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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
22 November 1869 – In Dumbarton, Scotland, the clipper Cutty Sark is launched and is one of the last clippers ever built, and the only one still surviving today.


Cutty Sark is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Clyde in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period of design development, which halted as sailing ships gave way to steam propulsion.

Cutty_Sark_(16719233476).jpg

The opening of the Suez Canal (also in 1869) meant that steamships now enjoyed a much shorter route to China, so Cutty Sark spent only a few years on the tea trade before turning to the trade in wool from Australia, where she held the record time to Britain for ten years.[4] Improvements in steam technology meant that gradually steamships also came to dominate the longer sailing route to Australia, and the ship was sold to the Portuguese company Ferreira and Co. in 1895 and renamed Ferreira. She continued as a cargo ship until purchased in 1922 by retired sea captain Wilfred Dowman, who used her as a training ship operating from Falmouth, Cornwall. After his death, Cutty Sark was transferred to the Thames Nautical Training College, Greenhithe in 1938 where she became an auxiliary cadet training ship alongside HMS Worcester. By 1954, she had ceased to be useful as a cadet ship and was transferred to permanent dry dock at Greenwich, London, for public display.

Cutty Sark is listed by National Historic Ships as part of the National Historic Fleet (the nautical equivalent of a Grade 1 Listed Building). She is one of only three remaining original composite construction (wooden hull on an iron frame) clipper ships from the nineteenth century in part or whole, the others being the City of Adelaide, which arrived in Port Adelaide, South Australia on 3 February 2014 for preservation, and the beached skeleton of Ambassador of 1869 near Punta Arenas, Chile.

The ship has been damaged by fire twice in recent years, first on 21 May 2007 while undergoing conservation. She was restored and was reopened to the public on 25 April 2012. On 19 October 2014 she was damaged in a smaller fire.


Construction

Cutty_Sark_(ship,_1869)_-_SLV_H91.250-164.jpg
Cutty Sark with sails set. Photograph taken at sea by Captain Woodget with a camera balanced on two of the ship's boats lashed together.

Cutty Sark was ordered by shipping magnate John Willis, who operated a shipping company founded by his father. The company had a fleet of clippers and regularly took part in the tea trade from China to Britain. Speed was a clear advantage to a merchant ship, but it also created prestige for the owners: the 'tea race' was widely reported in contemporary newspapers and had become something of a national sporting event, with money being gambled against a winning ship. In earlier years, Willis had commanded his father's ships at a time when American designed ships were the fastest in the tea trade, and then had owned British designed ships, which were amongst the best available in the world but had never won the tea race. In 1868 the brand new Aberdeen built clipper Thermopylae set a record time of 61 days port to port on her maiden voyage from London to Melbourne and it was this design that Willis set out to better

It is uncertain how the hull shape for Cutty Sark was chosen. Willis chose Hercules Linton to design and build the ship but Willis already possessed another ship, The Tweed, which he considered to have exceptional performance. The Tweed (originally Punjaub) was a frigate designed by Oliver Lang based on the lines of an old French frigate, built in Bombay for the East India Company as a combination sail/paddle steamer. She and a sister ship were purchased by Willis, who promptly sold the second ship plus engines from The Tweed for more than he paid for both. The Tweed was then lengthened and operated as a fast sailing vessel, but was considered too big for the tea runs. Willis also commissioned two all-iron clippers with designs based upon The Tweed, Hallowe'en and Blackadder. Linton was taken to view The Tweed in dry dock.

Willis considered that The Tweed's bow shape was responsible for its notable performance, and this form seems to have been adopted for Cutty Sark. Linton, however, felt that the stern was too barrel shaped and so gave Cutty Sark a squarer stern with less tumblehome. The broader stern increased the buoyancy of the ship's stern, making it lift more in heavy seas so it was less likely that waves would break over the stern, and over the helmsman at the wheel. The square bilge was carried forward through the centre of the ship. In the matter of masts Cutty Sark also followed the design of The Tweed, with similar good rake and with the foremast on both ships being placed further aft than was usual.

A contract for Cutty Sark's construction was signed on 1 February 1869 with the firm of Scott & Linton, which had only been formed in May 1868. Their shipyard was at Dumbarton on the River Leven on a site previously occupied by shipbuilders William Denny & Brothers. The contract required the ship to be completed within six months at a contracted price of £17 per ton and maximum weight of 950 tons. This was a highly competitive price for an experimental, state-of-the-art vessel, and for a customer requiring the highest standards. Payment would be made in seven installments as the ship progressed, but with a penalty of £5 for every day the ship was late. The ship was to be built to Lloyd's A1 standard and her construction was supervised on behalf of Willis by Captain George Moodie, who would command her when completed. Construction delays occurred when the Lloyd's inspectors required additional strengthening in the ship.

Work on the ship was suspended when Scott and Linton ran out of money to pay for further work. Rather than simply liquidate the company, an arrangement was made for Denny's to take over the contract and complete the ship, which was finally launched on 22 November 1869 by Captain Moodie's wife. The ship was moved to Denny's yard to have her masts fitted, and then on 20 December towed downriver to Greenock to have her running rigging installed. In the event, completing the ship meant the company's creditors were owed even more money than when work had first been halted.

Broadly, the parts of the ship visible above the waterline were constructed from East India teak, while American rock elm was used for the ship's bottom. The keel (16.5 in × 15 in (42 cm × 38 cm)) had on either side a garboard strake (11 in × 12 in (28 cm × 30 cm)) and then 6 in (15 cm) planking decreasing to 4.75 in (12.1 cm) at 1/5 the depth of the hold. Teak planking began at approximately the level of the bilge stringer. All the external timbers were secured by Muntz metal (brass) bolts to the internal iron frame and the hull covered by Muntz sheeting up to the 18 ft (5.5 m) depth mark. The stem (15 in × 15 in (38 cm × 38 cm)) and sternpost (16.5 in × 15 in (42 cm × 38 cm)) were of teak while the rudder was of English oak. The keel was replaced in the 1920s with one constructed from 15 in (38 cm) pitch pine. The deck was made of 3.5 in (8.9 cm) thick teak while the 'tween deck was 3 in (7.6 cm) yellow pine. Her length was 212 feet 5 inches (64.74 m) with a draft of 21 feet (6.40 m) and a deadweight of 921 tons.

Performance
A speck on the horizon
One day we sighted a vessel, a mere speck on the horizon, astern of us, and the way she came into view it was evident she was travelling much faster than ourselves. 'Bringing the wind up with her' was remarked on board, and that seemed the only feasible conclusion to arrive at and account for the manner in which she overhauled us. In a few hours she was alongside us, and proved to be the famous British clipper Cutty Sark, one of the fastest ships afloat. She passed us going two feet to our one, and in a short time was hull down ahead of us."
—Wool clipper crewman, 1879​

The maximum logged speed for Cutty Sark was 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph). The speed of a sailing ship is not so straightforward as a steamship, as winds vary and a ship must tack when sailing into the wind, both requiring the crew to make constant adjustments to sails, so her speed also depended greatly on the skill of her captain and crew. Her greatest recorded distance in 24 hours was 363 nautical miles (672 km; 418 mi) averaging 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), although she recorded 2163 miles in six days, which given the weather over the whole period implied she had achieved over 370 nmi (690 km; 430 mi) some days. By comparison, Thermopylae's best recorded 24-hour distance was 358 nmi (663 km; 412 mi). Cutty Sark was considered to have the edge in a heavier wind, and Thermopylae in a lighter wind.

Etymology

Cutty_Sark_Figurehead.jpg
The ship's figurehead shows Cutty-sark, the nickname of the witch Nannie Dee who chases Tam o' Shanter, snatching his horse's tail before he escapes by crossing water

The ship was named after Cutty-sark, the nickname of the witch Nannie Dee in Robert Burns's 1791 poem Tam o' Shanter. The ship's figurehead, the original of which has been attributed to carver Fredrick Hellyer of Blackwall, is a stark white carving of a bare-breasted Nannie Dee with long black hair holding a grey horse's tail in her hand. In the poem she wore a linen sark (Scots: a short chemise or undergarment), that she had been given as a child, which explains why it was cutty, or in other words far too short. The erotic sight of her dancing in such a short undergarment caused Tam to cry out "Weel done, Cutty-sark", which subsequently became a well known catchphrase. Originally, carvings by Hellyer of the other scantily clad witches followed behind the figurehead along the bow, but these were removed by Willis in deference to 'good taste'. Tam o' Shanter riding Meg was to be seen along the ship's quarter. The motto, Where there's a Willis away, was inscribed along the taffrail. The Tweed, which acted as a model for much of the ship which followed her, had a figurehead depicting Tam o' Shanter.

Before the fire
800px-Cutty_sark_detail.jpg Cutty_Sark_-_waiting_in_Sydney_Harbour_for_the_new_season's_wool.jpg Greenwich._-_geograph.org.uk_-_44193.jpgCutty_sark_October_2003.jpg

actual status after restoration
1280px-Cutty_Sark_2012_landscaping.JPG Cutty_Sark_stern.jpg


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutty_Sark
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
22 November 1873 – The French steamer SS Ville du Havre sinks in 12 minutes after colliding with the Scottish iron clipper Loch Earn in the Atlantic, with a loss of 226 lives.


Ville du Havre was a French iron steamship that operated round trips between the northern coast of France and New York City. Launched in November 1865 under her original name of Napoléon III, she was converted from a paddle steamer to single propeller propulsion in 1871 and, in recognition of the recent defeat of her imperial namesake, the Emperor Napoleon III, was renamed Ville du Havre.

Ville_du_Havre.jpg

In the early hours of 22 November 1873, Ville du Havre collided with the Scottish three-masted iron clipper, Loch Earn and sank in 12 minutes with the loss of 226 lives. Only 61 passengers and 26 crew members survived, rescued by Loch Earn and subsequently, an American vessel, Tremountain.

History and description
Napoleon III was originally built as a paddle steamer by Thames Ironworks, London (engines by Ravenshill & Salked, London) in late 1865 for the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (French Line). She was a 3,950 gross ton ship, length 365.9ft with 45.9ft beam, straight stem, two funnels, two masts, iron construction, paddle wheel propulsion and a cruising speed of 11.5 knots.

There was accommodation for 170 first class, 100 second class and 50 third class passengers. Launched in November 1865, she sailed on her maiden voyage from Le Havre for Brest and New York City on 26 April 1866. She made five round voyages on this service, the last commencing in August 1869.

In September 1871, she sailed from Le Havre to Tyneside in Northern England where she was lengthened to 421.7ft by A. Leslie and Company, Hebburn-on-Tyne and her tonnage increased to 5,065 tons. She was also fitted with compound steam engines and rebuilt with single screw propulsion, and the paddle wheels were removed. A third mast was also fitted and after completion of the works she was renamed Ville du Havre. Following sea trials, she recommenced her Le Havre – Brest – New York service in early 1873.

Ville-du-Havre,_from_Robert_N._Dennis_collection_of_stereoscopic_views.jpg
stereoscopic photograph of the Ville du Havre

Final voyage and sinking
On 15 November 1873, Ville du Havre sailed from New York with 313 passengers and crew on board, under the command of captain Marino Surmonte.[2] After a week's steaming across the Atlantic ocean, she collided with the iron clipper, Loch Earn at about 2 a.m. in the morning of Saturday, 22 November, at the position 47°21′N 35°31′W. At the time of the collision, Ville du Havre was proceeding under both steam and sail at about 12 knots.

ville_du_havre_loch_earn_1873.jpg
The sinking of Ville du Havre

The captain of Loch Earn, after first sighting Ville du Havre and realising she was dangerously close, rang the ship's bell and "ported his helm", thus turning the boat to starboard. The helm of Loch Earn was put to starboard, but Ville du Havre came right across Loch Earn's bow. Ville du Havre was violently shaken by the collision and noise, and woke all the passengers. Confused, most passengers went on deck, only to discover the ship was rapidly sinking. The captain assured them that all was fine, but in reality the cruiser had been nearly broken in two, and it did not take long for passengers to realize the situation was desperate. Commotion and chaos overtook panicked passengers. They started grabbing life preservers and trying to push lifeboats into the water. Unfortunately, these had recently been painted, and they were now stuck fast to the deck. Finally a few of them were yanked loose, and passengers fought desperately to be one of the few travelers to board those rescue boats.

Shortly after the collision, Ville du Havre's main and mizzen masts collapsed, smashing two of the liner's life boats and killing several people. The time for saving life was very short as the ship sank in less than 12 minutes, and finally broke into two pieces as she went. Captain Robertson of Loch Earn did all he possibly could to rescue the drowning and eventually 61 passengers and 26 of the crew were rescued and taken on board that ship. However, 226 passengers and crew perished.

Loch Earn, herself in danger of sinking, was subsequently rescued by the American cargo ship, Tremountain and all Ville du Havre passengers and crew were transferred to that ship. Loch Earn, with its bow smashed in, commenced to sink as the bulkheads gave way, so she was abandoned at sea by her crew and sank shortly afterwards.

Notable passengers

Inscription on Peckham's cenotaph at Albany Rural Cemetery

Rufus Wheeler Peckham, a judge and Democratic Congressman from New York, was on board and lost his life. Travelling with his second wife, Mary, the couple were en route to southern France to improve his failing health. Peckham's last words were reported to be "Wife, we have to die, let us die bravely." His remains were never recovered, and his cenotaph (pictured) was erected at Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York.

Also on the ship was young Princeton graduate Hamilton Murray, his sister Martha, and their friend, Mrs. Catherine Woolsey Platt, a niece of Commodore Melancthon Taylor Woolsey. All three were lost. The Hamilton Murray theater at Princeton (longtime home of Theatre Intime) is named in his honor.

Spafford family tragedy
Chicago lawyer and Presbyterian elder Horatio Spafford was to have been a passenger on board Ville du Havre. At the last moment, however, Spafford was detained by real estate business, so his Norwegian-born wife, Anna Spafford, went on ahead for Paris. The couple's four daughters: Anna “Annie” (born 11 June 1862), Margaret Lee “Maggie” (born 31 May 1864), Elizabeth “Bessie” (born 19 June, 1868), and Tanetta (born 24 July 1871) accompanied her.

After the collision, only Mrs. Spafford was rescued. She was picked up unconscious and floating upon a plank of wood and then taken aboard Loch Earn.

A fellow survivor, Pastor Weiss, later quoted Anna Spafford as saying, "God gave me four daughters. Now they have been taken from me. Someday I will understand why".

Nine days after the shipwreck, the survivors landed at Cardiff, Wales. Anna Spafford telegraphed her husband, "Saved alone. What shall I do . . ." Upon receiving her telegram, Horatio Spafford immediately left Chicago to bring his wife home. During the Atlantic crossing, the Captain called Spafford into his cabin to tell him that they were passing over the spot where his four daughters had drowned.

Spafford later wrote to Rachel, his wife's half-sister, "On Thursday last we passed over the spot where she went down, in mid-ocean, the waters three miles deep. But I do not think of our dear ones there. They are safe, folded, the dear lambs". During that same voyage, Spafford composed the beloved Protestant hymn It Is Well with My Soul. Philip Bliss, who composed the music for the hymn, called his tune Ville du Havre, after the sunken vessel.


80a8b9e13588a1838f3b9cac3380e5a2.jpg

Here are the original words to the hymn:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know or say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.


Refrain:
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.


Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
But Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
A
song in the night, oh my soul!



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Ville_du_Havre
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ville_du_Havre
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 22 November


1643 – Birth of René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, French-American explorer (d. 1687)

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, or Robert de La Salle (November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687) was a French explorer. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico. He claimed the entire Mississippi River basin for France.

LaSallesExpeditiontoLouisiana.JPG
Painting by Theodore Gudin titled La Salle's Expedition to Louisiana in 1684. The ship on the left is La Belle, in the middle is Le Joly, and L'Aimableis to the right. They are at the entrance to Matagorda Bay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/René-Robert_Cavelier,_Sieur_de_La_Salle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Belle_(ship)


1650 - french Vierge 34 guns (1638) - wrecked at Messina on 22 November 1650

When Richelieu decided to renew the French Royal Navy in 1625, he began by ordering a number of warships to be built in Holland, as the French shipbuilding industry was not at that date capable of constructing them in sufficient quentity. However, in the interim, before these new ships could be built, he arranged to fill the gap by leasing or hiring a number of Dutch and English ships. In June 1625 he procured twenty Dutch warships, of which one was lost in action on 16 July and another on 17 September; the remaining eighteen ships were returned to the Dutch on 10 March 1626. In July 1625 he also hired the English Second rate warship Vanguard, and in August added six ships hired from the English East India Company; all these were returned to their owners on 26 May 1626. As these were never at any date owned by the French, they are excluded from the list below.

Amsterdam-built vessels, all begun in 1637 and launched in February 1638
  • Cardinal 42 guns (1638) - taken to pieces in 1662
  • Faucon 26 guns (1638) - deleted May 1661
  • Triomphe 30 guns (1638) - taken to pieces 1662
  • Triton 26 guns (1638) - captured by the English in September 1652
  • Victoire 34 guns (1638) - sank off Naples in October 1654
  • Vierge 34 guns (1638) - wrecked at Messina on 22 November 1650
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_of_the_line_of_France


1665 – Launch of French Bourbon 66 guns (designed and built by Jean-Pierre Brun) at Soubise
– renamed Éclatant (64 guns) in June 1671; deleted 1684

Before 1670, the Second Rank consisted of ships of the line carrying from 50 up to 64 carriage guns (although there were exceptions); from 1671 this comprised ships of between 62 and 68 guns; in 1683 this was comprised ships carrying from 64 to 76 guns (again with exceptions), and by 1710 even 64-gun ships had been reduced to the Third Rate. Most Second Rank ships were two-decked vessels, i.e. carrying two complete gundecks, usually plus a few smaller carriage guns mounted on the gaillards; however, the Second Rank initially also included numerous ships nominally described as three-deckers (although all had a break in the 3rd tier of guns or "upper deck") launched up until 1682, after which all three-deckers were First Rates; these three-deckers are listed below before the two-deckers.


1670 – Launch of French Navarrais 56 guns (designed and built by François Pomet) at Rochefort – renamed Excellent in June 1671; deleted 1676 or 1677.


1692 – Launch of French Merveilleux 100, later 98 guns (designed and built by Blaise Pangalo) at Brest – broken up 1712


1780 - 16-gun sloop HMS Racehorse (1777 - 16) blew up.

HMS Racehorse (1777) was a 16-gun sloop purchased in 1777 and shortly thereafter renamed Senegal. The French 74-gun Hector captured her on 14 August 1778. The French renamed her Sénégal. Zephyr recaptured her on 2 November 1780 after an engagement that lasted five hours and in which the French lost 12 killed and 28 wounded, while the British lost two killed and four wounded. The Royal Navy took her back into service as HMS Senegal. Senegal was at Gorée being repaired when she caught fire and exploded on 22 November, with the loss of captain and 22 men.


1792 – Launch of Spanish Infante Don Pelayo 74 (San Ildefonso class) at Havana - transferred to France 23 April 1802, renamed Desaix, stricken 1804

San Ildefonso class
  • San Ildefonso 74 (launched 22 January 1785 at Cartagena) - Captured by Britain at the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805, retaining same name, BU 1816[10]
  • San Telmo 74 (launched 20 June 1788 at Ferrol) - Lost off Cape Horn 1819
  • San Francisco de Paula 74 (launched 20 December 1788 at Cartagena) - BU 1823
  • Europa 74 (launched 19 October 1789 at Ferrol) - Stricken 1801
  • Intrépido 74 (launched 20 November 1790 at Ferrol) - transferred to France 1 July 1801, renamed Intrépide, captured by Britain at the Battle of Trafalgar and sank in storm, 1805
  • Conquistador 74 (launched 9 December 1791 at Cartagena) - transferred to France 23 April 1802, renamed Conquérant, stricken 1804
  • Infante Don Pelayo 74 (launched 22 November 1792 at Havana) - transferred to France 23 April 1802, renamed Desaix, stricken 1804
  • Monarca 74 (launched 17 March 1794 at Ferrol) - Captured by Britain at the Battle of Trafalgar and wrecked in storm, 23 October 1805[
SanTelmoAlejoBerlingueromuseonavalmadrid.jpg
Spanish ship of the Line San Telmo by Alejo Berlinguero, Madrid Naval Museum

Sisterships:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_ship_San_Ildefonso
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Telmo_(ship)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_of_the_line_of_Spain


1798 - HMS Medusa, Store-ship, lost drifting on shore in Rosier Bay, Gibraltar.

HMS Medusa (1785) was a 50-gun fourth rate launched in 1785, several times refitted during her career as receiving ship, troopship and hospital ship, and wrecked in 1798.


1799 - Hired cutter HMS Courier (12), Lt. Thomas Searle, captured French privateer cutter Guerriere (14), Felix Lallermand, off Lowerstoft.

On the 22nd of November, at 5 p.m., the British hired cutter Courier, of 12 long 4-pound< ra and 40 men, Lieutenant Thomas - rle, cruising off Flushing, observed a suspicion- sail bring-to a bark. The cutter immediately hauled her wind in chase, and as Bhe passed the bark, learnt from her that the other vessel was a French privateer. The Courier thereupon crowded sail in pursuit; and on the 23rd, at 9 a.m. Lowestoffe bearing north-west by west distant 10 or 12 leagues, succeeded in overtaking the French cutter-privateer Guerrier, of 14 long 4-pounders and 44 men, commanded by Citizen Felix L. Lallemand. A warm and close action ensued, and lasted 50 minutes, when the Guerrier struck her colours.

The Courier had her master, Mr. Stephen Marsh, killed at the commencement of the action, and two Seamen wounded, the Guerrier, four killed and six wounded. These, as is evident without the aid of a tabular statement, were a well-matched pair of combatants; and the action was manfully sustained on both sides. Shortly after his capture of this privateer, Lieutenant Searle obtained that promotion to which, by his previous gallantry on more than one occasion, he had fully entitled himself.

https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=11481


1811 - HMS Volontaire (38), Cptn. Hon. G. G. Waldegrave, and HMS Perlen (38), Cptn. J. S. Tetley, engaged French squadron of 3 ships of the line, including Trident (74) and frigate Amelie, off Cape Sicie

Volontaire was a 40-gun Virginie class frigate of the French Navy.
On 20 November 1798, along with Insurgente, Volontaire, under Captain Laurent, captured the 14-gun corvette USS Retaliation.
She took part in the Atlantic campaign of 1806 and was captured by HMS Diadem on 4 March 1806. She sailed into Table Bay, unaware that the British had captured Cape Town. HMS Diadem, flying a Dutch flag, came alongside. When Diadem ran up the British flag, Volontaire surrendered.
The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Volontaire. Captain Josceline Percy commissioned her and sailed her to St Helena. There he took charge of a convoy for England.
The transports Anacreon and Charlotte (1784 ship) sailed from the Cape of Good Hope on 11 March 1806 bound for France as cartels carrying Volontaire's crew.
See also: Transport vessels for the British invasion of the Dutch Cape Colony (1805-1806)
On 21 March Volontaire sailed as escort to 17 transports in a convoy to Great Britain carrying invalids and Dutch prisoners.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Volontaire_(1796)
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=5717


1817 – Launch of french Fidele, a Pallas-class Frigate

Fidèle, (launched 22 November 1817) - abandoned on the stocks by the retreating French; the Dutch recommenced construction, renaming her Schelde; deleted in 1853.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallas-class_frigate_(1808)


1863 - During the Civil War, the screw steam gunboat Aroostook captures schooner Eureka off Galveston, Texas which had been bound for Havana with a cargo of cotton. Also on this date, the side-wheel gunboat Jacob Bell transports and supports a troop landing at St. George's Island, Md. where some 30 Confederates, some of whom were blockade runners, are captured.


1943 - USS Frazier's (DD 607) bow is badly damaged when she intentionally rams and eventually sinks Japanese submarine I 35 off Tarawa in tandem with USS Meade (DD 602). No injuries or casualties are suffered and two days later Frazier sails for repairs at Pearl Harbor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Frazier_(DD-607)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
23 November 1703 - HMS York (1653/1654 - 54), Cptn. Smith, lost off the Shipwash, Harwich.


Marston Moor was a 52-gun third rate Speaker-class frigate built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England at Blackwall Yard, and launched in 1654.

Class and type: Speaker-class frigate
Length: 116 ft (35.4 m) (keel)
Beam: 34 ft 6 in (10.5 m)
Depth of hold: 14 ft 2 in (4.3 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament: 52 guns (at launch); 60 guns (1677)


york_1654.jpg
Marston Moor

After the Restoration in 1660, she was renamed HMS York. By 1677 her armament had been increased to 60 guns. York ran aground and was wrecked in 1703.

Her career

11.1653 Completed at a cost of £5321.10.0d
5.1660 Renamed York
3.6.1665 Battle of Lowestoft
1666 Refitted as a 58 gun Third Rate
1.6.1666 Four Days Battle
25.7.1666 St James Day Battle
13.3.1671/72 Battle of Smyrna Convoy
28.5.1672 Battle of Solebay
28.5.1673 First Battle of Schooneveld
4.6.1673 Second Battle of Schooneveld
11.8.1673 Battle of Texel
1677 Refitted as a 60 gun Third Rate
7.1679 Laid up at Portsmouth
1.5.1689 Battle of Bantry Bay
30.6.1690 Battle of Beachy Head
19.5.1692 Battle of Barfleur
27.1.1693 Took the Scarborough Ketch in company with Dover
27.1.1692/93 Took the Privateer Frégate Légère La Marianne (18)
27.1.1692/93 Took the Privateer Le Saint Antoine (20)
4.1693 Took the Jacobite privateer Prince of Wales,
1696 Refitted as a 60 gun Fourth Rate
23.11.1703 Wrecked on the Shipwash during the Great Storm



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_York_(1654)
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=5286
http://www.schifferlbauer.com/seite19.html
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
23 November 1757 - HMS Hussar (1757 - 28) and HMS Dolphin (1751 - 24) destroyed french Alcyon (1726 - 50)


Action on 23 November 1757
British 28-gun ship Hussar, Captain John Elliot, and 24-gun ship Dolphin, Captain Benjamin Mario w, being on a cruize, gave chase to a large French ship. The Hussar closed with her at about 8h. p.m., and commenced the action, in which she was soon joined by the Dolphin. The fire of the British ships must have been well directed, for at 10h. p.m. the stranger, which was by that time dismasted, went down with her colours flying. The French ship was supposed to have been the Alcyon, of 50 guns, armed en flute. The Hussar had received much injury, and had no boat that would swim; the Dolphin, however, sent a boat, but was, unfortunately, not able to save any of the devoted French crew.


HMS Dolphin was a 24-gun sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Launched in 1751, she was used as a survey ship from 1764 and made two circumnavigations of the world under the successive commands of John Byron and Samuel Wallis. She was the first ship to circumnavigate the world twice. She remained in service until she was paid off in September 1776, and she was broken up in early 1777.

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HMS Dolphin at Tahiti 1767

Construction
Built to the 1745 Establishment, Dolphin was originally ordered from the private yard of Earlsman Sparrow in Rotherhithe (under contract dated 7 October 1747). Following Sparrow's bankruptcy in 1748, the order was moved to Woolwich Dockyard. In order to reduce the likely incidence of shipworm, Dolphin's hull was copper-sheathed ahead of her first voyage of circumnavigation in 1764.

Class and type: Sixth-rate frigate
Tons burthen: 511 2⁄94 (bm)
Length:
  • 113 ft (34 m) (gundeck)
  • 93 ft 4 in (28.45 m) (keel)
Beam: 32 ft 1 in (9.78 m)
Depth of hold: 11 ft (3.4 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Complement: 160
Armament:
  • Lower deck: 2 x 9-pounders (aft)
  • Upper deck: 20 x 9-pounders
  • Quarter deck: 2 x 3-pounders

large.jpg
Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail and longitudinal half breadth for Dolphin (1751), a 1745 Est 24-gun ship, as approved by the Flag Officers in 1745. Later amendments may relate to the refit in 1770 for the circumnavigation of the globe.

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Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with some inboard detail, longitudinal half breadth for the 1745 Est 24-gun ships; Arundel (1745), Queenborough (1748), Fowey (1749), Sphinx (1748), Hind (1749), Dolphin (1751), prepared by the Mater Shipwright of Deptford, Chatham, Woolwich, Portsmouth and Sheerness and approved by Sir John Norris and other Flag Offices.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/83266.html#l1WrBAHf1ziUc0B6.99


Early service
Not long after her commissioning, the hostilities of the Seven Years' War had escalated and spread to Europe, and in May 1756 Britain declared war on France of the Ancien Régime. Dolphin was pressed into service throughout the conflict, and was present at the Battle of Minorca in 1756 when a fleet under Admiral John Byng failed to relieve Port Mahon, Britain's main base in the Western Mediterranean (as a result of which Byng was later court-martialled and shot).

First circumnavigation
With Britain's successful conclusion of the Seven Years' War in 1763, her attentions turned towards consolidating her gains and continuing to expand her trade and influence at the expense of the other competing European powers. The Pacific Oceanwas beginning to be opened up by exploratory European vessels, and interest had developed in this route as an alternate to reach the East Indies. This interest was compounded by theories put forward which suggested that a large, hitherto-unknown continental landmass (Terra Australis Incognita) must exist at southern latitudes to "counterbalance" the northern hemisphere's landmasses.

No longer in a state of war, the Admiralty had more funds, ships and men at her disposal to devote to exploratory ventures. Accordingly, an expedition was soon formed with instructions to investigate and establish a South Atlantic base from which Britain could keep an eye on voyages bound for the Pacific. Another purpose was to generally explore for unknown lands which could then be claimed and exploited by the Crown, and to reach the Far East if necessary. The Dolphin was selected as lead vessel for this voyage, and she was to be accompanied by the sloop HMS Tamar.

Her captain was Commodore John Byron, a 42-year-old veteran of the sea, and younger brother to the profligate William Byron, 5th Baron Byron. Between June 1764 and May 1766 HMS Dolphin completed the circumnavigation of the globe. This was the first such circumnavigation of less than 2 years. During this voyage, in 1765, Byron took possession of the Falkland Islands on behalf of Britain on the grounds of prior discovery, and in so doing was nearly the cause of a war between Great Britain and Spain, both countries having armed fleets ready to contest the sovereignty of the barren islands. Later Byron visited islands of Tuamotus, Tokelau and Nikunau in the Gilbert Islands, putting them on European maps for the first time (in European circles, Nikunau went by the name "Byron Island" for over 100 years); and visited Tinian in the Northern Marianas Islands.

Second circumnavigation


Memorial to Samuel Wallis and the crew in Truro Cathedral

Dolphin circumnavigated the world for a second time, under the command of Samuel Wallis. Her master's mate, John Gore, was among a number of the crew from Byron's circumnavigation who crewed with Wallis. The master on this voyage, George Robertson, subsequently wrote a book The discovery of Tahiti; a journal of the second voyage of H.M.S. Dolphin round the world under the command of Captain Wallis, R.N., in the years 1766, 1767, and 1768, written by her master. Dolphin sailed in 1766 in the company of HMS Swallow, under the command of Philip Carteret, who had served on Byron's circumnavigation.

Dolphin dropped anchor at the peninsula of Tahiti Iti ("small Tahiti", aka Taiarapu) on 17 June 1767 but quickly left to find a better anchorage. Wallis chose Matavai Bay on 23 June. Although the Spanish had visited the Marquesas Islands in 1595, some 170 years earlier, Wallis officially took possession of Otaheiti, which he named "King George III Island". (About a year later, French navigator Louis-Antoine de Bougainville landed at Hitiaa on the opposite side of Tahiti and unaware of Wallis's earlier visit, claimed it for the King of France.)

Early on a large canoe approached Dolphin and at a signal its occupants launched a storm of stones at the British, who replied with grapeshot. Dolphin's gunnery cut the canoe in two, killing most of its occupants. Wallis then sent his carpenters ashore to cut the eighty-some canoes there in half. Eventually, friendly relations were established between the British sailors and the locals. The relationships became particularly friendly when the sailors discovered that the women were eager to exchange sex for iron. This trade became so extensive that the loss of nails started to threaten Dolphin's physical integrity.



The first HMS Hussar (1757) was a 28-gun sixth rate launched in 1757 and captured by the French in 1762 after running aground off Cape François, Hispaniola due to the negligence of the pilot and the master

Class and type: 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate
Tons burthen: 586 6⁄94 bm
Length:
  • 118 ft 3 in (36.0 m) (gundeck)
  • 97 ft 2.5 in (29.6 m) (keel)
Beam: 33 ft 8 in (10.3 m
)Depth of hold: 10 ft 5.5 in (3.19 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Complement: 200 officers and men
Armament:
  • 28 guns comprising:
  • Upperdeck: 24 × 9-pounder guns
  • Quarterdeck: 4 × 3-pounder guns
  • 12 × ½-pdr swivel guns

HMS Hussar was a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.
The Hussar was one of five frigates of the class built of fir rather than oak. Fir was cheaper and more abundant than oak and permitted noticeably faster construction, but at a cost of a reduced lifespan; the four fir-built Coventry-class vessels that did not get captured lasted an average of only nine years before being struck off.
John Inglis served on the ship as a midshipman in 1758 at the beginning of his career, under his in-law, Captain John Elliot.

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Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail, longitudinal half breadth for Coventry (1757), Lizard (1757),Liverpool (1757), Maidstone (1758), Acteon (1757), Shannon (1757), Levant (1757), Coberus (1757), Griffin (1757), Hussar (1757), all 28-gun, Sixth Rate Frigates, based on the plan for Lowestoft (1756) and Tartar (1756, which were the same as Unicorn (1748) and Lyme (1748). Maidstone (1758), Cerberus (1757), Griffin (1757), Acteon (1757), Shannon (1757),Bureas (1757) and Trent (1757) had the House holes moved to the upper deck. There are construction amendments for the first built Frigates. Annoted in the top right: " Body, same as the Lestaff and Tartar, except one havng a Beakhead and the other a round bow, withou the least alteration below the surface of the water - and the Tartar and Leostaff are exactly the same Body as the Unicorn and Lime. "
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/83192.html#qJfC4uEJH5Kf56h6.99


fir built Coventry class - due to the nature of the pine wood (fir or pine cannot be bent in tight angles), the design had to be fitted with a square tuck (i.e. flat) stern.


Alcyon a purpose built 50 guns (launched 14 March 1726 at Toulon, designed and built by René Levasseur) – Burnt in action with the British in 1757.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dolphin_(1751)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hussar_(1757)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-307626;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=D
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-320028;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=H
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=2194
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
23 November 1757 – french Abénakise (1756) was captured by the British Navy on the Atlantic Ocean
renamed HMS Aurora in British service - The british Mermaid-class frigates designed in 1760 by Sir Thomas Slade, were based on the scaled-down lines of HMS Aurora



Abénaquise (or Abenakise) was a 36-gun ship of the French Navy of the Ancien Régime, designed by René-Nicholas Lavasseur and launched on 8 July 1757. She was commanded by captain Gabriel Pellegrin. In 1757 she crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 38 days. This was one of the fastest crossings from Brest to Petite ferme on the La Côte-de-Beaupré with pilot Pellegrin, port captain of Quebec, who was on his forty-second crossing.

Captured by the Royal Navy in 1757, she was renamed HMS Aurora and saw active service in the latter half of the Seven Years' War. She was broken up for timber at Plymouth Dockyard in 1763.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, stempost and rudder elevation, and bow and head elevation for Aurora (captured 1757), a captured French Frigate. The plan is headed under the common misspelling of her French name, and suggests that it is dated before 22 June 1758, when she was renamed Aurora, and then fitted as 38-gun Fifth Rate Frigate at Portsmouth Dockyard. The plan includes an undated typed set of notes relating to the ship's name Sellotaped to the front of the plan.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/82443.html#6G8ir3KZVgLxkeu8.99


French Navy career 1756–1757
Abénaquise or Abenakise was built in Quebec and launched in 1756.

Royal Navy career 1757–1763
In 1757 she was captured by HMS Chichester and brought into Portsmouth Harbour as a prize ship. On Admiralty's order she was purchased by the Royal Navy on 8 January 1758, for a sum of £6,103.11s for the hull and £425.4s for the masts and internal fittings. She was renamed HMS Aurora on 22 June, and commissioned into the Royal Navy in October 1758 under Captain Samuel Scott. Her 250-man crew comprised four commissioned officers – a captain and three lieutenants – overseeing 49 warrant and petty officers, 117 naval ratings, 44 Marines and 36 servants and other ranks. Among these other ranks were five positions reserved for widow's men – fictitious crew members whose pay was intended to be reallocated to the families of sailors who died at sea.

Aurora's first Royal Navy duties were as a troop transport, ferrying British soldiers from England to Gibraltar ahead of an expected French or Spanish assault. Thereafter, she was sailed for Havre de Grace, Maryland in search of French privateers. However there were concerns about her seaworthiness and she was returned to England in 1760 to undergo two successive naval surveys. No repairs were carried out, and instead Aurora was paid off in 1761 and her crew dispersed to other ships.

The vessel was recommissioned in 1762 under Captain Raby Vane and assigned to coastal patrols and cruising in English home waters and off the coast of France. She was again the subject of a naval survey, in December 1762, and was removed from active service in the same month. At the conclusion of the Seven Years' War in 1763, she was disassembled at Plymouth Dockyard and her timbers sold for £152.5s.



The british Mermaid-class frigates a group of six 28-gun sailing frigates of the sixth rate designed in 1760 by Sir Thomas Slade, were based on the scaled-down lines of HMS Aurora (originally a French prize, L'Abénaquise, which had been captured in 1757).

The contract for the prototype was agreed on 12 May 1760, for a ship to be launched within twelve months, and her name was assigned as Mermaid on 28 October 1760. The contract for the second ship was agreed on 10 March 1762, for a ship to be launched within thirteen months, and the contract for the third ship was agreed on 2 April 1762, for a ship to be launched within fourteen months; both names were assigned on 30 April 1763.


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Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines and longitudinal half breadth as proposed and approved for Mermaid (1761), a 28-gun, Fifth Rate Frigate, for building at Hull by Mr Blaydes, and later for Hussar (1763) and Soleby (1763), also 28-gun, Fifth Rate Frigates, similar to the French Aurora (Abienakise 1757). The sheer was altered for these two ships. Annotation on the reverse: "A copy of this Draught was given to Messers Hugh & Beris Blaydes for building a ship agreeable there to May 1760 Named the Mermaid. Another Copy of this Body & Lines with the sheer part agreeable to another Draught a little alter'd there to 20th March 1762 - Nam'd the Hussar. Another of the same as above was given to Mr Thos Airey & Co for Building the ship agreeable there to at Newcastle upon Tyne 10th April 1762 - Named the - Solebay."
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/83099.html#W4eg8OHEXf5FCxGX.99





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abénaquise
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
23 November 1791 - Snares Islands/Tini Heke, also known as The Snares, were sighted first time independently at the same day by the two ships HMS Discovery under Captain George Vancouver, and HMS Chatham commanded by Lieutenant William R. Broughton,


Snares Islands/Tini Heke, also known as The Snares, is a small island group lying about 200 km south of New Zealand's South Island and to the south-southwest of Stewart Island/Rakiura. The Snares consist of the main North East Island and the smaller Broughton Island as well as the Western Chain Islands some 5 km (3.1 mi) to the west-southwest. Collectively, the Snares have a total land area of 3.5 km2 (1.4 sq mi).

The islands are listed with the New Zealand Outlying Islands. The islands are an immediate part of New Zealand, but not part of any region or district, but instead Area Outside Territorial Authority, like all the other outlying islands except the Solander Islands.

NZStewardIslandAreaMap.png

The island group was first sighted by Europeans on 23 November 1791 independently by the two ships HMS Discovery under Captain George Vancouver, and HMS Chatham commanded by Lieutenant William R. Broughton, both of the Vancouver Expedition. Vancouver named the islands "The Snares" because he considered them a shipping hazard; an islet east of the Western Chain bears the name Vancouver Rock, and the second largest island is named after Broughton.

The islands were already known to the Māori, who called one of the larger islands Te Taniwha ("The sea-monster"). Unlike other subantarctic islands that were greatly affected by the whaling and sealing industry in the 19th century, the Snares remain one of the last pristine areas in New Zealand.

The Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 officially altered the name to "Snares Islands/Tini Heke" – one of many such changes under the Ngāi Tahu Treaty settlement.


HMS Discovery was a Royal Navy ship launched in 1789 and best known as the lead ship in George Vancouver's exploration of the west coast of North America in his famous 1791-1795 expedition. She was converted to a bomb vessel in 1798 and participated in the Battle of Copenhagen. Thereafter she served as a hospital ship and later as a convict ship until 1831. She was broken up in 1834.

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Model of the HMS Discovery at the Vancouver Maritime Museum


HMS Chatham
was a Royal Navy survey brig that accompanied HMS Discovery on George Vancouver's exploration of the west coast of North America in his 1791–1795 expedition. Chatham was built by King, of Dover and launched in early 1788. She was purchased for navy service on 12 February 1788.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Discovery_(1789)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Chatham_(1788)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snares_Islands_/_Tini_Heke
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
23 November 1820 – Launch of HMS Atholl and HMS Niemen, both Atholl class corvettes at the same day at Woolwich Dockyards


The Atholl-class corvettes were a series of fourteen Royal Navy sailing sixth-rate post ships built to an 1817 design by the Surveyors of the Navy. A further four ships ordered to this design were cancelled.

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Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, longitudinal half breadth for building Athol (1820), a 28-gun, Sixth Rate Sloop in Larch, as corrected - see ZAZA3212. annotated, top right: "17th June 1817 A Copy went to Woolwich Yard".
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/83004.html#eHPTVuYScEBUJTd2.99


Non-standard timber were used in the construction of some; for example, the first pair Atholl and Niemen were ordered built of larch and Baltic fir respectively, for comparative evaluation of these materials; the three ships the East India Company built, Alligator, Termagant and Samarang, were built of teak. Nimrod was built of African timber.

Type: Sixth-rate corvette
Tons burthen: 499 91/94 bm (as designed)
Length:
  • 113 ft 8 in (34.65 m) (gundeck)
  • 94 ft 8.75 in (28.8735 m) (keel)
Beam: 31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Complement: 175
Armament:
  • 28 guns:
  • Upper Deck: 20 × 32-pounder carronades
  • Quarterdeck: 6 × 18-pounder carronades
  • Forecasle: 2 × 9-pounder guns
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Inboard profile plan (ZAZ5512)
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/85303.html#RQUxRF3ufMZZmdPg.99

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atholl-class_corvette
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-293394;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=A
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
23 November 1822 - USS Alligator, Lt. Robert F Stockton, set on fire and blew up after beeing stranded on Carysford Reef, off Florida


The third USS Alligator was a schooner in the United States Navy.

Alligator was laid down on 26 June 1820 by the Boston Navy Yard; launched on 2 November 1820; and commissioned in March 1821 — probably on the 26th — with Lieutenant Robert F. Stockton in command. On 6 June 1996, the site of its wreck was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

USS_Alligator.jpg
Artist illustration of USS Alligator 1820-1822 taken from NOAA website - http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/projects/04alligator/media/alligator.html - Public Domain

First anti-slavery patrol
When Alligator put to sea from Boston, Massachusetts on 3 April, she embarked upon a twofold mission. Lt. Stockton had been given command of Alligator as a result of his dogged efforts to persuade the Secretary of the Navy, Smith Thompson, to pass over several officers senior to him so that, in addition to cruising the west African coast to suppress the slave trade, he might also search for and acquire a stretch of the coast of Africa for the American Colonization Society. The Society had previously established a colony of former American slaves on the coast, but the climate in that area was so debilitating and unhealthy that the colony had disintegrated. Representatives of the Society therefore had approached Stockton to aid them in the acquisition of a more suitable parcel of land.

After a stop at New York to complete her crew, the warship sailed for waters off the west coast of Africa where she cruised from Cape Verde south to the equator in an effort to stem the illegal exportation of slaves from Africa to the Americas. Though she captured several slavers, among which were the schooners Mathilde, L'Eliza, and Daphne, perhaps her greatest contribution was the selection and acquisition of the territory around Cape Mesurado by her commanding officer and a representative of the American Colonization Society, Dr. Eli Ayers, who was embarked in Alligator for that purpose. The negotiations with the primary native chieftain, King Peter, involved great danger since his people were noted slavers themselves. Initial negotiations went well, but King Peter failed to appear at the appointed time to conclude the treaty. Instead, he repaired to a place some 20 miles inland leaving Stockton with the challenge to follow him to his retreat inland "if he dare." Thereupon, Stockton and Ayres took up the figurative gauntlet and headed inland. The result of their efforts — the parcel of coast around Cape Mesurado — was the germ from which the Republic of Liberia grew.

With that mission concluded, Alligator set sail to return to the United States and reentered Boston sometime in July. She remained there into the fall.

Second anti-slavery patrol
On 4 October 1821, Alligator put to sea from Boston again bound for the west coast of Africa. On 5 November, she encountered a strange sail ahead steering a perpendicular course. On sighting Alligator, the newcomer, instead of continuing on her way, lay to and awaited Alligator's approach. Lookouts on the American schooner soon reported that the stranger was wearing a distress flag, and Alligator moved in to offer assistance. However, when the warship entered gun range, the supposedly endangered vessel opened fire upon her and hoisted the Portuguese flag. Since the malefactor possessed guns of longer range than those mounted in Alligator, Lt. Stockton was obliged to load his guns and then to have his crew lie flat on the deck while he steered his ship in on her. The wind was slight that day, and Alligator weathered several hours of bombardment and suffered several casualties before she had the enemy within range of her own guns. When she succeeded, though, the issue was resolved rapidly. Her first volley sent the stranger's entire crew below for shelter. The American ship then poured broadside after broadside into her for about 20 minutes. At that point, Alligator's adversary struck her colors. Stockton hailed her, and her captain came on deck. He claimed her to be a Portuguese letter of marque.

Records of this action have identified this vessel by two slightly different names, Mariano Faliero and Marianna Flora, Stockton deemed her to be a pirate, put a prize crew on board, and sent her back to the United States to be condemned by an admiralty court. However, she was returned to her owners in response to the request of the Portuguese Government. During the remainder of the cruise, Alligator captured several slavers off the coast of Africa before returning to Boston.

Anti-piracy patrol
Early in 1822, Alligator sailed from Boston to the West Indies to combat the piracy then rampant in the Caribbean. In April, she took the pirate schooner Cienega off Nuevitas, Cuba. Alligator remained on the West Indian station for the remainder of her career.


Overhead view of USS Alligator's wreck on Alligator Reef.

While at Matanzas in November of that year, she got word that an American schooner and brig had been taken by a group of pirates and were located about 45 miles east of Matanzas. She took the master and mate of the captured schooner on board and set sail to reclaim the American ships. She arrived at her destination at dawn on 9 November and found the pirates in possession of one ship, two brigs, and five schooners. Alligator launched armed boats which gave chase to a heavily armed schooner that opened fire with five of her guns and commenced a battle. The boats from Alligator pressed home their attack and soon overhauled the schooner which they boarded in a mad rush. In the short, but sharp, fight, Alligator lost her commanding officer, Lieutenant William H. Allen, wounded mortally by two musket balls. Soon thereafter, boats from Alligator captured all the pirate vessels except one schooner that managed to escape. Most of the pirates fled ashore. On 18 November 1822, Alligator departed Matanzas escorting a convoy.

Before dawn the following morning, she ran hard aground on what is now known (now) as Alligator Reef off the coast of Florida. After working desperately to refloat their ship, officers and crewmen gave up on a hopeless task. On 23 November 1822, they set fire to Alligator, and the young but battle-tested warship soon blew up.

The wreck lies at 24°51.079′N 80°37.103′W


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Alligator_(1820)
https://www.history.navy.mil/resear...d-projects/ship-wrecksites/uss-alligator.html
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
23 November 1939 – World War II: HMS Rawalpindi is sunk by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.


HMS Rawalpindi was a British armed merchant cruiser, (a converted passenger ship intended to raid and sink enemy merchant shipping) that was sunk in a surface action against the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during the first months of the Second World War. Her captain was Edward Coverley Kennedy.

HMS_Rawalpindi_(MOD_381).jpg
Scale model of HMS Rawalpindi

Service history
Merchant service
The ship started life as the 16,695 registered tons Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) ocean liner SS Rawalpindi, built by Harland and Wolff. She was launched on 26 March 1925 by Lady Birkenhead, the wife of F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead, and joined the P&O fleet in September of the same year. She was named after the city of Rawalpindi, a British garrison town in what is now Pakistan. She could carry 307 First Class and 288 Second Class passengers, and was employed on the London to Bombay service.

Naval service
Rawalpindi was requisitioned by the Admiralty on 26 August 1939 and converted into an armed merchant cruiser by the addition of eight elderly 6 in (150 mm) guns and two 3 in (76 mm) guns. She was set to work from October 1939 in the Northern Patrol covering the area around Iceland. On 19 October in the Denmark Strait, Rawalpindi intercepted the German tanker Gonzenheim (4,574 grt), which had left Buenos Aires on 14 September. The tanker was scuttled by her crew before a boarding party could get on board.

SS_Ranchi_SLV_Allan_Green.jpg

Sinking
Whilst patrolling north of the Faroe Islands on 23 November 1939, she investigated a possible enemy sighting, only to find that she had encountered two of the most powerful German warships, the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, which had been conducting a sweep between Iceland and the Faroes. Rawalpindi was able to signal the German ships' location back to base. Despite being hopelessly outgunned, 60-year-old Captain Edward Coverley Kennedy RN of Rawalpindi decided to fight, rather than surrender as demanded by the Germans. He was heard to say "We’ll fight them both, they’ll sink us, and that will be that. Good-bye".

The German warships sank Rawalpindi within 40 minutes. She managed to score one hit on Scharnhorst, which caused minor splinter damage. 238 men died on Rawalpindi, including Captain Kennedy. Thirty-seven men were rescued by the German ships, a further 11 were picked up by HMS Chitral (another converted passenger ship). Captain Kennedy — the father of naval officer, broadcaster and author Ludovic Kennedy — was posthumously Mentioned in Dispatches. Crew members on Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were eligible for the High Seas Fleet Badge for participating in the sinking of Rawalpindi.


The following was Taken from: http://www.scharnhorst-class.dk/scharnhorst/history/scharnnorthernpatrolattack.html
Around noon on 23. November a ship was sighted but it turned out to be an Icelandic fishing vessel. At 15:30 smoke was seen in the horizon. It was the British armed merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi.
scharnnorthernpatrolattack3.jpg

Photo: The passenger liner S.S. Rawalpindi before she was requisitioned by the British Admiralty and fitted with eight 6-inch guns and became the armed merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi.​

HMS Rawalpindi, had been requisitioned by the Admiralty on 24. August 1939 and converted into an armed merchant cruiser. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy in October of that year. Rawalpindi had been built by Harland & Wolff for the Peninsular & Orient Line. Launched in 1925, she was one of four R-class ships built for P&O. (the others being Rajputana, Ranchi and Ranpura) Displacing just over 16.000 tons, Rawalpindi was in service on the Britain to India route until the outbreak of the war. On 23. November 1939 Rawalpindi, under the command of Edward Coverley Kennedy, was patrolling the waters off Iceland, north of the Faeroe Islands with her crew totalling 276. Kennedy, the father of famed British broadcaster/journalist Ludovic Kennedy, had earlier in the day stopped a Swedish freighter. A boarding party was left in charge of the Swedish craft and Rawalpindi returned to her patrol duties. At about 15:30 Captain Kennedy had been alerted by men in the crow's nest that a ship had been sighted on the horizon to starboard. Traveling in an easterly direction midway between Iceland and the Faeroes, Rawalpindi had few places to hide.

Kennedy looking through his binoculars thought the ship in the distance was the German pocket battleship Deutschland, which had been reported to be in the area. Kennedy had been ordered not to engage the Deutschland if he located her, but to radio her position in to Home Fleet HQ. Kennedy ordered the ship to "Action stations" and also ordered a course change to port. As the Rawalpindi steamed at full speed for a fog bank for cover, her alarm bells sounding, a radio message was sent to Home Fleet HQ. Smoke floats were deployed in the water to help hide the ship, but they failed to ignite. Captain Kennedy ordered another course change, this time to starboard where an iceberg about four miles away offered better protection.

The German ship was now closing fast and cutting off the escape route of the Rawalpindi. The German ship flashed a signal to the Rawalpindi to "Heave to!" followed up with a warning shot across her bows. Captain Kennedy did not respond to the order from the German raider. As the German ship closed on the Rawalpindi, Captain Kennedy took a second look at his opponent. This time he was convinced that it was indeed the Deutschland. Kennedy ordered a second message be sent to HQ confirming the sighting of the Deutschland. The German raider now flashed a second signal from her bridge to "Heave to!" This message was also ignored by the Rawalpindi's captain. Perhaps this was because a second ship had now been spotted to starboard. Captain Kennedy first believed this to be another British ship of the Northern Patrol.

The signal officer of the Rawalpindi by now had identified the second ship as the German battlecruiser Gneisenau. (The British considered both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau battlecruisers) Sixty year old Captain Kennedy, now trapped between the two most powerful German ships on the high seas was not about to surrender. He was heard to say "We’ll fight them both, they’ll sink us and that will be that. Good-bye" With that statement the fate of the Rawalpindi was sealed.

On the foretop of the Scharnhorst Captain Kurt Cäsar Hoffmann ordered a third signal to be flashed to the Rawalpindi. This time Scharnhorst flashed the signal to "Abandon your ship". Hoffmann was stunned when this signal was also ignored. He thought the Captain of the Rawalpindi to be mad. Surely he (Kennedy) could not believe that Rawalpindi's eight World War 1 era six inch guns were in any way a match for the eighteen modern eleven inch guns of the two German ships. Hoffmann would get his answer after the signal to abandon your ship was sent twice more. With no response from the Rawalpindi, Hoffmann had no alternative but to order the sinking of the ship. As Hoffmann prepared to give the order to open fire, Captain Kennedy's answer to Hoffmann's earlier signals came in the form of a salvo of six inch shells that rained down on the Gneisenau. A second salvo was directed at Scharnhorst. At 15:45 the Scharnhorst opened fire on the Rawalpindi. The first salvo hit the Rawalpindi on the boat deck, just under the bridge, killing almost everyone on the bridge and destroying the radio room. However Kennedy miraculously survived. The second salvo from Scharnhorst destroyed the main gun control station and knocked out one of her starboard guns. The third salvo found the engine room, this knocked out the dynamos that provided the electric power to the ship’s systems. With the shell hoists unable to operate Kennedy ordered Chief Petty Officer Humphries to alert the seven remaining gun commanders to continue to fire independently because the main fire control system was out of action. Humphries was to also enlist all available hands to carry the six inch shells from the magazine to the turrets.

The shells from the German's kept coming. One by one the guns on the Rawalpindi were knocked out of action. Below deck's the power was out and on deck things were dreadful. Rawalpindi was burning from stem to stern, live shells and cordite sticks rolled freely on deck next to burning debris. Captain Kennedy and two men now went to the after part of the ship to lay a smoke-screen. Soon after this one of the men reported to Chief Petty Officer Humphries that the Captain was dead. The Rawalpindi was also dead in the water. Fire everywhere, fire suppression systems had failed and the ships steering gear was jammed, it was now time to abandon ship. One lifeboat with forty wounded men was lowered, but it overturned pouring the men into the freezing water. At about 16:00, while other boats were being lowered, Scharnhorst's guns found the forward magazine. The Rawalpindi exploded, broke in two and went down. Those in the lifeboats were swamped when Scharnhorst swung hard about to avoid the sinking ship. However, the Scharnhorst returned rapidly to rescue survivors. The crew of the Scharnhorst recovered 38 survivors from the Rawalpindi, but sadly 238 were killed in the action. This whole battle took place in fifteen minuets. Just after 16:00 the first of the British ships sent to aid the Rawalpindi arrived, but stayed a respectful distance from the guns of the German ships. HMS Delhi and HMS Newcastle shadowed the two German battleships while HMS Warspite, HMS Hood and HMS Repulse were racing to the forward track of the Germans. The sea now took control, a squall erupted, and since the British ships were not equipped with radar, the Germans managed to escape.

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Photo: After returnung from the Northern Patrol attack the Scharnhorst moves slowly through the opened Kaiser Wilhelm Bridge in Wilhelmshaven with a tug alongside.​
On 27. November Scharnhorst and Gneisenau returned to Wilhelmshaven. Shortly afterwards Gneisenau went trough the Kaiser-Wilhelm Kanal (channel) to Kiel. Both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had suffered from sea damages, especially there was problems with the A turrets on both ships. Repairs on both ships was necessary. While being repaired in Wilhelmshaven the Scharnhorst also had her boilers overhauled.
scharnnorthernpatrolattack5.jpg

Photo: With the help from tugs the Scharnhorst is about to make fast at the Fliegerdeich (Seydlitz Bridge) in the main harbour of Wilhelmshaven.​



Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15 June 1935 and launched a year and four months later on 3 October 1936. Completed in January 1939, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets were never carried out.

Bundesarchiv_DVM_10_Bild-23-63-07,_Schlachtschiff__Scharnhorst_.jpg

Scharnhorst and Gneisenau operated together for much of the early portion of World War II, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping. During her first operation, Scharnhorst sank the auxiliary cruiser HMS Rawalpindi in a short engagement (November 1939). Scharnhorst and Gneisenau participated in Operation Weserübung (April–June 1940), the German invasion of Norway. During operations off Norway, the two ships engaged the battlecruiser HMS Renown and sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious as well as her escort destroyers Acasta and Ardent. In that engagement Scharnhorst achieved one of the longest-range naval gunfire hits in history.

In early 1942, after repeated British bombing raids, the two ships made a daylight dash up the English Channel from occupied France to Germany. In early 1943, Scharnhorst joined the Bismarck-class battleship Tirpitz in Norway to interdict Allied convoys to the Soviet Union. Scharnhorst and several destroyers sortied from Norway to attack a convoy, but British naval patrols intercepted the German force. During the Battle of the North Cape (26 December 1943), the Royal Navy battleship HMS Duke of York and her escorts sank Scharnhorst. Only 36 men were rescued, out of a crew of 1,968.


Gneisenau was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was the second vessel of her class, which included one other ship, Scharnhorst. The ship was built at the Deutsche Werke dockyard in Kiel; she was laid down on 6 May 1935 and launched on 8 December 1936. Completed in May 1938, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets, though there were plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets.

Bundesarchiv_DVM_10_Bild-23-63-21,_Schlachtschiff__Gneisenau_.jpg

Gneisenau and Scharnhorst operated together for much of the early portion of World War II, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping. During their first operation, the two ships sank the British auxiliary cruiser HMS Rawalpindi in a short battle. Gneisenau and Scharnhorst participated in Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of Norway. During operations off Norway, the two ships engaged the battlecruiser HMS Renown and sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious. Gneisenau was damaged in the action with Renown and later torpedoed by a British submarine, HMS Clyde, off Norway. After a successful raid in the Atlantic in 1941, Gneisenau and her sister put in at Brest, France. The two battleships were the subject of repeated bombing raids by the RAF; Gneisenau was hit several times during the raids, though she was ultimately repaired.

In early 1942, the two ships made a daylight dash up the English Channel from occupied France to Germany. After reaching Kiel in early February, the ship went into drydock. On the night of 26 February, the British launched an air attack on the ship; one bomb penetrated her armored deck and exploded in the forward ammunition magazine, causing serious damage and a large number of casualties. The repairs necessitated by the damage were so time-consuming that it was determined to rebuild the ship to accommodate the 38 cm guns as originally intended. The 28 cm guns were removed and used as shore batteries. In 1943, Hitler ordered the cessation of conversion work, and on 27 March 1945, she was sunk as a blockship in Gotenhafen (Gdynia) in German-occupied Poland. She was eventually broken up for scrap in 1951.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Rawalpindi
http://www.scharnhorst-class.dk/scharnhorst/history/scharnnorthernpatrolattack.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_battleship_Gneisenau
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_battleship_Scharnhorst
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
23 November 1943 - USS Liscome Bay (ACV/CVE-56), a Casablanca-class escort carrier sunk by Japanese submarine


USS Liscome Bay (ACV/CVE-56), a Casablanca-class escort carrier during World War II, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Liscome Bay in Dall Island in the Alexander Archipelago of Alaska. She was lost to a submarine attack by Japanese submarine I-175 during Operation Galvanic, with a catastrophic loss of life, on 24 November 1943.

USS_Liscome_Bay_CVE56.jpg

Construction
Liscome Bay was laid down on 9 December 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1093, by Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, Vancouver, Washington; she was launched on 19 April 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Ben Moreell, wife of the Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Yards & Docks; she was named Liscome Bay on 28 June 1943, and assigned the hull classification symbol CVE-56 on 15 July 1943: she was acquired by the Navy and commissioned on 7 August 1943, Captain Irving D. Wiltsie in command.

Service history
After training operations along the West Coast, Liscome Bay departed from San Diego, California, on 21 October 1943, arriving at Pearl Harbor one week later. Once additional drills and operational exercises were completed, the escort carrier set off on what was to be her first and last battle mission. As a member of Carrier Division 24 (CarDiv 24), she departed from Pearl Harbor on 10 November, attached to TF 52, Northern Attack Force, under Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner, bound for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands.

The invasion bombardment announcing the United States's first major thrust into the central Pacific began on 20 November, at 05:00. Just 76 hours later, Tarawa and Makin Islands were both captured. Liscome Bay's aircraft had not yet taken part in any of the 2,278 action sorties by carrier-based planes, which neutralized enemy airbases, supported US Army landings and ground operations in bombing-strafing missions, and intercepted enemy raids. With the islands secured, US naval forces began retiring.

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USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56) moored at Naval Station Astoria, Oregon, in September 1943, one month after being commissioned.

Sinking
On 23 November, the Japanese submarine I-175 arrived off Makin. The temporary task group, built around Rear Admiral Henry M. Mullinnix's three escort carriers, Liscome Bay, Coral Sea and Corregidor, was steaming 20 mi (32 km) southwest of Butaritari Island at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph).

At 04:30 on 24 November, reveille was sounded in Liscome Bay. Flight quarters was sounded at 04:50. The crew went to routine general quarters at 05:05, when flight crews prepared their planes for dawn launchings. Thirteen planes, including one forward on the catapult, had been spotted on the flight deck. These had all been fueled and armed. There were an additional seven planes in the hangar that were not fueled or armed. Since this was to be the first operations for Liscome Bay since leaving Pearl Harbor she still had her complete allowance of bombs still in the bomb magazine minus the bombs already loaded. This included nine 2,000-pound (910 kg) GP bombs, nine 1,600-pound (730 kg) AP bombs, 24 1,000-pound (450 kg) GP bombs, 96 500-pound (230 kg) GP bombs, 120 100-pound (45 kg) GP bombs, and 96 350-pound (160 kg) depth charges. In addition, she had 12 torpex-loaded aircraft torpedoes in the port side of the hangar aft.

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At about 05:10, a lookout stationed at the 40mm director on the gallery walkway at frame 160 starboard, reported over the telephone that he saw a torpedo headed for the ship. The torpedo struck abaft the after engine room and detonated the aircraft bomb magazine, located between frames 152 to 168, causing a major explosion which engulfed the ship and sent shrapnel flying as far as 5,000 yd (4,600 m). Considerable debris fell on New Mexico, about 1,500 yd (1,400 m) distant from Liscome Bay. The explosion completely demolished and killed everyone aft of the forward bulkhead of the after engine room. The hangar deck aft of frame 110 and the flight deck aft of 101 were destroyed and missing. The forward part of the hangar was immediately engulfed in an intense fire, igniting the few remaining planes on the flight deck. All services, steam, compressed air, and firemain pressure were lost in the remaining portion of the ship. "It didn't look like a ship at all", wrote Lieutenant John C. W. Dix, communications officer on Hoel, "We thought it was an ammunition dump... She just went whoom — an orange ball of flame."

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Burial at sea aboard Leonard Woodof two Liscome Bay sailors, victims of the submarine attack by I-175. Foreground facing ceremony are survivors of Liscome Bay. Ship in background is Neville carrying remainder of the survivors.

At 05:33, only 23 minutes after the explosion, Liscome Bay listed to starboard and then sank, carrying 54 officers and 648 enlisted men, including Admiral Mullinix, Captain Wiltsie, and Pearl Harbor hero Ship's Cook Third Class Doris Miller, down with her. Of the 916 crewmen, only 272 were rescued, by Morris, Hughes and Hull.

Including the sailors lost on Liscome Bay, American casualties in the assault on Makin Island exceeded the strength of the entire Japanese garrison. Future legal scholar Robert Keeton, then a Navy lieutenant, survived the attack.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liscome_Bay
http://www.navsource.org/archives/03/056.htm
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
23 November 2007 – MS Explorer, a cruise liner carrying 154 people, sinks in the Antarctic Ocean south of Argentina after hitting an iceberg near the South Shetland Islands. There are no fatalities.


MS Explorer was a Liberian-registered cruise ship designed for Arctic and Antarctic service, originally commissioned and operated by the Swedish explorer Lars-Eric Lindblad. Observers point to Explorer's 1969 expeditionary cruise to Antarctica as the forerunner for today's sea-based tourism in that region.

The vessel was originally named MS Lindblad Explorer (until 1985), and MS Society Explorer until 1992. Ownership of the vessel changed several times, the last owner being the Toronto-based travel company G.A.P Adventures which acquired Explorer in 2004.

1280px-MS-Explorer-2005-1.jpg

Explorer was the first cruise ship used specifically to sail the icy waters of the Antarctic Ocean, and the first to sink there when she struck an unidentified submerged object (USO) on 23 November 2007, reported to be ice, which caused a gash in the hull. All passengers and crew were successfully rescued. Explorer was abandoned in the early hours of 23 November 2007 after taking on water near the South Shetland Islands in the Southern Ocean, an area which is usually stormy but was calm at the time. Explorer was confirmed by the Chilean Navy to have sunk at approximate position 62° 24′ South, 57° 16′ West, between South Shetlands and Grahams Land, in the Bransfield Strait, where the depth is roughly 600 m. The Royal NavyAntarctic Patrol Ship Endurance, at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office whilst carrying out a hydrographic survey for the British Antarctic Survey, later pinpointed Explorer's final resting place as 62° 24′ 17.57″ South, 57° 11′ 46.49″ West at an approximate depth of 1,130 m, a distance of 4,373 m from its reported sinking position. This is broadly consistent with the direction of the prevailing current.

History

Deception-Tourists.jpg
Tourists at Deception Island (2006).

Explorer was commissioned by Lars-Eric Lindblad, the Swedish-American pioneer of exotic expedition tours, and built in 1969 at Uudenkaupungin Telakka shipyard in Uusikaupunki, Finland. The ship was built to stay afloat with two compartments filled with water. Her original Finnish-Swedish ice class was 1C, which is relatively weak. It is not known when the ice class was uprated to 1A.

The vessel was originally named Lindblad Explorer after Lars-Eric Lindblad and was the first custom built expeditionary cruise ship. On 11 February 1972 Explorer ran aground near La Plaza Point, Antarctica; her passengers, Lars-Eric Lindblad among them, were rescued by the Chilean Navy. She was towed to Buenos Aires, Argentina and then to Kristiansand, Norway, for repairs.

On 25 December 1979 Lindblad Explorer ran aground off Wiencke Island in the Antarctic. The 70 passengers and 34 of the crew were rescued by the Chilean Navy icebreaker Piloto Pardo, leaving the captain and a skeleton crew of 21 on board to await the arrival of a tug.

In 1984, Explorer was the first cruise ship to navigate the Northwest Passage. In 1989 she was involved in the rescue of the crew of an Argentine supply ship that had hit a rock ledge off Anvers Island, Antarctica.

In 1998, Explorer was the first ship to circumnavigate James Ross Island; and the same year, she is claimed to have been the first ship, as distinct from river boat, to sail 80 miles (130 km) above Iquitos, Peru, to the point where the Marañón and Ucayali rivers meet to become the Amazon River.

Explorer was depicted on at least two postage stamps issued by South Georgia and one issued by the Falkland Islands. Explorer was nicknamed "the Little Red Ship".

Sinking

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Passengers escape the sinking MS Explorer

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The MS Explorer listing severely on 23 November 2007

Explorer departed from Ushuaia, Argentina on 11 November 2007 on a 19-day cruise intended to trace the route of 20th century explorer Ernest Shackleton through the Drake Passage (an area typically stormy with rough seas). After visiting the Falkland Islands and South Georgia she hit an iceberg in the Bransfield Strait close to King George Island in the Southern Ocean, near the South Shetland Islands, on 23 November 2007. The object struck by Explorer made a gash in the hull which allowed water to enter. The Argentine navy later said in a statement it observed "significant" damage. The official report of the sinking noted: "The damage sustained had to have extended along the length of the vessel from Cabins 308 to 314 for at least a distance of 3.6 meters, and, in all likelihood, had punctured and sliced holes along the shell plating."

Passengers on Explorer reported a loud "bang" at the time of impact, although others reported that there had been no noticeable impact, or at least nothing more than the normal crunching of ice experienced when sailing through icy waters. One passenger reported sea water in their cabin at about 03:00 UTC. Some reports also indicate that the ship drifted into an iceberg on Explorer's starboard side while the crew was assessing damage caused by the original impact, also to the starboard side of the ship.


A mayday call was put out by the ship at 04:24 UTC, and rescue operations were quickly coordinated by the Prefectura Naval (Coast Guard Corps) of Argentina and the Chilean Navy Center for Search and Rescue. Chile dispatched the icebreaker Almirante Viel, and nearby commercial ships including the MN Ushuaia, the National Geographic Endeavor, and the Norwegian Coastal Express ship MS Nordnorge which was operating as a passenger cruise ship at the time. By 07:30 UTC, all 91 passengers, 9 guides and 54 crew, from over 14 countries, were evacuated and had taken to the Explorer's lifeboats. The evacuees drifted for 5 hours until they were picked up by the Norwegian ship MS Nordnorge which arrived on scene at approximately 10:00 UTC.

All of those rescued by Nordnorge were taken to the Chilean Frei Montalva Station on King George Island where they were subsequently airlifted by C-130 Hercules transport aircraft of the Chilean Air Force to Punta Arenas, Chile in two separate flights, one on Saturday 24 November and the other on Sunday 25 November. Those passengers not taken to Punta Arenas (an estimated 70) were taken to Uruguay's Artigas Base. Explorer was completely submerged at 19:00 UTC, approximately 20 hours after the initial impact and damage to her hull.

Explorer was designed, like most ships, with compartments which could be sealed off by watertight doors; the ship would not sink if holed and one compartment flooded, but was not safe if more compartments were flooded, either by a gash spanning compartments or imperfect sealing between compartments. GAP reported that there was a crack in addition to the hole, but it is not clear if it spanned compartments.

In an article published on 8 December 2007, experts consider that Explorer was "perfect for ice navigation", and consider that the explanation of the sinking "doesn't add up" and that "essential pieces of the story are missing".

45 minutes report in german language

Investigation
The investigation into the sinking of Explorer was carried out by the Liberian Bureau of Maritime Affairs. The report into the accident was released in April 2009.

The report cites the decision by the Master of the vessel to enter the ice field based on his knowledge and information available at the time as the primary reason why Explorer was so severely damaged. "He was under the mistaken impression that he was encountering first year ice which in fact, as the Chilean Navy Report indicated, was much harder land ice."

Passengers reported seeing red paint on the passing ice less than thirty minutes prior to when the flooding was reported, another indication that the vessel was passing through compact and hard ice. The Master of Explorer was very experienced in Baltic waters but he was unfamiliar with the type of ice he encountered in Antarctic waters.

The report praises the performance of the master and crew in organizing and evacuating the passengers, and notes that lives were likely saved due to the actions of these individuals




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Explorer_(1969)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 23 November


1692 – Launch of french Magnifique 86 guns (designed and built by Honoré Malet) at Rochefort – broken up 1716 or 1717


1768 – Launch of French Aurore, (one-off 34-gun design of 1766 by Jean-Denis Chevillard, with 26 x 12-pounder and 8 x 6-pounder guns) at Rochefort – captured by British Navy in August 1793 at Toulon.


1777 - During the American Revolution, the Continental sloop USS Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones, captures the British brig Mary. Two days later, Ranger captures the British brig George. The prizes are then sent to Bordeaux and Nantes.

The first USS Ranger was a sloop-of-war in the Continental Navy in active service in 1777–1780; she received the second salute to an American fighting vessel by a foreign power (the first salute was received by the USS Andrew Doria when on 16 November 1776 she arrived at St. Eustatius and the Dutch island returned her 11-gun salute). She was captured in 1780, and brought into the Royal Navy as HMS Halifax. She was decommissioned in 1781.

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


1810 - British forces, employed in the defence of Cadiz against the besieging French under Marshal Soult, attack French gunboats at Puerta de Santa Maria using mortar and howitzer boats. Bombs and gunboats provided a diversion by bombarding Fort Catalina


1838 - The sloop-of-war USS Vincennes reaches Rio de Janeiro en route to the South Pacific during the U.S. Exploring Expedition.


USS Vincennes (1826) was a 703-ton Boston-class sloop of war in the United States Navy from 1826 to 1865. During her service, Vincennes patrolled the Pacific, explored the Antarctic, and blockaded the Confederate Gulf coast in the Civil War. Named for the Revolutionary War Battle of Vincennes, she was the first U.S. warship to circumnavigate the globe.

Vincennes_(color).jpg
19th-century painting (based on a sketch by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, USN), depicting USS Vincennes in Disappointment Bay, Antarctica, circa January–February 1840.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Vincennes_(1826)


1861 - During the Civil War, CSS Sumter evades the steam sloop-of-war Iroquois at Martinique then steams for Europe.

CSS Sumter, converted from the 1859-built merchant steamer Habana, was the first steam cruiser in the Confederate States Navy. She operated against American shipping between July and December 1861, taking 18 prizes, but was trapped in Gibraltar by Union warships. Decommissioned, she was sold and reverted to merchant service as Gibraltar. She successfully ran the Union blockade in 1863 and survived the war.

Css_sumter_gibraltar.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_Sumter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Iroquois_(1859)


1942 - the british passenger freighter Tilawa is sunk in indian ocean by japanese submarine I-29 with two torpedoes. 280 passenger and crew died.


SS TILAWA (November 23, 1942)

The 10,006 ton British India SN Company passenger/cargo liner (Capt. F. Robertson) sunk by the Japanese submarine I-29 1,497 kilometres north-northeast of the Seychelles Islands while on her way from Bombay, India, to Mombassa and Durban, South Africa, with 6,472 tons of cargo. The explosion created great panic among the native passengers who rushed the lifeboats causing many deaths. Some time after the torpedo struck and whilst the ship was still afloat some crew and passengers attempted to reboard the vessel when the second torpedo hit. The ship carried 222 crewmen, four gunners and 732 passengers. Of the 958 people on board, 252 passengers and 28 crew were lost. The cruiser HMS Birmingham rescued 678 survivors and next day the P&O ship SS Carthage rescued four Indian seamen from the ocean.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/maritime-1a.html

Tilawa SS was a 10,006 ton British India SN Company passenger/cargo liner (Capt. F. Robertson) sunk by the Japanese submarine I-29 1,497 kilometres north-northeast of the Seychelles Islands while on her way from Bombay, India, to Mombassa and Durban, South Africa, with 6,472 tons of cargo. The explosion created great panic among the native passengers who rushed the lifeboats causing many deaths. Some time after the torpedo struck and whilst the ship was still afloat some crew and passengers attempted to reboard the vessel when the second torpedo hit. Tilawa carried 222 crewmen, four gunners and 732 passengers. Of the 958 people on board, 252 passengers and 28 crew were lost. The cruiser HMS Birmingham rescued 678 survivors and next day the P&O ship SS Carthage rescued four Indian seamen from the ocean. Read more at wrecksite: https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?32105

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilawa_(Schiff)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_submarine_I-29
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 November 1720 - HMS Monck (1659 - 60), Cptn. Hon. George Clinton, wrecked in Yarmouth Roads.


HMS Monck was a 52-gun third rate frigate built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England at Portsmouth, and launched in 1659. She retained her name after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660. By 1677 her armament had been increased to 60 guns.

large.jpg
This ship portrait is perceived from the port quarter. The drawing has been inscribed in the lower left-hand corner with the ship’s name, ‘de Monck’. The drawing has not been rubbed on the back, but is probably based on an offset. There are a few untidy corrections of the ship’s ports along the side. Additionally, there is a faulty lengthening at the bow which has been made in order to include the correct number of ports on the ship.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/157872.html#vF4BlQsz1ckEEc33.99

Monck was rebuilt at Greenland South Dockyard, Rotherhithe in 1702 as a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line. She was wrecked in 1720.

large (2).jpg
The viewpoint is to the east from a point on the shore near a pier. Dover Castle is on the left, a small bridge crossing a moat in the middle distance and a fort in the foreground. The Duchess has just stepped ashore from the barge and is being welcomed by the Duke of York while a salute is being fired. On the right a snow is sailing in to the shore and there are two barges pulling in. There are three yachts in the middle distance and beyond, three ships, the ‘Mary’, ‘Monck’, and ‘Bristol’. Two other yachts brought up on the left, one with the Union flag at the masthead; all are firing a salute. The drawing is inscribed in brown ink ‘de Maniere hoedanig de ducsesse gelant is Inde baeij ontrent / het kasteel niet verre van de plaets alwaer den koning komende in / engelant gelangt is ao 1660 is no 7’ [altered from 8] (How the Duchess landed in the bay near the castle not far from the place where the King landed when he came to England in 1660). In the left foreground the annotation ‘sun’ presumably refers to a patch of sunlight. Mary of Modena crossed over from Calais to Dover between 21 November -21 December 1673. She was met by the Duke of York and they were declared married soon after the landing. They stayed in Dover for two nights, and then went through Canterbury and Rochester to Gravesend, where they were met by the king, Charles II, in the barges between 26 November-6 December, and a royal procession was made to Whitehall that morning.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/246994.html#vWEi2OgWgi5FuXhC.99

General characteristics as built
Class and type: 52-gun third rate frigate
Tons burthen: 703 long tons (714.3 t)
Length: 107 ft (32.6 m) (keel)
Beam: 35 ft (10.7 m)
Depth of hold: 14 ft 6 in (4.4 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament: 52 guns (at launch); 60 guns (1677)

General characteristics after 1702 rebuild
Class and type: 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 807 long tons (819.9 t)
Length: 137 ft 6.5 in (41.9 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 36 ft 5.5 in (11.1 m)
Depth of hold: 14 ft 5.25 in (4.4 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament: 60 guns of various weights of shot

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(Updated, October 2017) An incident during King William's War (War of the English Succession), sparked off by the Glorious Revolution of 1688 when Catholic James II fled the country after William of Orange landed at Torbay. The latter's main objective was to bring a united Stuart realm into the war with France. In 1690 the deposed King James II attempted to re-capture his throne with the aid of the French troops by way of Ireland, whose Catholic population, he believed, might support him. He soon captured most of Ireland, until King William’s army drove him out. It took some time for William to gain control in Ireland. He landed at Carrickfergus near Belfast on 14 June 1690, to take over command of the army which was to defeat James and Catholic hopes in that country. He was escorted by a squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, together with 15,000 extra Danish, Dutch and English troops. This lifted morale and by 1 July he faced James across the River Boyne outside Dublin. The ensuing victory for William led to James's withdrawal from the city, which William occupied by 2 July. William’s reign marked the beginning of the transition from the Stuarts’ personal control of government to the more Parliamentary rule of the House of Hanover. The painting shows King William about to land at Carrickfergus Castle, with the roofs of the town seen beyond the castle wall. In the right foreground is the squadron under Shovell, as Rear-Admiral of the Blue, with his flagship, the ‘Monck’, flying blue at the mizzen. It is surrounded by the yachts that brought the King and his suite. He came in the 'Mary' (centre), commanded since 1689 by Captain Greenvile Collins, now better remembered as a hydrographer than for his more conventional sea service. The 'Mary' is still flying the Royal Standard although by this point William has transferred to Shovell's barge, shown rowing round to the harbour entrance at the left of the castle. The yacht behind flying the Union at the main is the 'Henrietta', Captain Sanderson, carrying Prince George of Denmark (husband of Princess, later Queen Anne).The picture is early English school and near-contemporary to the event. It is based on a small captioned illustration in Collins's 'Great Britain's Coasting Pilot' (1693), though with some changes and elaboration. The accompanying map was engraved by James Collins, Greenvile's brother, and the latter - as a participant - may well have supplied the sketch for the view. The royal standards shown are not that of William III but of the pre-1689 Stuarts and that used as the flag of the Lord High Admiral, 1702-14, under Queen Anne, so the picture may have been painted in that period. From 1702 to his death in 1708 this was Prince George, whose presence at Carrickfergus and in the subsequent events was as William III's brother-in-law, not in an official military capacity. Conservation work (2016) has clarified the inscription on a piece of wood floating in the centre foreground as apparently 'C. Pocock . V V -' (or possibly G for the initial and W at the end). No artist called Pocock is otherwise recorded at this time and the meaning of 'V V' is unknown, unless an allusion to the van de Velde studio which was still in existence in the early years of the 18th century, led by Cornelis van de Velde after the death of his father, Willem the Younger, in 1707. The general manner and moderate quality of the work follows the imported style of Dutch emigre painters, but closer to that of the Knyffs than the van de Veldes.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/11822.html#81hhr8f2CExEV4fh.99


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Monck_(1659)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/157872.html
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/246994.html
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 November 1797 – Launch of French Spartiate, a 74 gun Téméraire-class ship of the line at Toulon – Captured by the British in the Battle of the Nile in August 1798 and added to the RN under the same name, BU 1857.


The Spartiate was originally a French 74-gun ship of the line, launched in 1797. In 1798, she took part in the Battle of the Nile, where she became one of the nine ships captured by the Royal Navy.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sternboard decoration, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Spartiate (captured 1798), a captured French Third Rate. The plan illustrates her as fitted as a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, at Plymouth Dockyard between July 1801 and April 1803 after having been laid up since July 1799. Signed by Joseph Tucker [Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1802-1813; later Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1831].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/80515.html#zujShwOZiywAqkmD.99


Class and type: Téméraire-class ship of the line
Displacement:
  • 2966 tonnes
  • 5260 tonnes fully loaded
Length: 55.87 metres (183.3 ft) (172 pied)
Beam: 14.90 metres (48 ft 11 in)
Draught: 7.26 metres (23.8 ft) (22 pied)
Propulsion: Up to 2,485 m2 (26,750 sq ft) of sails
Armament:


In 1805, HMS Spartiate fought at the Battle of Trafalgar under Francis Laforey. With Minotaur, she forced the surrender of the Spanish ship Neptuno, of 80 guns. Casualties were three killed (two seamen & one boy), and twenty wounded (the boatswain [Clarke], two Midshipmen [Bellairs & Knapman], one Marine [William Parsons] and sixteen sailors), according to the three logs (Captain's log, Ship's log, Master's log).

Spartiate returned to her home port of Plymouth for repairs from December 1805 to February 1806. Thereafter she joined the Channel Fleet and, for the next two years, was involved in the blockade of Rochefort. In January 1808, she was in Admiral Strachan's squadron, and pursued Contre-Admiral Zacharie Allemand's flight from Rochefort. On 21 February 1808 she joined the Mediterranean Fleet at Palermo, and was deployed here until the end of 1809. In June 1809, she participated in the attack on the islands of Ischia and Procida.

On board during the Trafalgar action was First-Lieutenant James Clephan, who was presented with the ship's Union Jack by the crew after the battle as a mark of their esteem. The flag, recently found in a drawer of one of the descendants of James Clephan, is regarded as the only surviving Union Jack from the Battle of Trafalgar. With battle scars still visible, it was sold for £384,000 when it went for auction in London during October 2009.

Spartiate was converted to a sheer hulk in August 1842. She was later broken up, a process completed on 30 May 1857.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the lower deck, and orlop deck with fore and aft platforms for Spartiate (captured 1798), a captured French Third Rate. The plan illustrates her as fitted as a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, at Plymouth Dockyard between July 1801 and April 1803 after having been laid up since July 1799. Signed by Joseph Tucker [Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1802-1813; later Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1831].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/80516.html#g6AkstWulGtVqhzX.99


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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the quarterdeck and forecastle for Spartiate (captured 1798), a captured French Third Rate. The plan illustrates her as fitted as a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, at Plymouth Dockyard between July 1801 and April 1803 after having been laid up since July 1799. Signed by Joseph Tucker [Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1802-1813; later Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1831].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/80517.html#ghWx1ZT4oFK9keus.99


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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the fore part of the orlop deck for Spartiate (captured 1798), a captured French Third Rate. The vessel was refitted between 1801-1803 as a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker. The plan illustrates the original layout and the alterations undertaken in September 1835. Signed by Thomas Roberts [Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1830-1837].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/80518.html#UbUJI7BhQPtkk4h8.99



Téméraire class (1782 onwards) – numerically the largest class of battleships ever built to a single design. Designed by Jacques-Noël Sané, 97 vessels, each of 74 guns, were laid down between 1782 and 1813. The first 31 of these, launched before the execution of Louis XVI



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Spartiate_(1798)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Téméraire-class_ship_of_the_line
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-349664;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=S
 
Last edited:
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 November 1804 - HMS Venerable (1784 -74), Cptn. John Hunter, wrecked on the Rocks off Roundham Head, Torbay.


HMS Venerable was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 19 April 1784 at Blackwall Yard.

Class and type: Culloden-class ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1669 (bm)
Length: 170 ft (51.8 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 47 ft 2 in (14.4 m)
Depth of hold: 19 ft 11 in (6.1 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament:
  • Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pounder guns
  • QD: 14 × 9-pounder guns
  • Fc: 4 × 9-pounder guns


1280px-Thomas-Whitcombe-Battle-of-Camperdown.jpg
The Battle of Camperdown, 11 October 1797 by Thomas Whitcombe, painted 1798, showing the British flagship Venerable (flying the Blue Ensign from her stern) engaged with the Dutch flagship Vrijheid.

In 1795 the ship is known to have been under the command of Cpt. James Bissett.
In 1797, Venerable served as Admiral Duncan's flagship at the Battle of Camperdown.

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Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Thunderer' (1783), 'Terrible' (1785), 'Venerable' (1784), 'Victorious' (1785), 'Theseus' (1786), 'Ramillies' (1785), and 'Hannibal' (1786), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. The plan also records alterations dated January 1813 for cutting down 74-gun Third Rates to Frigates, relating specifically to 'Majestic' (1785), 'Resolution' (1770), and 'Culloden' (1783), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. Only the 'Majestic' was cut down to a 58-gun Fourth Rate, as the other two were broken up in 1813.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/80760.html#lllGJtAgb7MBM4Ru.99

Fate
She was wrecked on 24 November 1804, off Roundham Head near Torbay. Three of her crew were lost. Two days later, on 26 November, the hired armed ship Lady Warren sailed from Plymouth to Torbay with Growler, six gun-vessels and yard-lighters, and other craft, to save the stores, guns, etc. from the wreck of Venerable.

Venerable_A1173.jpg
Loss of His Majesty's Ship Venerable... Shipwreck on the Night of 24 November 1804 on the Rocks in Torbay, by Robert Dodd

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Venerable_(1784)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culloden-class_ship_of_the_line
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-357177;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=V
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 November 1807 - Hired armed brig HMS Ann captured a privateer and two gunboats.


There were two, and possibly three, vessels named His Majesty's hired armed brig Ann (or Anne) that served the British Royal Navy. The first participated in an engagement in 1807 that would earn her crew the Naval General Service Medal. She is sometimes referred to in sources as the hired armed cutter Ann or the hired armed brig Anne. Little or nothing is known of the second and third hired armed brigs Ann or Anne.

First hired armed brig Ann
The first hired armed brig Ann served the Royal Navy from 21 May 1804 to 28 July 1809. She was of 10256⁄94 tons (bm) and carried ten 12-pounder carronades.

Prize taking
In June 1804 Ann was under the command of Lieutenant John Sherriff. Later that year she was in company with Cruizer when Cruizer captured the French privateer Contre Amiral Magon on 16 October 1804. The gun-brig Boldand the hired armed cutter Florence were also in company. The French brig was under the command of Captain Blauckman, was newly built and on her first cruise. She was pierced for 18 guns but mounted 17, fourteen 6-pounder guns, two 18-pounder carronades, and one 9-pounder gun. Her crew of 84 men consisted of Frenchmen, Danes, Swedes, and Americans. She had been out from Dunkirk 18 days and had captured several vessels:

  • The ship Belisarius, of Newcastle, commanded by Matthew Hunter, on 3 October, off Tynemouth
  • The brig Scipio, commanded by Richard Robertson;
  • The Content's Increase, commanded by George Bell.
The last two had cargoes of coal and the privateer had sent them straight into Dunkirk. A British naval brig had recaptured Belisarius within two hours of her capture. The masters of all three British vessels, together with their crews, some 20 men in all, were on Contre Amiral Magon at the time of her capture and Cruizer took them on board.

Then on 31 March 1805 Ann was in company with Bold when they captured the Neptune.[4] On 5 June Ann and others captured the Dogter Catharina. Ann was again in company with Cruizer on 2 August 1805 when they captured the Frederick.[5] Then on 22 August 1805 they captured the Susannah Margaretha.

Medal action
In 1807 Ann was under the command Lieutenant James MacKenzie (or M'Kenzie). On 20 November 1807 she captured the Spanish privateer lugger Vensejo (or Venzego or Vinsigo). Vensejo was pierced for 14 guns, but only mounted six 4-pounder guns and one long 12-pounder. She had a crew of 45 men, was eight days out of Ferrol and had not made any captures. MacKenzie took off her crew and put a prize crew of nine men aboard her but kept her with him.

On the morning of 24 November 1807, at about 9am, Ann was sailing in the Straits of Gibraltar when she observed 10 gunboats coming towards her and Vensejo. The leading gunboat raised Spanish colours at 10am and opened fire. The wind was too weak to permit the two British vessels to escape so MacKenzie prepared for action. Two more gunboats came up with the first and opened fire.

Vensejo struck at half-past ten, having signaled that she had three dead of her crew of nine. By 11am Ann had dismasted one gunboat and two others had struck. However, MacKenzie did not try to take possession as he had only 30 men of his crew aboard Ann, but had 42 prisoners and dispatches. Ann then engaged five gunboats that had taken possession of Vensejo. The Spanish attempted to close with and board Ann but MacKenzie used his sweeps to manoeuvre her, thus maintaining fire on them. At 1pm the Spanish departed, taking Vensejo with them. Although six of the largest Spanish gunboats had been within pistol-shot of Ann for and hour and a half, she had no casualties.

In 1847 the Admiralty awarded any surviving claimants the Naval General Service Medal with a clasp that commemorated the vessel's name and the date of the action, however no one came forward to collect it. MacKenzie in particular died within two years of the action. The Admiralty had promoted him to commander for his role in the engagement and in 1809 appointed him to command of the Cruizer-class brig-sloop Foxhound. While returning from Halifax she foundered in the Atlantic in August 1809 with the loss of her entire crew.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hired_armed_brig_Ann
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 November 1812 - Sloop HMS Belette (1806 - 18), David Sloane, wrecked on rocks off Island of Lessoe, in the Kattegat.


HMS Belette (or Bellette) was an 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop, built by King at Dover and launched on 21 March 1806. During the Napoleonic Wars she served with some success in the Baltic and the Caribbean. Belette was lost in the Kattegat in 1812 when she hit a rock off Læsø.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile, with pencil annotations, for Belette (1814) and Gannet (1814), both 18-gun Brigs to be built by Messrs Larking & Spong at King's Lynn, Norfolk. Signed Henry Peake [Surveyor of the Navy, 1806-1822], Joseph Tucker [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1833], and Robert Seppings [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1832].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/84298.html#dbAOUJwVBOldckWc.99


Baltic
Belette was commissioned in April 1806 under Commander Richard Piercy for the North Sea. Commander John Phillimore took command in September and sailed Belette in the English Channel and the Downs, taking part in Commodore Edward Owen's attack on Boulogne.

Belette was occupied in early 1807 with conveying supplies to the besieged town of Kolberg. In June 1807 Belette was off Suffolk when she tried to land a M. Bedezee, a Prussian envoy carrying some important despatches. The boat overturned a few hundred meters off shore and Bedezee drowned, as did a midshipman and three crewmen. A master's mate and a crewman were saved, but the despatches were lost.

Next, she was attached to Admiral James Gambier's fleet which returned to the Baltic to attack Copenhagen again in 1807. Phillimore distinguished himself during the battle, particularly in an engagement at the end of August, when Belette became becalmed off the Danish coast. Sixteen Danish gunboats attacked Belette, which sank three of them before boats from other British ships arrived and towed her clear. Gambier rewarded Phillimore for his courage by giving him the honour of carrying Gambier's despatches to the Admiralty. As a result, Phillimore received a promotion to post-captain on 13 October; however he remained with Belette.

The expedition to Copenhagen resulted in prize money for Bellette both for warships and merchant vessels. Belette was one of seven British warships sharing in the proceeds of the capture on 28 August of the Danish merchant vessel Sally. Then Belette is listed among the vessels sharing in the prize money for the ships and provisions that the British captured at Copenhagen. Bellette also shared with Gallant and a number of other warships in the captures of several merchant vessels: the Aurora (30 August), Paulina (30 August), Ceres (31 August), Odiford (4 September), and Benedicta (12 September). On 19 November Belette, with the gun-vessels Tigress and Safeguard in company, recaptured the ship Lively.

Belette brought the British ambassador, Lord Hutchinson back to Britain in February 1808. While sailing to Gothenburg he encountered a Danish Navy two-decker, but was able to escape by sailing into shallower waters.

Caribbean
In February 1808 command passed to George Sanders who sailed her on the North Sea station.[Note 2] He then took her to the Leeward Islands, sailing on 3 May 1808.[12]

Belette captured a privateer on 2 July after a pursuit of 12 hours that ended some 70 miles SE of Barbados. The privateer was the Jalouse, which was armed with four 12-pounder guns and had a crew of 75 men. Sanders described her as sailing remarkably fast and as having done "much Mischief to the Trade." Before running afoul of Belette, Jalouse had captured the Mary and the Lark, both of Halifax, and the General Green, of Surinam, which last some other British warship had since recaptured.

Around this time Belette captured the privateer Franchise, of nine guns and 70 men. Belette captured Franchise windward of Barbados and carried her into Barbados.

In August Belette captured the French privateer Joséphine, which the Royal Navy took into service as Morne Fortunee. In British service she was armed with eight 18-pounder carronades and two 6-pounder guns, and had a crew of 55 men.

Admiral Lord Collingwood received intelligence that the French corvette Rapide was on her way from Bayonne with dispatches and he asked Admiral Lord Alexander Cochrane to attempt to intercept her. On 8 August Belette captured the Rapide and took her into Barbados, but Rapide's captain had managed to throw the dispatches overboard before Belette captured her. On 23 July duplicates of the dispatches and much besides were found concealed aboard the cartel Phoenix, which had sailed from Cayenne and had stopped in Barbados. She had aroused suspicion, leading Cochrane to having her searched. Because carrying these documents was a violation of the cartel (truce) flag, the British seized the Phoenix and sent the seized documents in Subtle.

On 23 August Belette captured the French privateer schooner Confiance, of seven guns (though pierced for 16) and 70 men. She was three days out from Cayenne. The Royal Navy took Confiance into service as Skipjack.

On 5 December 1808 Belette captured the French letter of marque brig Revanche, of six 12-pounder guns and 44 men. Revanche was taking provisions from Bordeaux to Guadeloupe when she encountered Belette. Sanders described her as having been "a very successful Privateer all this War, and was intended for a Cruizer in those Seas." Belette sent Revanche into Antigua.

In February 1809, Belette participated in the combined naval and military assault and capture of the French-held island of Martinique. This qualified those of her crew still alive in 1847 for the Naval General Service Medal (NGSM) with clasp "Martinique". Belette was among the 42 warships that shared in the proceeds for the capture of Martinique. She then participated in the capture of Guadeloupe (January - February 1810), which earned for her crew the clasp "Guadaloupe" to the NGSM, as well as further prize money, which she shared with 49 other vessels. The medal data indicates that David Sloane took command after Martinique and before Guadeloupe. He may, in fact, have sailed her back to the Leeward Islands from Britain.

North Sea & Baltic
In 1811 Sloane took Belette back to home waters. Danish records suggest that in the summer of 1811 she was in the North Sea.

Unknown to the British, Danish Captain Hans Peter Holm had returned to Egersund (SW Norway) with Lolland and four other brigs. On 1 May 1811, the British sent four boats from Belette, Cherokee and Clio, into the western end of the sound, expecting to capture some shipping or do other mischief. The circumstances of locality and wind did not permit the Danish brigs to enter the sound from the further end, but Holm sent the Danish ships' boats under Lieutenant Niels Gerhardt Langemach up the sound to oppose the British. Some of the Danes landed to set an ambush from the cliff tops, whilst the armed boats were hidden behind a skerry. As the British rowed boldly in, they met unexpected fire from howitzers and muskets; they immediately withdrew, with the Danish boats in pursuit. The Danes captured one of the British boats and her crew of an officer and 17 men, who had come from Belette. The Danes would have captured more but for the confusion that an explosion of a powder keg on one of the Danish boats caused. The confusion enabled the remaining British boats to reach the protection of their squadron.

By 1812 Belette was in the Baltic. On 24 May, Belette and Helder captured the Danish sloop St. Jorgen.

After the outbreak of the War of 1812, the British navy seized a number of American ships in British ports or that had otherwise not received the news. Belette was among the vessels sharing in the capture, on 12 August, of the Cuba, Caliban, Edward, Galen, Halcyon, and Cygnet.

On 30 October, Belette was protecting the rear of a convoy when her acting master, Mr. James Turnbull, took her yawl and off Romsø captured a Danish rowboat armed with two 2-pounder guns and small arms. The Danes put up a short but spirited resistance before surrendering. Five men of the Danish crew of a lieutenant and 15 men were severely wounded.

Loss
On 24 November 1812 Belette, under Sloane, was in the Kattegat leading Russian ships through the south-west passage of Anholt towards Gothenburg when she went aground on a sunken rock called "John" (or "Fannot") off Læsø. She filled with water and broke in two. The shoals werre shallow enough that her rigging remained above water. Her crew took to the rigging but during the night many died of exposure or fell into the sea when they lost their grip. Only six of her entire crew of 120 or so men and boys escaped death from exposure or drowning.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Belette_(1806)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 November 1814 - Sloop HMS Fantôme (1810 - 18), John Lawrence, wrecked on rocks near Prospect Harbour, Nova Scotia.


HMS Fantome was an 18-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was originally a French privateer brig named Fantôme, which the British captured in 1810 and commissioned into British service. Fantome saw extensive action in the War of 1812 until she was lost in a shipwreck at Prospect, Nova Scotia, near Halifax in 1814.

Type: Brig
Tons burthen: 380 6⁄94 tons (bm)
Length:
  • 94 ft 1 in (28.7 m) (Overall)
  • 75 ft 6 1⁄2 in (23.0 m) (keel)
Beam: 30 ft 11 in (9.4 m)
Depth of hold: 13 ft 0 in (4.0 m)
Complement: 74
Armament:
  • French service: 20 heavy carronades
  • British service: 16 x 32-pounder carronades + 2 x 6-pounder bow chasers
large (1).jpgScale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board outline, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for Fantome (captured 1810), a captured French privateers. The plan illustrates the ship as taken off prior to being fitted as an 18 gun Brig Sloop. Signed Robert John Nelson [Master Shipwright, Deptford Dockyard, 1806-1813].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/84040.html#WoKMkjysuSeyFG1D.99


Capture
The frigate Melampus was in company with the sloop Driver when they captured a French corvette brig letter of marque on 28 May 1810. The vessel was the Fantôme, pierced for 20 heavy carronades, and with a crew of 74 men. She had made three captures before Melampus captured her.[3] One was the William, Hughes, master, which ad been sailing from Belfast to the Brazils. Fantôme took off dollars and goods, but then gave the brig up, which sailed on to Pernambuco.

After the Vice admiralty court condemned her in June 1810, the Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Fantome. She was commissioned at Bermuda in 1811 under Commander John Lawrence.

Initial British service
She initially served on the North Sea station. On 12 November 1811 she sailed for Portugal. Fantome detained the Canton, Allen, master, and sent her into Lisbon where she arrived on 19 July 1812.

On 4 December 1812 Fantome sailed for North America.

War of 1812
In February 1813, during the War of 1812, Fantome joined a squadron off the American coast under the command of Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, consisting of the 74-gun ships San Domingo, Marlborough and Dragon, and the frigates Maidstone and Statira. Fantome was among the vessels in the squadron that captured the enemy vessels Gustavus and Staunch on 24 February. Similarly, she shared in the capture of the Christiana (3 March) and Massasoit(14 March). However, prize money was not awarded until May 1818.

On 4 March 1813, Fantome captured and destroyed the American schooner Betsy Ann. She had been sailing from Alexandria to Boston with a cargo of flour.[9] Fantome was among the vessels that shared in the proceeds of the capture of the General Knox on 17 March.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the upper deck, and lower deck with fore & aft platforms for Fantome (captured 1810), a captured French privateer. The plan illustrates her as taken off prior to being fitted as an 18 gun Brig Sloop at Deptford Dockyard. Signed Robert John Nelson [Master Shipwright, Deptford Dockyard, 1806-1813].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/84041.html#BiAmPCI5bCi1JKpx.99


Operations in Chesapeake Bay
Main article: Battle of Rappahannock River
On 3 April 1813 five enemy armed vessels were sighted in Chesapeake Bay off the Rappahannock River and Maidstone, Statira, Fantome, Mohawk and the tender Highflyer chased them into the river. Boats of the squadron, under the command of Lieutenant Puckingthorne of San Domingo, rowed 15 miles upriver, where they found four armed schooners drawn up in line. The Arab (7), was run ashore and boarded by two boats from Marlborough, while San Domingo's pinnace captured Lynx and Racer. Men from Statira's cutter and Maidstone's launch captured Dolphin. The attacking party lost two men killed and 11 wounded. Fantome had no casualties. A final distribution of headmoney for Lynx and Racer took place in February 1817.

Following the capture of the privateers, the squadron continued up the Chesapeake, and Admiral Warren ordered Rear Admiral George Cockburn to penetrate the rivers at the head of the bay, taking Maidstone, Fantome, Mohawk, Highflyer, and three of the captured schooners. Cockburn also had a detachment of 180 seamen and 200 marines from the squadron's naval brigade, together with a small detachment of the Royal Artillery from Bermuda and under the command of Lieutenant Robertson.

On 28 April, when Cockburn learned of stores of flour and military equipment at French Town on the Elk River, he embarked in Fantome and took Mohawk, Dolphin, Racer and Highflyer up the river. At 11 p.m. 150 marines and five artillery men left in boats to destroy the stores, with Lieutenant Lewis following in Highflyer as support. Unfortunately they were diverted into the Bohemia River and it was after 8 a.m. before they reached their destination only to discover that the Americans had erected a six-gun battery. The battery fired on the boats as soon as they appeared, but the boats' carronades soon silenced it. The British burned stores, which consisted mainly of cavalry equipment, and five vessels.

Later the same morning Captain Lawrence embarked a number of cows after giving the owner bills on the Victualling Officer. He then rejoined Rear-Admiral Cockburn in Maidstone off the mouth of the Susquehanna River at the northern end of the Bay. After observing the Americans firing from hoisting an American flag at a newly constructed battery at Havre de Grace, the Admiral determined to attack it. Captain Lawrence commanded the operation. At dawn on 2 May boats containing 150 marines, and a small party of artillerymen attacked, drove off the defenders and captured the battery.

A division of boats then rowed upriver to the Cecil or Principio Foundry, three or four miles to the north. They destroyed the buildings, machinery and guns they found there, as well as five vessels and a large store of flour. They returned to the ships by 10 p.m. after being away for twenty-two hours. The only casualty was Lieutenant Westphal, first of the Marlborough, who had received a shot through the hand. The gallantry, zeal and attention of Captain Lawrence was particularly mentioned in the Admiral's official letter, as was the behaviour of Lieutenant Reed of Fantome.

On 29 April, boats from Dolphin, Dragon, Fantome, Highflyer, Maidstone, Marlborough, Mohawk, Racer and Statira went up the Elk River in Chesapeake Bay under the personal command of Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn. Their objective was to destroy five American ships and stores, and by some accounts, a cannon foundry at French Town. This took until 3 May 1813 to complete. On the way, after a battery at Havre de Grace fired on them from the shore, a landing party destroyed the battery and burned much of the town. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issue of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "28 April Boat Service 1813" to any surviving claimants from the action; the Navy issued 48 clasps.

On 30 April Highflyer supported Fantome and Mohawk's boats when the vessels gathered cattle for the fleet's use, paying with bills on the Victualling Office. The next day, the vessels secured more cattle from Spesutie (Spesucie) Island just south of Havre de Grace.

On 29 April Fantome recaptured the English brig Endeavour of 110 tons and six men whichthe French had taken while she was carrying wine from Guernsey to Gibraltar. Fantome shared in the proceeds of the capture of the Rolla and cargo on 29 May.

Rescue of American Slaves
While operating in the Chesapeake, Fantome rescued a number of families of enslaved African Americans who had escaped from plantations as part of the Black Refugee migration in the War of 1812. Fantome gave sanctuary to seven escaped slaves on 30 May 1813 who then joined Fantome's crew. Two of them used Fantome as a base from which to return to shore and rescue enslaved wives and children on 3 and 8 June.

Further captures
Fantome was among the vessels sharing in the proceeds of the Spanish brig St. Iago and cargo captured on 11 June, and the American schooner Surveyor captured the next day. The same ships shared in the compromise for the American ships Governor Strong and cargo (12 June), the Emily and cargo (12 June), and the Star and cargo (14 June). The vessels that had shared the capture of the Rolla also shared the capture of the Protectress on 18 June. Lastly, she was among the vessels sharing in the proceeds of the American ship Herman and cargo (21 June). Fantome recaptured the ship Seaflower on 9 July.

Fantome recaptured the brig Endeavour, which had been sailing from Lisbon to Guernsey when an American privateer had captured her. The recaptured Endeavour reached Bermuda at the end of June. Fantome also recaptured an unnamed brig that had been sailing from Newfoundland to Barbados.

On 5 October Fantome and Epervier recaptured the former Nova Scotian privateer Liverpool Packet, then sailing as an American privateer under the name Portsmouth Packet, off Mount Desert Island, Maine, after a chase of 13 hours. At the time of her capture, Portsmouth Packet was armed with five guns, carried a crew of 45, and had sailed from Portsmouth the previous day. The recaptured schooner was brought into Halifax on 12 October. There her original owners repurchased her and restored the name of Liverpool Packet.

Almost a month later, on 3 November, Epervier and Fantome captured the Peggy of 91 tons (bm), W. O. Fuller, master. she had been sailing from George's River to Boston with a cargo of timber and wood.

Captain Lawrence was made a Companion of the Bath for his services. In November 1813 Fantome came under the command of Commander Thomas Sykes.

Canadian trek
On 21 January 1814 Lieutenant Henry Kent of Fantome volunteered to serve on the Great Lakes and joined 210 volunteer seamen from Fantome, Manly and Thistle. Seventy men left Halifax in Fantome on 22 January for Saint John, New Brunswick, then travelled with sleighs to Fredericton, a distance of 80 miles. From there they travelled along the ice of the Saint John River. After eighty-two miles, at Presque Isle, they exchanged sleighs for toboggans, and were supplied with snowshoes and moccasins. Leaving on 8 February they made between 15 and 22 miles a day through knee-deep snow along the St. Lawrence, reaching Quebec on the 28th, taking shelter in the frigate Aeolus and the sloop Indian, frozen up in Wolfe's Cove. They finally reached Kingston, Ontario, on 22 March. A few days later Lieutenant Kent joined the 42-gun frigate Princess Charlotte.

In November 1813 Fantome came under the command of Commander Thomas Sykes. On 9 May 1814 Fantome captured the Spanish brig Danzic.

Loss
Fantome ran aground in Shad Bay near the village of Prospect, Nova Scotia, on 24 November 1814. The brig was escorting a convoy from British-occupied Castine, Maine to Halifax, Nova Scotia. On the evening of 23 November Sykes ordered that a course be set for the Sambro Light. At 2am the next morning he ordered a depth sounding and when it showed only 35 fathoms, ordered a change of course. An hour later, when he came back on deck he discovered that the pilot had countermanded his order. Soon after she struck. Sykes had the masts cut away and the boats hoisted over the sides, but Fantome rapidly filled with water. The crew took to the boats in an orderly manner and all reached the shore safely.

The subsequent court martial reprimanded Sykes for failing to order frequent soundings and for relying too much on the pilot. It ordered Lieutenant John Fisher, the officer of the watch, to be more careful in the future, especially in keeping the captain aware of his ship's situation. It severely reprimanded the master, Joseph Forster, for not taking continuous sounding and for not informing the captain about his reservations concerning the course being steered. Lastly, the court martial severely reprimanded the pilot, Thomas Robinson, for countermanding the captain's order, and for sailing too close to the shore and without taking soundings. It ordered the pilot to lose all pay due him.

Two schooners from the convoy, Industry and Perseverance, were lost at the same location. A transport brig from the convoy went aground elsewhere on the same night but was got off later. No lives were lost when the ships sank.

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Post-script
Some treasure hunters have claimed the convoy that Fantome was escorting was laden with goods taken from the White House during the British raid on Washington, DC. However Fantome played no part in the Washington raid and most historians feel the convoy was carrying goods and customs revenue from Castine. The site of Fantome's loss is marked today by an inscription on a large granite boulder near the wreck site at Prospect.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Fantome_(1810)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 November 1877 - While en route to Cuba to collect scientific information, the screw steam gunboat USS Huron wrecks in a storm near Nag's Head, N.C. The crew attempts to free their ship but it soon heels over, killing 98 officers and men.


USS Huron was an iron-hulled gunboat of the United States Navy. She was a screw steamer with full-rig auxiliary sail, built by John Roach & Sons in Chester, Pennsylvania from 1873–75 and commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 15 November 1875, with Commander George P. Ryan in command.

Alert_class_gunboat.jpg
An Alert class gunboat, possibly Huron, under construction at the shipyard of John Roach & Sons, c. 1874-75.

Today, the Huron wreck can be dived (Scuba or free dived) from shore.

The bow of the wreck GPS coordinates are 35.97751, -75.63092 which is around 250 yard swim from shore. The wreck is often marked with a buoy during the summer months.

120994309.jpg
Naval History and Heritage Command photo from "Warships of The Civil War Navies" by Paul H. Silverstone

Service history
Huron arrived on 11 December 1875 for duty at the Norfolk Navy Yard, and spent the next two years cruising in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. She stopped at Veracruz and Key West on her first cruise, returning to Port Royal on 4 August 1876 and visited many Caribbean and Venezuelan ports from March–June 1877.

120994303.jpg
Line engraving from "Fag Ends", 1881, depicting the ship's loss near Nag's End, North Carolina, on 24 November 1877
Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 53410

Loss
After repairs at New York Navy Yard in August, the ship sailed to Hampton Roads, and departed on 23 November 1877 for a scientific cruise on the coast of Cuba. Soon after her departure, Huron ran aground[2] off Nags Head, North Carolina in heavy weather, and was wrecked shortly after 1 a.m. next morning. For a time, her crew worked in relatively little danger, attempting to free their ship, but she soon heeled over, carrying 98 officers and men to their deaths. Of the fatalities 83 remains were recovered and buried; of which the remains of 8 officers and 61 men were identified while 14 others who could not be identified.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Huron_(1875)
http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/09943.htm
 
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