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HMS Dauntless (1804)
Encyclopedia
The first HMS Dauntless was a sixth-rate
Combatant-class sloop
of the Royal Navy
. She was nominally rated at "18 guns", but carried twenty (or twenty-two) 24-pounder carronade
s.
at the William Gibson Shipyard, as one of a class of three (the others being Combatant and Valorous
) and launched in 1804. Designed by John Stainforth MP
, they were flush-decked, shallow draught and (for their dimensions) heavily armed. Rated as a sloop
, she had a design based on the Danish Praam (English Pram
), allowing the combination of heavy armament with a draught of only 11 feet. Her design may well have been influenced by the flush-decked, shallow draught vessels of Napoleon's invasion fleet
, although Dauntless and her sisters were significantly larger.
Dauntless entered service in March 1805, with the anti-invasion flotillas stationed in The Downs
. In the spring of 1807 she and her sisters were ordered to the Baltic
where their characteristics would be of value as convoy escorts and particularly in support of operations ashore. On 19 May 1807 Dauntless was ordered to sail up the Vistula
and break through the French armies besieging Danzig
(now Gdansk
) in order to supply the encircled Prussians
with 600 barrels of gunpowder
. Heavily laden and making upriver under a press of sail, Dauntless became unmanageable and broached to
. Running hard aground on a sandbank within easy range of French artillery, she suffered an hour's bombardment before surrendering. Napoleon himself is reputed to have said that her resistance "was worthy of being placed on the page of history". At the obligatory court martial her captain, Christopher Strachey, was honourably acquitted of all blame for the surrender of his ship.
Sixth-rate
Sixth rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for small warships mounting between 20 and 24 nine-pounder guns on a single deck, sometimes with guns on the upper works and sometimes without.-Rating:...
Combatant-class sloop
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. She was nominally rated at "18 guns", but carried twenty (or twenty-two) 24-pounder carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
s.
History
She was built in HullKingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
at the William Gibson Shipyard, as one of a class of three (the others being Combatant and Valorous
HMS Valorous (1804)
The first HMS Valorous was a sixth-rate Combatant-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was rated as "18 guns" but carried twenty 24-pounder carronades....
) and launched in 1804. Designed by John Stainforth MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, they were flush-decked, shallow draught and (for their dimensions) heavily armed. Rated as a sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
, she had a design based on the Danish Praam (English Pram
Pram (ship)
A pram or pramm describes a type of shallow-draught flat-bottomed ship.They were used in Europe during the 18th century, particularly in the Baltic Sea during the Great Northern War and Napoleonic Wars, as the pram's shallow draught allowed it to approach the shore. They typically carried 10-20...
), allowing the combination of heavy armament with a draught of only 11 feet. Her design may well have been influenced by the flush-decked, shallow draught vessels of Napoleon's invasion fleet
Napoleon's invasion of England
Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom at the start of the War of the Third Coalition, although never carried out, was a major influence on British naval strategy and the fortification of the coast of south-east England. French attempts to invade Ireland in order to destabilise the...
, although Dauntless and her sisters were significantly larger.
Dauntless entered service in March 1805, with the anti-invasion flotillas stationed in The Downs
The Downs
The Downs are a roadstead or area of sea in the southern North Sea near the English Channel off the east Kent coast, between the North and the South Foreland in southern England. In 1639 the Battle of the Downs took place here, when the Dutch navy destroyed a Spanish fleet which had sought refuge...
. In the spring of 1807 she and her sisters were ordered to the Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
where their characteristics would be of value as convoy escorts and particularly in support of operations ashore. On 19 May 1807 Dauntless was ordered to sail up the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
and break through the French armies besieging Danzig
Siege of Danzig (1807)
The Siege of Danzig was the French encirclement and capture of Danzig during the War of the Fourth Coalition. On 19 March, 1807, around 27,000 French troops under Marshall Lefebvre besieged around 11,000 Prussian and Russian troops under Marshall Kalckreuth garrisoning the city of...
(now Gdansk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
) in order to supply the encircled Prussians
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
with 600 barrels of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
. Heavily laden and making upriver under a press of sail, Dauntless became unmanageable and broached to
Broach (sailing)
A sailboat broaches when its heading suddenly changes towards the wind due to wind/sail interactions for which the rudder cannot compensate. This causes the boat to roll dangerously and if not controlled may lead to a capsize...
. Running hard aground on a sandbank within easy range of French artillery, she suffered an hour's bombardment before surrendering. Napoleon himself is reputed to have said that her resistance "was worthy of being placed on the page of history". At the obligatory court martial her captain, Christopher Strachey, was honourably acquitted of all blame for the surrender of his ship.