French frigate Magicienne (1778)
 HMS Magicienne and HMS Acasta at the Battle of San Domingo. | |
| Career (France) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Magicienne |
| Namesake: | "Sorceress" |
| Ordered: | 7 February 1777 |
| Builder: | Toulon |
| Laid down: | 6 August 1777 |
| Launched: | 1 August 1778 |
| Commissioned: | October 1778 |
| Captured: | 2 July 1781 |
| Career (UK) |  |
| Name: | HMS Magicienne |
| Acquired: | 2 July 1781 |
| Fate: | Scuttled on 24 August 1810 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Magicienne class frigate |
| Displacement: |
600 tonnes |
| Length: | 44.2 metres |
| Beam: | 11.2 metres |
| Draught: | 5.2 metres (22 French feet) |
| Armament: |
32 guns: |
| Armour: | Timber |
The Magicienne was a frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class.
French service and capture
She served in Orvilliers' fleet, under captain Brun de Boades. She was captured by HMS Chatham on 2 July 1781, and subsequently recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Magicienne [1].
British service
On 2 January 1783, Magicienne, under Thomas Graves, met the Sibylle. The ships fought inconclusively, reducing each other to wrecks before parting.
On 1 November 1796, she captured the French 12-gun brig Cerf Volant (lieutenant Camau), off San Domingo.
On 23 November Captain Sir Richard Strachan in Captain chased a French convoy in to the Morbihan where it sheltered under the protection of shore batteries and a 24-gun corvette. Magicienne was able to force the corvette Réolaise onto the shore at Port Navale. the hired armed cutters Suworow, Nile and Lurcher then towed in boats with a cutting-out party of seamen and marines from Captain and Magicienne. Although the cutting-out party landed under heavy fire of grape and musketry, it was able to set the corvette on fire; shortly thereafter she blew up. Only one British seaman, a crewman from Suworow, was killed.
Napoleonic Wars
In 1805, she served as convoy escort in the India Ocean.
In 1806, while under the command of Captain Adam Mackenzie, she cruised in the Caribbean. On 5 February 1806, Magicienne joined John Thomas Duckworth's squadron and took part in the Battle of San Domingo.
In December 1809, she served in the Indian Ocean. On 29 December, she recaptured the East Indiaman Windham.
In March 1810, Magicienne was part of a frigate squadron comprising HMS Iphigenia and Leopard, later joined by HMS Nereide and HMS Sirius. In July, she began operations to capture Île de France, which culminated in the disastrous Battle of Grand Port. In the run-up to the battle, Sirius re-captured Windham, which the French had captured a second time in the Action of 3 July 1810. In the Battle of Grand Port, the British lost all four frigates, including Magicienne, which ran aground and was scuttled by fire.
