HMS Caroline (1795)

Caroline off Shakespeare Head by Thomas Buttersworth
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Caroline
Ordered	24 May 1794
Cost	£24,560[1]
Laid down	June 1794
Launched	17 June 1795
Completed	25 September 1795
Commissioned	July 1795
Fate	Broken up September 1815
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Phoebe-class fifth-rate frigate
Tons burthen	924 44⁄94 (bm)
Length	142 ft 6 in (43.4 m) (gundeck) 118 ft 9+1⁄2 in (36.2 m) (keel)
Beam	38 ft 3 in (11.7 m)
Depth of hold	13 ft 5+1⁄2 in (4.1 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Complement	264
Armament	Gundeck: 26 × 18-pounder guns QD: 8 × 9-pounder guns + 6 × 32-pounder carronades Fc: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 4 × 32-pounder carronades

HMS Caroline was a 36-gun fifth-rate Phoebe-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was designed by Sir John Henslow and launched in 1795 at Rotherhithe by John Randall. Caroline was a lengthened copy of HMS Inconstant with improved speed but more instability. The frigate was commissioned in July 1795 under Captain William Luke to serve in the North Sea Fleet of Admiral Adam Duncan. Caroline spent less than a year in the North Sea before being transferred to the Lisbon Station. Here she was tasked to hunt down or interdict French shipping while protecting British merchant ships, with service taking her from off Lisbon to Cadiz and into the Mediterranean Sea. In 1799 the ship assisted in the tracking of the French fleet of Admiral Étienne Eustache Bruix, and in 1800 she participated in the blockade of Cadiz.

In 1803 Caroline brought the news of the declaration of war with France to the East Indies where she would stay for the rest of her service. The ship's main role in the Indies was attacking the possessions of the French and their allies and as such she participated in a number of important events, including the Java campaign of 1806–1807 in which she fought the action of 18 October 1806. The frigate also played an active role in the Persian Gulf campaign of 1809, the invasion of the Spice Islands where her crew were instrumental in capturing Banda Neira, and the invasion of Java in 1811. After this Caroline returned home to be paid off at Portsmouth where she was hulked. Her last, and most successful, commander was Captain Sir Christopher Cole. Caroline was broken up at Deptford in 1815.