HMS Jason (1800)

Last updated

HMS Penelope in 1800 (detail).jpg
Drawing of Jason's sister ship Penelope
History
Naval Ensign of Great Britain (1707-1800).svgGreat Britain
NameHMS Jason
Ordered15 September 1798
Laid downOctober 1798
Launched27 January 1800
Completed28 May 1800
CommissionedMarch 1800
FateWrecked 21 July 1801
General characteristics [1]
Class and type Fifth-rate Penelope-class frigate
Tons burthen1,0529194 (bm)
Length
  • 150 ft 2+12 in (45.8 m) (gundeck)
  • 125 ft 5 in (38.2 m) (keel)
Beam39 ft 8+34 in (12.1 m)
Draught
  • 10 ft 5 in (3.2 m) (forwards)
  • 14 ft 5 in (4.4 m) (aft)
Depth of hold13 ft 0+34 in (4 m)
PropulsionSails
Complement274
Armament
  • UD: 26 × 18-pounder guns
  • QD: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 10 × 32-pounder carronades
  • Fc: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 4 × 32-pounder carronades

HMS Jason was a 36-gun fifth-rate Penelope-class frigate, launched in 1800. She served the entirety of her career in the English Channel, mostly in the frigate squadron of Commodore Charles Cunningham. Serving off the coast of France, especially around Le Havre and Cherbourg, she captured several French privateers and recaptured a British merchant ship in a cutting out expedition. Having only been in commission for around fifteen months, Jason was wrecked off the coast of St Malo on 21 July 1801. Her crew were saved and later exchanged, and in August her wreck was burned to prevent the French from rescuing it.

Contents

Design and construction

Jason was a 36-gun, 18-pounder, fifth-rate Penelope-class frigate, designed by Sir John Henslow on 4 May 1797. [2] [2] She was one of three ships of the class to be built. [3] They were the largest 36-gun frigates designed by the British during the French Revolutionary War. [4] This large size came about, despite them not being the most heavily armed frigates of the period, because there was a need in the blockading fleets in the English Channel for large, tough frigates that would be able to survive the rough weather that placed considerable stress on the timbers of ships. Fast frigates that had necessarily been built lighter were found to not operate well in these conditions, and so speed was sacrificed for strength specifically for these services. [2]

Ordered to George Parsons' shipyard at Bursledon on 15 September 1798, Jason was laid down in October, named on 15 November, and launched on 27 January 1800 with the following dimensions: [Note 1] 150 feet 2+12 inches (45.8 m) along the upper deck, 125 feet 5 inches (38.2 m) at the keel, with a beam of 39 feet 8+34 inches (12.1 m) and a depth in the hold of 13 feet 0+34 inch (4 m). [6] Her draught was 10 feet 5 inches (3.2 m) forwards and 14 feet 5 inches (4.4 m) aft, with the ship measuring 1,0529194 tons burthen (the average 36-gun frigate was only 950 tons). [6] [7] Jason was fitted out at Portsmouth Dockyard between 30 January and 28 May. [Note 2] [6]

The frigate was crewed by 274 men; while her class was laid out as holding thirty-six long guns, Jason was instead armed with thirty long guns and fourteen carronades. Twenty-six 18-pounders were held on the upper deck, with two 9-pounders and ten 32-pounder carronades on the quarterdeck. On the forecastle there were two more 9-pounders and a further four 32-pounder carronades. [3] The carronades took up all the broadside locations on the quarterdeck and forecastle, leaving the four 9-pounders as chase guns. [8]

The original planned armament which favoured more 9-pounders was adjusted to its more carronade-centric focus for Jason on 17 June 1799. [2] This meant she differed considerably from the name-ship of the class, HMS Penelope, which was provided with the standard armament and as such had fewer 32-pounder carronades (eight) and more 9-pounder long guns (eight). [3] The class had actually been designed by Henslow to hold 6-pounders instead of 9-pounders, but this was an oversight on his part, as an Admiralty Order of 25 April 1780 had decreed that all future 36- and 38-gun frigates were to have 9-pounders, and he later corrected his design error, with Jason's build being adjusted on 30 October 1798. [2]

Service

Jason was commissioned mid-way through her fitting out process, in March 1800, by Captain Joseph Sydney Yorke. [6] She sailed from Portsmouth Dockyard on 28 May, the same day the process was completed. [9] Jason later on sailed as escort to a convoy of ships headed for Botany Bay and the East Indies, but with the wind against them they spent almost the entirety of November sheltering at Cowes; the convoy finally sailed on 19 November. [10] [11] Having returned from this duty, Jason began to serve in the English Channel as part of a squadron of eight frigates commanded by Commodore Charles Cunningham, frequently sailing on cruises out of Portsmouth. [12] [13] She captured the French 14-gun privateer La Venus off Cherbourg on 18 January 1801. [2] [6] [12] In early March she detained the Danish brig Bontine while sailing with the 46-gun frigate HMS Loire, taking the vessel in to Portsmouth. [14] Jason and Loire returned to sea on 14 March; at some point under Yorke Jason also captured the French privateer Le Poisson Volant. [15] [16]

By the beginning of April Yorke had left Jason, and he was temporarily replaced by Lieutenant Woodley Losack who served as her acting captain. [6] Serving off Le Havre, on 1 April Jason and the 28-gun frigate HMS Lapwing chased two French frigates that had escaped the port, but the French ships reached Cherbourg before they could be caught. [17] [18] Staying in consort with Lapwing, the two frigates recaptured the British merchant vessel Trafficker on 2 April; she had been taken into Cherbourg by her French capturer, and from there Jason and Lapwing cut her out. [15] [19] [20] On 15 April Jason detained the Danish merchant vessel Hoffnung, sending her in to Plymouth. [21] She then captured the French 14-gun privateer Le Dovad on 1 May. Soon afterwards Losack's acting command came to an end, and he handed Jason over to Captain Volant Vashon Ballard later in the month. [6] Ballard was ordered to take Jason cruising, but no prizes are recorded as being taken during this time, with the ship also involved in convoy protection duties. [6] [22]

Captain the Honourable John Murray replaced Ballard in around July of the same year, and Jason continued to serve in the English Channel. On 21 July the frigate was wrecked on a rock off St Malo. [Note 3] [9] [6] The weather at the time of the incident was good, described by historian Terence Grocott as a "beautiful day", and the entire crew was saved with help from the local French population. Jason however was irrecoverable, and Murray and the rest of her crew were taken as prisoners of war. [23]

Jason was still a part of Cunningham's squadron, and the commodore organised for her crew to be exchanged at Portsmouth soon afterwards. [24] Jason was still grounded on 5 August, but with the French making efforts to recover the frigate and her armament, Lieutenant Ross of the 16-gun brig-sloop HMS Weazle made an attempt to burn her wreck. He was forced to abort this because of the rising tide that made setting a fire impossible. [23] On the following day Cunningham sent in more boats to assist in the destruction, this time commanded by Lieutenant William Mounsey with assistance from two gun-brigs, the 12-gun HMS Insolent and 14-gun HMS Liberty. The boats succeeded in burning Jason where she lay, while under fire from two French batteries. [Note 4] [23] [27] [26] Having been exchanged, Murray was court martialled for the loss of Jason on 20 August, but he and his officers were acquitted. [28]

Prizes

Vessels captured or destroyed for which Jason's crew received full or partial credit
DateShipNationalityTypeFateRef.
18 January 1801La Venus Flag of France.svg French14-gun privateerCaptured [6]
March 1801Bontine Flag of Denmark.svg DanishMerchant brigDetained [14]
2 April 1801Trafficker Flag of the United Kingdom.svg BritishMerchant vesselRecaptured [15]
15 April 1801Hoffnung Flag of Denmark.svg DanishMerchant vesselDetained [21]
Before May 1801Le Poisson Volant Flag of France.svg FrenchPrivateerCaptured [15]
1 May 1801Le Dovad Flag of France.svg French14-gun privateerCaptured [6]

Notes and citations

Notes

  1. Jason was ordered as part of a batch of 36-gun frigates, with the Apollo-class HMS Apollo and Aigle-class HMS Aigle ordered on the same day. [5]
  2. No initial cost is recorded for Jason, but her sister ship HMS Penelope cost £21,133 including fittings. [3]
  3. Naval historian Rif Winfield instead dates the wreck as 24 July. [6]
  4. The French had been readying two frigates, a corvette, and eight gunboats to go out to Jason's wreck, but she was burned before they were able to set sail. [25] [26]

Citations

  1. Winfield (2008), pp. 365–366.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gardiner (1994), p. 56.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Winfield (2008), p. 365.
  4. Winfield (2008), p. 367.
  5. Gardiner (1994), p. 69.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Winfield (2008), p. 366.
  7. Lavery (2005), p. 50.
  8. Gardiner (1994), p. 103.
  9. 1 2 Gardiner (1994), p. 58.
  10. "Southampton". Hampshire Chronicle. Hampshire, England. 3 November 1800.
  11. "Southampton". Hampshire Chronicle. Hampshire, England. 24 November 1800.
  12. 1 2 Wareham (1999), p. 304.
  13. "Ship News". Morning Post. London, England. 23 February 1801.
  14. 1 2 "Ship News". Morning Post. London, England. 9 March 1801.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Wareham (1999), p. 158.
  16. "London". Morning Post. London, England. 16 March 1801.
  17. "Portsmouth". Hampshire Chronicle. Hampshire, England. 7 April 1801.
  18. "The Two French Frigates". Morning Post. London, England. 10 April 1801.
  19. "Ship News". Morning Post. London, England. 9 April 1801.
  20. "No. 15249". The London Gazette . 21 November 1801. p. 1404.
  21. 1 2 "Plymouth". Morning Post. London, England. 18 April 1801.
  22. Gardiner (2000), p. 187.
  23. 1 2 3 Grocott (2002), p. 113.
  24. Marshall (1824), p. 80.
  25. Marshall (1824), p. 81.
  26. 1 2 Marshall (1828), p. 23.
  27. Marshall (1824), pp. 80–81.
  28. "Saturday, August 22". Morning Post. London, England. 22 August 1801.

Related Research Articles

HMS <i>Glatton</i> (1795) British ship of the line (1792–1830)

HMS Glatton was a 56-gun fourth rate of the Royal Navy. Wells & Co. of Blackwell launched her on 29 November 1792 for the British East India Company (EIC) as the East Indiaman Glatton. The Royal Navy bought her in 1795 and converted her into a warship. Glatton was unusual in that for a time she was the only ship-of-the-line that the Royal Navy had armed exclusively with carronades. She served in the North Sea and the Baltic, and as a transport for convicts to Australia. She then returned to naval service in the Mediterranean. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars the Admiralty converted her to a water depot at Sheerness. In 1830 the Admiralty converted Glatton to a breakwater and sank her at Harwich.

Vénus was a corvette of the French Navy that the British captured in 1800. Renamed HMS Scout, she served briefly in the Channel before being wrecked in 1801, a few days after taking a major prize.

HMS <i>Seine</i> (1798) Frigate of the Royal Navy

Seine was a 38-gun French Seine-class frigate that the Royal Navy captured in 1798 and commissioned as the fifth-rate HMS Seine. On 20 August 1800, Seine captured the French ship Vengeance in a single ship action that would win for her crew the Naval General Service Medal. Seine's career ended in 1803 when she hit a sandbank near the Texel.

HMS <i>Vengeance</i> (1800) French and UK naval sailing frigate 1794–1814

HMS Vengeance was originally the 48-gun French Navy frigate Vengeance and lead ship of her class. She engaged USS Constellation during the Quasi-War, in an inconclusive engagement that left both ships heavily damaged. During the French Revolutionary Wars, HMS Seine hunted Vengeance down and captured her after a sharp action. She was recommissioned in the Royal Navy as the 38-gun fifth rate HMS Vengeance, but the British apparently never returned her to seagoing service. Accounts are divided as to her eventual fate. She may have been broken up in 1803 after grounding in 1801, or continued as a prison ship until 1814.

HMS <i>Amazon</i> (1799) British lead ship of Amazon-class

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.

HMS Resource was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1778 and sold for breaking up in 1816.

HMS <i>Pallas</i> (1757) British fifth-rate frigate (1757–1783)

HMS Pallas was one of the three 36-gun Venus-class fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1757 and initially served in Sir Edward Hawke's fleet blockading the coast of France where she fought at the Raid on Cherbourg and in the Battle of Bishops Court. She later served for a number of years in the Mediterranean Sea before moving to serve off the coast of Africa between 1774 and 1776 where she protected the isolated British colonies. In 1778 she joined the Newfoundland Station and participated in the attack on Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Pallas returned to the English Channel after this and assisted in destroying a French invasion force intended for the Channel Islands in 1779 before briefly serving on the Jamaica Station. In 1783 she was beached on São Jorge Island after she was found to be heavily leaking; she was burned there on 24 February.

HMS <i>Crescent</i> (1784) Frigate of the Royal Navy

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.

HMS <i>Aigle</i> (1801) British Aigle-class fifth-rate frigate

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 <i>Romulus</i> (1785) Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Romulus was a 36-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. At the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, Romulus was despatched to the Mediterranean where she became part of the fleet under 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.

HMS <i>Triton</i> (1796) Experimental frigate of the Royal Navy in service 1796–1814/20

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 <i>Sylph</i> (1795) Brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, in service 1795-1811

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 <i>Caroline</i> (1795) Frigate of the Royal Navy in service 1795–1812

HMS Caroline was a 36-gun fifth-rate Phoebe-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was designed by Sir John Henslow and launched in 1795 at Rotherhithe by John Randall. Caroline was a lengthened copy of HMS Inconstant with improved speed but more instability. The frigate was commissioned in July 1795 under Captain William Luke to serve in the North Sea Fleet of Admiral Adam Duncan. Caroline spent less than a year in the North Sea before being transferred to the Lisbon Station. Here she was tasked to hunt down or interdict French shipping while protecting British merchant ships, with service taking her from off Lisbon to Cadiz and into the Mediterranean Sea. In 1799 the ship assisted in the tracking of the French fleet of Admiral Étienne Eustache Bruix, and in 1800 she participated in the blockade of Cadiz.

<i>Thames</i>-class frigate Frigate class of the Royal Navy

The Thames-class frigate was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate class of eight ships of the Royal Navy based on the Richmond-class frigate designed by William Bately. The ships were ordered to the older design, which was of a smaller type of ship compared to more modern designs, so that they could be built quickly and cheaply in time to assist in defending against Napoleon's expected invasion of Britain. The class received several design changes to the Richmond class, being built of fir instead of oak, with these changes making the class generally slower and less weatherly than their predecessors, especially when in heavy weather conditions. The first two ships of the class, Pallas and Circe, were ordered on 16 March 1804 with two more ordered on 1 May and the final four on 12 July. The final ship of the class, Medea, was cancelled on 22 October before construction could begin but the other seven ships of the class were commissioned between 1804 and 1806.

HMS <i>Beaulieu</i> Royal Navy fifth-rate frigate

HMS Beaulieu was a 40-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The ship was laid down in 1790 as a private enterprise by the shipwright Henry Adams and purchased by the Royal Navy in June of the same year. A well-armed and large ship, Beaulieu was built to the dimensions of a merchant ship and did not have good sailing qualities. Commissioned in January 1793 by Lord Northesk, the frigate was 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 Saint Lucia in April. The frigate also took part in the start 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 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 <i>Hussar</i> (1799) Royal Navy fifth-rate frigate

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.

<i>Perseverance</i>-class frigate Frigate class of the Royal Navy

The Perseverance-class frigate was a 36-gun, later 42-gun, 18-pounder fifth-rate frigate class of twelve ships of the Royal Navy, constructed in two batches. Designed by Surveyor of the Navy Sir Edward Hunt the first iteration, consisting of four ships, was constructed as a rival to the similar Flora-class frigate. Strongly built ships, the Perseverance class provided favourable gunnery characteristics and was highly manoeuvrable, but bought these traits with a loss of speed. The name ship of the class, Perseverance, was ordered in 1779 and participated in the American Revolutionary War, but her three sister ships were constructed too late to take part. The class continued in service after the war, but soon became outdated.

HMS <i>Resistance</i> (1801) Royal Navy fifth-rate frigate

HMS Resistance was a 36-gun fifth-rate Aigle-class frigate of the Royal Navy, one of a pair designed by Sir John Henslow. Resistance was commissioned in May 1801 by Captain Henry Digby, and after brief service in the English Channel the frigate left for Quebec in charge of a convoy. While on voyage Resistance captured the French privateer Elizabeth, which was the last ship captured during the French Revolutionary War. Having returned to England at the end of the year, the frigate resumed service in the English Channel, with Captain Philip Wodehouse replacing Digby. On 31 May 1803 Resistance was sailing to the Mediterranean Sea when she was wrecked off Cape St. Vincent; the crew survived.

<i>Narcissus</i>-class frigate Frigate class of the Royal Navy

The Narcissus-class frigate was a 32-gun, 18-pounder fifth-rate frigate class of five ships of the Royal Navy. Designed by Surveyor of the Navy Sir John Henslow, the class was created to make use of shipyards that could not construct larger frigates. They were similar in design to the preceding 32-gun frigate class, the Amphion class, but were slightly shorter. Two ships were initially constructed, with a later batch of three being ordered in response to an Admiralty request for the resumption of production of proven frigate designs. The final two ships of the class were cancelled when the shipyard they were being constructed at went bankrupt. Unlike her sister ships, the name ship of the class Narcissus was armed with experimental short 24 pounders rather than 18 pounders.

<i>Aigle</i>-class frigate

Aigle-class frigates were 36-gun sailing frigates of the fifth rate designed by Surveyor of the Navy, Sir John Henslow for the Royal Navy. Only two were built: HMS Aigle and HMS Resistance. Aigle was ordered first on 15 September 1798 but a 16-month delay during her construction meant that Resistance was completed and launched first on 29 April 1801.

References