HMS Wagtail (1806)
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Wagtail |
| Ordered: | 11 December 1805 |
| Builder: | James Lovewell, Great Yarmouth |
| Laid down: | February 1806 |
| Launched: | 12 April 1806 |
| Fate: | Wrecked 13 February 1807 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type: | Cuckoo-class schooner |
| Tonnage: | 75 1⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: | 56 ft 4 in (17.2 m) (overall) 42 ft 4 1⁄8 in (12.9 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 18 ft 3 in (5.6 m) |
| Draught: | Unladen: 5 ft 1 1⁄2 in (1.6 m) Laden: 7 ft 6 1⁄2 in (2.3 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 8 ft 5 in (2.6 m) |
| Sail plan: | Schooner |
| Complement: | 20 |
| Armament: | 4 x 12-pounder Carronades |
HMS Wagtail was a Royal Navy Cuckoo-class schooner of four 12-pounder carronades and a crew of 20. She was built by James Lovewell at Great Yarmouth and launched in 1806.[1] Like many of her class and the related Ballahoo-class schooners, she succumbed to the perils of the sea relatively early in her career.
She was commissioned in 1806 under Lieutenant William Cullis.[1] She was wrecked on 13 February 1807 at Vila Franca do Campo, São Miguel in the Azores, three hours after her sister ship Woodcock was wrecked, and near Woodcock's water-logged remains.[2] Both vessels had been anchored in the shelter of an islet off the town when a gale came up. Because of the storm they were unable to clear the land.[2]
Wagtail 's cables held until 8pm. Then her cables parted, and with waves breaking over her, Cullis ran her ashore. One man of the 18 men in her crew drowned.[3]
Citations
References
- Gossett, William Patrick (1986) The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900. (London:Mansell).ISBN 0-7201-1816-6
- Hepper, David J. (1994) British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. (Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot). ISBN 0-948864-30-3
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.
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