HMS Porcupine (1777)
| Career (Great Britain) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Porcupine |
| Ordered: | 21 June 1776 |
| Awarded: | 25 June 1776 |
| Builder: | Edward Greaves, Limehouse |
| Laid down: | July 1776 |
| Launched: | 17 December 1777 |
| Completed: | 14 February 1778 |
| Commissioned: | December 1777 |
| Fate: | Broken up at Woolwich in April 1805 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 24-gun Porcupine-class sixth-rate post ship |
| Tons burthen: | 519.6 long tons (528 t) |
| Length: | 114 ft 3 in (34.82 m) (overall) 94 ft 2 in (28.70 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 32 ft 2.5 in (9.817 m) |
| Draught: | 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) 11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement: | 160 |
| Armament: | As built:
|
HMS Porcupine was a 24-gun Porcupine-class sixth-rate post ship of the Royal Navy built in 1777 and broken up in 1805. During her career she saw service in the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars.
Construction and commissioning
The Porcupine cost £5,443.0.11d to build, plus £4,604.13.8d for fitting and coppering. She was commissioned under her first captain, William Finch, in December 1777.
Service
On 15 March 1779, the British warships Apollo, Porcupine, and Milford captured the French privateer cutter Tapageur.[1] The Royal Navy took her into service under existing name.
She came under the command of Captain Sir Charles Knowles around February 1780 and fought an action against two 36-gun xebecs off Valencia on 22 July 1781.[2] On 30 July 1780 she and the sloop HMS Minorca engaged the French frigate Montréal, the former British frigate HMS Montreal, off the Barbary coast. The two-hour engagement was indecisive and action was broken off.[2][3]
In 1788, Porcupine took part in commemorations marking the hundredth anniversary of the siege of Derry.[4]
Notes
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 12016. p. 4. 21 September 1779.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail. p. 190.
- ↑ Henry G. Bohn, "Battles of the British Navy", Joseph Allen, ESQ. R.N., Volume 1, 1853, pp.307
- ↑ Carlo Gebler "The siege of Derry", pp.324
References
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
- Gebler, Carlo (2005) The siege of Derry, a history Little, Brown ISBN 978-0-316-86128-1.
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