Naval/Maritime History 25th of April - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
30 May 1757 - Action of 30 May 1757, 30th May 1757


french Duc d'Aquitaine, French East-India ship, of 1,500 tons, mounting 50 long 18-pounders, with a crew of 463 men, was captured, after an hour's action, by the HMS Eagle and HMS Medway, 60 gun ships, Captains Hugh Palliser and Charles Proby. The Eagle had 10 men killed, and the Medway 10 wounded, before they compelled the French ship to strike.

This ship was pierced for 64 guns, and was purchased into the royal navy.



Duc d'Aquitaine was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1754.



On 30 May 1757 she was captured by the Royal Navy and commissioned as the third rate HMS Duc D'Aquitaine. She foundered in 1761 and was lost.

Fate
On 1 January 1761, Duc D'Aquitaine was caught in a cyclone off Pondicherry, India, and foundered. She had been anchored and attempted to go out to sea, but was unable to and so reanchored. The storm overwhelmed her and she foundered; only 19 men out of a crew of about 400 survived. The same storm claimed four other warships as well. HMS Sunderland foundered in much the same manner as Duc D'Aquitaine, and with a similar outcome. HMS Newcastle, HMS Queenborough, and HMS Protector were all driven onshore and wrec

French ship Duc d'Aquitaine (1754) - Wikipedia

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Action of 30 May 1757, 30th May 1757

Description and participants : Action of 30 May 1757, 30th May 1757

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
30 May 1781 - HMS Flora (36), Capt. William Pere Williams, and HMS Crescent (28), Cptn. T. Packenham, engaged 2 Dutch ships off the Barbary coast.
Flora took Castor (32) but Crescent struck to Brille (32) before she was driven away by Flora.


Description from Threedecks
The British frigates Flora, 36, Captain William Peere Williams, and Crescent, 28, Captain the Hon. Thomas Pakenham, had been detached by Admiral Darby with a convoy to Minorca. their return, early on May 23rd, when off the south-east coast of Spain, they were chased by a Spanish squadron, and only escaped after a sharp skirmish, in which the Flora lost a man killed and another badly injured, through loading a gun before it had been sponged out. The British frigates, having shaken off their pursuers by altering course, reached Gibraltar safely on the 29th. After communicating with the garrison, they stood over to Ceuta to look for two large ships which had been seen earlier in the morning. They discovered these to be Dutch frigates, and were preparing to attack when a storm compelled them to haul off. Next day the wind fell and they were able to attack the two Dutch vessels, which were the Castor, 36, Captain Pieter Melvill, 1 and the Briel, Captain Gerardus Oorthuijs, also of 36 guns. The ships paired off, the Flora engaging the Castor, and the Crescent the Briel.
The Flora was very much more heavily armed than the Castor, 2 but the Dutchman fought her, none the less, for two hours and a quarter before striking. The Flora lost her Lieutenant of Marines killed, as also did the Castor; of the British wounded eight, and of the Dutch eleven, died after the battle.
The Crescent, a far smaller and weaker ship, was less fortunate in her combat with the Briel, a vessel of equal if not superior force The quarter-deck guns and four main-deck guns were disabled; the head-yards and sails were shot away early in the engagement; and a little later the wreck of the mainmast, mizenmast, and booms fell into the waist of the ship, fatally encumbering her deck, disabling all the guns before the mainmast, and rendering the ship unmanageable. The Briel was to windward and could not be boarded by the Crescent, and the Dutch frigate at once made use of her advantage and came round under the Crescent's stern, whence she began to rake the British ship. Captain Pakenham, as not a gun would bear, and not a yard of canvas was left standing on his frigate, was compelled to strike. The Dutch were not able to take possession, since by that time the victorious Flora was approaching. The Briel, therefore, made off to Cadiz in a very shattered condition, and though her mainmast fell, succeeded in reaching that port.

Extract from the Journal of Captain Oorthuys
Journal kept by me on board the frigate of War Briel, crewed by 230 heads among them 51 soldiers and mounting 36 guns: 26 pieces of 12lbs, 2 of 6lbs and 8 of 4lbs and one of 1/2lbs (probably a swivel gun). Kept by me Geerardus Oorthuys, sailing as first officer on above vessel under command of the honorable gentleman captain I. van Gennep and at his death at Rotterdam put in command by his royal highness the Lord's Prince of Orange on December 18th and confirmed in my command by their high mightinesses [the Rotterdam admiralty] on December 27th.

Tuesday May 29th 1781: During the night watch the wind was NE-by-N, topgallant breeze [~ beaufort 3], during the day the wind turned NE to S, fresh topgallant breeze, heading WSW. Spotted two frigates to the NNW from our position, streaming English ensigns and signals for Gibraltar. As far as could be seen, one had 14 guns on his gun deck apart from the quarterdeck. Seeing our commander [Melvill] do so, we raised our ensign and made ready to engage, fastened our topgallants and reefed our main sails. At that time the reported frigates lessened sail and lowered their ensigns and seemed to drift [or drifted to leeway]. When we saw the commander increase sail, we did so too and set our course for the Straits [of Gibraltar] and raised Europa point [the southernmost point of the cape] at 8 'o clock. Two miles away to the NNE, we see some frigates and ships at Gibraltar, but could not distinguish them through the hazy air. In the afternoon the wind (NE) increased to a strong topgallant breeze [4 Bft] and later topsail breeze [5 Bft], heading west. The above frigates turned with us and faster as well and at 9.30 they came alongside although still out of range. However, we noted our commander give a broadside to the one in front, so we gave one to the one alongside us which was closer. They hove away to avoid combat, to my mind because the breeze was getting to strong. We loaded all our guns with sharp again and blew off the other broadside [presumably on the side facing away from the English frigate], because those had been loaded for a long time and we wanted to be ship-shape and in good order if we got engaged with our enemy. We see the above frigates sail away and cut in front of commander and make sail for us, staying outside of gun range however around noon. Passed cape Trafalgar to the NE-by-E 3 miles out according to our dead reckoning of 35°40'N). Wind ESE, small gale (7 Bft), heading NW by W, WSW during the first watch, a rainy sky in the SW, sometimes rain and thunderflashes; very changeable weather. Saw the frigates following us, but staying out of range. Remained at quarters for engagement with the enemy, who seemed to avoid such, presumably because of the unsteady weather, rainy sky, high seas and thick rain with strong flashes of thunder.


Scale model on display at the Musée de la Marine in Toulon

Wednesday the 30th durin the night watch wind SW and SSE unsteady breeze and strong gusts of wind and thick rains. Saw the English frigates to the ENE, behind us. During the day watch, the wind the wind was SE changing to SW, 7 Bft, thick with rain, can see the Castor with the looking glass coming towards us. They hailed us, but we could not understand him, had to heave to so as to avoid collision. Around two on the hourglass the frigates gave us a broadside which we returned. We were heavily engaged, but between 5 and 9 on the hourglass I saw that our commander had struck his flag and hove away together with the English frigate [the Flora, 44 guns - 36 + 8 carronades - Capt.Peere Williams] and stopped firing, which made me presume that the captain was either injured or dead as I could not see any damage on either of the ships and to the naked eye seemed to have their full rigging. I kept my position and encouraged my crew more and more so as to keep them from knowing about it [the surrender of Castor] and we kept up a heavy fire with guns, blunderbusses and were even so close that we could throw some grenades on the Englishman from our main mast and a hail of balls on both sides. The frigate that was fighting Castor at the beginning of the fight passed us by on our starboard and gave them 8 to 10 shot of 12lbs, most of which hit home en fired handguns into him as well, but they increased range again and sailed forward [apparently Castor and Brielle had attempted to get Flora between them]. We could not follow because most of our rigging and sails had been shot to splinters, our rudder was unresponsive and we had several dead and severely injured. We also got many cannonball through our masts, topmasts and into the ship, all of 12lbs and 18lbs and much grapeshot from the frigate with which we were engaged. She came about us from ahead and aft, but did not fire strongly anymore, and we blasted him and caused great damage to his rigging and people, at which time I was hit in my left hand, but it was not important. Another bullet hit me over my head and through the edge of my English hat without hurting me. But seeing an English flag waving from the Castor, I encouraged my people which continually gave our enemy heavy broadsides with a will and at 7 'o clock we shot the frigate's main and mizzen masts overboard. After which, she gave a few more shots, but shortly after she struck and hailed us, waving his hat in surrender and around 8 we floated apart because all our rigging was in pieces and our sloops were holed through, so we could not put those out to take possession of our prize. Our main and fore mast were about to fall overboard because cordage, rigging, standing rigging and topmasts were all in pieces, pierced with balls everywhere. Our prize too drifted off, was rudderless, with his foremast and sails very helpless and the wind had gradually lessened. It had rained continually during the fight, so that muskets on both sides got wet and and finally would not fire anymore. We repaired our rigging as much as possible and hove to to the South by East, because I did not think it safe to stay close to our prize, while there were two frigates with full rigging nearby, which had not fought longer than 2 or 3 on the hourglass. We had been hit close and under our guns and at four on the hourglass during the morning our main mast fell overboard because of the heavy sea with everything attached to it. A man hacked it all loose to get rid of it all and it was no time to claim anything, nor to come close to a fresh enemy which had recovered by now, but he did not come nearer.

We sustained 120 casualties during the combat. We threw arms, legs, heads and corpses shot in half overboard to get such a miserable display out of sight, and had many severely injured. We were in heavy combat for 6 (units on the) hourglass without break. All my officers, midshipmen, sailors and soldiers have all been equally courageous. On inspection, we found that our bow anchor with the two sea anchors were shot away and around the outboard and some 12lbs guns had gone from one board to the other [shot loose?] and had many shots between wind and water, but our ship was still watertight. The weather cleared during the afternoon and a SW slight breeze. Considering our course and time of day, our dead reckoning was 1/3 mile W and 181/2 miles, having Cadiz ENE at 181/2 miles, 35°38'N. In the late afternoon our fore sail, which was severely holed with shot, blew away. We put a new one in place and braced the fore mast and fore spars as much as possible. The top of the fore mast had been almost shot off above the second coil and the fore spar had been shot of below the crosstree. We knotted and split everything with cordage to keep it in place. Was reported that * of the injured had died.

Wind W by NW, topgallant breeze, cut the fore topgallant spar loose, which had been shot in half and was swinging to and fro violently. At 6 'o clock we could no longer see the other frigates and turned before the wind and coursed for NNE. Many handguns were missing and damaged, two blunderbusses and some guns had gone overboard with the main mast as well as 50 hammocks of the crew, most others in pieces and useless. During the first watch the wind was W..W to NW, topgallant breeze, clearing sky, nice weather, heading N with wind NE by N, high seas, rolling heavily.

Discovered that we had shot alltogether 1200 shot with the 12, 6 and 4lbs guns.



Scale: 1:48. A plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for an unnamed 130ft French Fifth Rate, Frigate (circa 1760), as taken off prior to fitting as a British Frigate. The 'Flora' (1761), a 32-gun Fifth Rate, ex French Frigate Vestal (1757) has similar dimensions. The French identity comes from the shape and size of the tumblehome, the position of the wheel behind the mizzen mast, only one set of bits on the Upper Deck, and the lack of an Orlop Deck. The date is uncertain, but is likely to be sometime between 1756 and 1783, as Frigates become larger by the French Revolutionary Wars

Vestale was a Blonde-class 30-gun frigate of the French Navy. The Royal Navy captured her in 1761, but had to scuttle her in 1778 to avoid having the French recapture her. She was refloated and sold to the French in 1784. She returned to wartime service in 1794 as a privateer. The British recaptured her in 1798 and broke her up thereafter.







https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Vestale_(1756)

Action of 1781/05/30, 30th May 1781

Description and participants : Action of 1781-05-30, 30th May 1781

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
30 May 1781 - Action of 30 May 1781 - Part II
HMS Crescent (28), Lt. John Bligh (act.), taken by Gloire (40) and Friponne (36)


The Action of 30 May 1781 was a naval battle fought between two frigates of the Royal Navy and two of the Dutch Republic off the Barbary Coast. In the Netherlands it is known as the zeegevecht bij Kaap Sint-Marie (sea battle of Cape St Mary, after the Cabo de Santa Maria). In a battle lasting more than two hours, Captain William Peere Williams-Freeman of the Flora (36 guns), compelled Captain Pieter Melvill's Castor (36 guns) to strike her colours. Shortly after, Captain Gerardus Oorthuys of den Briel (36 guns) compelled Thomas Pakenham to strike Crescent (28 guns). However, Flora came to Crescent's rescue before Oorthuys could board her, and forced him to retreat.




Course

Captain Gerardus Oorthuys

During the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War a flee from the Dutch East Indies left the Mediterranean, escorted by the 36-gun frigates Castor under captain Pieter Melvill van Carnbee and the Den Briel under captain Gerardus Oorthuys. They did not pass Gibraltar unnoticed and were intercepted by two British frigates, the 36-gun Flora under captain William Peere Williams-Freeman and the 36-gun Crescent under captain Thomas Pakenham. The Dutch frigates reached the Atlantic and fired a salvo at their pursuers, frightening them off, but Carnbee decided not to pursue the faster British ships but to proceed with their primary objective of escorting the merchantmen. The Dutch ships thus turned south under cover of darkness to reach the Canary Islands.

On the morning of 30 May 1781 the Dutch saw the British ships following them. The British opened fire and Carnbee and Oorthuys tried and failed to get one of the British ships between them. The battle then became a ship-to-ship action between the Den Briel and the Crescent in one case and the Castorand the Flora in the other. The Castor was a 23-year-old ship with low calibre guns and a maximum salvo of 372 pounds, thus proving no match for the modern Flora with its 720-pound salvo. The Castor soon became unmanageable, with her sails and rigging destroyed, holes below the waterline, five feet of water in her hold, most of her guns out of action, 30 of her 230-man crew killed and 40 wounded. Carnbee hoisted a white flag, he and his crew were taken on board the Flora and the sinking Castor was taken in tow as a prize ship.

The battle between Den Briel and the Crescent was a mirror image of the defeat of the Castor. The guns of the Den Briel brought down the main-mast and mizzen-mast of the Crescent for only 12 dead and 44 wounded, compared to the toll on the Crescent of 27 dead and 65 wounded (including her captain, who was slightly injured). Both ships were badly damaged however and an hour after the Crescent surrendered the mast of the Den Briel fell overboard. The Dutch ship also did not have any boats left in a seaworthy condition to take the Crescent as a prize. The Crescent then managed to get taken in tow by the Flora and Oorthuys had to watch his prize escape.


The Battle of Cape St Mary in a Dutch engraving.

Aftermath
Using makeshift sails Oorthuys then reached the port of Cadiz on 2 June, whilst the fleet he was escorting also reached Spain without being attacked by the British. With two badly damaged ships in tow, Pakenham then met two French frigates in the English Channel and was defeated, though the Floraescaped. Pakenham had refused to resume the command of the Crescent, maintaining that by his surrender to the Den Briel his commission was cancelled, and that when recaptured the ship was on the same footing as any other prize. The Castor thus became a French prize (though it was beyond use and soon demolished in a French shipyard) and Carnbee and the Dutch prisoners were repatriated.

The battle became major news back in the Netherlands, with Carnbee and Oorthuys compared to earlier naval heroes Michiel de Ruyter and Maarten Tromp. In Britain, Pakenham was tried by court-martial for the loss of his ship but honourably acquitted, it being proved that he did not strike the flag till, by the fall of her masts and the disabling of her guns, further resistance was impossible.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_30_May_1781

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
30 May 1794 - Atlantic campaign of May 1794 – the days before the Glorious 1.st June


Between the actions
On the morning of 30 May, Howe sent a signal to all his captains asking if they considered their ships ready for combat. All but Caesar replied in the affirmative and Howe pushed his ships after the retreating French. Despite holding the weather gage, Howe's pursuit was soon hampered by descending fog, and unable to see or come to grips with the enemy throughout the whole day, the admiral feared he may have lost his opportunity for battle. However, by 31 May the fog had cleared and the French were still within sight to the north. To the surprise of the British, none of the 26 battleships in the French fleet appeared to show battle damage, whereas many of the British ships were nursing damaged rigging and battered hulls. Villaret had made use of the fog to reorganise his force, losing Montagnard and the frigate Seine to the convoy but gaining the independently sailing battleship Trente-un-Mai and Nielly's squadron of Sans Pareil, Trajan, and Téméraire. Villaret had also dispatched the battered Indomptable for home, escorted by an undamaged French ship.

Throughout 31 May Howe's fleet closed with the French, making full use of the advantage of the weather gage. By 17:00 the fleets were five miles (9 km) apart, but at 19:00 Howe gave orders to keep his ships out of shot range but within easy sailing of the French. He did not want a repeat of the confusion of 29 May and preferred to delay any combat until he was assured of a full day in which to conduct it, in order that his signals not be obscured or misinterpreted. During the night the fleets remained in visual contact, and by first light on 1 June the British were just six miles (11 km) from Villaret's fleet and organising in preparation to attack once more. Both fleets were now sailing in a western direction, Villaret still hoping to draw Howe away from the convoy.

Atlantic campaign of May 1794 - Wikipedia

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Order of battle at the Glorious First of June - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
30 May 1798 - The Action of 30 May 1798
HMS Hydra (38), Cptn. Sir Francis Laforey, and consorts destroyed Confiante (36)


The Action of 30 May 1798 was a minor naval engagement between a small British squadron and a small French squadron off the coast of Normandy, France during the French Revolutionary Wars. A British blockading force, which had been conducting patrols in the region in the aftermath of the battle of St Marcou earlier in the month, encountered two French vessels attempting to sail unnoticed between Le Havre and Cherbourg. Closing with the French, the British commander Sir Francis Laforey sought to bring the French ships to battle as they attempted to turn back to Le Havre before the British squadron could attack. The French were unable to escape, and Laforey's ship, the fifth rate HMS Hydra, engaged the French corvette Confiante, while two smaller British ships chased the Vésuve.



After a brief exchange of fire, their crews ran both French ships onshore close to the mouth of the River Dives, where several of the landing barges that had survived the attack on the British-held Îles Saint-Marcouf were sheltering. Confiante was badly damaged and boarding parties from Hydra and the other ships were able to board and burn her the following morning. Vésuve had suffered less than the Confiante and troops onshore were able to protect her from further attack until her crew could bring her into the nearby harbour of Sallenelles. There she was repaired and eventually she returned to Le Havre.


Capture of La Confiante, May 31st 1798 by Thomas Whitcombe, 1816. NMM.

Background
By 1798 the British Royal Navy had successfully contained the French Navy within its own harbours, employing a strategy of close blockade to ensure dominance at sea during the French Revolutionary Wars. The strategy was particularly effective in the English Channel, where the proximity of British bases and the importance in limiting the movements of the French invasion forces stationed around Boulogne focused British attention on the Normandycoast. This was essential to prevent the concentration of a large force of invasion barges that had been constructed at various harbours under the guidance of a Captain Muskein. To improve the Royal Navy's ability to observe French movements on the Normandy coast, a force under the command of Captain Sir Sidney Smith seized, garrisoned, and fortified the uninhabited Îles Saint-Marcouf in 1795.

During the spring of 1798, Muskein concentrated over 50 of the landing barges in Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue and on 6 May launched an attack on the Îles Saint-Marcouf while a combination of wind and tide prevented the blockade squadron from intervening. The fortified islands were too well-defended however and over 900 French soldiers died in the ensuing battle before the French abandoned the attack. The French subsequently dispersed the remaining landing barges to various ports on the Normandy coast. In response the Royal Navy increased its patrols in the region with the intention of intercepting the convoys and destroying the barges. French movements along the coast were not solely confined to landing barges: on 29 May 1798 two warships, the 20 or 24-gun Confiante under captain de vaisseau Etienne Pévrieu, and the 20-gun Vésuve under lieutenant de vaisseau Jean-Baptiste-Louis Lecolier, sailed from Le Havre, travelling westwards across the Baie de la Seine to Cherbourg, accompanied by a small, armed cutter.

Battle of 30 May
Engagement at sea
On the morning of 30 May, a British squadron sailing off La Havre spotted the French ships pulling to the west and gave chase, Captain Laforey leading in the 38-gun HMS Hydra, followed by the bomb vessel HMS Vesuvius, under Captain Robert Fitzgerald, and the 12-gun cutter HMS Trial, under Lieutenant Henry Garrett.[9] Discovering the British in pursuit, Pevrieux ordered his squadron to retreat towards the shore, tacking in front of Hydra and opening an ineffective fire at long range. Laforey continued his approach, and a 06:00 successfully tacked Hydra into a position between Confiante and Vésuve, which had turned back towards the shore. Although the British frigate came under fire from both French ships, their attacks had little impact. Laforey was able to concentrate his broadside against Vésuve and rapidly forced the French corvette to turn inshore, pursued by Vesuvius and Trial. Laforey then set off in pursuit of Confiante, which was attempting to turn back towards Le Havre. The French cutter was unable to escape the British pursuit and its crew deliberately drove it ashore near the mouth of the Dives River.

At 06:30, Hydra caught up with Pevrieux on the Confiante and began a heavy fire, which the French warship returned when possible. The exchange continued for 45 minutes until 07:15, when Confiante, having suffered serious damage, drove aground on a sandbank near Beuzeval, a village a short distance to the west of the mouth of the Dives. As Confiante struck the sandbank, her mainmast collapsed, rending further manoeuvre under hostile fire impossible. Vésuve too drove ashore to avoid the British attack, Lieutenant Lecolier managing to beach his ship within the Dives estuary itself. As the rising tide brought the corvette off the beach, Lecolier made a brief attempt to escape westwards towards Caen, but Trial and Vesuvius were alert and drove Vésuve back to the shore. There the two small British vessels opened up a distant fire on the corvette, as did Hydra to the west against Confiante. At 09:30, the falling tide forced the British ships to retreat off-shore, Laforey gathering his vessels approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of the beached French convoy.

Attack by boats
During the day, the French strengthened the positions of both battered ships, soldiers from the surrounding area gathering on the beaches to deter any boat attacks on the grounded vessels. Among the soldiers were men taken from several of Muskein's landing barges that were sheltering in the Dives River. These troops were identified by Trial, which briefly closed with Confiante to determine her condition and was fired on by the remaining guns in operation on the frigate.[10] With their evacuation covered from the shore, most of the crew were removed from Confiante, including all the wounded. The French eventually abandoned the wrecked corvette in the evening. Vésuve was in better condition and remained well protected. Her crew shored up their vessel at low tide to prevent her falling over and prepared to heave the ship off as the tide rose. Due to the strong French military presence, Laforey decided to delay any operation against the beached vessels until circumstances were more favourable.

At 10:00 on the morning of 31 May, Laforey sent the boats from his squadron inshore to attack the grounded Confiante. Coming alongside the wreck at 12:45, the British boarding party, under Lieutenants George Acklom and William J. Simonds, found no one alive on the ship, but counted a large number of French dead still on board. Removing the French colours and paperwork, the boarding party started fires in the bow and stern of the corvette before withdrawing, despite a steady but ineffective musket fire from French troops overlooking the beach and a force of cavalry moving along the shore. The fire rapidly destroyed Confiante and the British boarding party retired without casualties.

As the British attack proceeded against Confiante, the crew of Vésuve succeeded in refloating her and soon had their ship anchored under the protection of gun batteries at Sallenelles. These defences were augmented by additional batteries set up by 200 soldiers under Captain Muskein, drawn from the barges that had been trapped in the town by the British blockade. By the time Confiante had been destroyed, the mouth of the Dives had been heavily fortified and even the arrival of the 38-gun frigate HMS Diamond under Captain Sir Richard Strachan on 1 June was insufficient to counterbalance French numerical superiority. Eventually Laforey was forced to retire from the blockade of Sallenelles, and while he was absent Vésuve managed to get underway and reach Le Havre without further incident.

Aftermath
French casualties in the engagement are uncertain due to the circumstances of Confiante's destruction, but based on Acklom's report from the boarding party they were believed to be heavy. British losses were negligible, with not one man killed or seriously wounded and only minor damage inflicted on Hydra and none on the smaller vessels. The conduct of Lieutenant Lecolier was the subject of much criticism in France after the battle; in the French history Victories et Conquêtes, Lecolier was accused of failing to support Pevrieux and grounding his ship while the outcome of the battle was still undecided. British historian William James is less critical of Lecolier, focusing much of the blame for the French defeat on the more senior Pevrieux. The restriction of French movement along their own coastline had serious effects for the development of the French forces in the region and played a significant role in the failure of the French to pose a realistic invasion threat to Britain


HMS Hydra launched in 1797 was a fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, armed with a main battery of twenty-eight 18-pounder guns.

She was built to the design of the captured French frigate Melpomene (taken in 1794).


HMS Hydra


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_30_May_1798

HMS Hydra (1797) - Wikipedia

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French corvette Vésuve (1795) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
30 May 1815 - The East Indiaman Arniston is wrecked during a storm at Waenhuiskrans, near Cape Agulhas, in present-day South Africa, with the loss of 372 lives.


Arniston was an East Indiaman that made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She was wrecked on 30 May 1815 during a storm at Waenhuiskrans, near Cape Agulhas, South Africa, with the loss of 372 lives – only six on board survived.[6] She had been chartered as a troopship and was underway from Ceylon to England on a journey to repatriate wounded soldiers from the Kandyan Wars.



Controversially, the ship did not have a marine chronometer on board, a comparatively new navigational instrument that was an "easy and cheap addition to her equipment" that would have enabled her to determine her longitude accurately. Instead, she was forced to navigate through the heavy storm and strong currents using older, less reliable navigational aids and dead reckoning. Navigational difficulties and a lack of headway led to an incorrect assumption that Cape Agulhas was Cape Point. Consequently, Arniston was wrecked when her captain headed north for St Helena, operating on the incorrect belief the ship had already passed Cape Point.


Repulse, an East Indiaman from the same period and similar in size to Arniston

Overview
East Indiamen operated under charter or licence to the Honourable East India Company, which held a monopoly granted by Queen Elizabeth I of England for all English trade between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn. Arniston was built at the Barnard yard at Deptford on the Thames and launched in 1794.

Arniston was heavily armed, with her fifty-eight guns making her the equivalent of a Royal Navy fourth-rate ship of the line. A classification of "ship of the line" – a class of ship that later evolved into the battleship – meant that a ship was powerful enough to stand in a line of battle and explained why these ships of commerce were sometimes mistaken for men-o-war. The armament was necessary for the ship to protect herself and her valuable cargo from pirates and commerce raiders of other nations during long voyages between Europe and the Far East. Arniston, like other East Indiamen, was slow and unmanoeuvrable, but able to carry a large quantity of cargo.

Voyages (1794–1812)
Arniston sailed from Great Britain to the Far East eight times before her last voyage. On one of her homeward journeys from China, she struck an uncharted rock at 5°46′8″S 105°16′43″E, near the island of Pulo Goondy (modern day Pulau Legundi), located just south of Sumatra. She did not suffer any ill effects as a result of this incident however, which is mentioned in journals of the time only for its noteworthiness as a navigation hazard to other shipping.

Apart from this and another incident in 1800, Arniston's first eight voyages were uneventful.

Wreck (1815)
Critically, the ship did not have a chronometer—a comparatively new navigational instrument that was an "easy and cheap addition to her equipment" at the time—for this voyage. Captain George Simpson[1] could not afford the 60–100 guineas for one, and the ship's owners were also unwilling to purchase one, even threatening to replace him with another captain if he refused to set sail without one.

Arniston sailed from Port de Galle on 4 April 1815 in a convoy of six other East Indiamen, under the escort of HMS Africaine and HMS Victor. Among her 378 passengers were many invalid soldiers and sailors, plus 14 women and 25 children.

During the passage from Ceylon, at one o'clock every day, the ships signalled each other their longitude that they calculated using their chronometers. In this way, the ships were able to compare their respective instruments, and the master of the Arniston was able to learn his longitude too, as long as he remained in the convoy.

On 26 May, while rounding the southern tip of Africa, Arniston separated from the convoy in bad weather after her sails were damaged. Without accurate daily longitudinal information from the other ships, Arniston had to rely instead on older, less accurate navigation methods. Navigation via dead reckoning proved particularly difficult as there were strong ocean currents combined with inclement weather that prevented a fix being obtained for several days via celestial navigation.


Coastline at Arniston. The seaside village of Waenhuiskrans, Western Cape has become so associated with the wreck that it is known as Arniston.

On 29 May, land was sighted to the north at 7 am, and given the dead reckoning estimates, was presumed to be the Cape of Good Hope. The ship sailed west until 4:30 pm on 29 May, then turned north to run for St Helena. However the land sighted had in fact been Cape Agulhas (then known as "Cape L'Agullas") and the ship had also not made good headway against the current since this sighting. Compounding these navigational errors, the master had not taken any depth soundings(which would have confirmed his location over the Agulhas Bank), before heading north.[7] Consequently, instead of being 100 miles (160 km) west of the Cape of Good Hope as presumed, the ship was closing on the reef at Waenhuiskrans near Cape Agulhas. The anchors were unable to hold the heavy ship in the storm, so on 30 May near 4 pm, Lieutenant Brice advised Captain Simpson to ground the ship to save the lives of those aboard.[6] Eight minutes later, at about 8 pm, the ship struck rocks half a mile offshore and heeled into the wind. The guns on the opposite side were cut away in a failed attempt to level the ship, which soon started to break up in the waves.

Only six men of the 378 people on board survived, after reaching the shore only with great difficulty through the high surf. The following morning the sternpost was the only part of the vessel still visible. The ship and her passengers had been lost for lack of a chronometer, or as an officer from the same convoy later wrote:

[T]his valuable ship, and all the lives on board of her, were actually sacrificed to a piece of short-sighted economy. That they might have been saved, had she been supplied with the worst chronometer that was ever sent to sea, is also quite obvious.

Aftermath

The six survivors buried the bodies found on the beach, then travelled east along the beach, expecting to reach Cape Town. However, after four and a half days, they realised their error and returned to the site of the wreck. Here they subsisted off a cask of oatmeal, while trying to effect repairs to the ship's pinnace, which had been washed ashore. They were discovered six days later on 14 June by a farmer's son, who was out hunting.

• Among the victims were: Captain George Simpson, Lieutenant Brice, Lord and Lady Molesworth.
• The six survivors were: Dr. Gunter (boatswain), John Barrett (carpenter), Charles Stewart Scott (carpenter's mate), William Grung (second class), Gibbs (third class), Robinson (fourth class).

A memorial, a replica of which can be seen today, was erected on the beach by the wife of Colonel Giels, whose four children were lost in the tragedy on their homeward journey, having visited him in Ceylon. The memorial bears the following inscription:

Erected by their disconsolate parents to the memory of Thomas, aged 13 years, William Noble, aged 10, Andrew, aged 8 and Alexander McGregor Murray, aged 7 (the four eldest sons of Lieut Colonel Andrew Giels of H.M. 73rd Regiment) who, with Lord and Lady Molesworth unfortunately perished in the Arniston Transport, wrecked on this shore on 3rd May, 1815.

Over time, the seaside village of Waenhuiskrans has become so associated with the wreck, that it now is also known as Arniston. The nearby town of Bredasdorp has a museum dedicated to the wreck. The wreck had a direct influence on the decision to build a lighthouse at Cape Agulhas to the west in 1847–1848.

Thirty seven years later, the 73rd Regiment once again suffered hundreds of casualties on this coast when HMS Birkenhead was wrecked 50 miles (80 km) away at Gansbaai.

Archaeological excavation
The wreck, which lies in about 6 metres (20 ft) of water, was surveyed by an archaeological team from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 1982. The National Monuments Council issued a permit to UCT student Jim Jobling to conduct an underwater survey of the site, as well as a limited excavation. A number of artefacts were recovered, which were donated to the Bredasdorp Shipwreck Museum.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arniston_(East_Indiaman)

Story of the HMS Arniston | Xplorio Arniston

Find out more about the Story of the HMS Arniston.

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
30 May 1845 – The Fatel Razack coming from India, lands in the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad and Tobago carrying the first Indians to the country.


Fatel Razack (Fath Al Razack, Victory of Allah the Provider, Arabic: قتح الرزاق‎) was the first ship to bring indentured labourers from India to Trinidad. The ship was built in Aprenade for a trader named Ibrahim Bin Yussef, an Indian Muslim merchant in Bombay. It was constructed from teak and had a carrying capacity of 415 tons.[1] When the British decided they were going to bring Indians to Trinidad in 1845, most of the traditional British ship owners did not wish to be involved. The confusion as to the proper name possibly stems from the name "Futtle Razak", which was on the ship's manifest.

The ship was originally named Cecrops, but upon delivery it was renamed to Fath Al Razack. The ship left Calcutta on 16 February 1845 and landed in the Gulf of Paria on 30 May 1845, with 227 immigrants.


Indo-Trinidadians and Tobagonians or Indian-Trinidadians and Tobagonians, are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago whose ancestors came from South Asia.

They are a part of the wider Indo-Caribbean community, which itself is a part of the global Indian diaspora. Historically, Indians in Trinidad and Tobago can trace their ancestors back to the Hindi belt region of Northern India, which is located in the Indus-Ganga Plain. This plain is located between the Ganga, Yamuna, and Indus rivers and faces the mountain ranges of the Himalayas and the Vindhyas in Northern India.

History

Early Indian indentured laborers.

In his book Perspectives on the Caribbean: A Reader In Culture, History, and Representation, Philip W. Scher cites figures by Steven Vertovec, Professor of Anthropology; Of 94,135 Indian immigrants to Trinidad, between 1874–1917, 50.7 percent were from the NW/United Provinces (an area, which today, is largely encompassed by Uttar Pradesh), 24.4 percent hailed from the historic region of Oudh (Awadh), 13.5 percent were from Bihar and lesser numbers from various other states and regions of the Indian Subcontinent, such as Punjab, Bengal and Tamil Nadu [primarily Madras (Chennai)] (as cited in Vertovec, 1992). Out of 134,118 indentured labourers from India, 5,000 distinguished themselves as "Madrasi" from the port of Madras and the immigrants from Bengal as "Kalkatiyas", from the city Kolkata.

Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonians has now become interchangeable with Indians or East Indians. These were people who were escaping poverty in India and seeking employment offered by the British for jobs either as indentured labourers, workers or educated servicemen, primarily, between 1845–1917.[3][4]

The demand for Indian indentured labourers increased dramatically after the abolition of slavery in 1834. They were sent, sometimes in large numbers, to plantation colonies producing high-value crops such as sugar in Africa and the Caribbean. In his book Finding a Place, author, journalist, editor, and academic Kris Rampersad challenges and rejects the notion of East Indians to describe people in Indian heritage in the Caribbean and traces their migration and adaptation from hyphenated isolation inherent in the description Indo-Trinidadian or Indo-Caribbean for the unhyphenated integration into their societies as IndoTrinidadian and Indocaribbean that embraces both their ancestral and their national identities.

In Trinidad some Chinese men had children with dark skinned Indian women of Madrasee origin and it was reported that "A few children are to be met with born of Madras and Creole parents and some also of Madras and Chinese parents - the Madrasee being the mother", by the missionary John Morton in 1876, Morton noted that it seemed strange since there were more Indian coolie men than Indian coolie women that Indian coolie women would marry Chinese men, but claimed it was most likely because the Chinese could provide amenities to the women since the Chinese owned shops and they were enticed by these.[5][6][7] Few Chinese women migrated to Trinidad while the majority of Chinese migrants were men. The migration of Chinese to Trinidad resulted in intermarriage between them and others.[8][9] Chinese in Trinidad became relatively open to having marital relations with other races and Indian women began having families with Chinese in the 1890s.[10] The situation on Trinidad enabled unprecedented autonomy in the sexual activities of Indian women and freedom.[11] Approval of interracial marriage has slowly increased in Trinidad and Tobago and one Chinese man reported that his Indian wife did not encounter any rejection from his parents when asked in a survey. In Trinidad, Europeans and Chinese are seen as acceptable marriage partners by Indians, while marrying black men would lead to rejection of their daughters by Indian families. According to the Douglas' consciousness, there were twice as many Indian men with black women than black men with Indian women, the statistics for Chinese men are not clear since the majority of Indians were from honour killing prevalent states whereas the Tamil labourer families had more open mentalities. Some Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonians can trace their ancestry to indentured labourers who immigrated to Guyana, Jamaica, St. Vincent, Grenada, or other islands in the Caribbean. Many are descendants of later immigrants from India.


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

Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
30 May 1906 - HMS Montagu, a Duncan-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy, wrecked

HMS Montagu was a Duncan-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy. Built to counter a group of fast Russian battleships, Montaguand her sister ships were capable of steaming at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph), making them the fastest battleships in the world. The Duncan-class battleships were armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and they were broadly similar to the London-class battleships, though of a slightly reduced displacement and thinner armour layout. As such, they reflected a development of the lighter second-class ships of the Canopus-class battleship. Montagu was built between her keel laying in November 1899 and her completion in July 1903. The ship had a brief career, serving for two years in the Mediterranean Fleet before transferring to the Channel Fleet in early 1905. During wireless telegraphy experiments in May 1906, she ran aground off Lundy Island. Repeated attempts to refloat the ship failed, and she proved to be a total loss. She was ultimately broken up in situ.


Montagu's sister ship HMS Albemarle

Grounding and loss
In late May 1906, Montagu tested new wireless telegraphy equipment in the Bristol Channel, sending and receiving test messages with wireless stations ashore. Late on 29 May, she was anchored off Lundy Island, but could not pick up the messages from the test station, so the ship weighed anchor to steam to the Isles of Scilly. Heavy fog forced her to reverse course and steam back to Lundy Island after four hours, but her navigator miscalculated the course, placing her some two miles off her original track. Montagu encountered a pilot cutter cruising in the vicinity of Lundy Island, slowed to a stop, and came alongside the cutter to request a distance and bearing for Hartland Point on the mainland. Though the cutter supplied these accurately, the voice from the battleship's bridge replied that they must be wrong and that the pilot cutter must have lost her bearings. As Montagu restarted her engines and began to move ahead, the cutter shouted back that on her present course Montagu would be on Shutter Rock within ten minutes, and a short time later the sound of the battleship running aground carried through the fog.


An elevated middle-distant starboard bow view, taken from the cliffs, of the battleship HMS Montagu (1901) aground off Shutter Point, south-west point of Lundy. A large number of the battleship's pinnaces, whalers and boats are afloat between the rocks and the starboard broadside. A large dumb barge is tied alongside the ship. There is a lot of human activity on board the Montagu and in the boats. On 30 May 1906, the battleship was on its way back to an anchorage off Lundy having conducted wireless telegraphy experiments when it struck Shutter Point in increasingly dense fog. The ship was stuck fast and a salvage operation was conducted over two months to remove the guns and other equipment


Montagu aground, c. 1907

At 02:00 on 30 May, Montagu ran aground on Shutter Rock, suffering a 91-foot (28 m) gash on her starboard side. Unable to free herself from the rocks, she slowly filled with water; twenty-four hours later, her starboard engine room and all of her boiler rooms were flooded, among others. Her crew counter-flooded the port engine room to prevent her from listing further to starboard. Divers inspected the hull to determine the extent of the damage, which proved to be more serious than initially expected. The bottom of the ship also received extensive damage, including several other holes and the port propeller shaft having been torn from the hull. The starboard bilge keel was also ripped from the hull, as was the rudder. The wreck rested on a fairly even bottom, so there was hope that the ship could be refloated.

Since the Royal Navy had no dedicated salvage unit, it turned to Frederick Young, a former Royal Navy captain who now worked as the chief salvage officer of the Liverpool Salvage Association. Young was at that time the foremost expert on marine salvage in Britain, so he was hired to advise Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson, the commander of the Channel Fleet, who had no experience in salvage operations. The navy initially hoped to lighten the ship by removing the medium and small-caliber guns and other equipment that could be easily taken off and then to pump out the water so that the holes in the hull could be patched. By the end of June, some twenty pumps had been assembled on the scene, with a total pumping capacity of 8,600 tonnes (8,500 long tons; 9,500 short tons) of water per hour. Difficulties with pumping, owing in part to the subdivision of the internal compartments and the need to reflood the ship during high tide to keep her from suffering more damage before the hull could be patched led the salvors to give up the operation.

Wilson next sought to remove armour plate from the sides of the ship and to erect a series of caissons, at which point a powerful air pump would be used to blow the water out of the hull. The caissons repeatedly broke free even in mild seas, and the air pump failed to have the desired effect. Her sister ship Duncan herself ran aground whilst trying to help the salvage effort, though she was successfully freed. At the end of the summer of 1906, salvage efforts were suspended for the year, with plans to resume them in 1907. However, an inspection of the ship conducted from 1 to 10 October 1906 found that the action of the sea was driving her further ashore and bending and warping her hull so that her seams were beginning to open, her deck planking was coming apart, and her boat davits had collapsed. Having failed to refloat Montagu, the navy decided to abandon the project. Further material was removed from the wreck, including her main battery guns, which were later re-used in other vessels.

The Western Marine Salvage Company of Penzance completed salvage of the wreck for scrap metal over the next 15 years. The court martial convened for the affair blamed the thick fog and faulty navigation for the wreck. The trial was held aboard HMS Victory. The ship's captain, Thomas Adair. and the navigation officer, Lieutenant James Dathan, were severely reprimanded, with both men being dismissed from HMS Montagu; Dathan lost two years of seniority in rank as well. The wreck site, which now amounts to little more than some armour plate on the sea floor, is a popular diving location



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Montagu_(1901)

Collections - National Maritime Museum

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
30 May 1907 - Chanzy, an Amiral Charner-class armored cruiser built for the French Navy in the 1890s, wrecked


Chanzy was an Amiral Charner-class armored cruiser built for the French Navy in the 1890s. Upon completion, she served in the Mediterranean Squadron and she was assigned to the International Squadron off the island of Crete during the 1897-1898 uprising there and the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 to protect French interests and citizens. The ship was in reserve for several years in the middle of the first decade of the 20th century before she was transferred to French Indochina in 1906. Chanzy ran aground off the Chinese coast in mid-1907, where she proved impossible to refloat and was destroyed in place after her crew was rescued without loss.


sistership Bruix in coastal waters, before 1914

Design and description

Line drawing from Brassey's Naval Annual 1902

The Amiral Charner-class ships were designed to be smaller and cheaper than the preceding armored cruiser design, the Dupuy de Lôme. Like the older ship, they were intended to fill the commerce-raiding strategy of the Jeune École.

Chanzy measured 106.12 meters (348 ft 2 in) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 14.04 meters (46 ft 1 in). The ship had a forward draft of 5.55 meters (18 ft 3 in) and drew 6.06 meters (19 ft 11 in) aft. She displaced 4,748 metric tons (4,673 long tons) at normal load and 4,990 metric tons (4,910 long tons) at deep load.

The Amiral Charner class had two triple-expansion steam engines, each driving a single propeller shaft. Steam for the engines was provided by 16 Belleville boilers and they were rated at a total of 8,300 metric horsepower(6,100 kW) using forced draft. Amiral Charner had a designed speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) and carried up to 535 metric tons (527 long tons; 590 short tons) of coal that allowed her to steam for 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

The ships of the Amiral Charner class had a main armament that consisted of two Canon de 194 mm Modèle 1887 guns that were mounted in single gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure. Their secondary armament comprised six Canon de 138.6 mm Modèle 1887 guns, each in single gun turrets on each broadside. For anti-torpedo boat defense, they carried four 65 mm (2.6 in) guns, four 47-millimeter (1.9 in) and eight 37-millimeter (1.5 in) five-barreled revolving Hotchkiss guns. They were also armed with four 450-millimeter (17.7 in) pivoting torpedo tubes; two mounted on each broadside above water.

The side of the Amiral Charner class was generally protected by 92 millimeters (3.6 in) of steel armor, from 1.3 meters (4 ft 3 in) below the waterline to 2.5 meters (8 ft 2 in) above it. The bottom 20 centimeters (7.9 in) tapered in thickness and the armor at the ends of the ships thinned to 60 millimeters (2.4 in). The curved protective deck of mild steel had a thickness of 40 millimeters (1.6 in) along its centerline that increased to 50 millimeters (2.0 in) at its outer edges. Protecting the boiler rooms, engine rooms, and magazines below it was a thin splinter deck. A watertight internal cofferdam, filled with cellulose, ran the length of the ship from the protective deck[5] to a height of 1.2 meters (4 ft) above the waterline.[6] Below the protective deck the ship was divided by 13 watertight transverse bulkheads with five more above it. The ship's conning tower and turrets were protected by 92 millimeters of armor.


Amiral Charner at anchor, c. 1897

Construction and career
Chanzy, named after General Antoine Chanzy, was ordered from Chantiers et Ateliers de la Gironde on 18 December 1899 and laid down the following month at their shipyard in Bordeaux. She was launched on 24 January 1894 and initially was commissioned for her sea trials on 6 February. These began two days later and revealed so many problems with her engines and boilers that Chanzy was decommissioned for repairs on 6 December. Recommissioned on 1 May 1895 to test the repairs, she entered service on 20 July.

The ship was initially assigned to the 1st Light Division of the Mediterranean Squadron before she was transferred to the 4th Light Division on 18 May 1896. Chanzy participated in the annual fleet maneuvers that summer before she was placed in reserve for repairs at Toulon in August. The ship began trials on 28 December 1896.

On 16 February 1897, Chanzy arrived off Crete to serve in the International Squadron, a multinational force made up of ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, French Navy, Imperial German Navy, Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina), Imperial Russian Navy, and British Royal Navy that intervened in the 1897-1898 Greek uprising on Crete against rule by the Ottoman Empire. In early March 1897, she steamed with other ships of the squadron to Selino Kastelli on the southwest coast of Crete to put an international expedition ashore that rescued Ottoman troops and Cretan Turk civilians from Kandanos. Although the International Squadron operated off Crete until December 1898, Chanzy departed Cretan waters on 25 February 1898 and returned to France. Upon arriving in France, she was assigned to the reserve squadron and did little for the rest of 1898 other than participate in the annual naval maneuvers.

On 1 January 1899 Chanzy was reassigned to the 1st Light Division and her most notable activities for the year were visits to the Balearic Islands and ports in the Aegean Sea and Middle East. Her main steam pipe fractured on 20 February and injured three crewmen. Chanzy was repaired in time to participate in the annual maneuvers and spent three weeks in September attached to the elderly gunnery ship Couronne before making a cruise to French North Africa. The ship began a brief deployment to the Levant on 1 February 1901 and returned on 4 April for the annual maneuvers before returning to the Levant on 30 October. She arrived back at Toulon on 1 February 1902 and began a long period of relative inactivity that lasted until she was formally placed in reserve when the new armored cruiser Marseillaisereplaced her in the squadron in May 1904.

Chanzy was recommissioned on 15 September 1906 for service with the Far Eastern Squadron and departed on 15 November. She arrived at Saigon, French Indochina, on 10 January 1907 and visited Hong Kong and ports in China, and Japan in April and May. While departing from Shanghai on 20 May in thick fog, she ran aground on rocks off Ballard Island in the Chusan Islands. Her sister ship Bruix and the protected cruisers D'Entrecasteaux and Alger attempted to pull her off, but could not do so in the heavy seas. Her crew remained aboard attempting to get her off until they were evacuated without loss on 1 June when the ship began to founder and the wreck was demolished by the other cruisers on 12 June.

French cruiser Chanzy - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
30 May 1937 - Ciudad De Barcelona, an ocean liner, was torpedoed by the Spanish Nationalist Archimede-class submarine General Sanjurjo and sunk off the coast of Malgrat de Mar.


Ciudad De Barcelona was an ocean liner built by Cantiere Navale Triestino, Monfalcone, Italy for the Compañía Trasmediterranea and launched on 8 June 1929. Her original name was Infante Don Jaime, but after the declaration of the Second Spanish Republic on April 1931, the ship was renamed Ciudad De Barcelona.

The ship was owned by a company of the Spanish businessman Juan March Ordinas who was an important Falangist’s financial supporter. As the Spanish Civil War broke out in June 1936, Ciudad De Barcelona was nationalized by the Republican government. She was torpedoed by the Spanish Nationalist Archimede-class submarine General Sanjurjo and sunk off the coast of Malgrat de Mar on 30 May 1937. Ciudad De Barcelona was carrying 200–250 volunteers of the International Brigades from Marseille to Spain. Up to 65 of them are estimated to have drowned, as well as more than 100 other passengers and crew members.



Sinking
The first effort to sink the Ciudad de Barcelona had been attempted in January 1937, but the torpedo had malfunctioned. On Saturday 29 May 1937, some 200–250 international volunteers boarded the ship in Marseille. They were mainly from North America, Great Britain, Germany and Italy, but some came from Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand. There was also a group of French pilots and Senegalese passengers. Ciudad de Barcelona was intended to sail to Barcelona or Valencia, depending on situation of the armed conflict between the communists and anarchists in Barcelona.[2] The ship had a cargo of war material, including items like tanks, tires, motorcycles, cotton fabrics and canned food. A day before, the ship's cargo of flour was sabotaged as someone had poured kerosene upon it.[2] She was under the command of captain Francisco Nadal.

At sunset, Ciudad de Barcelona headed for the open sea with all lights off. She sailed a distance of approximately one mile from the shore, trying to avoid the Italian submarines and warships. The Non-Intervention Committee had ordered this part of the sea under the control of Italian Navy. As the ship reached the Spanish waters, it was warned of the lurking submarines by the Republican airplanes and patrol boats. Soon she was escorted by a Spanish gunship.

On the afternoon of Sunday 30 May, Ciudad de Barcelona was off the coast of Malgrat, about 60 kilometres north of Barcelona. She was spotted by the Italian submarine General Sanjuro, which was under the command of captain Pablo Suances Jaudenes. The submarine was originally named Torricelli and transferred to the Spanish nationalist navy in April 1937. General Sanjuro was seeking revenge for the Germans, as the cruiser Deutschland was hit by the Republican airplanes in the port of Ibiza a week earlier. The attack killed 31 German sailors. The submarine launched two torpedoes. The first one missed and landed to the beach of Lloret de Mar. Captain Nadal tried a desperate maneuver by turning Ciudad de Barcelona towards Malgrat, in order to save the passengers, but at 6 PM she was hit by another torpedo which exploded in the engine room. At the time, the ship was only 400 metres off the shore. Ciudad de Barcelona sank rapidly, in just two or three minutes.

The passengers were saved by Republican Coast Guard boats and seaplanes, as well as the local fishermen who rushed to the scene. The President of Catalonia, Lluis Companys, came from Barcelona to observe the life saving efforts.[2] The victims were hospitalized, some to the town of Calella and others to Barcelona. The surviving volunteers were transported to Barcelona were they soon joined the International Brigades. Only one decided to leave back home. One of the survivors was the Finnish American newspaperman Hjalmar Sankari (died March 1938 in the Aragon Retreats), an editor of the New York daily Eteenpäin, who wrote an article to his newspaper of the incident. According to Sankari, some of the volunteers were singing the Internationale while they were drowning with the ship.

The death toll was over two hundred dead, although some sources cite more than three hundred. According to the Madrid newspaper ABC, the ship carried 312 passengers and 64 crew members of which 4 died. 60–65 volunteers lost their lives, but only 25 names are known. The Republican government tried to censor news of the incident to avoid a negative effect on future shipments. However, an Italian news agency informed the press of the sinking and it was already on Monday newspapers.

The wreck of Ciudad de Barcelona lies in the depth of 30 meters and is often visited by divers

MV Ciudad de Barcelona - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 30 May


1574 - May 30 Battle of lillo - Sea Beggars under Boisot defeat a Spanish fleet

The Battle of Lillo was a naval battle that took place during the Eighty Years' War. A Dutch fleet under the command of Lodewijk van Boisot defeated a Spanish fleet at anchor between the fortresses of Lillo en Liefkenshoek near Antwerp. The Spanish lost ten ships which were captured by the Dutch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lillo
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_battle&id=979


1588 – The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.

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


1696 – Launch of Heroïne, 20 guns, launched 30 May 1696 at Brest – captured by the Spanish 1697.

Heroïne class:
Heroïne, 20 guns, launched 30 May 1696 at Brest – captured by the Spanish 1697.
Galathée, 20 guns, launched 13 August 1696 at Brest – captured by the English Navy 1708.


1741 – Launch of HMS Swift was an 8-gun snow-rigged sloop of the Royal Navy, the last of three Drake class sloops constructed during the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear.

HMS Swift was an 8-gun snow-rigged sloop of the Royal Navy, the last of three Drake class sloops constructed during the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear. Launched in 1741, her principal service was as convoy escort and patrol off North Carolina and in the North Sea. She was lost at sea on 31 October 1756.


No Scale. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth of Drake (1741), Hawke (1741), and Swift (1741), all 8-gun Sloops

HMS Swift (1741) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Collections - National Maritime Museum

1795 – HMS Alarm (32) sunk french Liberte (20) in action

HMS Alarm was a 32-gun fifth rate Niger-class frigate of the Royal Navy, and was the first Royal Navy ship to bear this name. Copper-sheathed in 1761, she was the first ship in the Royal Navy to have a fully copper-sheathed hull.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for Alarm (1758), Aeolus (1758), Montreal (1761), Niger (1759), Quebec (1760), Stag (1758), and Winchelsea (1764), all 32-gun Fifth Rate Frigates. The plan includes alterations, dated 1769, to the main channels and deadeyes

https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_battle&id=513

HMS Alarm (1758) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1813 – Launch of French Sultane, (launched 30 May 1813 at Paimboeuf, near Nantes) – captured by British Navy 1814, becoming HMS Sultane.

Pallas-class frigate (1808) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1814 US Navy gunboats capture three British boats from HMS Montreal and HMS Niagara on Lake Ontario near Sandy Creek, NY


1864 - During the Civil War, the side-wheel steamship USS Keystone State and the iron screw steamship USS Massachusetts capture British blockade-runner Caledonia south of Cape Fear, N.C.

USS Keystone State was a wooden sidewheel steamer that served in the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
Keystone State was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1853 by J. W. Lynn. She was chartered by the navy on 19 April 1861 from the Ocean Steam Navigation Co. at Philadelphia, and purchased on 10 June 1861. She commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 19 July 1861, Commander Gustavus H. Scott in command.

USS Keystone State (1853) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1901 – Launch of Regina Margherita was the lead ship of her class of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Italian Regia Marina between 1898 and 1904.

Regina Margherita was the lead ship of her class of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Italian Regia Marina between 1898 and 1904. She had one sister ship, Benedetto Brin. Regina Margherita saw action in the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912. By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the battleship had been reduced to a training ship. She struck two naval mines on the night of 11–12 December 1916 while steaming off Valona. She sank with heavy loss of life: 675 men were killed, and only 270 survived.



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

Regina Margherita-class battleship - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1904 - The Marine Detachment from USS Brooklyn (ACR 3) lands at Tangiers, Morocco to protect the American Consulate during the dispute between Raisuli and the Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco.
The tension started after kidnapping of American businessman Ion Perdicaris on May 18, 1904 and held for ransom. Perdicaris is eventually released unharmed.

The second USS Brooklyn (ACR-3/CA-3) was the third United States Navy armored cruiser, the only one to be named at commissioning for a city rather than a state.
Ordered for $3,450,420.29 (hull and machinery), she was launched on 2 October 1895 by William Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Company of Philadelphia; sponsored by Miss Ida May Schieren, daughter of Charles A. Schieren, Mayor of Brooklyn, New York; and commissioned on 1 December 1896, Captain Francis Augustus Cook in command.

USS Brooklyn (ACR-3) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1914 – The new, and then the largest, Cunard ocean liner RMS Aquitania, 45,647 tons, sets sails on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City.

RMS Aquitania was a British ocean liner of Cunard Line in service from 1914 to 1950. She was designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. She was launched on 21 April 1913[4] and sailed on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on 30 May 1914. Aquitania was the third in Cunard Line's grand trio of express liners, preceded by RMS Mauretania and RMS Lusitania, and was the last surviving four-funnelled ocean liner.[5] Shortly after Aquitania entered service, World War I broke out, during which she was first transformed into an auxiliary cruiser before being transformed into a troop transport and a hospital ship, notably as part of the Dardanelles Campaign.


RMS Aquitania on her maiden voyage in 1914 in New York Harbor

Returned to transatlantic passenger service in 1920, she served alongside the Mauretania and the Berengaria. Widely considered during this period of time as one of the most attractive ships, Aquitania earned the nickname "the Ship Beautiful" from her passengers. Her popularity allowed her service to be continued after the merger of Cunard Line with White Star Line in 1934. The company planned to retire her and replace her with RMS Queen Elizabethin 1940.

However, the outbreak of World War II allowed her to remain in service for ten more years. During the war and until 1947, she served as a troop transport. She was used in particular to take home Canadian soldiers from Europe. After the war, she transported migrants to Canada before the Board of Trade found her unfit for further commercial service. Aquitania was retired from service in 1949 and was scrapped the following year. Having served as a passenger ship for 36 years, Aquitania became the second longest serving Cunard vessel after RMS Scythia (37 years). That record stood until 2004 when Queen Elizabeth 2 became the longest serving Cunard vessel.

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


1934 – Death of Tōgō Heihachirō, Japanese admiral (b. 1848)

Marshal-Admiral The Marquis Tōgō Heihachirō, OM, GCVO (東郷 平八郎; 27 January 1848 – 30 May 1934), was a gensui or admiral of the fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. As Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War he successfully confined the Russian Pacific Fleet to Port Arthur before winning a decisive victory over a relieving fleet at Tsushima. Tōgō was termed by Western journalists as "the Nelson of the East".



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


1939 – Launch of Shōkaku (Japanese: 翔鶴, "Soaring Crane") was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the lead ship of her class

Shōkaku (Japanese: 翔鶴, "Soaring Crane") was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the lead ship of her class. Along with her sister shipZuikaku, she took part in several key naval battles during the Pacific War, including the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands before being torpedoed and sunk by a U.S. submarine at the Battle of the Philippine Sea.[



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

Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1944 - USS Guitarro (SS 363) sinks Japanese freighter Shisen Maru, 60 miles south-east of Keelung, Formosa. Also on this date, USS Pompon (SS 267) sinks Japanese freighter Shiga Maru off Muroto Saki, Japan while USS Rasher (SS 269) sinks the gunboat Anshu Maru about 110 miles north-northeast of Halmahera.


1945 - A TBM (VC 82) from USS Anzio (CVE 57) sinks Japanese submarine (I 361), 400 miles southeast of Okinawa. Also on this date, USS Blenny (SS 324) sinks Japanese cargo ship Hokoku Maru 40 miles southwest of Banjarmasin, Borneo while USS Croaker (SS 246) sinks Shuttle Boat (No.154) and Shuttle Boat (No. 146).

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
31 May 1677 – The Battle of Møn, also known as the Battle of Lolland, took place 31 May–1 June 1677, as part of the Scanian War.
Danes defeat Swedes between Femern and Warnemunde, Baltic Sea


The Battle of Møn, also known as the Battle of Lolland, took place 31 May–1 June 1677, as part of the Scanian War. A smaller Swedish squadron under Admiral Erik Sjöblad attempted to sail from Gothenburg to join the main Swedish fleet in the Baltic Sea. It was intercepted by a superior Danish force under Niels Juel and decimated over the course of two days. The Swedes lost 8 ships and over 1,500 men dead, injured or captured, including Admiral Sjöblad himself, while the Danish losses were insignificant.

The victory prevented the Swedish navy from concentrating its forces and provided valuable prize ships for the Danish navy. It confirmed Danish supremacy at sea during the war and laid the ground for the major Danish victory at Køge Bay 1–2 July that same year.



Prelude
Henrik Horn was appointed commander-in-chief of the Swedish navy in March 1677, becoming the third consecutive navy chief (after Gustaf Otto Stenbock and Lorentz Creutz) without any naval experience. The Danish fleet, on the other hand, was well-staffed with capable, experienced officers, which placed the Swedes at a marked disadvantage from the outset. Horn was quickly informed that Dutch reinforcements under Tromp were heading for the Baltic, and on 21 April he was received orders from King Charles to join the main body of the Swedish fleet with a minor squadron anchored off Gothenburg under the command of Erik Sjöblad. The main fleet did not get to see until early June, but Sjöblad nevertheless sailed as early as 20 May to join Horn. Sjöblad tried to sail through the Great Belt, but was becalmed for on the 23rd and did not pass Langeland until the 29th. Danish admiral Niels Juel, victor of the battles of Bornholm and Öland in 1676 was already at sea with 13 large warships, a yacht and two fireships when he received the report on Sjöblad's position on 28 May; within two days, the two fleets had sighted one another.

The Danish force was superior in numbers, armament and quality of equipment. Sjöblad's force had nine ships to Juel's 13, eight of which had 50 or more guns. The Danish ships were also dedicated warships while the Swedish vessels were armed merchants and less suited for battle. In total, the Swedes had 394 guns while the Danes had nearly 670, and the heaviest guns on the Swedish sides were merely 12-pounders, a relatively light caliber for naval artillery.

Battle
Juel had taken up a position between the Swedish squadron and the outlet between the German mainland and the island of Falster. After a war council on 30 May, the Swedish force decided to attempt to sail around the Danish force and set a course for east-northeast on 31 May. The wind abated once more that day and both sides began towing their ships to make headway. The Swedish force tried to stay in formation by setting the pace by the slowest ships, and later that afternoon, the first Danish ships came within firing range. Before night fell, Drejer of Enigheden managed to overtake and capture Wrangel Palats. During the night, the wind picked up once more, which was to Juel's benefit.

On the morning of 1 June, the Danish force had the wind at their backs (the weather gauge) and could rake Sjöblad's force with their heavier guns while still keeping out of range of the lighter Swedish artillery. Since the wind was too light for coordinated maneuvers, Juel gave orders for every captain to attack the nearest enemy ship to sink or capture them. By 4 o'clock, Juel's flagship Christianus V had caught up with Sjöblad's Amarant and after an intense artillery duel that lasted two hours, the Swedish flagships lost a yard and had its largest topsail shot to pieces. Per Rosenlund of the Andromeda tried to turn around to assist his admiral, but his crew refused to follow orders since they "did not want to go back and let themselves be slaughtered like sheep".[5] Sjöblad had to surrender and was taken prisoner. Kalmar Kastell was attacked by four Danish ships and also struck its colors. The captain of the Swedish ship, Cornelis Thijssen, gave his artillery officer orders to shoot up the ship's hull, and the Danish boarding party had to quickly ground the ship at Falster, later only managing to salvage the guns and the rig.

One after the other, the Swedish ships came under attack: Havsfrun and Ängeln Gabriel were both overtaken while the rest of the fleet managed to escape. Rosen and five smaller ships tried to turn back to Gothenburg through Öresund. Rosen hoisted the English flag and managed to deceive the Danish land defenses, but two others were captured. Only Andromeda, the badly damaged Gustavus and one fireship managed to escape into the Baltic to join with the Swedish main fleet south of Öland.

Aftermath
The captured Swedish ships and the prisoners were brought to Copenhagen. Sjöblad was exchanged for Danish prisoners on 15 August and was given command of Gothenburg's defenses. The Danish losses were limited to damage on some of the ships — the mainmast of Churprinsen broke during the battle — while the losses in men were very low. On Juel's flagships, for example, there was only one death and two injuries reported. However, Juel was not satisfied with the behavior of some of his subordinates and court martialed several. Five of his captains were accused of violating orders or showing lack of discipline. One was completely exonerated, while the others were convicted for disciplinary offenses and fined or had their pay reduced.

The Danish victory had thwarted the Swedish attempt to concentrate their forces. Juel avoided having to fight a much larger Swedish fleet and managed to give the Danish navy a welcome addition of ships. The Swedish losses, on the other hand, were over 1,500 wounded, injured or captured.[10] The defeat weakened the Swedish fleet while strengthening the Danes. Exactly one month later, the two main fleets met at the Battle of Køge Bay, an engagement which would become the greatest Danish victory at sea and which would raise Niel Juel to hero status.

Ships
The numbers in parentheses indicates the number of guns for each ship.

Danish fleet flagship Christianus V (85), Niels Juel Churprindsen (74) Enighed (62) Gyldenløve (56) Nellebladet (52) Christianus IV (54) Christiania (54) Lindormen (50) Neptunus (42) Christiansand (40) Hommeren (37) Havmannen (34) Havfruen (30)

Swedish fleet flagship: Amarant (52), Erik Carlsson Sjöblad Andromeda (52) Wrangels Palats (38) Kalmar Kastell (72), armed merchant Ängeln Gabriel (44), armed merchant Havsfrun (44), armed merchant Rosen (44), armed merchant Gustavus (48), armed merchant (Lilla) Gripen (8-12), boyers Diana, Venus (yachts) S:t David och two unnamed ships (fireships)

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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
31 May 1698 – Launch of HMS Somerset, a three-decker 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Chatham Dockyard


HMS Somerset was a three-decker 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Chatham Dockyard on 31 May 1698. She was the first ship to bear the name.



She served as Admiral Sir George Rooke's flagship at the battle of Vigo Bay on 12 October 1702. A powerful fleet of Anglo-Dutch warships had been assembled under Admiral Rooke, as Commander-in-Chief, to attack and capture Cádiz. Some footholds were gained near the city but after six weeks of vacillation the allied fleet retired ignominiously on 18 September. Rooke was not prepared to return home empty handed. On his homeward journey he learned of a valuable Spanish treasure fleet that had anchored at Vigo Bay in north-west Spain. Rooke arrived to discover that the Marquis de Châteaurenault, the French admiral, had laid a boom defence of masts across the inner harbour, covered by guns from sea and land, and had positioned his largest men-of-war to cover it. Admiral Thomas Hopsonn, aboard his flagship, the 80-gun HMS Torbay, was ordered to break the boom while the Duke of Ormonde's troops assaulted the forts. The Anglo-Dutch fleet followed astern of Hopsonn, capturing every ship not already burnt by the French, along with considerable treasure. A total of thirty-four French and Spanish ships were captured, destroyed or driven ashore.

The battle of Vélez-Málaga on 13 August 1704 was the only fleet action fought at sea during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), and it was inconclusive. Each fleet included fifty one ships of the line and the action was fought in strict line order. The Anglo-Dutch commander-in-chief was once again Sir George Rooke, flying his flag in HMS Royal Katherine, while his Franco-Spanish opposite number was the Comte de Toulouse, in the 104 gun Foudrayant. Although the battle itself was indecisive and neither side lost a ship, the casualties were heavy and it put an end to the Franco-Spanish attempt to capture Gibraltar.

In 1707, Somerset was part of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet. She saw action during the Battle of Toulon and was present during the great naval disaster off the Isles of Scilly when Shovell and four of his ships (Association, Firebrand, Romney and Eagle) were lost, claiming the lives of nearly 2,000 sailors. Somerset suffered little to no damage and finally managed to reach Portsmouth.

Somerset was hulked in 1715, and was broken up at Woolwich in 1740.

HMS Somerset (1698) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
31 May 1762 - The Spanish ship Hermione, a 26-gun frigate of the Spanish Navy, was captured by 28-gun HMS Active, and the 18-gun sloop-of-war Favourite


The Action of 31 May 1762 was a minor naval engagement that took place off the Spanish coast off Cadiz, between a British Royal Naval frigate and a sloop against a Spanish frigate during the recently declared Anglo-Spanish War (1762–63). When the Spanish ship surrendered, it was found that she carried a large cargo of gold and silver that would lead to the greatest amount of prize money awarded to British warships.




A view of the captured Spanish frigate Hermione with Favourite (left) and Active (right) in background: painting by Richard Wright

Background
The war with Spain was only four months old when the Royal Navy sent a blockading force to the Spanish coast. The aims of the blockade were to block the dispatch of Spanish reinforcements to the Caribbean where Havana was under British siege, and to impede Spanish operations against Gibraltar or in the Mediterranean.

Action
On 15 May 1762 Captain Herbert Sawyer's frigate, the 28-gun HMS Active, was sailing in company with the 18-gun sloop Favourite, Captain Philemon Pownoll, off the coast of Spain near the port of Cadiz. There they sighted the 26-gun Spanish frigate Hermione.


Philemon Pownoll by Joshua Reynolds. Painted soon after the battle

The Hermione, under Lieutenant Juan de Zabaleta, had sailed from Callao, west of Lima on 6 January 1762, prior to, and probably ignorant of, the declaration of the Anglo-Spanish War. On sighting the Active and Favourite in the morning, the officers were slow to prepare for battle, only relocating officers and passengers to make way for the gunners by ten o'clock. The guns were not prepared and the path to the powder magazine was cluttered. At one in the afternoon the British ships tacked and started to head toward the Hermione. At three o'clock lieutenant Francisco Javier Morales de los Rios, in charge of artillery, warned Zableta to call battle stations who inexplicably responded by refusing to do so until after dinner at five o'clock.

The British vessels came up beside Herminone and fired a few rounds. The Spanish replied with a broadside, and then both Active and Favourite let loose their broadsides. Soon Hermione only had her mizzen mast still standing. As his casualties rose, and having lost the ability to manoeuvre, the Spanish captain struck.

There was confusion and misunderstanding between the Spanish officers and the Hermione only managed two broadsides. When Zableta struck his colours he stated that the English had confused the Hermione for a French frigate though Morales was preparing to continue fire. When the English boarded, Lieutenant Zabaleta surrendered without the agreement of the other officers.

The British soon took possession; only then did they realize this was no ordinary frigate as they discovered the riches on board. Hermione had been bound for Cadiz with a cargo of bags of dollars, gold coin, ingots of gold and silver, cocoa, and blocks of tin.

Her captors took Hermione into Gibraltar, and she was eventually condemned as a prize, with her contents, hull, and fittings valued at £519,705 10s 0d, approximately £76.2 million at today's prices. Pownoll and Sawyer each received captain's shares of the prize money of £64,872, approximately £9.51 million at today's prices[9]. Ordinary seamen received £480 each, equivalent to thirty years' wages.The prize award is still a record.

Consequences
Sawyer and Pownoll were now suddenly extremely wealthy. Pownoll used his money to buy the Sharpham estate at Ashprington, and to build a large house there designed by Robert Taylor and with gardens designed by Capability Brown. It was about this time that he commissioned a portrait from Sir Joshua Reynolds.

In contrast, on returning to Spain, Zableta was tried in a court-martial held aboard the Guerrero in the port of Cadiz and sentenced to death. He was later pardoned by Charles III of Spain and instead, dismissed from the Navy and served ten years in prison despite an appeal for his release and an offer to fund construction of a frigate to replace the lost vessel. Morales de los Rios was suspended for two years, during which he served in Xebecs. Another officer, Lieutenant Lucas Galves, was suspended for one year.



The Spanish ship Hermione was a 26-gun frigate of the Spanish Navy, draughted by a British designer at Cadiz. Opinions differ on the age and provenance of this ship. Some claim it to have been the Hermione bought in 1730. Others believe it to have been the Hermione constructed in the Arsenal de la Carraca, Cadiz in 1752.



Notable incidents
The ship fired several broadsides into the privateer Antigallican when held at Cadiz in 1756 at the beginning of the Seven Years' War, at that time armed with 32 nine-pounders.

Hermione engaged Captain Herbert Sawyer's frigate, the 28-gun HMS Active, and the 18-gun sloop-of-war Favourite under Captain Philemon Pownoll, off the coast of Spain near the port of Cadiz in the action of 31 May 1762. The British captured Hermione, with the capture being notable for the size and value of the bounty seized and the subsequent prize money awarded, possibly the largest ever in a single haul.

William Cole, on a visit to his friend Horace Walpole, noted the suicide of Walpole's neighbour, Isaac Fernandez Nunez, in the summerhouse of Cross Deep House, following Nunez's ruin as insurer of Hermione.

Hermione features in a picture by Richard Wright, dated November 1762, depicting the capture and dedicated to the victorious captains by the artist.

Action of 31 May 1762 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Spanish frigate Hermione - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
31 May 1764 – Launch of HMS Winchelsea, a 32-gun fifth-rate Niger-class frigate of the Royal Navy,


HMS Winchelsea was a 32-gun fifth-rate Niger-class frigate of the Royal Navy, and was the sixth Royal Navy ship to bear this name (or its archaic form Winchelsey). She was ordered during the Seven Years' War, but completed too late for that conflict. She cost £11,515-18-0d to build.



Career
HMS Winchelsea was brought into service in February 1769, under Captain Samuel Goodall and sailed for service to the Mediterranean. In December 1769 she struck rocks off Cádiz, Spain and was severely damaged. Refloated, she was taken in to Gibraltar for repairs. Command was passed to Captain Thomas Wilkinson in June 1771 with the ship remaining at her Mediterranean station.

In June 1775 she was paid off and returned to Sheerness Dockyard to be placed in ordinary.

She saw later service during the American War of Independence and thereafter until 1794, and was refitted as a troop ship at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1799-1800. Because Winchelsea served in the Navy's Egyptian campaign (8 March to 2 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty authorised in 1850 for all surviving claimants.

Fate
She became a convalescent ship at Sheerness in 1803, finally being sold there to be broken up in November 1814.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for Alarm (1758), Aeolus (1758), Montreal (1761), Niger (1759), Quebec (1760), Stag (1758), and Winchelsea (1764), all 32-gun Fifth Rate Frigates. The plan includes alterations, dated 1769, to the main channels and deadeyes


Scale: 1:96. Plan showing the quarter deck, forecastle, upper deck, lower deck, and fore & aft platforms for Winchelsea (1764), a 32-gun, Fifth Rate Frigate, as taken off at Chatham in April 1769 prior to sailing for the Mediterranean in May 1769





Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model of the ‘Winchelsea’ (circa 1764) a frigate of 32 guns. The model is partially decked, fully planked on the starboard side, with exposed frames on the port side. This model is one of several commissioned by Lord Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty, to encourage George III’s and the Prince of Wales’s interest in the navy. Not surprisingly for a royal commission, the workmanship is of the highest standard. Because of the high profile of the project, it has been possible to establish by research through the state papers and Admiralty records that a Mr Burrough was paid for the ‘carved work’, and that the model was built at Woolwich Dockyard. J. Williams built the ‘Winchelsea’ at Sheerness to the designs of Sir Thomas Slade, who also designed Nelson’s ‘Victory’. It measured 125 feet along the gun deck by 35 feet in the beam and was 680 tons burden. After a fairly quiet career in the Mediterranean, West Indies and Newfoundland, the ‘Winchelsea’ became a convalescent ship at Chatham in 1803, before being sold in 1815


The Niger-class frigates were 32-gun sailing frigates of the fifth rate produced for the Royal Navy. They were designed in 1757 by Sir Thomas Slade, and were an improvement on his 1756 design for the 32-gun Southampton-class frigates.

Slade's design was approved in September 1757, on which date four ships were approved to be built to these plans - three by contract and a fourth in a royal dockyard. Seven more ships were ordered to the same design between 1759 and 1762 - three more to be built by contract and four in royal dockyards. Stag and Quebec were both reduced to 28-gun sixth rates in 1778, but were then restored to 32-gun fifth rates in 1779.

• Alarm class 32-gun fifth rates 1758-66; designed by Thomas Slade.
  • HMS Alarm 1758 - broken up 1812.
  • HMS Eolus (or Aeolus) 1758 - hulked as receiving ship at Sheerness in 1796, renamed Guernsey in 1800, broken up in 1801.
  • HMS Stag 1758 - broken up in 1783.
  • HMS Pearl 1762 - hulked as a slop ship at Portsmouth in 1803, renamed Prothee in 1825, sold 1832.
  • HMS Glory 1763 - renamed Apollo in 1774, broken up in 1786.
  • HMS Emerald 1762 - broken up in 1793. (According to Rif Winfield - British Warships in The Age of Sail 1714 - 1792. This is a "Niger Class" ship.)
  • HMS Aurora 1766 - lost with all hands on her way to the West Indies in 1769.
• Niger class 32-gun fifth rates 1759-64; Thomas Slade design, "very similar" to the Alarmclass above.
  • HMS Niger 1759 - converted to troopship in 1799, reclassed as a 28-gun Sixth Rate in 1804, sold in 1814.
  • HMS Montreal 1761 - taken by the French off Malaga on 29 April 1779.
  • HMS Quebec 1760 - caught fire and blew up while in action with the French frigate Surveillante (1778) on 5 October 1779.
  • HMS Winchelsea 1764 - converted to troopship in 1800, mooring hulk at Sheerness in 1803, sold in 1814.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Winchelsea_(1764)

Niger-class frigate - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Collections - National Maritime Museum

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
31 May 1766 – Launch of HMS Boyne, a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Plymouth Dockyard to the draught specified in the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1754


HMS Boyne was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Plymouth Dockyard to the draught specified in the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1754, and launched on 31 May 1766.

Boyne served until 1783, when she was broken up.



sistership

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed for 'Dorsetshire' (1757), a modified 1745 Establishment, 64-gun Third Rate, two-decker, as originally designed to carry 70-guns. Signed by Joseph Allin [Surveyor of the Navy, 1749-1755]


The Burford class were three 68-gun third-rate ships of the line designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Joseph Allin. The Burford ships were almost the last "70-gun" (in practice 68-gun) ships designed by Allin. They were built to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1754.

Ships

• HMS Burford

Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 15 January 1754
Laid down: 30 October 1754
Launched: 5 May 1757
Fate: Sold to be broken up, 1785

• HMS Dorsetshire

Builder: Portsmouth Dockyard
Ordered: 15 January 1754
Laid down: 22 June 1754
Launched: 13 December 1757
Fate: Broken up, 1775

• HMS Boyne

Builder: Plymouth Dockyard
Ordered: 13 May 1758
Laid down: 9 August 1758
Launched: 31 May 1766
Fate: Broken up, 1783


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

Burford-class ship of the line - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Collections - National Maritime Museum

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
31 May 1779 – Launch of French Néréide, a Sybille class 32-gun, copper-hulled, frigate of the French Navy.


Néréide was a Sybille class 32-gun, copper-hulled, frigate of the French Navy. On 22 December 1797 Phoebe captured her and she was taken into British service as HMS Nereide. The French recaptured her at the Battle of Grand Port, only to lose her again when the British took Isle de France (now Mauritius), in 1810. After the Battle of Grand Port she was in such a poor condition that she was laid up and sold for breaking up in 1816.





French service
On 6 June 1780, along with Zodiaque (74 guns), she captured a British privateer, the 10-gun cutter Prince of Wales off Madeira. She was part of the fleet of Lamotte-Picquet that sailed from Brest and on 2 May 1781 captured 18 ships in a convoy from Sint Eustatius. In 1782 she served in the Caribbean under Vaudreuil.

From 1788, she served off Africa. She then underwent a refit in Rochefort in October 1794.

On 20 December 1797 she was sailing off the Isles of Scilly under the command of Lieutenant de Vaisseau Chassériau when she encountered Phoebe. After exchanging broadsides with Phoebe for about an hour and a half, Néréide struck. She had suffered 20 killed and 55 wounded; Phoebe had suffered three men killed and 10 wounded. Although the French vessel had a larger crew, she had a substantially lighter broadside (12-pdrs versus 18-pdrs) and this proved decisive. She entered into British service as HMS Nereide.


Capture of Néréide by HMS Phoebe, on 20 December 1797, Thomas Whitcombe, 1816, in the National Maritime Museum

British service
In the morning of 1 March 1800, Nereide saw five sail and made towards them. They were five well-armed French privateers, but they scattered as she approached. Nereide lost sight of them until the next morning when she re-encountered one. After a pursuit of 12 hours and 123 miles, Nereide captured the French privateer Vengeance, pierced for 18 guns but carrying sixteen 12-pounders and 174 men. Vengeance had left Bordeaux on 26 February and then had joined Bellona (twenty-four 12-pounder guns, six 36-pounder carronades, and 420 men), Favorite (sixteen 8-pounder guns and 120 men), Huron(sixteen 6-pounder guns and 187 men), and the schooner Terrailluse (fourteen 6-pounder guns and 80 men).

The next day (3 March), Nereide recaptured the American ship Perseverance, of Baltimore, which was carrying a cargo valued at £30,000. Then on 17 March Nereide recaptured Lord Nelson.

Nereide, Phoebe, and Kangaroo shared in the proceeds of the capture, on 5 June of the Eagle.

On 11 September Watkins sailed to Curaçao to forestall the French from taking it. Then on 13 September he took possession and signed the terms of capitulation on behalf of the British.

On 25 November 1806 Nereide was under the command of Captain Robert Corbett when she captured Brilliante, a Spanish privateer lugger of four guns with a crew of 50. She was two days out of Vigo and provisioned for a cruise of four months. Corbett was particularly pleased at the capture as she had not yet captured anything, but there were several sail in sight when Nereide commenced her pursuit.

On 15 July 1808 Nereide, Otter, and Charwell shared in the capture of the French brig Lucie, and her cargo of slaves. In December Nereidecaptured the French brig Gobe Mouche after a chase on the morning of the 18th. She was pierced for 12 guns but had thrown most overboard during the chase. She was under the command of Enseigne de vaisseau provisoir Sugor, and was sailing from the Seychelles to Port Louis with dispatches. She threw them overboard, but Nereide's boat crew was able to retrieve a considerable part of them. Gobe Mouche had a complement of 80 men, but had only 30 on board when captured as she had had to man a number of prizes on her previous cruise.

In 1809, Nereide served as convoy escort. In September, still under the command of Corbett, she played a critical part in the Raid on Saint Paul at Île Bourbon (now Réunion). There Nereide and the landing party captured the frigate Caroline, and recovered the East Indiamen Streatham and Europa, and the 14-gun Bombay Marine brig Grappler. The British also captured some merchant vessels and destroyed several forts and batteries.

In 1810 Nereide came under the command of Captain William Gordon, and then Captain Nesbit Josiah Willoughby.

In March 1810, Nereide joined Iphigenia, Leopard and Magicienne off Isle de France. On 1 May Nereide sent in her boats, under Willoughby's personal command, into the bay at Jacotet (or Jacotel). They captured the 4-gun packet schooner Estafette, spiked the guns of two forts, and two field pieces, captured several prisoners, and destroyed some buildings. On board Estafette the British also found 600 pieces of mail that provided an insight into the state of the French colony. Nereide had one man killed and seven wounded. In 1847 the Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "1 May Boat Service 1810" to all surviving claimants from the action.

Then on 2 June, Nereide intercepted and captured near the Cape the 1-gun schooner-aviso Mouche No. 23, which had come out from France. On 30 August, Astrée recaptured Mouche No.23.

Next, Willoughby and Nereide were at the invasion of Île Bonaparte, which took place between 7 and 9 July. Willoughby led the amphibious assault in Estafette to secure the beach and organise the landing forces. However, as Estafette approached the beach the wind strengthened and built up a powerful surf, which smashed the schooner ashore with enough force to break her and the accompanying boats apart: four of the 150-strong landing party were drowned.

Recapture

HMS Nereide at the Battle of Grand Port

Nereide was under the command of Captain Willoughby when she took part in the Battle of Grand Port on 28 August 1810. There she was severely battered and eventually captured.

The French took Nereide into service but it is not clear that she had any officers or crew. The British captured her in December 1810 after their successful invasion of Isle de France on 4 December 1810. All her former British officers and crew were in prison ships at Grand Port and qualified for the prize money that followed the capture of the island.

Fate
Nereide was in such a bad shape that she was laid up. She was sold at Port Louis on 1 March 1816 for breaking up.


Sibylle class, (32-gun design by Jacques-Noël Sané, with 26 x 12-pounder and 6 x 6-pounder guns).

Sibylle, (launched 30 August 1777 at Brest) – captured by the British Navy 1783.
Diane, (launched 18 January 1779 at Saint-Malo) – wrecked 1780.
Néréide, (launched 31 May 1779 at Saint-Malo) – captured by the British Navy 1797.
Fine, (launched 11 August 1779 at Nantes) – wrecked 1794.
Émeraude, (launched 25 October 1779 at Nantes) – broken up 1797.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Néréide_(1779)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibylle-class_frigate

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
31 May 1791 – Launch of French Suffren, renamed Redoutable, a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.


The Redoutable was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She took part in the battles of the French Revolutionary Wars in the Brest squadron, served in the Caribbean in 1803, and duelled with HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar, killing Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson during the action. She sank in the storm that followed the battle.



Built as Suffren, the ship was commissioned in the Brest squadron of the French fleet. After her crew took part in the Quibéron mutinies, she was renamed to Redoutable. She took part in the Croisière du Grand Hiver, the Battle of Groix, and the Expédition d'Irlande. At the Peace of Amiens, Redoutable was sent to the Caribbean for the Saint-Domingue expedition, ferrying troops to Guadeloupe and Haiti.

Later, she served in the fleet under Vice-admiral Villeneuve, and took part in the Trafalgar Campaign. At the Battle of Trafalgar, Redoutable rushed to cover the flagship Bucentaure when the ship following her failed to maintain the line. She tried in vain to stop Nelson's HMS Victory from breaking the line and raking Bucentaure, and then engaged her with furious cannon and small arms fire that silenced the British flagship and killed Nelson. As her crew prepared to board Victory, HMS Temeraire raked her with grapeshot, killing or maiming most of her crew. Redoutable continued to fight until she was in danger of sinking before striking her colours. She foundered in the storm of 22 October.


The Redoutable (centre) fighting the Temeraire (left) and HMS Victory (right), by Louis-Philippe Crépin

Career
The ship was laid down at Brest in January 1790, and launched as Suffren on 31 May 1791. She was the first ship of the French Navy named in honour of Vice-admiral Suffren de Saint Tropez, who had died a hero of the American War of Independence on 8 December 1788. She was completed there in December 1792.

Quibéron mutinies
Suffren was attached to the Brest fleet under Vice-admiral de Grimouard, later replaced by Morard de Galles. Under Captain Obet, she departed Brest in 1793 for a cruise to Quibéron. In September, the crews of the fleet revolted in the Quibéron mutinies, including the crew of Suffren.

In retaliation, Suffren was renamed Redoutable on 20 May 1794. The same day, she received the new naval flag of the Republic, the full tricolour which replaced the white flag with a tricolour canton, and hoisted her.

Service in Brest
From March to June 1794, Redoutable, under Captain Dorré, was the flagship of the naval station of Cancale. The division of Cancale was under Dorré, and was composed of Redoutable and her sister-ship Nestor, under Captain Monnier.

In December, she took part in the Croisière du Grand Hiver under Captain Moncousu; upon departure, she broke her cables, but unlike the ill-fated Républicain, she managed to reach the open sea, followed by the frigate Vertu. However, the damage sustained in the incident forced her to cancel her departure, and she returned to Brest.

In February 1795, Redoutable was the flagship of a division under Rear-admiral Kerguelen within the fleet of Brest, under Villaret-Joyeuse. Still under Captain Moncousu and with Commander Bourayne as first officer, she took part in the Battle of Groix on 23 June 1795, where her poor sailing properties compelled the frigate Virginie, under Captain Bergeret, to take her in tow. During the battle, she was one of the few ships of observe Villaret's orders to support Alexandre. Later, along with Tigre, she attempted to support Formidable, but to no avail as Formidable's tops caught fire and she ceased all resistance to save herself, eventually striking her colours. After the battle, she sailed back to Port-Louis, near Lorient,

In December 1796, Redoutable took part in the Expédition d'Irlande under Moncousu, by then promoted to Rear-admiral, and was the first French ship to reach Bantry Bay, after rallying elements of the French fleet. In the night of 22 to 23 December, she accidentally collided with Nielly's flagship, the frigate Résolue, dismasting her of her bowsprit, foremast, and mizzen; only her mainmast stayed upright. the 74-gun Pégase took Résolue in tow and returned with her to Brest, where they arrived on 30 December; Redoutable eventually limped back to Brest, where she arrived on 5 January 1797, in consort with Fougueux, Trajan, Neptune and Tourville, and four frigates.

Service in the Caribbean
In March 1802, the Redoutable was the flagship of a squadron of two ships of the line and four frigates under Admiral Bouvet sent to reinforce Guadeloupe in 1802 and in the Saint-Domingue expedition in 1803, departing on 9 January from Ajaccio with troops and arriving on 4 February.

In 1803, Redoutable, under Captain Siméon, was part of a naval division under Rear-admiral Bedout, based in Saint-Domingue. The division was composed of the 74-gun Argonaute as flagship, with Captain Bourdé as Bedout's flag officer; the 74-guns Redoutable and Aigle, under Captain Gourrège; the frigate Vertu, under Commander Montalan; and the corvettes Serpente, under Commander Gallier-Labrosse, and Éole, under Lieutenant Descorches.

Battle of Trafalgar

Redoutable (second from left) overtakes Neptune (far left), rushing to cover the aft of Bucentaure (far right) from Nelson's Victory (centre).


Redoutable simultaneously engaged by Victory and Temeraire

At the Battle of Trafalgar, on 21 October 1805, Redoutable was commanded by Captain Lucas, with Lieutenant Dupotet as first officer. Redoutable was the third ship behind the flagship Bucentaure in the French line, coming behind Maistral's Neptune and Quevedo's San Leandro. When Neptune and San Leandro dropped behind Bucentaure, exposing her stern, Redoutable rushed to cover her and prevent Nelson's Victory from cutting the Franco-Spanish line of battle.

With her bowsprit almost touching Bucentaure's stern, Redoutable fired on Victory's rigging for ten minutes, trying to disable her to prevent the crossing of the French line, but did not manage to stop her advance, despite cutting off her foremast tops, her mizzen and her main topgallant, and ended up running afoul of her. A furious, fifteen-minute musket duel erupted between the two ships; the crew of Redoutable had been especially trained by Lucas for such an occasion, and soon the heavy hand-grenade and small-arms fire on Victory's quarterdeck mortally wounded Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson. Lucas later reported:

a violent small-arms exchange ensued (...); our fire became so superior that within fifteen minutes, we had silenced that of Victory; (...) her castles were covered with dead and wounded, and admiral Nelson was killed by our gunfire. Almost at once, the castles of the enemy ship were evacuated and Victory completely ceased fighting us; but boarding her proved difficult because (...) of her elevated third battery. I ordered the rigging of the great yard be cut and that it be carried to serve as a bridge.

Redoutable during the late stages of the battle, dismasted and attacked by two larger ships.

The French crew were about to board Victory when Temeraire intervened, firing on the exposed French crew at point blank range, killing or wounding 200 men, including Lucas and Dupotet, struck by a bullet to the knee, who nevertheless remained at their stations. The crew of Redoutable rushed to man her artillery and engage Temeraire with her starboard battery, Soon, Tonnant took a position at stern of Redoutable, which thus found herself fired upon from three larger ships. In the ensuing cannonade, Redoutable lost most of her artillery, including two guns that burst, killing several gunners. Temeraire hailed for Redoutable to surrender, but Lucas had volley of musketry fired for replies.

At 1.55 pm, Redoutable, with Lucas severely wounded, and only 99 men still fit out of 643 (300 dead and 222 severely wounded), was essentially defenceless. The Fougueux attempted to come to her aid but came afoul of Temeraire. After ascertaining that Redoutable was too damaged to survive the aftermath of the battle, and worried that she would sink before his wounded could be evacuated, Lucas struck his colours at 2:30. Redoutable's aft featured a large opening and was in danger of collapsing, her rudder was shot off, and the hull was pierced in many spots.

Being much damaged and weakened by the fight themselves, the British ships took some time to take possession of Redoutable, and Lucas had to request urgent assistance to pump water, as four of Redoutable's pumps were destroyed and few of her crewmen could man them.

Redoutable was freed from the rigging of Temeraire around 7 in the evening and was taken in tow by Swiftsure. The next day, Redoutable made distress signals, and Swiftsure launched boats to evacuate her passengers; she foundered around 7, taking 196 men with her. Lucas reported:

On the 30th, at 5pm, she was forced to ask for assistance; there was only time to save the captain and the men who were not wounded, as at 7pm, her stern collapsed and she foundered. 50 wounded were saved as they clung to floating debris from the ship.

Victory had sustained 160 casualties, and Temeraire 120. Of Redoutable's crew, 169 were taken on board Swiftsure; the wounded were sent to Cadiz on a cartel, and 35 men were taken prisoner to England.

Lucas was received in England with great courtesy. After his release from capture, he was personally awarded the rank of Commandeur of the Legion of Honour by Napoleon for his role during the battle


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Redoutable_(1791)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
31 May 1794 - HMS Firm and HMS Bravo, both 16-gun Firm-class floating batteries of the Royal Navy


The Firm class was a Royal Navy class of two 16-gun floating batteries built to a design by Sir John Henslow, who took as his model the flat-bottomed Thames barge. Both were launched in late 1794 and were sold in 1803.

Ships

• Firm was launched in May 1794 and commissioned in June. She was sold in May 1803.
• Bravo was launched in May 1794 and commissioned in June. She then served in the Jersey flotilla under Commodore Philippe d'Auvergne, Prince de Bouillon. She was paid off 1802 and sold in Jersey in 1803.

HMS Firm was a 16-gun Firm-class floating battery of the Royal Navy, launched in 1794. The two-vessel class was intended to operate in shallow waters. After the Peace of Amiens Firm was paid off in March 1802; she was sold in 1803.




Drawing of Firm, from the archives of the Royal Museums Greenwich

Service
Sir John Henslow designed the class on the model of flat-bottomed Thames barges. Commander Temple Hardy commissioned Firm in June 1794. Commander Robert Plampin replaced him in September, for Ostend and Flushing. In August 1795 she came under the command of Commander John Edwards for the Leith station. She was paid off in February 1796 at Sheerness.

Commander Horace Pine recommissioned her in September and she was stationed at Chatham to protect the River Medway. On 2 and 3 June 1797, during the Spithead and Nore mutinies, Firm was at Shellness. The ringleader of the mutiny, Richard Parker, put a man, Thomas Appleyard, aboard her to take command of her. However the crew did not join the mutiny and instead Firm sailed to Sheerness and anchored by the Half Moon Battery and then by the Grain Spit to act against the mutiny if necessary. Appleyard later received a court martial and was hanged aboard Firm, then at Gillingham Reach.

Commander Patrick Campbell replaced Pine in June 1798. On 21 August 1799 Bulkeley Mackworth Praed, newly released from enemy custody, was promoted to Commander on Firm, which served in the Channel. She was at Sheerness from March 1800 on, with Praed remaining with her. In March 1802 she was paid off. Praed received promotion to post captain on 29 April 1802.

Fate
Firm was sold to Mr. F. Hurry for £525 on 30 March 1803.


HMS Bravo was a 16-gun Firm-class floating battery of the Royal Navy, launched in 1794. The two-vessel class was intended to operate in shallow waters. Bravo spent her brief, uneventful service life as the flagship for Commodore Philippe d'Auvergne's flotilla at Jersey. After the Peace of AmiensBravo was paid off in March 1802; she was sold in 1803.



Service
Sir John Henslow designed the class on the model of flat-bottomed Thames barges. Commander John Dawson commissioned Bravo in June 1794. Commodore d'Auvergne recommissioned her in July for the Jersey-based Channel Islands flotilla, of which he was the commander. In November the Admiralty re-rated Bravo as a sixth rate to give d'Auvergne a salary more commensurate with his rank and role.

Bravo did earn some prize money. She was at Plymouth on 20 January 1795 and so shared in the proceeds of the detention of the Dutch naval vessels, East Indiamen, and other merchant vessels that were in port on the outbreak of war between Britain and the Netherlands.

Fate
Bravo was sold in Jersey in 1803


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

HMS Firm (1794) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Firm-class floating battery - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
31 May 1796 - Action of 31 May 1796


The Action of 31 May 1796 was a small action during the French Revolutionary Wars in which a Royal Navy squadron under the command of Commodore Horatio Nelson, in the 64-gun third-rate ship of the line HMS Agamemnon, captured a seven-vessel French convoy that was sailing along the coast from Menton to Vado in the Mediterranean. The British succeeded in capturing the entire convoy, with minimal casualties to themselves.



Nelson had received the news that the French were trying to take supplies to St Pierre d'Acena for the siege of Mantua. He therefore set out to intercept any such attempt.

When Nelson and his squadron sighted a small convoy of seven sail skirting the coast, he pursued them. The French vessels anchored under the guns of a shore battery and hoisted French flags. Nelson then sent in the squadron's ships' boats to capture the convoy. After a short resistance by an armed tartane of three guns, a gunboat of one gun, and the battery, the British succeeded in taking the vessels. British casualties were one man killed and three wounded.[1] French records place the action off Arma di Taggia and Bussana.

The vessels the British captured were two naval vessels and five transports.

• Génie, which the British described as a ketch, was armed with three 18-pounder guns and four swivel guns. She had a crew of 60 men, under the command of enseigne de vaisseau Pioch. She was one of 28 merchant tartanes that the French Navy acquired between March and June 1794 at Sète and Agde. Génie, however, was apparently purchased, at Agde, and commissioned in June 1796. The French Navy armed the tartanes with large guns to serve as gunboats.
• Numéro Douze (Chaloupe-cannonière №12), was a gunboat of one 18-pounder gun, four swivel guns, and 30 men. Some records report that she was commissioned in 1795 and was under the command of Captain Ganivet at the time of her capture.
• Brig Bonne-Mère, of 250 tons (bm), carrying as cargo brass 24-pounder guns, 13" mortars, and gun carriages;
• Ketch Vierge de Consolation, of 120 tons (bm), carrying a cargo of brass guns, mortars, shells, and gun carriages;
• Ketch Jean Baptiste, of 100 tons (bm), carrying brandy and a small amount of bread;
• A ketch of unknown name of 100 tons (bm), carrying Austrian prisoners; and
• Ketch St. Anne de Paix, of 70 tons (bm), carrying wheelbarrows and entrenching tools. The British destroyed her.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_31_May_1796

Action of 1796/05/31, 31st May 1796

Description and participants : Action of 1796-05-31, 31st May 1796

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