fbpx
Wikipedia

HMS Kingfisher (1804)

March 15, 2024

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Kingfisher.

HMS Kingfisher (or King's Fisher or Kingsfisher) was a Royal Navy 18-gun ship sloop, built by John King and launched in 1804 at Dover. She served during the Napoleonic Wars, first in the Caribbean and then in the Mediterranean before being broken up in 1816.

Kingfisher
History
UK
NameHMS Kingfisher
NamesakeAlcedo atthis, the common kingfisher
Ordered27 November 1802
BuilderThomas King of Dover
Laid downMarch 1803
Launched10 March 1804
Commissioned3 May 1804 at Sheerness
Honours and
awards		Naval General Service Medal with clasp "St. Domingo"[1]
FateBroken up October 1816 at Portsmouth
General characteristics [2]
Class and typeShip sloop
Tons burthen365 32⁄94 (bm)
Length
  • 106 ft (32.3 m) (gundeck)
  • 87 ft 7 in (26.7 m) (keel)
Beam28 ft (8.5 m)
Depth of hold13 ft 9 in (4.2 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement121
Armament

Caribbean edit

Commander Richard William Cribb commissioned Kingfisher in April 1804.[2] He sailed her to the Leeward Islands and initially she operated from Barbados.

In January King's Fisher captured the French privateer schooner Deux Amis. She was pierced for eight guns but only had two on board at the time of her capture, having thrown the others overboard as she tried to escape her pursuers. She had a crew of 39 men, under the command of Francis Dutrique. She was ten days out of Guadeloupe and had captured nothing. Cribb credited His Majesty's schooner Grenada with having chased Deux Amis into his hands. Furthermore, when Grenada's commander saw that Kingfisher would capture Deux Amis, he chased and recaptured the sloop Hero.[3]

On 11 April 1805, her boats cut out the Spanish privateer Damas from an anchorage under Cape St. Juan. She was pierced for four guns but only mounted one 8-pounder. She also carried 40 muskets for her crew of 57 men. Damas had left Cumaná, Venezuela, ten days earlier for a cruise off Demerara on what was her first cruise, but had captured nothing. She put up a little resistance and there was gunfire from the shore, but Kingsfisher suffered no casualties.[4] In April 1826 head money for the capture of the Deux Amis and the Damas was finally paid.[5]

On 27 June, when about 180 miles to north-east of Barbuda, Kingfisher, Captain Richard William Cribb, and Osprey, Captain Timothy Clinch, found themselves being chased by French frigates. While making sail to escape, the two sloops hoisted signals and fired guns, as if signaling to a fleet ahead. Their pursuers immediately gave up the chase, which gave Kingfisher and Osprey the opportunity to catch up with a group of 15 French merchant vessels with cargoes of rum, sugar and coffee. The two British sloops left all 15 merchantmen in flames.[6]

Cribb died in June 1805. From July Kingfisher was under the command of Commander Nathaniel Day Cochrane.[2]

On 16 December Kingfisher captured the French privateer Elisabeth, out of Guadaloupe after a 12-hour chase. Elizabeth was armed with ten 6-pounder guns and four 9-pounder carronades. She had a crew of 102, but 11 men were away in Cambrian, which Elizabeth had captured after Cambrian had left a convoy on 28 October. Cambrian had been carrying a cargo of coal from Cork to Jamaica; HMS Melville recaptured Cambrian. Cochrane noted that Elizabeth was a fine vessel, well worth taking into the Royal Navy,[7] which advice the Navy took, commissioning her as HMS Elizabeth.

Also that day Kingfisher and Hyaena captured a Spanish polacca sailing to Vera Cruz with merchandise.[7] On 28 December Kingsfisher and Heureux captured the Spanish merchant brig Solidad, which was carrying brandy and wine from Cadiz to Vera Cruz.[8]

In 1806, Kingfisher was attached to the British squadron under Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth. On 1 February she brought intelligence that a French squadron of three sail of the line had been seen steering towards the city of Santo Domingo. Duckworth gathered his squadron and on 6 February met the French in the Battle of San Domingo. Kingfisher was highly commended for her services in the aftermath of the action, with Cochrane being promoted to Post-captain. In 1807 Kingfisher shared with the rest of Duckworth's squadron in the prize money for the capture of the Alexander, Jupiter and Brave.[9] In 1847 the Admiralty would issue to any surviving crew members that claimed it the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "St. Domingo".

George Francis Seymour, who had been severely wounded while serving in Northumberland in the battle of San Domingo, succeeded Cochrane. Kingfisher then sailed for the Channel.[2]

European theatre edit

On 14 May Kingfisher towed Pallas after Pallas had rammed Minerve in the Basque Roads.

In July, Seymour was posted into Aurora and Commander William Hepenstall took command of Kingfisher. On 27 September she was with Admiral Sir Thomas Louis's squadron when the 40-gun French frigate Président surrendered to the 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop Dispatch, assisted by the 74-gun third rate Canopus and the frigate Blanche.[10][11]

In October, Hepenstall sailed Kingsfisher to the Mediterranean. Here, she was operating off the Turkish coast near Karaman, when on 27 June 1808 she captured the French letter of marque Hercule after a six-hour chase and an hour-long fight. Hercule, under Gerome Cavassa (a member of the Legion of Honour), was carrying a cargo of cotton from Aleppo and Cyprus to Marseilles or Genoa. She was armed with 12 guns, ranging in size from 8-pounders to 18-pounders. Her crew numbered 57 men, of whom one was killed and two were wounded. Kingfisher suffered extensive damage to her rigging but had only one man slightly wounded.[12][a]

In 1809, under Commander Ewell Tritton, on 12 March she was in company with the 38-gun fifth-rate frigate Topaze when Topaze engaged in an inconclusive action during the Adriatic campaign of 1807–1814 with the 40-gun Flore and the 44-gun Danaé. Topaze sustained no casualties or meaningful damage.[14]

On 1 October Kingfisher joined a squadron off Zante. On 3 October a British force under General John Oswald and Commodore John W. Spranger captured the port,[15] followed by Cephalonia, Ithaca, Santa Maura, and Cerigo.[16] On board around this time was the adventurer Thomas Sutcliffe.[17] While Kingfisher was in the area she captured a number of vessels bound for Corfu. Tritton put Sutcliffe on board one as prize master. Bad weather forced Sutcliffe to shelter on 30 October at the island of Melira. There he and his men were captured, after they had scuttled the prize. Sutcliffe later managed to escape to Albania.[18][b]

In 1810, a midshipman from Kingfisher, together with a corporal of marines and four boys, captured a trabaccolo that turned out to have some 100 French soldiers aboard. Kingfisher conveyed them to Malta.[20]

In 1811, Kingfisher was in the Adriatic, participating indirectly in the action of 29 November 1811 when Active captured Pomone. Kingsfisher came up after the fighting was over and took Pomone in tow.[21] Later, Kingfisher shared in the prize money.[22]

On 29 January 1813 Kingfisher was in company with Cerberus when they captured Madona della Grazia. Prize money was paid in April 1838.[c]

2 February 1813, after a five-hour chase, her boats captured one trabaccolo and ran nine ashore at St. Catherine's, Corfu, of which five were destroyed. Kingfisher lost two men killed and seven severely wounded.[24]

On 27 May 1813, Kingsfisher was at Port Slano (Croatia). There she destroyed three vessels and took six, laden with grain and wine for Ragussa.[25]

Fate edit

Between 1814 and 1816, Kingfisher was placed in ordinary at Portsmouth. She was broken up in October 1816.[2]

Notes edit

  1. ^ The capture earned Hepenstall £47 1s 8+3⁄4d in prize money; an able seaman received 6s 1d.[13]
  2. ^ While in Chile may years later, Sutcliffe told the tale of his escape to a French naval captain, who turned out to have been a lieutenant on Flore.[19]
  3. ^ Tritton was entitled to £19 17s 10+3⁄4d; an ordinary seaman was entitled to 5s 10+1⁄2d.[23]

Citations edit

  1. ^ "No. 20939". The London Gazette. 26 January 1849. p. 241.
  2. ^ a b c d e Winfield (2008), p. 258.
  3. ^ "No. 15794". The London Gazette. 2 April 1805. pp. 436–437.
  4. ^ "No. 15823". The London Gazette. 9 July 1805. p. 902.
  5. ^ "No. 18241". The London Gazette. 25 April 1826. p. 968.
  6. ^ James (1837), Vol. 3, pp.339-40.
  7. ^ a b "No. 15896". The London Gazette. 4 March 1806. p. 294.
  8. ^ "No. 15914". The London Gazette. 29 April 1806. p. 539.
  9. ^ "No. 16083". The London Gazette. 3 November 1807. p. 1460.
  10. ^ James (1837) Vol. 4, pp.265-6.
  11. ^ "No. 16123". The London Gazette. 27 February 1808. p. 307.
  12. ^ "No. 16194". The London Gazette. 22 October 1808. p. 1438.
  13. ^ "No. 18052". The London Gazette. 10 August 1824. p. 1317.
  14. ^ James (1837), Vol. 5, pp.172-3.
  15. ^ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 22, p.510.
  16. ^ Sutcliffe (1841), p. 175.
  17. ^ Sutton, Charles William (1898). "Sutcliffe, Thomas" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 55. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 177–178.
  18. ^ Sutcliffe (1841), pp. 173–181.
  19. ^ Sutcliffe (1841), pp. 180–81.
  20. ^ Giffard (1852), p.76.
  21. ^ "No. 16586". The London Gazette. 22 October 1808. p. 566.
  22. ^ "No. 16785". The London Gazette. 5 October 1813. p. 1994.
  23. ^ "No. 19610". The London Gazette. 24 April 1838. p. 958.
  24. ^ "No. 19758". The London Gazette. 27 July 1813. p. 1485.
  25. ^ "No. 16772". The London Gazette. 11 September 1813. p. 1794.

References edit

  • Giffard, Edward (1852) Deeds of naval daring; or, anecdotes of the British Navy. (London: John Murray).
  • 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.
  • Sutcliffe, Thomas (1841). Sixteen Years in Chile and Peru, from 1822 to 1839. London and Paris: Fisher, Son & Co.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.

External links edit

  •   Media related to HMS Kingfisher (ship, 1804) at Wikimedia Commons
  • [1] Michael Phillips - Ships of the Old Navy - Kingfisher

March 15, 2024
kingfisher, 1804, other, ships, with, same, name, kingfisher, kingfisher, king, fisher, kingsfisher, royal, navy, ship, sloop, built, john, king, launched, 1804, dover, served, during, napoleonic, wars, first, caribbean, then, mediterranean, before, being, bro. For other ships with the same name see HMS Kingfisher HMS Kingfisher or King s Fisher or Kingsfisher was a Royal Navy 18 gun ship sloop built by John King and launched in 1804 at Dover She served during the Napoleonic Wars first in the Caribbean and then in the Mediterranean before being broken up in 1816 KingfisherHistoryUKNameHMS KingfisherNamesakeAlcedo atthis the common kingfisherOrdered27 November 1802BuilderThomas King of DoverLaid downMarch 1803Launched10 March 1804Commissioned3 May 1804 at SheernessHonours andawardsNaval General Service Medal with clasp St Domingo 1 FateBroken up October 1816 at PortsmouthGeneral characteristics 2 Class and typeShip sloopTons burthen365 32 94 bm Length106 ft 32 3 m gundeck 87 ft 7 in 26 7 m keel Beam28 ft 8 5 m Depth of hold13 ft 9 in 4 2 m Sail planFull rigged shipComplement121Armament16 32 pounder carronades 2 6 pounder chase guns Contents 1 Caribbean 2 European theatre 3 Fate 4 Notes 5 Citations 6 References 7 External linksCaribbean editCommander Richard William Cribb commissioned Kingfisher in April 1804 2 He sailed her to the Leeward Islands and initially she operated from Barbados In January King s Fisher captured the French privateer schooner Deux Amis She was pierced for eight guns but only had two on board at the time of her capture having thrown the others overboard as she tried to escape her pursuers She had a crew of 39 men under the command of Francis Dutrique She was ten days out of Guadeloupe and had captured nothing Cribb credited His Majesty s schooner Grenada with having chased Deux Amis into his hands Furthermore when Grenada s commander saw that Kingfisher would capture Deux Amis he chased and recaptured the sloop Hero 3 On 11 April 1805 her boats cut out the Spanish privateer Damas from an anchorage under Cape St Juan She was pierced for four guns but only mounted one 8 pounder She also carried 40 muskets for her crew of 57 men Damas had left Cumana Venezuela ten days earlier for a cruise off Demerara on what was her first cruise but had captured nothing She put up a little resistance and there was gunfire from the shore but Kingsfisher suffered no casualties 4 In April 1826 head money for the capture of the Deux Amis and the Damas was finally paid 5 On 27 June when about 180 miles to north east of Barbuda Kingfisher Captain Richard William Cribb and Osprey Captain Timothy Clinch found themselves being chased by French frigates While making sail to escape the two sloops hoisted signals and fired guns as if signaling to a fleet ahead Their pursuers immediately gave up the chase which gave Kingfisher and Osprey the opportunity to catch up with a group of 15 French merchant vessels with cargoes of rum sugar and coffee The two British sloops left all 15 merchantmen in flames 6 Cribb died in June 1805 From July Kingfisher was under the command of Commander Nathaniel Day Cochrane 2 On 16 December Kingfisher captured the French privateer Elisabeth out of Guadaloupe after a 12 hour chase Elizabeth was armed with ten 6 pounder guns and four 9 pounder carronades She had a crew of 102 but 11 men were away in Cambrian which Elizabeth had captured after Cambrian had left a convoy on 28 October Cambrian had been carrying a cargo of coal from Cork to Jamaica HMS Melville recaptured Cambrian Cochrane noted that Elizabeth was a fine vessel well worth taking into the Royal Navy 7 which advice the Navy took commissioning her as HMS Elizabeth Also that day Kingfisher and Hyaena captured a Spanish polacca sailing to Vera Cruz with merchandise 7 On 28 December Kingsfisher and Heureux captured the Spanish merchant brig Solidad which was carrying brandy and wine from Cadiz to Vera Cruz 8 In 1806 Kingfisher was attached to the British squadron under Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth On 1 February she brought intelligence that a French squadron of three sail of the line had been seen steering towards the city of Santo Domingo Duckworth gathered his squadron and on 6 February met the French in the Battle of San Domingo Kingfisher was highly commended for her services in the aftermath of the action with Cochrane being promoted to Post captain In 1807 Kingfisher shared with the rest of Duckworth s squadron in the prize money for the capture of the Alexander Jupiter and Brave 9 In 1847 the Admiralty would issue to any surviving crew members that claimed it the Naval General Service Medal with clasp St Domingo George Francis Seymour who had been severely wounded while serving in Northumberland in the battle of San Domingo succeeded Cochrane Kingfisher then sailed for the Channel 2 European theatre editOn 14 May Kingfisher towed Pallas after Pallas had rammed Minerve in the Basque Roads In July Seymour was posted into Aurora and Commander William Hepenstall took command of Kingfisher On 27 September she was with Admiral Sir Thomas Louis s squadron when the 40 gun French frigate President surrendered to the 18 gun Cruizer class brig sloop Dispatch assisted by the 74 gun third rate Canopus and the frigate Blanche 10 11 In October Hepenstall sailed Kingsfisher to the Mediterranean Here she was operating off the Turkish coast near Karaman when on 27 June 1808 she captured the French letter of marque Hercule after a six hour chase and an hour long fight Hercule under Gerome Cavassa a member of the Legion of Honour was carrying a cargo of cotton from Aleppo and Cyprus to Marseilles or Genoa She was armed with 12 guns ranging in size from 8 pounders to 18 pounders Her crew numbered 57 men of whom one was killed and two were wounded Kingfisher suffered extensive damage to her rigging but had only one man slightly wounded 12 a In 1809 under Commander Ewell Tritton on 12 March she was in company with the 38 gun fifth rate frigate Topaze when Topaze engaged in an inconclusive action during the Adriatic campaign of 1807 1814 with the 40 gun Flore and the 44 gun Danae Topaze sustained no casualties or meaningful damage 14 On 1 October Kingfisher joined a squadron off Zante On 3 October a British force under General John Oswald and Commodore John W Spranger captured the port 15 followed by Cephalonia Ithaca Santa Maura and Cerigo 16 On board around this time was the adventurer Thomas Sutcliffe 17 While Kingfisher was in the area she captured a number of vessels bound for Corfu Tritton put Sutcliffe on board one as prize master Bad weather forced Sutcliffe to shelter on 30 October at the island of Melira There he and his men were captured after they had scuttled the prize Sutcliffe later managed to escape to Albania 18 b In 1810 a midshipman from Kingfisher together with a corporal of marines and four boys captured a trabaccolo that turned out to have some 100 French soldiers aboard Kingfisher conveyed them to Malta 20 In 1811 Kingfisher was in the Adriatic participating indirectly in the action of 29 November 1811 when Active captured Pomone Kingsfisher came up after the fighting was over and took Pomone in tow 21 Later Kingfisher shared in the prize money 22 On 29 January 1813 Kingfisher was in company with Cerberus when they captured Madona della Grazia Prize money was paid in April 1838 c 2 February 1813 after a five hour chase her boats captured one trabaccolo and ran nine ashore at St Catherine s Corfu of which five were destroyed Kingfisher lost two men killed and seven severely wounded 24 On 27 May 1813 Kingsfisher was at Port Slano Croatia There she destroyed three vessels and took six laden with grain and wine for Ragussa 25 Fate editBetween 1814 and 1816 Kingfisher was placed in ordinary at Portsmouth She was broken up in October 1816 2 Notes edit The capture earned Hepenstall 47 1s 8 3 4 d in prize money an able seaman received 6s 1d 13 While in Chile may years later Sutcliffe told the tale of his escape to a French naval captain who turned out to have been a lieutenant on Flore 19 Tritton was entitled to 19 17s 10 3 4 d an ordinary seaman was entitled to 5s 10 1 2 d 23 Citations edit No 20939 The London Gazette 26 January 1849 p 241 a b c d e Winfield 2008 p 258 No 15794 The London Gazette 2 April 1805 pp 436 437 No 15823 The London Gazette 9 July 1805 p 902 No 18241 The London Gazette 25 April 1826 p 968 James 1837 Vol 3 pp 339 40 a b No 15896 The London Gazette 4 March 1806 p 294 No 15914 The London Gazette 29 April 1806 p 539 No 16083 The London Gazette 3 November 1807 p 1460 James 1837 Vol 4 pp 265 6 No 16123 The London Gazette 27 February 1808 p 307 No 16194 The London Gazette 22 October 1808 p 1438 No 18052 The London Gazette 10 August 1824 p 1317 James 1837 Vol 5 pp 172 3 Naval Chronicle Vol 22 p 510 Sutcliffe 1841 p 175 Sutton Charles William 1898 Sutcliffe Thomas In Lee Sidney ed Dictionary of National Biography Vol 55 London Smith Elder amp Co pp 177 178 Sutcliffe 1841 pp 173 181 Sutcliffe 1841 pp 180 81 Giffard 1852 p 76 No 16586 The London Gazette 22 October 1808 p 566 No 16785 The London Gazette 5 October 1813 p 1994 No 19610 The London Gazette 24 April 1838 p 958 No 19758 The London Gazette 27 July 1813 p 1485 No 16772 The London Gazette 11 September 1813 p 1794 References editGiffard Edward 1852 Deeds of naval daring or anecdotes of the British Navy London John Murray 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 Sutcliffe Thomas 1841 Sixteen Years in Chile and Peru from 1822 to 1839 London and Paris Fisher Son amp Co Winfield Rif 2008 British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793 1817 Design Construction Careers and Fates Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978 1 86176 246 7 External links edit nbsp Media related to HMS Kingfisher ship 1804 at Wikimedia Commons 1 Michael Phillips Ships of the Old Navy Kingfisher Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMS Kingfisher 1804 amp oldid 1183138192, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.