French corvette Diligente (1794)

Diligente was a French Navy Naïade-class corvette, launched in 1794 as a brig. HMS Crescent captured her in the Antilles in 1800. The British took her into service as a 14-gun transport and sold her in 1814.

Diligente
Incomplete plan 1811 by Edward Sison, Master Shipwright, Woolwich Dockyard, National Maritime Museum
History
French Navy EnsignFrance
NameDiligente
BuilderBrest Dockyard[1]
Laid downJune 1793
Launched17 January 1794[1]
CapturedJune 1800
Great Britain
NameHMS Diligente
AcquiredJune 1800 by capture
FateSold August 1814
General characteristics [1]
Displacement461 tons (French)
Tons burthen348+1494 (by calc.) (bm)
Length31.75 m (104.2 ft) (overall)
Beam8.31 m (27.3 ft)
Depth of hold4.17 m (13.7 ft)
ComplementFrench service:187 (130 at capture)
Armament
  • Originally: 12 × 18-pounder guns + 6 × 36-pounder obussiers
  • 1795: 12 × 18-pounder guns
  • 1797 and at capture: 12 × 12-pounder guns
  • British service: 14 guns

French service

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Diligente was a sister ship to Naïade. They were built to a plan by Pierre-Agustin Lamothe. The Royal Navy captured Naïade in 1806 and took her into service as HMS Melville; she was sold for breaking up in 1811.

Between 30 Mar 1794 and 29 May, Diligente was under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau Lacouture. Then from 9 June to 15 December Diligente was under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau Noguez. Under these lieutenants' command, Diligente conducted a cruise into the Bay of Biscay, returning to Lorient, visited Brest, cruised into the Atlantic, escorted a convoy to the Île-d'Aix roads, cruised the region around the Azores and returned to Brest, and escorted a convoy from Camaret to Saint-Malo.[2]

Between 18 March 1795 and 25 July Diligente was in Saint-Malo roads, cruised in the bay of Saint-Brieuc and bay of Granville, and returned to Saint Malo.[2]

Around 17 July 1797, Diligente escorted a convoy from Mindin (opposite Saint-Nazaire) to Larmor, while still under Noguez's command, who had by then been promoted to capitaine de frégate.[2]

Quasi War:On 6 September, 1799, under command of "Citizen" Du Bois, she captured American merchantman "America" at (28°00′N 35°00′W / 28.000°N 35.000°W / 28.000; -35.000) in the Atlantic Ocean.[3] War of Knives and Quasi War:Shortly after 3 December, 1799 she encountered USS Boston , but no action took place as she was convoying troops of General Toussaint for the Haitian Revolution, seemingly carrying a US pass.[4] Anchored at Cape Nicola, St Domingo on 7 December, 1799.[5]

Capture

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In July 1800 the frigate HMS Crescent captured Diligente, which was armed with twelve 12-pounder guns and had a crew of 130 men.[6] The Royal Navy took her into service as a 14-gun transport under her existing name.

Royal Navy service

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There is little information readily available on line about the storeship Diligente's career as she was never registered. The National Maritime Museum (NMM) has a drawing of her lines, made in 1811. The NMM describes her as serving as a storeship at Woolwich.[a]

In 1807 Rcd. Turner was master.[7]

In 1809 Thomas Miller was appointed to the Diligente storeship.[8]

In 1810 Mr. T. Hoskins was appointed to command the Diligente store-ship.[9]

In 1812-1813 Edward Ives was master.[7]

Lastly, Donald McDonald was master in 1814.[7]

Notes

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  1. ^ The NMM database does not have a Diligente captured in 1800, but it does have one that it conjectures was captured in 1804. It then lists three masters, ending in 1814. This would be consistent with a storeship Diligente that was sold in 1814.[7]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c Winfield & Roberts (2015), p. 168.
  2. ^ a b c Fonds Marine, 1790-1804.
  3. ^ "Naval Documents related to the Quasi-War Between the United States and France Volume Part 1 of 3 Naval Operations August 1799 to December 1799 August to September Pg. 165" (PDF). U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Naval Documents related to the Quasi-War Between the United States and France Volume Part 3 of 3 Naval Operations August 1799 to December 1799, December Pg. 467" (PDF). U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Naval Documents related to the Quasi-War Between the United States and France Volume Part 3 of 3 Naval Operations August 1799 to December 1799, December Pg. 502" (PDF). U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  6. ^ "No. 15295". The London Gazette. 20 September 1800. p. 1082.
  7. ^ a b c d "NMM, vessel ID 383516" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol v. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  8. ^ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 21, p.519.
  9. ^ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 23, p.438.

References

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  • Archives de France (2000). Fonds marine campagnes : opérations, divisions et stations navales, missions diverses : inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB⁴. Centre historique des Archives nationales. ISBN 978-2860002653.
  • Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S. (2015). French warships in the age of sail, 1786-1861. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2. OCLC 939862029.

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