HMS Resistance (1801)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
_-_The_Capture_of_the_French_Frigate_Le_Serene_by_the_English_Frigate_Boreas_(Aigle),_by_Thomas_Whitcombe_(cropped).jpg) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Resistance |
| Ordered | 28 January 1800 |
| Builder | George Parsons, Bursledon |
| Laid down | March 1800 |
| Launched | 29 April 1801 |
| Completed | 21 June 1801 |
| Commissioned | May 1801 |
| Fate | Wrecked 31 May 1803 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class & type | Fifth-rate Aigle-class frigate |
| Tons burthen | 9758⁄94 (bm) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 38 ft 9 in (11.8 m) |
| Draught |
|
| Depth of hold | 13 ft 0+1⁄2 in (4 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Complement | 264 |
| Armament |
|
HMS Resistance was a 36-gun fifth-rate Aigle-class frigate of the Royal Navy, one of a pair designed by Sir John Henslow. Resistance was commissioned in May 1801 by Captain Henry Digby, and after brief service in the English Channel the frigate left for Quebec in charge of a convoy. While on voyage Resistance captured the French privateer Elizabeth, which was the last ship captured during the French Revolutionary War. Having returned to England at the end of the year, the frigate resumed service in the English Channel, with Captain Philip Wodehouse replacing Digby. On 31 May 1803 Resistance was sailing to the Mediterranean Sea when she was wrecked off Cape St. Vincent; the crew survived.
Resistance was a 36-gun, 18-pounder, fifth-rate Aigle-class frigate. Designed by the Surveyor of the Navy Sir John Henslow in 1798, the ship was one of two constructed to the design, along with the namesake of the class HMS Aigle.[1] During the French Revolutionary War British frigate designs were frequently lengthened so that they could reach sailing speeds comparable to French frigates.[2][3] The Aigle class followed this trend, being close in dimensions to the Penelope class which the naval historian Robert Gardiner describes as the "apogee" of the lengthening trend.[2] The Aigle class did not, however, have the same shallow depth in the hold that the Penelope class did, in fact being known as "very roomy".[2][4]
The Aigle-class frigates were the first to be designed with solid barricades on their forecastle, but their initial designs were changed considerably as they underwent construction. Most notably the barricades were adapted to have access openings in them on 15 November 1798, and the location of the head was raised on 6 June 1800. In 1817 Aigle received further changes during a refit, including the addition of a circular stern, but Resistance did not survive to receive these more impactful additions.[2]
Resistance was designed with a crew complement of 264, and held twenty-six 18-pounder guns on the upper deck. This main armament was planned to be supported by four 9-pounder guns and eight 32-pounder carronades on the quarterdeck, with a further four 9-pounder guns and two 32-pounder carronades on the forecastle.[1] The 9-pounder guns were in place as chase guns.[5] On 17 June 1799, before Resistance was laid down, an Admiralty Order saw two of the 9-pounder guns on the quarterdeck and forecastle replaced by more 32-pounder carronades, necessitating the widening of the gunports to accept the larger guns. The order was reversed on 15 October 1801, and Resistance had the 9-pounder guns returned to her.[2][5]
Resistance was ordered on 28 January 1800 to be built at Bursledon by the shipwright George Parsons.[1][6] Laid down in March of the same year, Resistance was launched on 29 April 1801 with the following dimensions: 146 feet 1+1⁄4 inches (44.5 m) along the upper deck and 122 feet 1 inch (37.2 m) along the keel, with a beam of 38 feet 9 inches (11.8 m) and a depth in the hold of 13 feet 0+1⁄2 inch (4 m). The ship had a draught of 10 feet 5 inches (3.2 m) forward and 15 feet 7 inches (4.7 m) aft, and measured 9758⁄94 tons burthen. The fitting out process was completed at Portsmouth Dockyard on 21 June.[Note 1][1][2]
Gardiner describes Resistance's sister Aigle as a "good all-round performer under sail", but says that the ship was not quite the fastest of its type.[2] The class was, for example, outclassed in sailing capabilities by the Apollo class that had been designed around the same time and was "generally similar".[2][4] Despite this the Aigle class was recorded as fast, weatherly, and manoeuvrable, capable of reaching between 10 knots (19 km/h) and 12 knots (22 km/h) in the most favourable of conditions.[4]
_RMG_J5290.jpg)
