HMS Epervier (1797)
| History | |
|---|---|
  France | |
| Name | Epervier |
| Namesake | the hawk |
| Builder | Benjamin Dubois, Montmarin (Saint Malo) |
| Laid down | October 1787 |
| Launched | 23 February 1788 |
| Captured | 12 November 1797 |
| History | |
 UK | |
| Name | HMS Epervier |
| Acquired | By capture 12 November 1797 |
| Commissioned | Never commissioned |
| Fate | Sold 7 September 1801 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type | Expédition-class |
| Type | Brig-sloop |
| Tons burthen | 25389⁄94 (bm) |
| Length | 94 ft (29 m) (gundeck), 76 ft 3+1⁄8 in (23.244 m) (keel) |
| Beam | 25 ft 0+1⁄4 in (7.626 m) |
| Depth of hold | 10 ft 7 in (3.23 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Complement | list error: <br /> list (help) Initially: 82 officers and men |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) Brick-aviso: 6 x 4-pounder guns (initially) |
The first HMS Epervier, sometimes spelled HMS Epervoir, was the French ex-naval brick-aviso and then privateer Épervier, launched in 1788. The British captured her in 1797 and registered her in 1798 as an 18-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. The Navy never commissioned her and she was sold in 1801.
Design
Epervier was an Expédition-class "brick-aviso" (advice brig). The six members of the class were built at Saint-Malo Montmarin by Benjamin Dubois to a 3 October 1787 design by Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait and all were launched in 1788. They cost 86,000 Livre tournois each.[2]
The British captured two other members of the class, but never added them to the navy.[1] The two were Curieux (captured in June 1793),[3] and Impatient (captured on May 1803),[4] by Naiad.[5]
French service
Épervier was originally armed with six 4-pounder guns. In 1792 her armament was increased to ten 4-pounders and four 12-pounder howitzers. The next year she received six more 4-pounder guns. She was in dry-dock at Rochefort in 1795. In April 1797 she was condemned, but then became a privateer. Between 1794 and 1797, she carried eighteen 4-pounders and four two-pounder guns.[6]
Capture
Epervier was operating as a French privateer when HMS Cerberus, under the command of Captain John Drew, captured her off the coast of Ireland on 12 November 1797.[7] At the time, Epervier was armed with sixteen 4-pounder guns and had a crew of 145 men.[8]
Epervier arrived at Plymouth on 12 January 1798, and was registered on 14 February. However, the Navy never commissioned her.[1]
Fate
Epervier was sold on 7 September 1801.[1]
References
- Citations
- ^ a b c d Winfield (2008), pp. 286 & 266.
- ^ Demerliac (1996), p.82, #536.
- ^ Demerliac (1996), p.82, #537.
- ^ Demerliac (1996), p.83, #541.
- ^ "No. 15591". The London Gazette. 2 June 1803.
- ^ Demerliac (1996), p. 82, #538.
- ^ "No. 15048". The London Gazette. 17 August 1798.
- ^ James (1837), Vol. 2, p.91.
- Bibliography
- Colledge, J.J. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of the Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy From the Fifteenth Century to the Present. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBN 0-87021-652-X.
- James, William (1837), The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV., R. Bentley
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.