HMS Cracker (1797)
History | |
---|---|
Great Britain | |
Name | HMS Cracker |
Builder | John Dudman & Co., Deptford |
Laid down | February 1797 |
Launched | 25 April 1797 |
Fate | Sold 1802 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type | gunbrig |
Tons burthen | 16113⁄94(bm) |
Length |
|
Beam | 22 ft 2 in (6.76 m) |
Depth of hold | 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) |
Complement | 50 |
Armament | 10 × 18-pounder carronades + 2 × 24-pounder chase guns |
HMS Cracker was an Acute-class gunbrig, launched in 1797. She was sold in 1802.
Career
Lieutenant Thomas Aitkinson commissioned Cracker in May 1797.[1]
On 28 August 1799, Cracker was with the British fleet that captured the Dutch hulks Drotchterland and Brooderschap, and the ships Helder, Venus, Minerva, and Hector, in the New Diep, in Holland. A partial pay-out of
Cracker shared with the sloop
Between 1800 and 1801 Cracker was under the command of Lieutenant Thomas O'Brien. She was coppered in February 1801.[1]
Cracker was part of the North Sea Fleet but did not participate in the head money for the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.[7] Admiral Lord Nelson, in letter, remarked on "with the exception of the glaring misconduct of the Officers of the Tigress and Cracker gun brigs".[8] Unfortunately it is not clear what the glaring misconduct was.
The division of the North Sea fleet commanded by Admiral Thomas in HMS Polyphemus returned to Yarmouth from the Baltic Sea on 13 July and then sailed to join Admiral Dickson's squadron blockading the Dutch fleet in the Texel.[a] At some point Graves transferred his flag to Defiance.
Lieutenant James Watson assumed command of Cracker in August 1801.
Fate
The "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy" first offered the "Cracker Gun-Vessel, 161 Tons, Copper-bottomed and fastened, and Copper Braces and Pintles, lying at Sheerness", for sale on 1 December 1802.[9] Cracker was sold at Sheerness in December.[1]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d Winfield (2008), p. 332.
- ^ "No. 15453". The London Gazette. 13 February 1802. p. 158.
- ^ "No. 15542". The London Gazette. 18 December 1802. pp. 1349–1350.
- ^ "No. 15716". The London Gazette. 3 July 1804. p. 828.
- ^ "No. 15547". The London Gazette. 14 January 1803. p. 40.
- ^ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 3, p.141.
- ^ "No. 15487". The London Gazette. 8 June 1802. p. 600.
- ^ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 6, p.69.
- ^ "No. 16993". The London Gazette. 14 March 1815. p. 484.
Sources
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.