HMS Drake (1779)
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Drake |
| Builder: | Henry Ladd, Dover |
| Launched: | May 1779 |
| Fate: | Condemned as unfit for service in September 1800 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 14-gun brig-sloop |
| Tons burthen: | 220 73/94 bm |
| Length: |
78 ft 10.5 in (24.041 m) (overall) 59 ft 8 in (18.2 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 26 ft 4.5 in (8.039 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 10 ft 9.5 in (3.29 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Two masted square rigged with a spanker on the main mast |
| Complement: | 80 |
| Armament: |
|
HMS Drake was a 14-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was bought from a commercial builder during the early years of the American War of Independence, and went on to support operations in the English Channel and the Caribbean. At one stage she assisted an attack on a French-held island, an expedition commanded by a young Horatio Nelson. Laid up for a time after the end of the American War of Independence, she was returned to service shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. Drake spent most of her time in Caribbean waters, until being declared unfit for service in 1800 and deleted from the navy lists.
Contents
Construction and commissioning
Drake was built by Henry Ladd, of Dover, and purchased while on the stocks as a cutter in March 1779.[1] She was registered and established as a sloop on 19 March 1779, and launched in May that year, having commissioned in March under Commander William Brown. After being launched she was sailed to Deptford where she was fitted and coppered between 22 May and 19 July 1779 for the sum of £1,797.17.6d.
American War of Independence
Drake was initially assigned to Admiral Sir Charles Hardy's fleet during the invasion crisis in 1779, and after the crisis had passed, went out to the Leeward Islands in February 1780. Commander Richard Curgenven succeeded Brown in April 1781, and in December that year command passed to Commander Charles Dixon. Dixon took Drake back to England, where she was refitted between April and June 1782 for the sum of £1,595.5.4d. After her return to the West Indies Drake fell in with a small squadron under Captain Horatio Nelson, consisting of HMS Albemarle, HMS Resistance, HMS Tartar and the armed ship Barrington. Nelson decided to attack the recently garrisoned Turks Island, and 250 men were landed under the cover of supporting fire from the ships.[2] The French were found to be heavily entrenched, and the British withdrew after being unable to dislodge them.[2]
Interwar years and French Revolutionary Wars
With the conclusion of the American War of Indpendence Drake was paid off in July 1783 to Ordinary at Sheerness. She under went repairs and a refit at Sheerness for £2,981 between October 1787 and December 1788, recommissioning in November 1788 under Commander Jeremiah Beale. Drake was initially assigned to operate in the English Channel, at first under Beale, then from November 1789 under Commander George Countess, and from January 1791 under Commander John Dowling. She passed under Commander Samuel Brooking in December 1793, and went out to Jamaica in May 1795.[3] Commander Thomas Gott succeeded Brooking in October 1796[a], and he was in turn replaced by Commander John Perkins in 1797[4].
In Drake Perkins captured four French Corvettes, the 18-gun L'Egyptienne, the 16-gun L'Eole, the 12-gun Le Levrier and the 8-gun Le Vengeur in company with HMS Solebay Captain Poyntz on November 24 1799 off Cape Tiburon.[5][6] On 20 April 1797 Drake formed part of a squadron under Captain Hugh Pigot, consisting of the 32-gun frigates HMS Hermione, HMS Mermaid and HMS Quebec, and the cutter HMS Penelope. The squadron cut out eight enemy ships at Port-de-Paix[7][8]. On 25 October 1798 Drake captured the French privateer La Favorite. The prize money for the captain (amounting to 2/8 of the total value of the vessel) was 53 pounds 13 shillings and 9 pence.[9]
Drake continued in the navy until being deleted from their lists by Admiralty order on 3 July 1800, and she was subsequently condemned as unfit for service at Jamaica.
Notes
a. ^ Gott went on to command HMS Cormorant, but was killed when she caught fire and exploded on 24 December 1796.[10]
Citations
- ↑ Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p.102
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Duncan. The British Trident. p. 133.
- ↑ National Maritime Museum Portrait of Captain Brooking
- ↑ National Archives, Kew: ADM 36/14999 Admiralty: Royal Navy Ships' Musters (Series I) 1795 May - 1798 Aug HMS Drake
- ↑ London Gazette Issue 15872 published on the 14 December 1805
- ↑ British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792, Winfield, p. 214
- ↑ The Royal Navy. A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, William Clowes, p. 334, 335
- ↑ Naval History of Great Britain Vol. 2, James, p. 113
- ↑ London Gazette Issue 18729 published on the 24 September 1830
- ↑ Naval History of Great Britain Vol. 2, James, p. 456
References
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475.
- Duncan, Archibald (1805). The British trident, or, Register of naval actions: including authentic accounts of all the most remarkable engagements of sea in which the British flag has been distinguished from the ... defeat of the Spanish Armada to the present time. 3. London: J. Cundee.
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1-86176-295-X.
