HMS Pelican (1777)

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

HMS Pelican was a 24-gun Porcupine-class sixth-rate post ship of the Royal Navy built in 1777 and wrecked in 1781.

Pelican
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Pelican
Ordered	24 July 1776
Awarded	6 August 1776
Builder	Adams & Barnard, Grove Street Shipyard, Deptford
Laid down	August 1776
Launched	24 April 1777
Commissioned	May 1777
Fate	Wrecked off Jamaica in August 1781
General characteristics
Class and type	24-gun Porcupine-class sixth-rate post ship
Tons burthen	520 (bm)
Length	114 ft 5 in (34.87 m) (overall) 94 ft 6 in (28.80 m) (keel)
Beam	32 ft 2 in (9.80 m)
Draught	7 ft 9 in (2.36 m) 11 ft (3.4 m)
Depth of hold	10 ft 3+1⁄2 in (3.137 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	160
Armament	As built: Upper deck: 22 × 9-pounder guns Quarterdeck: 2 × 6-pounder guns

Construction and commissioning

Pelican cost £5,623.11.0d to build, plus £3,545.0.7d for fitting . She was commissioned under her first commanding officer, Captain Henry Lloyd, in May 1777.

Service

Pelican was first stationed under Lloyd in the North Sea; by 1778 she was stationed off Cape Finisterre and a year later she had transferred to the coast of Portugal. She returned to England for a refit at Sheerness Dockyard between August and September 1779 and was recommissioned in November with Captain William Lockhart in command. Lockhart only stayed with Pelican briefly and by January 1780 Captain Thomas Haynes had assumed command of the post ship. Under him she sailed for the Jamaica Station on 13 April, where she captured the French privateer La Marquise de Saint-Pern on 9 December. In June 1781 Captain Cuthbert Collingwood took command from Haynes. Pelican captured the French 16-gun ship Le Cerf on 22 July.

Fate

On 2 August Pelican was caught up in a hurricane and wrecked on the Morant Keys.

References

• Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. London: Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.