The Action and Capture of the Spanish Xebeque Frigate El Gamo by Clarkson Frederick Stanfield |
|
| Career (Spain) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | El Gamo |
| Captured: | 6 May 1801 by Lord Cochrane aboard HMS Speedy |
| Fate: | Sold to Algeria as a merchantman |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 32-gun frigate |
| Displacement: | ≈600 tons |
| Sail plan: | interchangeable xebec-rigged and ship-rigged |
| Complement: | 319 |
| Armament: | 32 guns: 22 × 12-pounder guns, 8 × 8-pounder guns and 2 × 24-pounder carronades. |
The Spanish ship El Gamo was a 32-gun xebec-frigate of the Spanish Navy involved in action with, and subsequently captured by Lord Cochrane on 6 May 1801. The skirmish is notable for the large disparity between the size and firepower of the El Gamo and her opponent, the British sloop HMS Speedy; the former was around four times the size, had much greater firepower and a crew six times the size of HMS Speedy, which had a reduced crew of 54 at the time of the engagement.
After her capture, the El Gamo was sold to the ruler of Algiers as a merchantman.