![]() Melpomene (drawn when captured, 1794)
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History | |
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Name | Melpomène |
Builder | Toulon Dockyard |
Laid down | February 1788 |
Launched | 6 August 1789 |
Captured | 10 August 1794 by the Royal Navy |
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Name | Melpomene |
Fate | Sold 1815 |
General characteristics (as re-measured following her capture) | |
Class and type | Minerve-class frigate |
Tons burthen | 1,013 52⁄94 (bm) |
Length |
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Beam | 39 feet 3 inches (12 m) |
Depth | 13 feet 6 inches (4.1 m) |
Propulsion | sail |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Armament |
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General characteristics (as re-armed by the British) | |
Armament |
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HMS Melpomene was a 38-gun frigate of the Royal Navy. Originally a French vessel, she was captured at Calvi on 10 August 1794 and first saw British service in the English Channel, where she helped to contain enemy privateering. In October 1798, she chased a French frigate squadron sent to find the French fleet under Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart, that was routed at the Battle of Tory Island and in August 1799, she joined Andrew Mitchell's squadron for the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland.
In April 1800, Melpomene was active along the coast of Senegal and led a small squadron that captured the island of Gorée. She later returned to the Channel where, in July 1804, she took part in a bombardment of Le Havre. For much of 1809, she was employed in the Baltic where she fought in some notable actions during the Gunboat War and the Anglo-Russian War.