HMS Diomede (1798)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Diomede.

History
Royal Navy EnsignGreat Britain
NameHMS Diomede
Ordered9 December 1790
BuilderDeptford Dockyard
Laid downOctober 1792
Launched17 January 1798
CommissionedMarch 1798
Renamed
  • Built as Firm
  • Renamed Diomede on 29 December 1797
FateBroken Up August 1815
General characteristics
Class & typeDiomede-class ship of the line
Tons burthen1,122 53⁄94 (bm)
Length
  • 151 ft 1.5 in (46.1 m) (gundeck)
  • 124 ft 7+7⁄8 in (38.0 m) (keel)
Beam41 ft 1+3⁄4 in (12.5 m)
Depth of hold17 ft 7 in (5.4 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement343
Armament
  • Lower gundeck: 22 × 24-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 22 × 12-pounder guns
  • QD: 4 × 6-pounder guns
  • Fc: 2 × 6-pounder guns

HMS Diomede was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Diomede class of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1798.

Service history

She was commissioned in March 1798 under Captain Charles Elphinstone, and deployed to the North Sea. On 6 December 1798 she sailed for the Cape of Good Hope. On 24 March, 1800 a heavy gale hit Cape Town capsizing and sinking USS Essex's launch, the crew was saved with difficulty by her barge.[1] From December 1802 she was commanded by Captain Samuel Mottley,[2] and was the flagship of Rear Admiral Sir James Saumarez from June 1803 for the next three years. In January 1804 she was commanded by Captain Hugh Downman (as Mottley had returned to Britain aboard Leopard), and deployed to the Channel Islands and the North Sea.[3] In April 1806 she was commanded by Commander Joseph Edmonds, and was in Popham's squadron at the Cape of Good Hope,[4] then participated in the River Plate Expedition,[5] once more commanded by Downman, then was paid off in June 1807.[3]

Diomede was refitted at Portsmouth from September to November 1807, having been recommissioned in August 1807 under Captain Philip Dumaresque,[3] who thereafter commanded Victory. In 1808 she was commanded by Captain John Sykes, and was the flagship of Rear Admiral Sir Edmund Nagle at Guernsey. In 1809 she was commanded by Captain Hugh Cook for the next two years.[6] She sailed on 22 April 1809 with a convoy to Saint Helena, and thereafter to the East Indies.[3]

From June to September 1812, she was refitted at Chatham as a 26-gun troopship, and was recommissioned in October 1812 under Captain Charles Fabian.[7] On 30 March 1813 the 2nd Royal Marine Battalion embarked on the ships HMS Romulus,[8] HMS Diomede,[9] HMS Nemesis,[10] and HMS Fox[11] set sail on 7 April, and arrived in Bermuda on 29 May 1813.

In 1814 Diomede was commanded by Hugh Pigot until October, and thereafter by Captain George Kippen.[12] The boats and some of the complement of the Diomede participated in the Battle of Lake Borgne in December 1814. In 1821 the survivors of the flotilla shared in the distribution of head-money arising from the capture of the American gun-boats and sundry bales of cotton.[13][a]

The Diomede arrived at Portsmouth on 31 May 1815[15] and paid off. On 7 July 1815, Diomede was ordered to become a provisions depot vessel at Sheerness, but upon inspection was found to be too decayed so was broken up in August 1815.[3]

Medal

In 1847 the Admiralty initiated the Naval General Service Medal. The clasps covered a variety of actions, from boat service to single-ship actions, to larger naval engagements, including major fleet actions. The engagement at Lake Borgne was deemed a boat service worthy enough of recognition by a clasp, and appears on the list of clasps for boat service during the War of 1812. The Admiralty issued a clasp (or bar) marked "14 Dec. Boat Service 1814" to surviving combatants who claimed the clasp. [b] [16] This was the largest Boat Action for which the Naval General Service Medal was granted. In all, 205 survivors claimed it.[17]

Notes

  1. ^ A first-class share of the prize money was worth £34 12s 9+1⁄4d; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth 7s 10+3⁄4d.[14]
  2. ^ The 'Names of Ships for which Claims have been proved' are as follows: warships Tonnant, Norge, Royal Oak, Ramillies, Bedford, Armide, Cydnus, Trave, Seahorse, Sophie, Meteor; troopships Gorgon, Diomede, Alceste, Belle Poule

Citations

  1. ^ "Naval Documents related to the Quasi-War Between the United States and France Volume Part 2 of 4 Naval Operations January to May, 1800, February, 1800-March, 1800 Pg. 345" (PDF). U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  2. ^ MottleyRNB.
  3. ^ a b c d e Winfield 2008, p. 121.
  4. ^ James 1902, pp. 186–187.
  5. ^ James 1902, pp. 189–190.
  6. ^ CookRNB.
  7. ^ FabiannRNB.
  8. ^ HMS Romulus Ship Muster 1812 July–1813 March ADM 37/3650 refers to 1st, 7th and 8th companies and 35 artillerymen.
  9. ^ HMS Diomede Ship Muster 1813 January–October ADM 37/4262 shows 5th and 6th Companies boarded on 30 March, having been on HMS Fox.
  10. ^ HMS Nemesis Ship Muster shows entries 688 to 780 were for embarked Marines. There is no mention of their unit but 1st Lt Ch Pratt and 1st Lt Harrison are the two Marine officers present.
  11. ^ HMS Fox Captain's Log 23 May 1812–17 February 1814 ADM 51/4450.
  12. ^ KippenRNB.
  13. ^ "No. 17719". The London Gazette. 26 June 1821. pp. 1353–1354.
  14. ^ "No. 17730". The London Gazette. 28 July 1821. p. 1561.
  15. ^ "Port news - Portsmouth". Salisbury and Winchester Journal. 5 June 1815. p. 4. Retrieved 27 May 2013 – via British Newspaper Archive. Wednesday [31 May 1815] — Arrived the Diomede, of 50 guns, Capt. Kippen, with trocps from Havannah.
  16. ^ "No. 20939". The London Gazette. 26 January 1849. p. 247.
  17. ^ Hayward, Birch & Bishop (2006), pp. 133–134.

Bibliography

allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Diomede_(1798)