HMS Wilhelmina (1798)
| 300px Capture of the Furie & Waakzamheid, Oct. 23rd 1798 Thomas Whitcombe, 1816 | |
| Career (Batavian Republic) | 60px |
|---|---|
| Name: | Wilhelmina |
| Builder: | Flushing |
| Launched: | 1787 |
| Renamed: | Furie in 1795 |
| Captured: | By the Royal Navy on 24 October 1798 |
| Career (UK) |  |
| Name: | HMS Wilhelmina |
| Acquired: | 24 October 1798 |
| Fate: | Sold in January 1813 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 32-gun fifth rate frigate |
| Tons burthen: | 826 81/94 bm |
| Length: |
133 ft (40.5 m) (overall) 109 ft 1 in (33.2 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 37 ft 9 in (11.5 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 12 ft 4 in (3.76 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Complement: | 244 (121 as troopship) |
| Armament: |
As frigate:
As troopship:
|
HMS Wilhelmina was a 32-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was previously a Dutch ship and had been built in 1787 for the Dutch Republic as the Wilhelmina. Renamed Furie in 1795, after the establishment of the Batavian Republic as a client state of the First French Empire, she, like other Dutch ships, was pressed into service to support Napoleon's plans to conquer the British Isles. The British captured her and the Dutch corvette Waakzaamheid in 1798 while the two were trying to support French and Irish forces involved in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. The Royal Navy took both into service, with the Furie regaining her original name. Sailing as HMS Wilhelmina, she spent the bulk of her later career in the East Indies, serving mostly as a troopship. Here she fought an unequal battle against a large French privateer, and succeeded in driving her off and protecting a merchant she was escorting. Wilhelmina was almost the ship that faced a superior French squadron at the Battle of Vizagapatam, but she was replaced beforehand by the larger HMS Centurion. She spent the rest of her days as a guardship in Penang, and was sold there in 1813.
Contents
Dutch career and capture
Wilhelmina was built at Flushing in 1787, and armed with 32 guns.[1] She sailed under that name for eight years for the Dutch Republic until the invasion of the Netherlands by the French in 1795 and the establishment of the Batavian Republic led to her being renamed Furie.[1]
In 1798 she was part of the Dutch contribution hastily assembled to support the uprising of the United Irishmen in 1798. Furie, under the command of Captain Bartholomeus Pletz, and the 24-gun corvette Waakzaamheid under Captain Meindert van Neirop, were dispatched to carry men and supplies to Ireland.[2] Furie embarked 165 troops and Waakzaamheid 122. In addition, the ships carried over 6,000 stands of arms and large quantities of other military stores with which to arm the Irish irregular forces that they expected to meet.[3] The two ships sailed from the Netherlands on the night of 23/24 October, and by 08:00 were 30 nautical miles (56 km) northwest of the Texel, sailing westwards towards the English Channel. There they were spotted by the British frigate HMS Sirius, under the command of Captain Richard King.[4] Sirius had been stationed off the Texel to watch for Dutch movements and intercept any ships of smaller or equal size entering or leaving the waterway. Although van Neirop's squadron outnumbered King's ship, the British vessel was much larger and faster, and the Dutch were also hampered by their position: the two ships were more than 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) apart, too far to offer mutual support against their opponent.[2]
King first attacked the smaller and slower Waakzaamheid, avoiding contact with the larger Furie as he did so. At 09:00 Sirius came alongside Waakzaamheid and fired a gun at her, prompting van Neirop to immediately surrender.[2] King secured the Waakzaamheid and set off in pursuit of Furie, which was attempting to flee to the west. The chase lasted the rest of the day, with the Sirius eventually coming withn range at 17:00.[5] The two ships exchanged broadsides for half an hour, as Pletz attempted to manouvere out of King's range.[6] Furie was soon badly damaged, although Sirius was barely touched, only one shot striking the bowsprit and one man wounded. At approximately 17:30, Pletz surrendered, having lost eight dead and 14 wounded and with his ship badly damaged. King transferred the prisoners and placed a prize crew on Furie before returning to his base at the Nore with his prizes.[3]
British career
The Furie came into Sheerness on 17 November 1798. She was commissioned under Captain David Atkins in January 1800, was then fitted as a troopship at Woolwich between January and September 1800, for the sum of £10,914.[1] Captain Charles Herbert took command in April that year, followed by Commander James Lind in 1801.[1] Lind sailed Wilhelmina to the East Indies that year, remaining with her until 1803, when she passed under the temporary command of Lieutenant William Dobbie. In May 1803 Commander Henry Lambert took command.[1] On 9 April 1804 she was escorting the country ship William Petrie to Trincomalee when she sighted a strange sail.[7]
Battling the Psyche
The mysterious ship was the 36-gun French privateer Psyche, under the command of Captain Trogoff. The Psyche was a former frigate of the French Navy, and out-gunned the Wilhelmina, which was armed en flûte.[8] Nevertheless Lambert stood towards the Frenchman, to give the William Petrie a chance to escape. Light winds meant that the engagement did not begin until 11 April, when both ships opened fire, exchanging broadsides and attempting to tack around to rake their opponent.[9] After several hours fighting, the Psyche broke off and fled. Both ships had sustained heavy damage, the Wilhelmina to her masts and rigging, while the Psyche was reduced to a near-sinking condition.[9] Wilhelmina had nine of her crew wounded, three mortally and six slightly, while the Psyche lost ten killed and 32 wounded, 13 of them mortally.[10] Wilhelmina put into port, while the William Petrie also arrived safely at her destination.[11]
Missed battle
In mid-1804 Wilhelmina was assigned to escort a small convoy of East Indiamen.[1] Because a French squadron under Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois was raiding merchant shipping in the East Indis, the British commander in the area, Admiral Peter Rainier to replace Wilhelmina with the larger HMS Centurion. Consequently it was Centurion that resisted Linois's forces at the Battle of Vizagapatam in September 1804.[12]
Fate
Captain Charles Foote took command of Wilhelmina in 1807, followed in an acting capacity by Commander William Hext in April 1809. She remained in the East Indies during this entire period.[1] Commander Samuel Leslie took over in March 1811, followed in 1812 by Lieutenant George Norton.[1] She became the guardship at Prince of Wales Island (Penang), and was sold there in January 1813.[1][13]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail. p. 198.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Clowes. The Royal Navy, A History. p. 516.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 James. The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 2. p. 241.
- ↑ Laughton, J. K.. "King, Sir Richard". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (subscription required). http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/15589. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
- ↑ James. The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 2. p. 240.
- ↑ Clowes. The Royal Navy, A History. p. 517.
- ↑ James. The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 3. p. 382.
- ↑ James. The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 3. p. 383.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 James. The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 3. p. 384.
- ↑ James. The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 3. p. 385–6.
- ↑ James. The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 3. p. 386.
- ↑ James. The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 3. p. 276.
- ↑ Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy. p. 386.
References
- Clowes, William Laird (1997) [1900]. The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, Volume IV. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-013-2. OCLC 59659759.
- 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.
- James, William (2002) [1827]. The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 2, 1797–1799. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-906-9. OCLC 255340498.
- James, William (2002 [1827]). The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 3, 1800–1805. Conway Martime Press. ISBN 0-85177-907-7.
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1794–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1861762461.
