HMS Orpheus (1780)

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

History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Orpheus
Ordered2 October 1778
BuilderAdams & Barnard, Deptford
Laid down7 July 1779
Launched3 June 1780
CompletedBy 15 July 1780
FateWrecked on 23 January 1807
General characteristics
Class and type32-gun fifth-rate Amazon-class frigate (1773) frigate
Tons burthen68866⁄94 (bm)
Length
  • 126 ft 4 in (38.5 m) (overall)
  • 104 ft 8 in (31.9 m) (keel)
Beam35 ft 2+1⁄4 in (10.7 m)
Depth of hold12 ft (3.7 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement220
Armament
  • Upper deck: 26 x 12-pounder guns
  • QD: 4 x 6-pounder guns + 4 x 18-pounder carronades
  • Fc: 2 x 6-pounder guns + 2 x 18-pounder carronades

HMS Orpheus was a 32–gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1780, and served for more than a quarter of a century, before she was wrecked in 1807.[1][2]

American War of Independence[]

On 14 April 1781, Orpheus and HMS Roebuck captured the USS Confederacy off the Delaware. The Royal Navy briefly took her into service as HMS Confederate.[3]

In March 1782, Orpheus captured the American letter of marque Navarro. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Polecat.

French Revolutionary Wars[]

On 5 May 1794, Orpheus captured the French frigate Duguay Trouin, the former East Indiaman Princess Royal, which the French had captured on 27 September 1793.

On 22 June 1796 Orpheus was in the Straits of Banca, where she captured the Dutch brig Harlingen. The British took Harlingen into service as HMS Amboyna.

In August 1797 Orpheus was reported as being in Madras and Captain William Hill was appointed commander.

Napoleonic Wars[]

On 16 April 1806, Orpheus, Captain Thomas Briggs, was in company with the revenue cutter Badger. They shared in the proceeds of the capture of two merchant vessels, Vrou Fingina and Vyf Gesusters.[Note 1]

Fate[]

Orpheus, under the command of Captain Thomas Briggs, arrived off Jamaica from England in the evening of 22 January 1807. Being short of water, Briggs decided to try to sail her into Port Royal, rather than wait for a pilot. Around midnight Orpheus grounded on a reef that was not accurately marked on her charts. Efforts to lighten her failed and she took on water. When the water reached her main deck, the crew took to the boats, abandoning her.[5]

Notes, citations and references[]

Notes

  1. ^ Prize money was paid in June 1815. A first-class share was worth £77 0s 1d; a fifth-class share, that of a seaman, was worth 10s 1½d.[4]

Citations

  1. ^ Winfield. British Warships in the Age of Sail. p. 203.
  2. ^ Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy. p. 252.
  3. ^ Winfield p. 218
  4. ^ "No. 17020". The London Gazette. 6 June 1815. p. 1081.
  5. ^ Hepper (1994), p. 116.

References

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