| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Ranger |
| Launched | 1774, Virginia |
| Acquired | 1786 |
| Fate | Wrecked 1797 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 300, or 350 [1] (bm) |
| Armament | 6 × 4-pounder guns (1781–1783) |
Ranger was launched in 1774 in Virginia, possibly under another name. Between at least 1781 and 1786 she was the London transport Thames. Then from 1786 until 1794, she became the Hull-based whaler Ranger. She was wrecked in 1797.
Unavailable issues and missing pages in issues available on line mean that Thames first appeared in Lloyd's Register in 1781. [1]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1781 | J.Moody | Scott & Co. | New York–London London transport | LR |
| 1782 | J.Moody A.M'Larty | Scott & Co. | London transport | LR |
| 1784 | A.M'Iarty | Scott & Co. | London transport | LR |
| 1786 | A.M'Iarty | Scott & Co. | London | LR; thorough repair 1785 |
In 1786 new owners renamed ThamesRanger, and sailed her as a whaler in the Greenland whale fishery.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1786 | John Potts | Towers & Co. | Hull–Greenland | LR; thorough repair 1785 |
| Year | Master | Where | Whales | Tuns blubber | Seals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1786 | Potts | Greenland | 6 (or 8) | 86.25 | 0 (or 149) |
| 1787 | Potts | Greenland | 6 | 86.5 | 0 (or 59 + 2 "sea horses") |
| 1788 | Potts | Greenland | 4 | 28 | 0 |
| 1789 | Potts | Greenland | 1 (or 2) | 16 | 31 |
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1790 | J.Potts | Captain & Co. Gilder & Co. | Hull–Greenland Hull–Baltic | LR; thorough repair 1785 & damages repaired 1790 |
| 1791 | W.Chester J.Potts | Gilder & Co. | Hull–Baltic Hull–Greenland | LR; thorough repair 1785 & damages repaired 1790 |
| 1792 | E.Hall J.Potts | Gilder & Co. | Petersburg–Hull | LR; thorough repair 1785 & damages repaired 1790 |
| 1793 | Illegible M.Newham | Gilder & Co. | Hull–Greenland | LR; thorough repair 1785 & damages repaired 1790 |
| Year | Master | Where | Whales | Tuns blubber | Seals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1791 | Potts | Greenland | |||
| 1792 | Potts | Greenland | 3 | 52.25 | 0 |
| 1793 | 3 | 55.5 | 180 | ||
| 1794 | Newham | Greenland | |||
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1794 | M.Newham | Gilder & Co. | Hull–Greenland | LR; thorough repair 1785, damages repaired 1790, & good repair 1793 |
In January 1797 Lloyd's List reported that Ranger, Potts, master, had run aground at Whitby while coming from Shields. It was expected that she would be lost. [2]
Ranger was last listed in 1797 with data unchanged since 1794.
Several vessels have been named for the Roman deity Mercury:
Britannia may refer to any one of a large number of ships:
The British Royal Navy purchased HMS Shark on the stocks in 1775. She was launched in 1776, and in 1778 converted to a fireship and renamed HMS Salamander. The Navy sold her in 1783. She then became the mercantile Salamander. In the 1780s she was in the northern whale fishery. In 1791 she transported convicts to Australia. She then became a whaling ship in the southern whale fishery for a number of years, before becoming a general transport and then a slave ship. In 1804 the French captured her, but the Royal Navy recaptured her. Although she is last listed in 1811, she does not appear in Lloyd's List (LL) ship arrival and departure (SAD) data after 1804.
Several vessels have been named Thames, for the River Thames:
HMS Ranger was the 14-gun revenue cutter Rose, launched in 1776, that the Royal Navy purchased in 1787, and that the French captured in 1794. The British recaptured her (twice) in 1797 and renamed her HMS Venturer. The Navy sold her in 1803.
A number of sailing ships have been named Queen Charlotte.
Several vessels have been named Harriet, or Harriot:
Butterworth was launched in 1778 in France as the highly successful 32-gun privateer Américaine, of Granville. The British Royal Navy captured her early in 1781. She first appeared in a commercial role in 1784 as America, and was renamed in 1785 as Butterworth. She served primarily as a whaler in the Greenland whale fisheries. New owners purchased her in 1789. She underwent a great repair in 1791 that increased her size by almost 20%. She is most famous for her role in the "Butterworth Squadron", which took her and two ship's tenders on an exploration, sealing, otter fur, and whaling voyage to Alaska and the Pacific Coast of North America. She and her consorts are widely credited with being the first European vessels to enter, in 1794, what is now Honolulu harbour. After her return to England in 1795, Butterworth went on three more whaling voyages to the South Pacific, then Africa, and then the South Pacific again. In 1802 she was outward bound on her fourth of these voyage, this to the South Pacific, when she was lost.
Mather & Co. were three brothers that began in commerce and contracting for the British Royal Navy. They became owners of whalers and between them at one or another time were owners or part-owners of up to 29 vessels that engaged in the British Southern Whale Fishery between 1775 and 1815.
Duckenfield Hall was launched on the Thames in 1783. She spent most of her career trading with the West Indies. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1797 and 1798. In 1819 she became a Greenland whaler. She was wrecked in the Orkney Islands in 1820 while returning from a whaling voyage.
Morse was launched in 1747 for the British Royal Navy, but under another name. After 1775 she was John and Alice (1775), Potomack (1776–1779), Betsy (1780-1781), and then in 1782 Resolution. In 1784 S. Mellish purchased her and she became the whaler Morse. She initially engaged in whale hunting in the British northern whale fishery. Then from 1787 she made numerous voyages as a whaler primarily in the southern whale fishery, but with some returns to the northern fishery. There is no further mention of her in Lloyd's List Ship arrival and departure (SAD) data after August 1802.
Pritzler was built in the United States and came to Great Britain in 1794, or slightly earlier. Between 1796 and 1798 she made a voyage as a whaling ship for Daniel Bennett & Son. She was lost in January 1798 as she was returning from this voyage.
Queen Charlotte was built in France and first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1786, the 1785 issue, if any, not being available on line. She was employed as whaler, in the British northern whale fishery, sailing to Greenland and Davis Strait. From late 1793 she made at least one voyage as a West Indiaman. Although she was last listed in 1796, there is no evidence that she sailed again after late 1794.
Spy was built in France in 1780, almost surely under another name, and taken in prize. The British East India Company (EIC) purchased her in 1781 and used her for almost two years as a fast packet vessel and cruiser based in St Helena. It then sold her and she became a London-based slave ship, making two voyages in the triangular trade carrying enslaved people from West Africa to the West Indies. She then became a whaler, making seven whaling voyages between 1786 and 1795. She was probably wrecked in August 1795 on a voyage as a government transport.
Tartar was built in France in 1778, almost surely under another name. She was taken in prize and appears under British ownership in 1780. After a short career as a privateer, she made a voyage between 1781 and 1783 as an extra East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She then became a whaler in the northern whale fishery. After whaling she traded with the Baltic and then served as a London-based transport. She was probably lost in 1799, and was last listed in 1801. If Tartar is the vessel lost in 1799, in 1796 French warships captured her, but the Royal Navy quickly recaptured her.
A number of vessels have been named Ranger:
Chaser was built in the East Indies in 1778. The Royal Navy purchased her in 1781 and commissioned her as HMS Chaser. A French frigate captured her in 1782 but the Royal Navy recaptured her in 1783 and took her back into service. She was present at a major battle and then sailed to England where the Navy sold her in 1784. As the mercantile Chaser she made five or six voyages as a whaler in the British northern whale fishery and then two to the southern whale fishery. On her way home from the second a French privateer captured her, but some of her crew recaptured her. Next, she began trading with Honduras but was wrecked in late 1795 as she was returning from there to London.