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Class overview | |
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Name | Amazon class of 1795 |
Operators | Royal Navy |
General characteristics | |
Type | Fifth-rate frigate |
Tons burthen | 925 87⁄94 (bm) |
Length | |
Beam | 38 ft 2 in (11.6 m) |
Depth of hold | 13 ft 6 in (4 m) |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Complement | 264 |
Armament |
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The Amazon-class frigates of 1795 were a set of four 36-gun sailing frigates built for the Royal Navy and designed by William Rule. The first pair were constructed from oak and launched in July 1795. A second pair had already been ordered in January that year, to be made from pitch pine, one launched in February and the other in March of 1796. All four carried a main battery of twenty-six 18-pounder (8.2 kg) long guns. They served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars although the first of the class, HMS Amazon, only lasted until 1796, being sank in an action on 13 January with the French ship-of-the-line, Droits de l'Homme. HMS Emerald on the other hand was not broken up until 1836.
The Amazon-class frigates of 1795 were a set of four 36-gun sailing frigates built for the Royal Navy and designed by William Rule. Frigates of the period were three-masted, full-rigged ships that carried their main battery on a single, continuous gun deck. They were smaller and faster than ships of the line and primarily intended for raiding, reconnaissance and messaging. [1] [2] Since late 1778, those of 36 or 38 guns with a main armament of 18-pounder long guns, had become the standard in the Royal Navy and by 1793, when the French Revolutionary War began, it was not unusual for them to be close to 1000 tons burthen (bm). [3]
Rule's original Amazon class were 32-gun, 12-pounder, frigates of 677 tons builder's old measurement (bm), built between 1771 and 1782. [4] In need of a larger frigate, in 1794, the Admiralty asked for a 36-gun, 18-pounder version. The new class of ship was to be 143 ft 0 in (44 m) along the gundeck,119 ft 6 in (36 m) at the keel, with a beam of 38 ft 2 in (12 m) and a depth in hold of 13 ft 6 in (4 m); making it 925 87⁄94 bm. [5] Carrying a main battery of twenty-six 18 pounders (8.2 kilograms) long guns on the gundeck, eight 9 pdr (4.1 kg) on the quarterdeck and two on the forecastle, the new vessels would also have eight 32 pdr (14.5 kg) carronades on the upperworks; two on the forecastle and six on the quarterdeck. [lower-alpha 1] Carronades were lighter so could be manoeuvred with fewer men, and had a faster rate of fire but had a much shorter range than the long gun. [8] The new frigates would have a complement of 264 when fully manned. [5]
The first two, HMS Amazon and Emerald were ordered on 24 May 1794, and were to be built of oak. The second pair, HMS Trent and Glenmore were ordered on 24 January 1795 but these were to be constructed of pitch pine. [5] The shortage of timber, and in particular oak, was a constant problem for the Royal Navy in the 18th and 19th centuries. [9] Softwoods were easier to work and did not require as much seasoning so fir-built frigates could be produced quicker. [10] [11] They were not as strong however, and did not last as long as their oak-built counterparts. [12] Being lighter, they floated higher in the water, unless additional ballast was added, and this made them faster, although with a tendency to fall to leeward. [10] The Trent and Glenmore were identical in design to the hardwood ships except for the stern which was built with a square tuck. [lower-alpha 2] [10]
Originally intended as a series of four, by the time the first of the 1795 class had been launched on 4 July, Rule had already drawn up plans for HMS Naiad, an expanded version which was larger at 1,013 tons (bm), had a complement of 284 men and carried 38 guns. [5] A third design was unveiled in 1796, also with 38 guns but larger still at 1,038 tons (bm) and with a crew of 300 men. Two were ordered, HMS Amazon in April 1796 and HMS Hussar in February 1797. [13] [5]
Ships of the 1795 class and HMS Naiad for comparison [5] | |||||
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HMS Amazon | HMS Emerald | HMS Trent | HMS Glenmore | HMS Naiad | |
Ordered | 24 May 1794 | 24 May 1794 | 24 January 1795 | 24 January 1795 | 30 April 1795 |
Laid down | June 1794 | June 1794 | March 1795 | March 1795 | September 1795 |
Launched | 4 July 1795 | 31 July 1795 | 24 February 1796 | 24 March 1796 | 27 February 1797 |
Length (gundeck) | 143 ft 2+1⁄2 in (43.6 m) | 143 ft 2+1⁄2 in (43.6 m) | 143 ft 0 in (43.6 m) | 143 ft 0 in (43.6 m) | 147 ft 0 in (44.8 m) |
Length (keel) | 119 ft 5+1⁄2 in (36.4 m) | 119 ft 5+1⁄2 in (36.4 m) | 119 ft 6 in (36.4 m) | 119 ft 6 in (36.4 m) | 122 ft 6+1⁄4 in (37.3 m) |
Beam | 38 ft 4 in (11.7 m) | 38 ft 4 in (11.7 m) | 38 ft 2 in (11.6 m) | 38 ft 2 in (11.6 m) | 39 ft 6+1⁄2 in (12.1 m) |
Depth in hold | 13 ft 6 in (4 m) | 13 ft 6 in (4 m) | 13 ft 6 in (4 m) | 13 ft 6 in (4 m) | 13 ft 9 in (4.2 m) |
Tons burthen (BM) | 933 87⁄94 | 933 87⁄94 | 925 87⁄94 | 925 87⁄94 | 1,018 91⁄94 |
Amazon had a short but eventful career during the French Revolutionary War, which she spent in the Channel and Western Approaches, part of a frigate squadron under Sir Edward Pellew. She was wrecked in Audierne Bay in 1797, following an action on 13 January with the French ship-of-the-line, Droits de l'Homme. [5]
First commissioned for Admiral John Jervis's fleet in the Mediterranean. [5] In 1797, Emerald was one of several vessels sent to hunt down and capture the crippled Santisima Trinidad, which had escaped from the British at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. [14] Emerald was supposed to have been present at the Battle of the Nile but in May 1798 a storm separated her from Horatio Nelson's squadron and she arrived in Aboukir Bay nine days too late. [15] She was part of Rear-Admiral John Thomas Duckworth's squadron during the action of 7 April 1800 off Cádiz. [16] Emerald served in the Caribbean throughout 1803 in Samuel Hood's fleet, then took part in the invasion of St Lucia in July, [17] and of Surinam the following spring. [18] [5] Returning to home waters for repairs in 1806, she served in the Western Approaches before joining a fleet under Admiral James Gambier in 1809, and taking part in the Battle of the Basque Roads. [5] In November 1811 she sailed to Portsmouth where she was laid up in ordinary. Fitted out as a receiving ship in 1822, she was eventually broken up in January 1836. [5]
First commissioned in March 1796 for service in the North Sea, [5] Trent was briefly involved in the fleet mutinies of 1797, when her crew refused to set sail from Great Yarmouth on 22 May. They returned to duty when Admiral Adam Duncan's flagship came alongside and threatened to open fire. When Duncan sailed to meet the Dutch fleet, Trent was one of only four loyal ships that went with him, and kept the enemy in port by making signals to a fleet that did not exist. [19] In November, Trent sailed for the Leeward Islands where, on 30 March 1799, she and the 10-gun cutter HMS Sparrow captured a Spanish ship and schooner in a cutting out expedition off Puerto Rico. Two other schooners were scuttled by their Spanish crews during the battle. [20] In October 1800, while serving in the Channel, Trent's crew took part in another boat action when they boarded a cutter and a lugger off the Ile de Brehat. [21]
Trent spent her last years as a fifth rate, in the West Indies. She returned home in June 1803, to be fitted as a hospital ship. Stationed at Cork, she served as flagship to the Commanders-in-chief on the Coast of Ireland Station. In November 1815, she was converted to a receiving ship. She remained at Cork until February 1823, when she was taken to Haulbowline and broken up. [5]
Captain George Duff was first to commission Glenmore in April 1796. [5] She served initially in the North Sea, joining Admiral Adam Duncan's fleet in July. [22] In May 1797, she left Duncan for service in the Channel. On arrival at Spithead, the ship's crew revolted in support of the fleet mutiny which was already in progress there. [23] The dispute was resolved on 16 May and Glenmore was reassigned to the Irish station. [24] While there, Glenmore played a part in suppressing the Irish Rebellion of 1798; her crew taking part in a boat action against rebel outposts near Wexford. [25]
While escorting a large convoy to the West Indies in December 1799, Glenmore and another frigate, Aimable, encountered two French vessels, French frigate Sirène and French corvette Bergère, and the recently captured East Indiaman Calcutta. After a 35-minute engagement, Amiable had driven off the French warships while Glenmore recaptured Calcutta. [26]
During a refit at Plymouth in March 1800, the naval architect Robert Seppings introduced, as an experiment, diagonal trusses that reduced hogging. [27] Glenmore was subjected to another mutiny in May 1801, precipitated by a change of captain. The new commander was not popular, a much stricter disciplinarian who ordered up to five times as many floggings as his predecessor, and the crew felt that most of the punishments were excessive or unwarranted. [28] Two of the ringleaders were court-martialled and hanged the following October. [28] Three others stood trial but were released after the charge was not proven. [29]
Glenmore continued to serve on the Irish Station until the Treaty of Amiens was ratified in March 1802, afterwhich she served as a troopship for soldiers returning from the continent. She was later fitted as a receiving ship at Plymouth and remained there in ordinary until sold in 1814. [5]
HMS Indefatigable was one of the Ardent-class 64-gun third-rate ships-of-the-line designed by Sir Thomas Slade in 1761 for the Royal Navy. She was built as a ship-of-the-line, but most of her active service took place after her conversion to a 44-gun razee frigate. She had a long career under several distinguished commanders, serving throughout the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. She took some 27 prizes, alone or in company, and the Admiralty authorised the issue of four clasps to the Naval General Service Medal in 1847 to any surviving members of her crews from the respective actions. She was broken up in 1816.
HMS Hannibal was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 15 April 1786, named after the Carthaginian general Hannibal. She is best known for having taken part in the Algeciras Campaign, and for having run aground during the First Battle of Algeciras on 5 July 1801, which resulted in her capture. She then served in the French Navy until she was broken up in 1824.
HMS Amazon, was a 36-gun Amazon-class frigate, built at Rotherhithe in 1795 to a design by Sir William Rule. Carrying a main battery of 18-pounder long guns, she was the first of a class of four frigates. She had a short but eventful career during the French Revolutionary War, which she spent in the Channel and Western Approaches, part of a frigate squadron under Sir Edward Pellew. She was wrecked in Audierne Bay in 1797, following an action on 13 January with the French ship-of-the-line, Droits de l'Homme.
HMS Pique was a 38-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She had formerly served with the French Navy, initially as the Fleur-de-Lys, and later as the Pique. HMS Blanche captured her in 1795 in a battle that left the Blanche's commander, Captain Robert Faulknor, dead. HMS Pique was taken into service under her only British captain, David Milne, but served for just three years with the Royal Navy before being wrecked in an engagement with the French ship Seine in 1798. The Seine had been spotted heading for a French port and Pique and another British ship gave chase. All three ships ran aground after a long and hard-fought pursuit. The arrival of a third British ship ended French resistance, but while the Seine and Jason were both refloated, attempts to save Pique failed; she bilged and had to be abandoned.
HMS Amazon was a 38-gun fifth-rate Amazon-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars under several notable naval commanders and played a key role in the Battle of Copenhagen under Edward Riou, who commanded the frigate squadron during the attack. After Riou was killed during the battle, command briefly devolved to John Quilliam. Quilliam made a significant impression on Horatio Nelson, who appointed Quilliam to serve on the flagship HMS Victory. Amazon passed to William Parker, who continued the association with Nelson with service in the Mediterranean and participation in the chase to the West Indies during the Trafalgar Campaign. Amazon went on to join Sir John Borlase Warren's squadron in the Atlantic and took part in the defeat of Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois's forces at the action of 13 March 1806. During the battle, she hunted down and captured the 40-gun frigate Belle Poule.
The action of 19 December 1796 was a minor naval engagement of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought in the last stages of the Mediterranean campaign between two British Royal Navy frigates and two Spanish Navy frigates off the coast of Murcia. The British squadron was the last remaining British naval force in the Mediterranean, sent to transport the British garrison of Elba to safety under the command of Commodore Horatio Nelson. The Spanish under Commodore Don Jacobo Stuart were the vanguard of a much larger squadron. One Spanish frigate was captured and another damaged before Spanish reinforcements drove the British off and recaptured the lost ship.
The action of 13 October 1796 was a minor naval engagement of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought off the Mediterranean coast of Spain near Cartagena between the British Royal Navy 32-gun frigate HMS Terpsichore under Captain Richard Bowen and the Spanish Navy 34-gun frigate Mahonesa under Captain Tomás de Ayalde. The action was the first battle of the Anglo-Spanish War, coming just eight days after the Spanish declaration of war. In a battle lasting an hour and forty minutes, Mahonesa was captured.
The action of 26 April 1797 was a minor naval engagement during the French Revolutionary Wars in which a Spanish convoy of two frigates was trapped and defeated off the Spanish town of Conil de la Frontera by British ships of the Cadiz blockade. The British vessels, the ship of the line HMS Irresistible and the Fifth-rate frigate HMS Emerald, were significantly more powerful than the Spanish frigates, which were on the last stage of a voyage carrying treasure from Havana, Cuba, to the Spanish fleet base of Cadiz.
HMS Crescent was a 36-gun Flora-class frigate of the British Royal Navy. Launched in 1784, she spent the first years of her service on blockade duty in the English Channel where she single-handedly captured the French frigate, La Reunion. In 1795, Crescent was part of a squadron commanded by George Elphinstone, that forced the surrender of a Batavian Navy squadron at the capitulation of Saldanha Bay. After serving in the West Indies, Crescent returned to home waters and was wrecked off the coast of Jutland on 6 December 1808.
HMSEmerald was a 36-gun Amazon-class fifth rate frigate that Sir William Rule designed in 1794 for the Royal Navy. The Admiralty ordered her construction towards the end of May 1794 and work began the following month at Northfleet dockyard. She was completed on 12 October 1795 and joined Admiral John Jervis's fleet in the Mediterranean.
HMS Aigle was a 36-gun, fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Ordered on 15 September 1799 and built at Bucklers Hard shipyard, she was launched 23 September 1801. More than fifty of her crew were involved in the Easton Massacre when she visited Portland in April 1803 to press recruits. Her captain and three other officers stood trial for murder but were acquitted. Much of Aigle's career as a frigate was spent trying to keep the English Channel free of enemy warships and merchant vessels. On 22 March 1808, she was first into the action against two large French frigates, compelling one to seek the shelter of the Île de Groix batteries and forcing the other onto the shore.
HMS Romulus was a 36-gun fifth rate frigate of the Flora class, built for the Royal Navy and launched in September 1785. At the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War, Romulus was despatched to the Mediterranean where she joined a fleet under Admiral Lord Hood, initially blockading, and later occupying, the port of Toulon. She played an active role during the withdrawal in December, providing covering fire while HMS Robust and HMS Leviathan removed allied troops from the waterfront.
Velters Cornewall Berkeley (1754–1804) was an officer in the Royal Navy. He served in both the American and French Revolutionary Wars but never rose above the rank of Captain. He died at his home in Oxford in 1804, aged 50.
HMS Glenmore was a 36-gun Amazon-class frigate designed by William Rule for the Royal Navy. Tweed had been the intended name when she was laid down in March of 1795 but this was changed before her launch in March 1796. A fifth rate, the ship carried a main battery of twenty-six 18-pounder (8.2-kilogram) long guns on her gun deck.
HMS Triton was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy designed by James Gambier and launched in 1796 at Deptford. Triton was an experimental ship and the only one built to that design; she was constructed out of fir due to wartime supply shortages of more traditional materials and had some unusual features such as no tumblehome. Her namesake was the Greek god Triton, a god of the sea. She was commissioned in June 1796 under Captain John Gore, with whom she would spend the majority of her active service, to serve in the Channel in the squadron of Sir John Warren.
HMS Sylph was a 16-gun Albatross-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy designed by William Rule and launched in 1795 at Deptford Dockyard. Her namesake was the air spirit sylph. She commissioned in August 1795 under Commander John Chambers White, who would have her until the end of 1799. She was later commanded by Charles Dashwood.
HMS Artois was a fifth-rate Artois-class frigate of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir John Henslow and launched in 1794 at Rotherhithe as the lead ship of her class. She served for the majority of her career in the English Channel under the command of Edmund Nagle in the squadrons of Edward Pellew and John Borlase Warren, notably taking part in the action of 21 October 1794 where she captured the 44-gun frigate La Révolutionnaire almost singlehandedly. She participated in a number of other actions and events including the attempted invasion of France in 1795. Artois continued to serve actively on the coast of France in blockade and patrolling roles, taking a large number of ships as prizes, until she was wrecked with no loss of life off Île de Ré on 31 July 1797 while attempting to reconnoitre the harbour of La Rochelle.
HMS Beaulieu was a 40-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The ship was laid down in 1790 as a speculative build by the shipwright Henry Adams and purchased by the Royal Navy in June of the same year. Built to the dimensions of a merchant ship, Beaulieu was broader, with more storage capacity, than a standard frigate; though may not have had good sailing qualities. The frigate was commissioned in January 1793 by Lord Northesk and sent to serve on the Leeward Islands Station. She participated in the capture of Martinique in February 1794, and then was similarly present at the capture of the island of Saint Lucia in April. The frigate also took part in the initial stages of the invasion of Guadeloupe. Later in the year the ship's crew was beset by yellow fever and much depleted. Beaulieu was sent to serve on the North America Station to allow them to recuperate, returning to the Leeward Islands in 1795. In the following two years the ship found success in prizetaking and briefly took part in more operations at Saint Lucia. She returned to Britain at the end of 1796.
HMS Hussar was a 38-gun fifth-rate Amazon-class frigate of the Royal Navy. Launched at the end of 1799, the entirety of the frigate's career was spent serving in the English Channel and off the coast of Spain. Hussar primarily served as a convoy escort and cruiser, in which occupation the frigate took several prizes, including the French privateer Le General Bessieres. Towards the end of 1803 Hussar was sent to serve in Sir Edward Pellew's Ferrol squadron. On 8 February 1804 Hussar was returning to England with dispatches when the ship was wrecked off the coast of Île de Sein. The crew attempted to sail for home in a fleet of commandeered boats, but the majority were forced to go into Brest to avoid sinking in bad weather, where they were made prisoners of war.
HMS Trent was a fifth-rate sailing frigate of 36 guns, built for the Royal Navy and launched in February 1796. She carried a main battery of twenty-six 18-pounder (8.2-kilogram) long guns. She and her sister ship HMS Glenmore were constructed from pitch pine rather than oak.