HMS Mermaid (1782)
| Career (Great Britain) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Mermaid |
| Ordered: |
27 August 1778 (Woolwich) Reordered 21 March 1782 (Sheerness) |
| Builder: | Sheerness Dockyard |
| Laid down: |
September 1778 (Woolwich) 29 July 1782 (Sheerness) |
| Launched: | 29 November 1782 |
| Commissioned: | 30 December 1784 |
| Fate: | Broken up in November 1815 |
| General characteristics as built | |
| Class and type: | 32-gun Active-class fifth-rate frigate |
| Tons burthen: | 692 bm |
| Length: | 126 ft 3 in (38.5 m) |
| Beam: | 35 ft 5 in (10.8 m) |
| Draught: | 13 ft 2 in (4.0 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement: | 250 |
| Armament: |
32 guns:
|
HMS Mermaid was a 32-gun Active-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy .
Contents
Design and construction
Mermaid was one of the eight ship Active class, designed by Edward Hunt. She was initially ordered from the shipwright George White, of Woolwich Dockyard Shipwright on 27 August 1778, and laid down in September 1778, but the order moved to John Jenner in April 1779. On 21 March 1782 the order was cancelled and moved instead to Thomas Pollard, at Sheerness Dockyard, and the frigate was again laid down, on 29 July 1782. She was launched on 29 November 1782, and commissioned for the Ordinary on 30 December 1784. She was commissioned again between June and August 1790 for sea. She had cost £12,854 to build, with another £2,539 paid for her fitting out in 1790. The Woolwich work had cost £1,807.
Service
Early career
Mermaid was commissioned in June 1790 during the Spanish Armament under Captain Cuthbert Collingwood. She sailed to the West Indies, but returned in April 1791, and was then paid off. She was again fitted out, this time at Portsmouth for £3,446, between February and May 1793, commissioning in March that year under Captain John Trigge. She was assigned to the Mediterranean, departing Britain on 22 May 1793. On 27 May she and HMS Tartar captured the 20-gun privateer Le Général Washington, and on 30 May 1793 Mermaid and HMS Castor captured the 16-gun privateer L’Angélique. Mermaid also captured a 14-gun privateer in June that year. Mermaid then joined Admiral Samuel Hood's fleet at Toulon.
The Caribbean
She came under the command of Captain Henry Warre in June 1794, and then sailed to the Leeward Islands on 5 May 1794. She and HMS Zebra captured the 10-gun Brutus off Grenada on 10 October 1795, followed by the 18-gun Républicaine on 14 October 1795. In February 1796 she briefly came under the command of Captain Charles Davers, but by April he had been succeeded by Robert Otway. Mermaid fought an action with the 40-gun La Vengeance off Guadeloupe on 8 August 1796. She and HMS Resource captured the 16-gun Le Général Leveau off San Domingo on 10 December 1796, followed by the privateer La Liberté Générale on 7 March 1797.
English Channel and the Mediterranean
She came under the command of James Newman-Newman in 1797, helping to capture the 12-gun privateer L’Aventure off Belleisle on 31 December 1797. On 29 June that year, Mermaid, HMS Pique and HMS Jason attacked the French frigate Seine, driving her onto the Penmarcks. The Seine was subsequently captured, but Pique was wrecked. Mermaid was then involved in the capture of the French frigate Loire in the aftermath of the Battle of Tory Island. Mermaid was detached to operate off Corunna and together with HMS Sylph, captured the Spanish packet Golondrevia on 24 March 1799. In April 1799 she was taken over by Captain Robert Dudley Oliver, who commanded her off France and Italy in the Western Mediterranean. Mermaid captured the 16-gun La Cruelle off Toulon on 1 June 1800. She then returned to Britain and was paid off into Ordinary at Woolwich in August 1802.
America
Mermaid was fitted out again between June and September 1803, commissioning in August that year under Captain Askew Hollis. She spent the period between 1804 and 1807 at Jamaica. She was at Havanna when war with Spain was declared and successfully brought the British owned ships in the harbour to safety. She was then on the Halifax Station, finally being paid off again in August 1807. She was refitted at Woolwich between September 1808 and March 1809, recommissioning in February 1809 under Captain Major Henniker. She then sailed on 12 June 1809 with a troop convoy bound for Portugal. She was recommissioned as an 18-gun troopship in January 1810, and was fitted out as a troopship at Chatham Dockyard between October 1810 and February 1811. She came under the command of Commander William Percy in 1811, and by April 1812 was under Commander David Dunn, serving in the Mediterranean. She was broken up at Plymouth in November 1815.
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.
- Winfield, Rif, British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates, pub Seaforth, 2007, ISBN 1-86176-295-X
- Ships of the Old Navy
