| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Air Balloon |
| Namesake | Montgolfier Brothers' 1783 hot air balloon |
| Launched | 1784, Hull [1] |
| Captured | 9 September 1797 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 224, [2] or 400 [1] (bm) |
Air Balloon was launched in 1784 at Hull. She traded between Hull and Petersburg until a French privateer captured her in 1797.
Air Balloon first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1784. [1] [lower-alpha 1]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1784 | R.Metcalf John Briggs William Moony | M.Metcalf | Hull–Peterburg | LR |
| 1797 | Farthing R.Metcalf | M.Metcalf | Hull–Peterburg | LR; damages repaired 1785, & repairs 1793 & 1797 |
On 9 September 1797, the French privateer lugger Hawk, of 10 guns and six swivel guns, captured Air Balloon, Metcalf, master, some 14 leagues off the Naze. [lower-alpha 2] Air Balloon was on her way back to Hull from Petersburg with a cargo of iron, deals, and flax. Hawk was two days out of Dordt, and had not taken anything prior to capturing Air Balloon. The French took Metcalf and his crew, all but his mate and a boy, aboard their lugger and sailed for Calais. However a gale came up and the French could not get into Calais. They threw seven of their guns overboard and with great difficulty made it into the Texel. [4] Her captor sent Air Balloon into Norway. [5] [lower-alpha 3]
Jean Bart may refer to one of the following ships of the French Navy or privateers named in honour of Jean Bart, a French naval commander and privateer.
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His Majesty's hired armed vessel Marechal de Cobourg served the British Royal Navy under contract during the French Revolutionary Wars. Contemporary records also referred to her as Marshall de Cobourg, Marshall Cobourg, Marshall Cobourg, Marquis Cobourg, Marquis de Cobourg, Cobourg, Coborg, and Saxe Cobourg. Further adding to the difficulty in tracking her through the records, is that although she was originally a cutter, later the Navy converted her to a brig.
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HMS Eugenie was the French privateer Nouvelle Eugénie, launched at Nantes in 1796 that the British Royal Navy captured in 1797 and took into service. As a brig-sloop she served in the Channel, primarily escorting convoys, and was sold in 1803.
Adolphe was a lugger launched at Dieppe in 1803. She made several cruises as a French privateer and captured numerous prizes until January 1807 when the British captured her.
Commerce was launched at Liverpool in 1791. She was initially a West Indiaman. New owners in 1795 sent Commerce to the southern whale fishery in 1796. The Spanish captured her in 1797, but by 1799 she had returned to British ownership. She then traded generally until a French privateer captured her in 1805.
Harpooner was launched at Liverpool in 1771. In 1778 she became a privateer. She captured at least two French merchantmen before a French privateer captured her in January 1780. She became the French privateer Comptesse of Buzanisis, which the Royal Navy recaptured. Harpooner returned to online records in 1782, and in 1783 became the slave ship Trelawney, which then made two complete voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was no longer listed after 1786.
HMS Royalist was launched in 1807. She captured many privateers and letters of marque, most French, but also some from Denmark and the United States. Her crew twice were awarded the Naval General Service Medal. She was instrumental in the capture of a French frigate. The Royal Navy sold her in 1819. She then became a whaler, making three complete voyages. She was condemned after a mishap while on her fourth.
Camilla was built in France in 1799 and was taken in prize by the British. Camillia first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1800 with Caitchern, master, Swane & Co., owners, and trade London–Barbados. Captain Robert Hunter Caitchion acquired a letter of marque on 20 August 1800.
Defiance was launched in Hamburg in 1790, probably under another name. She started sailing as a slave ship out of London in 1795. Between 1795 and 1800 she made three voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She then left that trade but a French privateer captured her late in 1800.
Duchess of Rutland was launched in 1786 in Dublin. She carried passengers between England and Ireland. In 1793 she apparently transferred to Liverpool and sailed from there as a West Indiaman. She was on a voyage to Barbados when a French privateer captured her in 1797.
Battalion was launched at Whitby in 1795. She traded with the Baltic and then in 1796 became a Liverpool-based West Indiaman. A French privateer captured her in 1797 in a single ship action as Battalion was outbound on her first voyage to Jamaica. The Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. She was last listed in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1797.
Gibraltar was launched in 1776 in France, almost certainly under another name. Between 1787 and 1795, she was a whaler in the northern whale (Greenland) fishery. A French privateer captured her in February 1796 as she was on her way to the fishery, and burnt her. Her loss led the British government to increase the protection of the outward-bound whaling fleet.
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Oiseau was a privateer brig from Nantes, commissioned in May 1797. She had a short, but highly successful career. In her three to four months of cruising, before the Royal Navy captured her, Oiseau's captured eight prizes, seven of which were not recaptured. Her first prize required a single ship action. Her prizes had a cumulative value of Livres 1,168,150.
HMS Albatross was the name vessel of her class of brig-sloops. She was built of fir and launched in 1796. She captured two privateers in the North Sea. She then sailed to the Far East. There she captured two French privateers in single-ship actions. She was sold in the Far East in 1807 and broken up in 1810.