HMS Viper (1807)

For other ships with the same name, see Princess Charlotte (ship) and HMS Viper.

History
United Kingdom
Name	Princess Charlotte
Builder	Cowes
Launched	1805
Fate	Sold 1807
United Kingdom
Acquired	1807 by purchase
Fate	Foundered February 1809
General characteristics [1]
Tons burthen	81 (bm)
Length	57 ft 10 in (17.6 m) (Keel)
Beam	18 ft 7 in (5.7 m)
Depth of hold	8 ft 5 in (2.6 m)
Sail plan	Schooner
Complement	25
Armament	4 × 12-pounder carronades

HMS Viper was launched at Cowes in 1805 as the mercantile schooner Princess Charlotte. The Royal Navy purchased her in 1807. Lieutenant William Towning commissioned her. On 9 (or 18) February 1809 she sailed from Cadiz for Gibraltar. She never arrived and was presumed to have foundered with all hands. ^{[1] [2]}

She was carrying as a passenger Robert Arbuthnot, the former Chief Secretary in Ceylon. ^[3]

Citations

1. Winfield (2008), p. 371.
2. Hepper (1994), p. 128.
3. "MARINE INTELLIGENCE". 14 February 1810, Aberdeen Journal (Aberdeen, Scotland) Issue: 3240.

References

• Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650–1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN   0-948864-30-3.
• Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN   978-1-86176-246-7.