British Fifth Rate frigate 'Active' (1780)

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Active

2878
Nominal Guns32BWAS-1714
NationalityGreat Britain
OperatorRoyal Navy
Ordered10.12.1778BWAS-1714
Keel Laid Down2.1779BWAS-1714
Launched30.8.1780BWAS-1714
How acquiredPurpose builtBWAS-1714
ShipyardNortham - Devon BWAS-1714
Designed byEdward Hunt (d.bef.1740)BWAS-1714
CategoryFifth RateBWAS-1714
Ship TypeFrigate BWAS-1714
Sailing RigShip RiggedBWAS-1714
Wrecked13.7.1796BWAS-1714

Dimensions


DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentBWAS-1714
Length of Gundeck126' 0"Imperial Feet38.4048 
Length of Keel103' 9 ⅞"Imperial Feet31.4166 
Breadth35' 7"Imperial Feet10.7036 
Depth in Hold12' 2"Imperial Feet3.683 
Burthen699 23⁄94Tons BM 

Armament


30.8.1780Broadside Weight = 246 Imperial Pound ( 111.561 kg)BWAS-1714
Upper Gun Deck26 British 12-Pounder
Quarterdeck4 British 24-Pound Carronade
Quarterdeck4 British 6-Pounder
Forecastle2 British 24-Pound Carronade
Forecastle2 British 6-Pounder

Crew Complement


Date# of MenNotesSource
1778250Design Complement

8 Commanding Officers


DatesRankNameSource
11.8.1780 - 1.1.1783CaptainThomas Mackenzie (1753-1813) ADM 6/22/160BWAS-17141.1.1783 - 23.12.1783CaptainThomas Troubridge (1758-1807) ADM 6/23/233
Issued by Edward Hughes (1720-1794), East Indies - Asia
Commission confirmed 21.7.1784BWAS-171423.12.1783 - 7.1786CaptainSimon Mackenzie (d.1804) ADM 6/23/316
Issued by Edward Hughes (1720-1794), East Indies - Asia
Commission confirmed 18.2.1786BWAS-171421.9.1790 - 22.11.1790CaptainRichard Rundle Burgess (1754-1797) ADM 6/24/68ADM 6/2422.11.1790CaptainJohn Laugharne ADM 6/24/88ADM 6/241.1793 - 23.7.1794CaptainEdmund NagleBWAS-171423.7.1794 - 1795CaptainSir Thomas Wolley ADM 6/25/65BWAS-17141796 - 13.7.1796CaptainSir Erasmus Gower (1742-1814)BWAS-1714

1 Commissioned Officer


DatesRankNameSource
10.3.1793 - 7.1793LieutenantHenry Blackwood (1770-1832)ref:616

Service History


DateEventSource
30.8.1780building at Northam - Devon at a cost of £8285.4.3dBWAS-1714
2.9.1780Began coppering and fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth BWAS-1714
18.11.1780Completed coppering and fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth BWAS-1714
13.3.1781Sailed for the East IndiesBWAS-1714
16.4.1781Battle of Porto Praya
1.7.1781Took the Merchant Ship Held Woltemade near Saldhana Bay
21.7.1781Attack in Saldanha Bay
3.9.1782Battle of Trincomalee
7.1786Returned home to be paid offBWAS-1714
11.1791Began fitting at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford BWAS-1714
1.1793RecommissionedBWAS-1714
3.1793Completed fitting at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford at a cost of £17845.0.0dBWAS-1714
13.7.1796Wrecked on Anticosti island in the St Lawrence estuaryBWAS-1714
30.7.1796AbandonedBWAS-1714


Sources


IDDescriptionAuthorType
BWAS-1714British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714 - 1792Rif WinfieldBook
ADM 6/24ADM 6/24 Commission and Warrant Book 1789 Sep.-1793  Archive
ref:616Who's Who in Nelson's NavyNicholas TracyBook
 
Previous comments on this page

Posted by Frank van Andel on Sunday 5th of February 2017 19:33

What happened to the crew of the Held Woltemade, which was taken near Saldhana Bay? In the VOC log it doesn't say they were killed, just "lifted" (= taken from board by the British)

Posted by Ian Bates on Friday 5th of October 2012 12:03

The captain of this frigate when it was wrecked in 1796 was Captain Edward Leveson-Gower (8 May 1776 – 6 December 1853).
Captain Sir Erasmus Gower was in command of HMS Triumph (74) at this time, not HMS Active (32).

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