Britannia (1806 EIC ship)
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| History | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} United Kingdom | |
| Name | Britannia |
| Owner | British East India Company[1] |
| Builder | Perry & Wells, Blackwall[1] |
| Launched | 29 September 1806[1] |
| Fate | Wrecked 25 January 1809 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 1200,[2] 1273,[3] or 127373⁄94,[1] or 1349,[4] (bm) |
| Length | |
| Beam | 42 ft 4 in (12.9 m)[3] |
| Depth of hold | 17 ft 1 in (5.2 m)[3] |
| Complement | 138[4] |
| Armament | 38 x 9&18-pounder guns[4] |
Britannia was launched in 1806 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company. She made only one voyage for the company before a gale wrecked her in January 1809.
Captain Jonathan Birch received a letter of marque on 3 November 1806. He sailed Britannia from Portsmouth on 26 February 1807, bound for Bombay and China. He returned from that voyage on 1 July 1808.[3]
Birch and Britannia were in the Downs on 24 January 1809, prior to setting out on a second voyage to the east, this time to Madras and China.[3]
The next day, 25 January, a howling gale tore her from her moorings off Deal, Kent, and she wrecked on the Goodwin Sands off the South Foreland.[5] Seven of her crew drowned.[6] The EIC valued her cargo at £57,091;[7] the total loss, vessel plus cargo, was £117,820.[8]
The gale also wrecked the Indiaman Admiral Gardner and the brig Apollo. Only one man of Apollo's crew of 20 survived.[9] Boatmen from Deal were able to rescue almost the entire crew from Admiral Gardner. A few days later, Lloyd's List reported that all three wrecked vessels had gone to pieces.[10]
