HMS Redbridge (1803)

HMS Redbridge was the French privateer cutter Oiseau, which had been commissioned at Rochefort in August 1803. HMS Argo captured her in September 1803. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Redbridge. She foundered at Jamaica in February 1805.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Redbridge.

History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Redbridge
Builder: Nantes?[1]
Acquired: 12 September 1803 by capture
Fate: Foundered 26 February 1805
General characteristics [1] & [2]
Tons burthen:
  • Privateer: 150 (French; "of load")
  • RN: 170 (bm)
Length: 81 ft (25 m) or 24.7m
Beam: 21 ft 6 in (6.6 m), or 6.5m
Sail plan: Schooner
Complement: 68 (privateer)
Armament:
  • Privateer: 2 × 4-pounder guns + 10 × 6-pounder carronades
  • Royal Navy: 12 guns

Capture

Oiseau began her cruise in August 1803.[3]

Argo captured Oiseau on 12 September 1803. Oiseau was armed with ten guns and had a crew of 68 men under the command of Enseigne de vaisseau Nicholas Brune Daubin. Fire from Argo killed Oiseau's second lieutenant during the pursuit. Oiseau was nine days out of Rochfort and taken nothing.[4]

Lieutenant Francis Blower Gibbes (acting) commissioned Redbridge in Jamaica in May 1804.

Fate

Redbridge, Lieutenant Francis Gibbes, was at anchor in Pedro Bay, Jamaica, on 26 February 1805 when at around 7a.m. water was found to be entering. The crew used the pumps, attempted to bail, and tried to kedge her on to shore, but she foundered suddenly at about 9a.m. All the crew were rescued. The post-loss inquiry found that Redbridge was in poor condition and leaky.[5]

Citations and references

Citations

  1. Demerliac (2003), p. 280, n°2223.
  2. Winfield (2008), p. 364.
  3. Demerliac (2004), p. 280, n°2223.
  4. "No. 15622". The London Gazette. 20 September 1803. p. 1273.
  5. Hepper (1994), p. 110.

References

  • Demerliac, Alain (2003). La Marine du Consulat et du Premier Empire: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1800 A 1815 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 2-903179-30-1.
  • Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650–1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 0-948864-30-3.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.
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