HMS Hawk (1803)

HMS Hawk was an 18-gun sloop-of-war, previously the French privateer Atalante, that HMS Plantagenet captured in 1803. The Royal Navy took Atalante into service as HMS Hawk; she foundered in 1804.

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

History
French Navy EnsignFrance
NameAtalante
BuilderBordeaux
Launched1802
CommissionedJune 1803
CapturedJuly 1803
United Kingdom
NameHMS Hawk
AcquiredJuly 1803 by capture
FateDisappeared, presumed foundered December 1804
General characteristics [1]
TypeShip or sloop-of-war
Tonnage32042⁄94 (bm),
Displacement220 tonnes (French)
Length
  • Overall: 90 ft 11 in (27.7 m)
  • Keel: 76 ft 11+1⁄2 in (23.5 m)
Beam27 ft 11+3⁄4 in (8.5 m)
Depth of hold8 ft 2 in (2.5 m)
Sail planBrig[2]
Complement
  • French service: 128
  • British service: 121
Armament
  • French service: 14 × 6-pounder guns
  • British service: 16 × 24-pounder carronades + 2 × 9-pounder chase guns

Origins

Atalante was a merchantman active from 1802. She was commissioned as a privateer in June 1803 in Bordeaux. She was on her first cruise under the command of Arnaud Martin when she was captured.[3]

Capture

Plantagenet was cruising for "the protection of the Trade" when at noon on 27 July she joined Rosario which was chasing a French privateer. By 4pm Rosario was within gunshot of their quarry when Rosario lost her topmast due to the amount of sail she was carrying, and dropped astern. By 8pm Plantagenet caught up with the privateer, which struck. The French vessel was Atalante, of Bordeaux, which had been out six days without capturing anything. She was pierced for 22 guns, but had only fourteen 6-pounders on board when Plantagenet captured her, having thrown the other guns overboard during the chase. She had a crew of 120 men under the command of Captain Arnaud Martin. Captain Hammond of Plantagenet described Atalante as an "exceedingly handsome Vessel", and as sailing remarkably fast, having "run us nearly Ninety Miles in the Nine Hours."[4]

Plantagenet took off 90 Frenchmen and put a prize crew of 20 Englishmen, under the command of Lieutenant Batt, on board Atalante. After the two vessels had separated, 68 Frenchmen, who had concealed themselves below decks, rose and attempted to retake their vessel. The British were able to subdue the Frenchmen, but not before one British sailor had been shot dead by one of his crewmates, who had mistaken the dead man for a Frenchman. The later report described Atalante as being armed with sixteen 6-pounder guns and 160 men. She had been out of Bordeaux five days but had captured nothing.[5]

Atalante arrived in Plymouth on 3 August. Lloyd's List described her as being of 24 guns and having a crew of 150 men.[6]

Career and loss

The Admiralty took Atalante in as Hawk, there already being an Atalante in Royal Navy service. The Royal Navy commissioned her in December 1803 under C. Apthorpe.[2][7]

At some point Commander James Tippett replaced Apthorpe.[1] She served in the British blockade of the French coast and on 10 August 1804 was in company with Aigle when a gale separated them. Aigle went on to capture two French corvettes.[8] Tippett may not yet have taken command of Hawk as he was still captain of the hired armed ship Pretty Lass on 6 August when she sailed from Plymouth to take dispatches to the fleet at Brest.

Hawk, under Tippet's command, and Boadicea were cruising in the English Channel when on 1 December Hawk set off in pursuit of a strange sail. She never reappeared. The Admiralty presumed that she had foundered and paid her off on 31 December 1804.[9]

See also

Citations
  1. Winfield (2008), p. 272.
  2. "NMM, vessel ID 368305" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol i. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  3. Demerliac (2003), p. 285, n°2279.
  4. "No. 15607". The London Gazette. 2 August 1803. p. 963.
  5. "Wednesday's and Thursday's Posts". 4 August 1803, Trewman's Exeter Flying Post (Exeter, England) Issue: 2076.
  6. Lloyd's List, no. 4373, - accessed 21 February 2014.
  7. Naval Chronicle, Vol. 10, p. 516.
  8. "No. 15725". The London Gazette. 4 August 1804. p. 937.
  9. Hepper (1994), p. 108.

References
  • Demerliac, Alain (2003). La Marine du Consulat et du Premier Empire: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1800 à 1815 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 9782903179304. OCLC 492784876.
  • Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 0948864303.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 9781861762467.

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