British Fifth Rate frigate 'Active' (1780)

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Active	2878
Nominal Guns	32	BWAS-1714
Nationality	Great Britain
Operator	The Royal Navy
Ordered	1778/12/10	BWAS-1714
Keel Laid Down	1779/02	BWAS-1714
Launched	1780/08/30	BWAS-1714
How acquired	Purpose built	BWAS-1714
Shipyard	Northam	BWAS-1714
Designed by	Edward Hunt	BWAS-1714
Category	Fifth Rate	BWAS-1714
Ship Type	Frigate
Wrecked	1796/07/13	BWAS-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

1780/08/30Broadside 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

Commanding Officers

DatesRankNameSource
1780/08 - 1783/01/01CaptainThomas MackenzieBWAS-17141783/01/01 - 1783/12CaptainThomas TroubridgeBWAS-17141783/12/13 - 1786/07CaptainSimon MackenzieBWAS-17141793/01 - 1794CaptainEdmund NagleBWAS-17141795CaptainSir Thomas WolleyBWAS-17141796 - 1796/07/13CaptainSir Erasmus GowerBWAS-1714

Commissioned Officers

DatesRankNameSource
1793/03/10 - 1793/07LieutenantHenry Blackwoodref:616

Service History

DateEventSource
1780/08/30building at Northam at a cost of £8285.4.3dBWAS-1714
1780/09/02Began coppering and fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard BWAS-1714
1780/11/18Completed coppering and fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard BWAS-1714
1781/03/13Sailed for the East IndiesBWAS-1714
1781/04/16Battle of Porto Praya
1781/07/01Took the Merchantman Ship Held Woltemade near Saldhana Bay
1781/07/21Attack in Saldanha Bay
1782/09/03Battle of Trincomalee
1786/07Returned home to be paid offBWAS-1714
1791/11Began fitting at Deptford Dockyard BWAS-1714
1793/01RecommissionedBWAS-1714
1793/03Completed fitting at Deptford Dockyard at a cost of £17845.0.0dBWAS-1714
1796/07/13Wrecked on Anticosti island in the St Lawrence estuaryBWAS-1714
1796/07/30AbandonedBWAS-1714
//

Sources
ID	Description	Author	Type
BWAS-1714	British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714 - 1792	Rif Winfield	Book
ref:616	Who's Who in Nelson's Navy	Nicholas Tracy	Book

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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