HMS Oberon (1805)
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Oberon |
| Ordered: | 12 December 1804 |
| Builder: | James Shepherd Shipyard, Kingston upon Hull |
| Laid down: | March 1805 |
| Launched: | 13 August 1805 |
| Commissioned: | September 1805 |
| Decommissioned: | 1814 |
| Fate: | Broken up, May 1816 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 16-gun brig-sloop |
| Tons burthen: | 283 bm |
| Length: | 93 ft 2 in (28.40 m) |
| Beam: | 26 ft 5.5 in (8.065 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Armament: |
16 guns:
|
HMS Oberon was a 16-gun brig-sloop of the Seagull class built at Kingston upon Hull and launched in 1805. She was constructed at the James Shepheard Shipyard, Sutton.
Service
She was commissioned in September 1805 under her first commander, John Bushby. However from January 1806 she was under Commander George Manners Sutton off the Downs, in the North Sea.
On 13 November 1807 she gave chase to the French privateer lugger Ratifia, capturing her after four hours, some 30 miles east of Lowestoft. The Ratifia commanded by Lieutenant Gilbert Laforeste, had been carrying 14 guns, but at the time had only two mounted for action, the rest being in the hold. She had sailed on 9 November from Delfzijl, on the Ems but had not made any captures before being taken by the Oberon. Captain Sutton sailed her to the Yarmouth Roads and landed 38 prisoners. Sutton removed to HMS Derwent in April 1810, and by May 1810 the Oberon was off the Downs again, commanded by John Murray.
She moved to Leith in 1812 and on 18 March 1813 she sailed to search for two American schooners, suspected to be privateers, cruising between Shetland and Norway in the hope of intercepting British whalers returning from Greenland waters. Oberon met the Whitby whaler Esk on 20 March, but the Esk reported that she had not seen any suspicious vessels. Oberon continued cruising until Saturday 3 April, before entering the Sound at Lerwick at 10pm, where she again met the Esk, which was sheltering from storms and adverse winds.
Fate
Oberon paid off from service into Ordinary in 1814 at Sheerness. She was then broken up in May 1816.[1]
References
- ↑ Jackson, Hull in the Eighteenth Century, Appendix: 'Ships Built in Hull for the Royal Navy., 1690-1810'p.427
- 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.
- HMS Oberon's career
