HMS Surprise (1796)

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Contemporary plans of HMS Surprise
Career (France)
Name:	Unité
Builder:	Pierre-Alexandre Forfait, Le Havre
Laid down:	August 1793
Launched:	16 January 1794
Commissioned:	April 1794
Captured:	20 April 1796 by HMS Inconstant
Career (UK)
Name:	HMS Surprise
Operator:	Royal Navy
Fate:	Sold at Deptford in February 1802
General characteristics
Class and type:	Unité class corvette
Tons burthen:	350 tonnes
Length:	38.2 metres (125 ft)
Beam:	9.5 metres (31 ft)
Draught:	4.2 metres (14 ft)
Propulsion:	Sail
Armament:	As L'Unité - 24 × 8-pounder guns 8 × 4-pounders As HMS Surprise (initially) - 24 × 9-pounder guns 6 × 12-pounder carronades 10 × 4-pounder guns As HMS Surprise (later) - 24 × 32-pounder carronades 8 × 32-pounder carronades 4 × 6-pounder guns as chasers

L'Unité was a corvette of the French Navy built in 1794, lead ship of her class. She was captured by the Royal Navy in 1796 and renamed HMS Surprise. In 1799 she famously recaptured HMS Hermione and was sold out of the service in 1802.

Contents 1 Construction 2 French Service 3 Capture by the Royal Navy 4 Recapture of HMS Hermione 5 Disposal 6 Surprise in fiction 7 External links 8 References

[edit] Construction

She was designed by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait, who was in charge of her construction at Le Havre. She was launched on 16 January 1794, and was armed with 24 eight-pound and 8 four-pound long guns.

[edit] French Service

L'Unité took part in the battle of the Glorious First of June by escorting the dismasted Révolutionnaire as she was towed by the Audacieux.

[edit] Capture by the Royal Navy

She was captured by surprise on 20 April 1796 at Annaba by HMS Inconstant. Her commanding officer, Frigate Captain Le Drézénec was incapable of directing resistance through an attack of smallpox.

Unité was rechristened HMS Surprise and re-classed by the British as a 28-gun sixth-rate frigate. She was initially re-armed with 24 nine-pound long guns on her upper deck, plus 4 twelve-pound carronades and 8 four-pound long guns on her quarterdeck, and 2 twelve-pound carronades and 2 four-pound long guns on her forecastle. She was later re-armed with 24 32-pound carronades instead of the nine-pounders on her upper deck, and eight more of the same on her quarterdeck and forecastle, as well as 4 six-pound long guns as chasers.

[edit] Recapture of HMS Hermione

She gained fame for the cutting-out expedition in 1799 of HMS Hermione. Hermione's crew had mutinied, and had sailed her into the Spanish possession of Puerto Cabello. Captain Edward Hamilton of Surprise led a boarding party to retake Hermione and, after an exceptionally bloody action, sailed her out of danger under Spanish gunfire.

[edit] Disposal

She was sold out of the Service at Deptford in February 1802.

[edit] Surprise in fiction

HMS Surprise was the ship chosen by author Patrick O'Brian to restore Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey of the Aubrey–Maturin series to his place as a Captain, and eventually see him raise his flag as an Admiral of the Royal Navy. HMS Surprise is an important element of the series, both because of her importance to the running plotline, and because of the emotional attachment she has earned among fans of the series.

For the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, the role of HMS Surprise was filled by the replica of HMS Rose, which was purchased by the film studio and modified for the role. The film relates that Aubrey had served aboard her as a midshipman in 1785, which is impossible since the real Surprise had not yet been launched. The book HMS Surprise by O'Brian also mentions Aubrey being a midshipman aboard Surprise^[1], but does not indicate a date for that event - which is still unlikely given the chronology of the series.

[edit] External links

• Travels with the Tall Ship Rose
• HMS Surprise at the San Diego Maritime Museum
• A wealth of research by JoTiKa Ltd for an accurate kit production

[edit] References