HMS Malta (1800)
Capture of the William Tell, by Robert Dodd
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History | |
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France | |
Name | Guillaume Tell |
Builder | Toulon |
Laid down | September 1794 |
Launched | 21 October 1795 |
Completed | By July 1796 |
Captured | 30 March 1800, by the Royal Navy |
Great Britain | |
Name | HMS Malta |
Acquired | 30 March 1800 |
Fate | Broken up in August 1840 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Tonnant-class ship of the line |
Tons burthen | 2,265 9⁄94 bm |
Length |
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Beam | 51 ft 7.5 in (15.7 m) |
Depth of hold | 23 ft 4 in (7.11 m) |
Propulsion | Sails |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Complement | 780 |
Armament |
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HMS Malta was an 80-gun
Guillaume Tell took part in the
Construction and French career
Nile
Guillaume Tell was built to a design by
Villeneuve fought on until midday on 2 August, before attempting to escape to sea with the remains of the French rear, including the Généreux and Timoléon, and two frigates, but the Timoléon ran aground and had to be abandoned.[4] Villeneuve was later criticised for not using his initiative to bring the rear to support the van earlier in the attack, but pleaded that it would not have made a difference to the outcome.[4] The four surviving French ships escaped to Malta, with Généreux returning from there to Toulon, but Guillaume Tell became trapped at Valletta by the British blockade.[5]
Capture
Nelson's irritation that two of the French ships of the line at the Nile had escaped him was assuaged by interception of the Généreux in February 1800 while trying to protect a squadron attempting to break the blockade of Malta.
By dawn on 30 March the 64-gun HMS Lion had closed and the two exchanged fire, with Lion's bowsprit becoming entangled in Guillaume Tell's rigging. The crew of Lion fought off two attempts to board by the French, before drifting away with her sails and rigging cut to pieces in order to repair the damage.[6] Edward Berry's HMS Foudroyant came up at 6 in the morning, and after ordering Guillaume Tell to surrender, fired a broadside. Guillaume Tell had had her main and mizzen top masts shot away by Penelope, but resisted Foudroyant.[6] The two ships exchanged broadsides while Penelope ranged up on Guillaume Tell's un-engaged quarter and opened fire.[6] Now engaged on both sides, Guillaume Tell lost her foremast at 6.36 am, and her mainmast at 6.45 am. At about this time a French seaman nailed the French ensign to the stump of the mizzen-mast.[6] Now engaged by all three British ships, the French ship fought on for another two hours, until completely dismasted and obliged to close her lower gunports to stop them flooding as the ship rolled helplessly.[7] Realising that further resistance was useless, Decrès ordered the colours to be struck at 9.35 am.[7]
British career
The badly damaged Guillaume Tell was taken in tow by Penelope, the only ship in any condition to remain at sea and arrived at
Malta became the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Louis in August 1806, and was still serving with Louis' squadron when they were ordered to intercept a French force under Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez that was expected to arrive in European waters from the Caribbean. On 27 September they came across the 44-gun French frigate Président, and after a pursuit, forced her to surrender.[14] Malta departed for the Mediterranean on 5 January 1807 and spent the year participating in the blockade of Cadiz, with Buller being succeeded in command by Captain William Shield during the year.[1] She blockaded Toulon in 1808, at first under Shield, and later under Captain Robert Otway. Returning home to Britain in December that year, she was paid off.[1] Work began on a large repair at Plymouth in July 1809, after which she was fitted out for foreign service, a process completed by December 1811. She had recommissioned in September 1811 under the command of Captain Charles Paget to serve as the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Benjamin Hallowell in the Mediterranean.[1] Malta sailed from Britain on 8 January 1812, and spent the next few years in the Mediterranean, passing under the command of Captain William Charles Fahie in January 1815.[1] Fahie was in command of Malta when she took part in the successful attack on the Fortress of Gaeta during the July and August 1815.[15]
With the end of the Napoleonic Wars she returned to Britain, where various defects were repaired and she was fitted out as the Plymouth
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail 1794-1817. pp. 32–3.
- ^ Mostert. The Line Upon the Wind. p. 271.
- ^ a b Mostert. The Line Upon the Wind. p. 260.
- ^ a b Mostert. The Line Upon the Wind. p. 272.
- ^ a b c Mostert. The Line Upon the Wind. p. 365.
- ^ a b c d e f g Mostert. The Line Upon the Wind. p. 366.
- ^ a b Mostert. The Line Upon the Wind. p. 367.
- ^ Gardiner. Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars. p. 162.
- ^ Fremont-Barnes. The Royal Navy: 1793-1815. p. 84.
- ^ Adkin. The Trafalgar Companion. p. 56.
- ^ a b Tracy. Who's who in Nelson's Navy. p. 66.
- ^ The Annual Biography and Obituary. 1825. p. 72.
- ^ The Gentleman's Magazine. 1805. p. 760.
- ^ The Gentleman's Magazine. 1824. p. 466.
- ^ Annual register 1815. T.C. Hansard. 1824. p. 232. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^ Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy. p. 214.
References
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Adkin, Mark (2007). The Trafalgar Companion: A Guide to History's Most Famous Sea Battle and the Life of Admiral Lord Nelson. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1-84513-018-3.
- The Annual Biography and Obituary. Vol. 9. Longman. 1825.
- Fremont-Barnes, Gregory (2007). The Royal Navy: 1793-1815. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-138-0.
- Gardiner, Robert (2006). Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-292-5.
- The Gentleman's Magazine. Vol. 98. London: John Bowyer Nichols & Son. 1805.
- The Gentleman's Magazine. Vol. 94, pt 1. London: F. Jefferies. 1824.
- Mostert, Noel (2008). The Line Upon a Wind: The Greatest War Fought At Sea Under Sail: 1793-1815. London: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-7126-0927-2.
- Tracy, Nicholas (2006). Who's who in Nelson's Navy: 200 Naval Heroes. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-244-5.
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1794–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.
External links
Media related to Guillaume Tell (ship, 1795) at Wikimedia Commons