British Fifth Rate frigate 'Arethusa' (1781)

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Arethusa	3105
Nominal Guns	38	BWAS-1714
Nationality	Great Britain
Operator	The Royal Navy
Ordered	1779/02/12	BWAS-1714
Keel Laid Down	1779/08/23	BWAS-1714
Launched	1781/04/10	BWAS-1714
How acquired	Purpose built	BWAS-1714
Shipyard	Bristol	BWAS-1714
Ship Class	Minerva Class
Designed by	Edward Hunt	BWAS-1714
Constructor	James Martin Hillhouse	BWAS-1714
Category	Fifth Rate	BWAS-1714
Ship Type	Frigate
Sailing Rig	Ship Rigged
Broken Up	1814/05	BWAS-1714

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentBWAS-1714
Length of Gundeck141' 1 ½"Imperial Feet42.9895
Length of Keel116' 10 ⅝"Imperial Feet35.3727
Breadth39' 0 ½"Imperial Feet11.8999
Depth in Hold13' 9 ½"Imperial Feet3.9751
Burthen947 ⁶³⁄₉₄Tons BM

Armament

1781/04/10Broadside Weight = 390.5 Imperial Pound ( 177.0921 kg)BWAS-1714
Upper Gun Deck28 British 18-Pounder
Upper Gun Deck14 British 1/2-Pound Swivel
Quarterdeck6 British 18-Pound Carronade
Quarterdeck8 British 9-Pounder
Forecastle4 British 18-Pound Carronade
Forecastle2 British 9-Pounder

Crew Complement

Date# of MenNotesSource
1778/11/06270Design Complement

Commanding Officers

DatesRankNameSource
1781/03 - 1783/01CaptainSir Richard PearsonBWAS-17141790/05 - 1790CaptainJohn StanhopeBWAS-17141793 - 1794/01CaptainThe Hon. Seymour FinchBWAS-17141794/01 - 1795/04CaptainSir Edward PellewBWAS-17141795/04 - 1796/03Captain BWAS-17141796/03 - 1801/08CaptainSir Thomas WolleyBWAS-17141801/08 - 1802CaptainJames BowenBWAS-17141805/04 - 1808/09CaptainCharles BrisbaneBWAS-17141808/09 - 1811CaptainSir Robert MendsBWAS-17141811 - 1813CaptainFrancis Holmes CoffinBWAS-1714

Commissioned Officers

DatesRankNameSource
1797/11/17 - 1799/04/29LieutenantFrederick William BurgoyneNBD18491799LieutenantJoseph Salvador MoriencourtTNC1806First LieutenantJohn ParishDAR-1837

Petty Officers

DatesRankNameSource
1805/05 - 1807/10MidshipmanJohn Henry BellairsNBD18491805/07 - 1806Master's MateEdward BoxerNBD18491806 - 1808/10MidshipmanJohn Williams AldridgeNL18651808/09 - 1809/03/20MidshipmanGeorge BackNBD18491809/11 - 1811MidshipmanJames BurneyNBD1849

Crewmen

DatesRankNameSource
1805/09/27 - 18061st Class VolunteerJohn Williams AldridgeNL1865

Service History

DateEventSource
1781/04/10building at Bristol at a cost of £12178.1.2dBWAS-1714
1781/10Began refitting at Plymouth Dockyard BWAS-1714
1781/11Completed refitting at Plymouth Dockyard at a cost of £5368.4.9dBWAS-1714
1781/12/122nd Battle of Ushant
1782/04/17Sailed for NewfoundlandBWAS-1714
1783/01Paid off at PortsmouthBWAS-1714
1790/05RecommissionedBWAS-1714
1790/06Began fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard BWAS-1714
1790/08Completed fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard at a cost of £5034.0.0dBWAS-1714
1792/06Began great repair at Portsmouth Dockyard BWAS-1714
1793/09RecommissionedBWAS-1714
1794/01Completed great repair at Portsmouth Dockyard at a cost of £21978.0.0dBWAS-1714
1794/04/23Took the Sixth Rate Corvette Le Babet (24)
1794/04/23Action of 1794-04-23
1794/08/23Destruction of the Volontaire
1794/10/21Took the Fifth Rate Frigate Révolutionnaire (36)
1794/10/21Capture of the Révolutionnaire
1796/02/09Sailed for the Leeward IslandsBWAS-1714
1797/02At TrinidadBWAS-1714
1805/02Began repairs at Deptford Dockyard BWAS-1714
1805/04RecommissionedBWAS-1714
1805/06Completed repairs at Deptford Dockyard at a cost of £14148.0.0dBWAS-1714
1805/12/12Sailed for JamaicaBWAS-1714
1806Grounded on the ColoradosBWAS-1714
1807/01/01Present at the capture of CuracaoBWAS-1714
1808/08/23Took the Fifth Rate Frigate Pomona (34) off Havana
1809/04/05Capture of the Niémen
1811/11/21Sailed for JamaicaBWAS-1714
1814/05Broken up at SheernessBWAS-1714
//

Sources
ID	Description	Author	Type
BWAS-1714	British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714 - 1792	Rif Winfield	Book
NBD1849	A Naval Biographical Dictionary 1849	O'Brien	Digital Book
TNC	The Naval Chronical	Various	Book
DAR-1837	Dodsley's Anual Register - 1837		Digital Book
NL1865	The Navy List 1865	The Admiralty	Digital Book

Previous comments on this page

Posted by Tim Oakley on Friday 13th of January 2017 19:50

Circa Feb 1800 Lieut. Norman, late of the Cormorant, is appointed to the Arethusa38.

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