HMS Orpheus (1780)
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Orpheus |
| Ordered: | 2 October 1778 |
| Builder: | Adams & Barnard, Deptford |
| Laid down: | 7 July 1779 |
| Launched: | 3 June 1780 |
| Completed: | By 15 July 1780 |
| Fate: | Wrecked on 23 January 1807 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 32–gun Amazon-class fifth-rate |
| Tons burthen: | 688 66⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: | 126 ft 4 in (38.5 m) (overall) 104 ft 8 in (31.9 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 35 ft 2 1⁄4 in (10.7 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 12 ft (3.66 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement: | 220 |
| Armament: | Upper deck: 26 x 12-pounder guns Quarter deck: 4 x 6-pounder guns + 4 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]
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.
August 1797. Ship reported as being in Madras and Captain W. Hill is appointed commander. (4)
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.[3]
Notes
(4) Life of George Buckley - Halifax page 30
References
- 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 Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
- Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 0-948864-30-3.
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1-86176-295-X.