Holland and Italy in a crash programme to replenish the ranks of the French Navy. Started as Duquesne and renamed soon afterwards, she was built in Venice under supervision of engineers Jean Tupinier and Jean Dumonteil following plans by Sané.
Still under construction, Montebello was surrendered to Austria at the fall of Venice, and commissioned in the Austrian Navy as Cesare. She was eventually broken up around 1835.
A detailed model of Montebello is on display at the Museo Storico Navale.

Pluton class – A revised design for Téméraire class, by Jacques-Noël Sané, described officially as "the small model" specially introduced to be constructed at shipyards outside France itself (the first pair were built at Toulon) where they lacked the depth of water required to launch 74s of the Téméraire Class.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Montebello_(1815)


1847 – Launch of French Sibylle at Toulon – deleted 13 May 1881.

Poursuivante class (50-gun type, 1827 design by Louis-Charles Barrallier):


1861 - US Naval forces under Rear Admiral Samuel F. DuPont capture Port Royal Sound, SC.

Samuel Francis Du Pont (September 27, 1803 – June 23, 1865) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family. In the Mexican–American War, Du Pont captured San Diego, and was made commander of the California naval blockade. Through the 1850s, he promoted engineering studies at the United States Naval Academy, to enable more mobile and aggressive operations. In the American Civil War, he played a major role in making the Union blockade effective, but was controversially blamed for the failed attack on Charleston, South Carolina in April 1863.

When communication was cut off with Washington at the start of the Civil War, Du Pont took the initiative of sending a fleet to the Chesapeake Bay to protect the landing of Union troops at Annapolis, Maryland. In June 1861 he was made president of a board in Washington formed to develop a plan of naval operations against the Confederacy. He was appointed flag officer serving aboard the steam frigate Wabash as commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, leading from Norfolk, Virginia the largest fleet ever commanded by an American officer at that time. On November 7, Du Pont led a successful attack on the fortifications at Port Royal harbor in South Carolina. This victory enabled Union naval forces to secure the southern waters of Georgia and the entire eastern coast of Florida, and an effective blockade was established. Du Pont received commendations from U.S. Congress for his brilliant tactical success, and was appointed rear admiral on July 16, 1862.

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


1881 - The Naval Advisory Board submit their report to Secretary of the Navy William H. Hunt recommends new ships in the U.S. Navy be constructed of steel instead of iron, resulting in the A, B, C, D ships.

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


1944 - USS Albacore (SS 218) is sunk by a mine off the northern tip of Honshu. All hands are lost.

USS Albacore (SS-218) was a Gato-class submarine which served in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, winning the Presidential Unit Citation and nine battle stars for her service. During the war, she was credited with sinking 13 Japanese ships (including two destroyers, a light cruiser, and the aircraft carrier Taihō) and damaging another five; not all of these credits were confirmed by postwar JANAC accounting. She also holds the distinction of sinking the highest warship tonnage of any U.S. submarine. She was lost in 1944, probably sunk by a mine off northern Hokkaidō on 7 November.

Albacore was the second vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the albacore. Her keel was laid on 21 April 1941 by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 17 February 1942 (sponsored by Mrs. Elwin F. Cutts, the wife of Captain Cutts), and commissioned on 1 June 1942, Lieutenant Commander Richard C. Lake (Class of 1929) in command

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Albacore_(SS-218)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 November 1658 - Death of Witte Corneliszoon de With


Witte Corneliszoon de With (28 March 1599 – 8 November 1658) was a famous Dutch naval officer of the 17th century.

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Witte de With by Abraham van Westerveld

Early life and childhood
De With was born on a farmstead in the hamlet of Hoogendijk near Brielle or Brill, the very town in which Maarten Tromp had been born a year earlier. According to legend, they were friends or even already rivals in their youth, but there is no proof of this. His father died in 1602, leaving behind three sons, besides Witte also Abraham and Andries, and a daughter Catharina. The De With family were Mennonites and strict pacifists; in 1610, Witte, as an anabaptist not yet baptised, obtained a baptism by a Calvinist preacher so that he would no longer feel constrained in using violence, as he was by nature not a peace-seeking boy.

After some failed minor jobs, he went on his first sea voyage to the Dutch East Indies on 21 January 1616 when he was sixteen, as a cabin boy on Captain Geen Huygen Schapenham's ship the Gouden Leeuw, part of a Dutch East India Company(VOC) fleet of five vessels. He arrived at Bantam on 13 November 1616.

Until October 1617, he participated in two trade voyages to Coromandel in India. Afterwards, he became manservant of governor Jan Pieterszoon Coen. He served as a corporal during the siege of Jakarta in 1618. On 8 October 1618, he sailed home on the Gouden Leeuw, returning to Brill on 23 May 1619. On 20 August 1620, he took service with the Admiralty of the Maze as a schipper (then the highest NCO rank), still under Schapenham on the Gelderland. From December 1620, the Gelderland participated in an expedition by Admiral Willem Haultain de Zoete against the Barbary Corsairs, returning in August 1621.

In spring 1622, De With was appointed lieutenant on Schapenham's vessel. When the latter became ill, De With functioned as commandeur, acting captain, of the Gelderland during convoy duty in the Baltic. When Schapenham recovered, De With served for a short period on the Maurits to protect the herring fleet.

In July 1622, De With became flag captain of Delft of now Vice-Admiral Schapenham, who, from 29 April 1623, carried out the spectacular raid organised by the Admiralty of Amsterdam, sending the so-called "Nassau fleet" against the Spanish possessions on the west coast of America; this fleet rounded Cape Horn in March 1624. On his first voyage as a captain, De With already showed he was the strict disciplinarian of later legend: on 13 April, six of his men deserted his ship and the constant beatings and floggings to flee to the uninhabited island of Juan Fernández. Until October, the fleet attacked Spanish shipping and settlements; during one of the actions, De With was wounded by a musket bullet. Then, it crossed the Pacific, sailing via the Mariana Islands to the Indies.

Reaching Ternate in the Spice Islands on 5 March 1625, De With, himself on request of the governor of Ambon in a punitive action, laid waste to the island, destroying by his own count 90,000 clove trees of the inhabitants, to increase the price of this commodity. He departed for the Republic on 6 February 1626, after the death of Schapenham, as Vice-Admiral (in service of the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie) of a Spice Fleet of four ships, then worth five million guilders. He returned on 22 September 1626, thus having circumnavigated the globe, a feat in which he took much personal pride. On his return, he learned that his mother and sister had died; he remained on shore for one and a half years.

Capture of Spain's treasure fleet
In 1627, De With married for the first time, with his second cousin Maria de With from Nieuwenhoorn. In April 1628, their first child, Cornelis, died. The same year, De With, entering the service of the WIC, became flag captain on the Amsterdam to Admiral Piet Heyn during an expedition from 20 May to capture the Spanish treasure fleet. In September this attack was successful near Cuba. On 10 January 1629 the fleet returned to the Republic. Out of the bounty of eleven million guilders, De With was granted about 500 guilders, with which he was very dissatisfied, as he imputed to himself a crucial role in the capture by taking a barque in August, the crew of which provided essential information regarding the whereabouts of the treasure fleet.

In 1629, the five Dutch admiralties refused to allow Heyn, effectively their new supreme commander, to enlarge his staff with a special tactical-operational officer, for which function Heyn had De With in mind. De With now hoped to be appointed flag captain on the Vlieghende Groene Draeck, but Maerten Tromp was chosen instead. De With was made captain of the Prins Hendrik in June; the same month Heyn was killed in action. Disappointed and despairing of ever being promoted, De With left direct naval service in November.

In September, his daughter Cornelia was born. From May 1630 to 1633, De With was Commodore of the Grote Visserij, the administrative body controlling and militarily protecting the Herring Fleet. The change, however, was largely a formality as regular warships were used for this task: De With remained captain of the Prins Hendrik and functioned as flag captain whenever admirals had to make use of this vessel.

In May 1631, his first wife died. In August, he remarried the eighteen-year-old Hillegonda van Goch, the daughter of a Rotterdam patrician. In 1633, his second son Cornelis was born, but the boy died in July 1634. Early in 1634, De With rejoined the navy for four months when Lieutenant-Admiral Philips van Dorp used the Prins Hendrik as his flagship for an expedition in the Gulf of Biscay. During the voyage it became clear that Vice-Admiral Jasper Liefhebber resented the domineering attitude of De With. Tensions between the two men became unbearable, and De With left his ship and thus the navy in the middle of the campaign. From October 1635 to October 1636, he was schepen in Brill; in 1636 also, his fourth child was born, Maria. In October 1637, he was appointed deacon in Brill. De With now mainly lived from rent on the land inherited from his parents, supplemented by a share in a river fishing vessel.

Battle of the Downs

De With in 1654

Not only De With but also Tromp had left the navy after a conflict with Van Dorp. The fact that the two most talented Dutch navy officers had been sidetracked was caused by an attempt by stadtholder Frederick Henry to centralise the cumbersome Dutch naval administration with its five admiralties. Both Van Dorp and Liefhebber were brave men but poor managers. Overworked by the many difficulties and political strife the reorganisation brought with it, they had feared to be replaced by the younger and more competent Tromp and De With. Their removal however, only delayed the inevitable.

In the summer of 1637 the fleet supply system collapsed, bringing the hungry and thirsty sailors on the brink of a general mutiny. The Dunkirkers repeatedly broke through the Dutch blockade of Dunkirk to attack Dutch shipping. Charles I of England exploited the crisis to force Dutch North Sea herring fishers to pay for fishing permits. All that caused such an outcry that when Van Dorp offered his resignation, Frederick Henry was forced to accept it, also firing Liefhebber, replacing them on 29 October with Tromp and De With. However, De With was again to be severely disappointed when he was refused supreme command; as Vice-Admiral of Holland and West Frisia, he was second in command under Lieutenant-Admiral Tromp.

In the Eighty Years' War against the Spanish, De With fought at the Battle of the Downs (1639). De With became very jealous of Tromp's popularity after his destruction of the Spanish fleet in The Downs. In the same battle, he made an enemy of Zealandic Vice-Admiral Johan Evertsen and accused him of cowardice and avarice.

Court martial
In 1640, De With was brought to trial when, his fleet having been dispersed by a storm, he had returned to Hellevoetsluis alone. The court martial was presided by Maarten Tromp and though he was acquitted, De With had the compulsive notion that Tromp had tried to influence witnesses against him. Both in 1644 and 1645, De With, along with an enormous convoy of merchantmen (702 on the return voyage of the latter year) forced the Sound against the Danes, who had tried to impose higher toll rates.

In 1647, De With was sent with a poorly equipped fleet to assist the Dutch colony of Brazil from attack by the Portuguese. He refused to cooperate with the Council of Brazil and, after many months of conflict during which his fleet deteriorated through lack of supplies, he returned against orders with the two remaining seaworthy ships to the Netherlands in November 1649.

On his return, he went to the States-General to complain about the policy of the colony of Brazil but was himself arrested, charged of insubordination and desertion on 259 points and nearly condemned to decapitation. He was saved only by the intervention of the States of Holland, which pointed out their exclusive right to condemn admirals to death.

In February 1651, he was acquitted of most charges, the punishment being reduced to a loss of wages for the period involved. In September 1651, De With was again on convoy duty.

The First Anglo-Dutch War
In the First Anglo-Dutch War against the Commonwealth of England, when Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp in the autumn of 1652 fell in disgrace with the States-General, De With commanded the Dutch fleet at the Battle of the Kentish Knock but failed in his mission. Morally broken, he remained ill at home for many months, while Tromp replaced him for the Battle of Dungeness and the Battle of Portland. On 8 May Tromp officially became supreme commander again and De With fought as subcommander under Tromp in the subsequent actions: the Battle of the Gabbard and the final Battle of Scheveningen in which Tromp died. De With was temporary commander between 14 August and 22 September but was denied permanent command of the Dutch fleet because of his difficult personality in favour of Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam. Between 1654 and 1656 he was inactive, only sailing again for the relief of Danzig.

Death in the Battle of the Sound

The grave memorial of Admiral Witte de With, prominently showing the globe he sailed around

De With fell in November 1658 in the Battle of the Sound, during the Northern Wars, commanding the vanguard of the Dutch fleet relieving Copenhagen from the Swedish, when his ship Brederode was grounded and surrounded by the enemy at Oresund. He was first shot through the left thigh by a musket ball and hours later through the breast. When Swedish soldiers boarded the ship he refused to surrender his sword, wrestling with two of them on his knees and exclaiming: "I have faithfully wielded this sword so many years for Holland, so I won't give it up now to some common soldiers!" He collapsed, was brought to his cabin to recover, insisted on walking by himself over the gangplank to the Swedish ship, collapsed again and died. His body was embalmed on orders of Charles X of Sweden and displayed as a war trophy in the town hall of Elsinore by the Swedes, who, in January 1659, delivered his body to the Danish court in Copenhagen; after the Danes had paid their homage, it was transported to the Netherlands and buried with great pomp in Rotterdam on 7 October, in the church of St Lawrence, where the marble grave memorial, restored after being damaged by the German bombardment of 14 May 1940, can still be seen.

The arch-rivalry with Tromp
De With had a lifelong rivalry with Admiral Maarten Tromp. As Dutch naval historian Johan Carel Marinus Warnsinck put it: "He was feared and hated by his inferiors (on several occasions, crews refused to let him on board to use their ship as flagship), shunned by his equals and always full of insubordination against his superiors". De With was also seen as courageous, competent and an excellent sailor. He was embittered by the neglect of the fleet between 1639 and 1650.

Pamphleteer
One of the more remarkable aspects of De With's personality was his being a notorious pamphleteer, publishing many booklets, anonymously or under the name of friends, in which he sometimes praised but more often ridiculed or even insulted his fellow officers. Tromp was a favourite subject for all three categories.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witte_Corneliszoon_de_With
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Sound
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_ship_Brederode_(1644)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 November 1778 – Launch of USS Confederacy at Norwich, a 36-gun sailing frigate of the Continental Navy


USS Confederacy was a 36-gun purpose built sailing frigate of the Continental Navy in the American Revolutionary War, constructed by Jedidiah Willetts. The British Royal Navy captured her in March 1781, took her into service for about half-a-year as HMS Confederate, and broke her up in 1782.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, stern board with decoration detail, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Confederate (captured 1781), a captured American Fifth Rate. The plan illustrates the ship as she was taken off at Woolwich Dockyard. She was never commissioned into the Royal Navy. The plan includes a table of mast and yard dimensions. NMM, Progress Book, volume 5, folio 526 states that 'Confederate' (1781) arrived at Woolowich Dockyard in 1781 and was docked 18 November 1781. She was broken up in 1782.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/82329.html#DStXrkp84ZpKlz7l.99

Career
She was launched 8 November 1778 at Norwich, Connecticut, and towed to New London to be prepared for sea. From 1 May to 24 August 1779 she cruised on the Atlantic coast under the command of Captain Seth Harding. While convoying a fleet of merchantmen, on 6 June, she and Deane captured three prizes, drove off two British frigates and brought the convoy safely into Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

USS_Confederacy.jpg
A Revolutionary War painting depicting the Continental Navy frigate Confederacy is displayed at the Navy Art Gallery at the Washington Navy Yard.

On 17 September 1779 Confederacy was ordered to carry the French Minister and his family back to France. Later John Jay, the first American Minister to Spain, his secretary, and family were added to the passenger list. During the passage on 7 November 1779 Confederacy was completely dismasted and almost lost, but managed through the skillful seamanship of Captain Harding to reach Martinique early in December. After repairs, she returned to convoy duty.

Captain Nicholson replaced Harding in on 20 October 1780.

Confederacy was homeward bound from Cape Francois in the West Indies in 1781 with military stores and other supplies and escorting a fleet of 37 merchantmen, when on 14 April she encountered HMS Roebuck (44) and HMS Orpheus (32) off the Delaware Capes. The British ships forced Confederacy to strike her flag. Most of the merchantmen she was escorting escaped. Many of her crew were sent to the old prison hulk Jersey, though some ended up in Mill and Forton prisons.

Fate
The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Confederate, under the command of Captain James Cumming. He paid her off in September 1781. She was broken up at Woolwich in March 1782.


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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Confederacy_(1778)
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=2397
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-304235;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=C
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 November 1790 - Launch of french Océan, a 118-gun first-rate three-decker ship of the line of the French Navy,


Océan was a 118-gun first-rate three-decker ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She was funded by a don des vaisseaux donation from the Estates of Bourgogne.

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Océan, as Montagne, in Loutherbourg's Lord Howe's action, or the Glorious First of June

She was ordered as États de Bourgogne and was launched at Brest in 1790. Like many French ships of the line during the Revolutionary period, she was renamed several times, becoming Côte d'Or in January 1793, Montagne in October 1793, Peuple on 17 May 1795, and a matter of weeks later again renamed, to Océan. She served until 1855.

A large model at the 1⁄16 scale can be seen at the Musée de la Marine in Paris.

Career

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Figurehead of Océan.

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As the largest ship of the line in the Brest fleet, the ship spent much of her early career as the fleet flagship.

As Montagne, the ship was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse in the Combat de Prairial (known in English literature as the Glorious First of June) in 1794. She was badly damaged by HMS Royal Sovereign, losing 313 men and receiving 233 round shots in her hull.

On 17 May 1795, she was renamed Peuple; a month later, on 23 June she fought in the Battle of Groix as Villaret's flagship. Returning to Lorient three days later, she was (officially, since 30 May the name Océan was used) renamed to Océan.
She was refitted in Brest in 1797.

In 1801, she once again served as Villaret's flagship, ferrying troops of Leclerc's expedition to Saint-Domingue.
Océan was Allemand's flagship at the Battle of the Basque Roads.

She was decommissioned on 2 August 1850, and used as a floating artillery battery from May 1851.


The Océan-class ships of the line were a series of 118-gun three-decker ships of the line of the French Navy, designed by engineer Jacques-Noël Sané. Fifteen were completed from 1788 on, with the last one entering service in 1854; a sixteenth was never completed, and four more were never laid down.

The first two of the series were Commerce de Marseille and États de Bourgogne in the late 1780s. Three ships to the same design followed during the 1790s (a further four ordered in 1793–94 were never built). A second group of eleven were ordered during the First Empire; sometimes described as the Austerlitz class after the first to be ordered, some of the later ships were not launched until after the end of the Napoleonic era, and one was not completed but broken up on the stocks. A 'reduced' (i.e. shortened) version of this design, called the Commerce de Paris class, with only 110 guns, was produced later, of which two examples were completed.

The 5,095-ton 118-gun type was the largest type of ship built up to then, besting the Spanish ship Santísima Trinidad. Up to 1790 Great Britain, the largest of the battle fleet nations, had not built especially large battleships because the need for large numbers of ships had influenced its battleship policy. The French initiated a new phase in battleship competition when they laid down a large number of three-deckers of over 5,000 tons.

Along with the 74-gun of the Téméraire type and the 80-gun of the Tonnant type, the Océan 120-gun type was to become one of the three French standard types of battleships during the war period 1793 to 1815.

These were the most powerful ships of the Napoleonic Wars and a total of ten served during that time. These ships, however, were quite expensive in terms of building materials, artillery and manpower and so were reserved for admirals as their fleet flagships.

Some of the ships spent 40 years on the stocks and were still in service in 1860, three of them having been equipped with auxiliary steam engines in the 1850s.

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1/48 scale model of the Océan class 120-gun ship of the line Commerce de Marseille, on display at Marseille naval museum, combined with a half-hull of a generic Ocean-type 120-gun ship of the line on display at Brest navl museum.

Design
The design for the first 118-gun three-decker warships originated in 1782 with a design prepared by the shipwright Antoine Groignard. Carrying an extra pair of cannon on each deck (including the quarterdeck), this raised the firepower of these capital ships from 110 to 118 guns, including an unprecedented thirty-two 36-pounder guns in the lowest tier. The French Navy ordered two of these, to be built at Toulon and at Brest, the shipwright entrusted with the construction of the latter ship being Jacques-Noël Sané. However, with the onset of peace following the conclusion of the American War of Independence, these two ships were cancelled in 1783, along with several others. The concept was revived in 1785 when Sané, in conjunction with Jean-Charles de Borda, developed the design of the Commerce de Marseille, marking a leap in the evolution of ship of the line design, when the first two ships were re-ordered at Toulon and Brest. The hull was simple with straight horizontal lines, minimal ornaments, and tumblehome. The poop deck was almost integral the gunwale, and the forecastle was minimal.

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Scale model of an Océan-class ship, including the inner disposition of the lower decks, on display at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne.

They were highly successful as gun platforms and sailers, a fact which indicates that great improvements had been made in warship design since the late 17th century when battleships of less than half their size were regarded as unwieldy giants which ought to be brought into harbour before the September gales began. However, at least the first two of this class appear to have had less strength than necessary - one (Commerce de Marseille) which was taken by the British in 1793, was never used by them, and the other (by now renamed Ocean) had to be extensively rebuilt after a decade. This indicates that the growth in size of wooden warships caused structural problems which only gradually were solved.

Although these ships were costly, their design changed to become even larger in terms of overall tonnage with the introduction of a second (modified) group in 1806. Mounting 18-pounder cannon on her third gun deck (unheard of in French three-decked ships of the period), the Austerlitz set the example for all of the French 118 gun ships to follow.

Type: Ship of the line
Displacement: 5,098 tonnes (before conversion to steam),
Ville de Paris in 1858: 5,302 tonnes
Tons burthen: 2,746 tonnes
Length: 65.18 metres (196.6 French feet),
Ville de Paris in 1858: 69.05 meters
Beam: 16.24 metres (50 French feet)
Draught: 8.12 metres (25 French feet)
Propulsion: sail, 3,265 m²
Speed: 10 knots
Complement: 1,079–1,130 men
Armament:


Ships of the first group
(listed under their names at time of launching, and in order of their launching dates)

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Aft pannel of Souverain, on display at Toulon naval museum.

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Portrait of Commerce de Marseille
Builder: Toulon
Ordered: 30 September 1785
Laid down: September 1786
Launched: 7 August 1788
Completed: October 1790
Fate: captured by the English in Toulon on the 29 August 1793 and commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Commerce de Marseille. Converted to a floating prison in February 1799, and scrapped in 1802.
Builder: Brest
Ordered: 30 September 1785
Laid down: 12 August 1786 as États de Bourgogne
Launched: 8 November 1790
Completed: December 1790
Fate: renamed Montagne on 22 October 1793 and then Peuple on 25 May 1795 and Océan on 30 May 1795, disarmed in 1854 and stricken in 1855.
Builder: Toulon
Ordered: 21 November 1789
Laid down: May 1790 as Dauphin Royal
Launched: 20 July 1791
Completed: August 1793
Fate: renamed Sans Culotte on 29 September 1792 and then Orient on 21 May 1795; blew up at the Battle of the Nile on 1 August 1798.
Builder: Rochefort
Ordered: 1793
Laid down: 1794 as République française (renamed February 1803)
Launched: 1802
Completed: August, 1803
Fate: Scrapped in 1839
Builder: Brest
Ordered: 1793
Laid down: 17 October 1793 as Peuple, renamed to Vengeur in July 1794.
Launched: 1 October 1803.
Completed: February 1804.
Fate: Renamed Impérial on 7 March 1805. Grounded and captured by the British during the Battle of San Domingo on 6 February 1806 and destroyed by fire.
  • Four further ships of this class were ordered, two in 1793 at Toulon (to be named Fleurus and probably Quatorze Juillet) and two in 1794 at Brest (Liberté des Mers) and Rochefort (Républicain) respectively, but were never proceeded with.

Ships of the second (modified) group
(listed under their names at time of launching, and in order of their launching dates) Although these constituted a second batch of the Océan class, built to the same dimensions, the design was modified and they had a heavier displacement, and were often referred to as the Austerlitz Class.
  • Austerlitz: ordered on 19 December 1805 and laid down on 10 April 1806 at Toulon; launched 15 August 1808 and completed August 1809. Never commissioned after her refit of 1821-22, and broken up in 1837.
  • Ville-de-Paris: ordered on 19 July 1806 and laid down in May 1808 at Rochefort as Marengo; renamed to Ville-de-Vienne in 1807, Comte-d'Artois on 8 July 1814, and Ville-de-Paris on 9 August 1830. Launched in 1850. Entered Service in July, 1851. Converted to a dual sail/steam ship in 1858, engine removed and converted to transport in 1870. Stricken in 1882; hulk used as floating barracks until scrapped in 1898.
  • Wagram: ordered in early 1809 and laid down April 1809 as Monarque at Toulon; renamed Wagram on 15 February 1810; launched 1 July 1810 and completed March 1811. Scrapped in 1836.
  • Impérial: ordered on 4 June 1810 and laid down on 2 July 1810 at Toulon; launched 1 December 1811 and completed in August 1812, renamed to Royal Louis on 9 April 1814, reverted to Impérial on 22 March 1815 and then again to Royal Louis on 15 July 1815, condemned 1825 at Toulon and scrapped.
Montebello_in_1850.jpg
Montebello, circa 1850
  • Montebello: ordered in 1810 and laid down in October 1810 at Toulon, launched on 6 December 1812 and completed in August 1813. Transferred to the gunnery school in 1860 and to the navigation school in 1865. Stricken in 1867. Scrapped in 1889.
  • Louis XIV: ordered in early 1811 and laid down as Tonnant in April 1811 at Rochefort; renamed to Louis XIV in 1828, launched on 28 February 1854. Entered service in 1854. Converted to a dual sail/steam ship in 1857. Transferred to the gunnery training school in 1861. Out of service 1873, stricken in 1880, scrapped in 1882.
  • Sans Pareil: ordered on 15 March 1811 and laid down as Sans Pareil in April 1811 at Brest. Renamed Roi de Rome in early 1812, then Inflexible on 21 May 1812 and finally reverted to Sans Pareil on 21 December 1812. Cancelled and broken up on the ways in June 1816 without having been launched.
  • Héros: ordered on 20 February 1912 and laid down in April 1912 at Toulon; launched on 15 August 1813 and completed in January 1814, but never commissioned. Scrapped in 1828.
  • Friedland: ordered on 20 February 1812 and laid down at Cherbourg as Inflexible on 1 May 1812, renamed Duc de Bordeaux on 19 December 1820 and then Friedland on 9 August 1830. Launched on 4 April 1840. Entered service on 5 October 1840. Conversion to dual sail/steam ship started in 1857 but was abandoned and ship was laid up without engine in 1858. Stricken in 1864. hulk renamed Colosse in 1865 and scrapped in 1879.
  • Souverain: ordered on 20 March 1813 and laid down at Toulon in April 1813, launched on 25 August 1819. Converted to sail/steam and entered service in 1857. Used as gunnery training vessel from 1860. Stricken in 1867. Hulk scrapped in 1905.
  • Trocadéro: ordered on 20 March 1813 and laid down in September 1813 at Toulon as Formidable, renamed to Trocadéro in 1823, launched on 14 April 1824 and completed in October 1824 but never commissioned. Destroyed in an accidental fire on 4 March 1836.

DRAWINGS:
Gerard Delacroix
(member in SOS) puplished a very detailed monographie with 34 plates of the Le Commerce de Marseille in scale 1:48

http://gerard.delacroix.pagesperso-orange.fr/118/plaquette-e.htm

AR.jpg GE.jpg GC.jpg


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Océan_(1790)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Océan-class_ship_of_the_line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Commerce_de_Marseille_(1788)
 
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