French corvette Aréthuse (1799)
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| Career (France) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Aréthuse |
| Namesake: | Arethusa |
| Builder: | Basse-Indre |
| Laid down: | October 1797 |
| Launched: | 29 April 1798 |
| Captured: | by HMS Excellent, 10 October 1799 |
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
| Name: | HMS Raven |
| Acquired: | 10 October 1799 |
| Fate: | Wrecked on 6 July 1804 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Aréthuse class corvette |
| Displacement: | 250 tonnes |
| Length: | 31.2 metres |
| Beam: | 8.9 metres |
| Draught: | 3.8 metres |
| Armament: | 18 8-pounder long guns |
For other ships of the same name, see French ship Aréthuse and HMS Raven.
The Aréthuse was a corvette of the French Navy, lead ship of her class, and launched in April 1798.
French service
Aréthuse served between France and the Caribbean.
On 9 October 1799, she met with the 74-gun HMS Excellent, who chase her. Aréthuse attempted to flee but part of her rigging broke during the night, and Excellent caught on during the night. After a brief fight, Aréthuse struck her colours.
British service
Purchased into Royal Navy service as the brig-sloop HMS Raven[1], she served under Captain Spelman Swaine.
Fate
She was wrecked on shore on the night of 6 July 1804 in Mayara (Mazzara?) Bay on the SW coast of Sicily. Her crew was saved. The court martial on 10 February 1805 admonished the Master for having steered her too near the land.[2]
Sources and references
- Les bâtiments ayant porté le nom d'Aréthuse, netmarine.net
- Gossett, William Patrick (1986). The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900. Mansell. ISBN 0-7201-1816-6.
- Jean-Michel Roche, Dictionnaire de la flotte française de 1671 à nos jours
