HMS Rifleman was the mercantile brig Telegraph that the Royal Navy purchased in 1804, renamed, and intended for use as a fireship. The Navy sold her in 1809.
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Telegraph |
| Builder | John Perry, Wells, and Green, Blackwall |
| Launched | c.1804 |
| Renamed | HMS Rifleman |
| Fate | Sold 1809 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Tons burthen | 16210⁄94 (bm) |
| Length | 80 ft 2 in (24.4 m) (overall); 61 ft 6+3⁄4 in (18.8 m) (keel) |
| Beam | 22 ft 3 in (6.8 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Brig |
| Complement | 18 |
| Armament | 4 × 12-pounder carronades |
Between 21 June and 31 August 1804, Rifleman underwent fitting at Deptford. Lieutenant Peter Rigby commissioned her in July. His replacement, in 1806, was Lieutenant William Napier who sailed her on The Downs station.[1] In mid-June, Rifleman detained Industry, Meyer, master, which had been sailing from Amsterdam to Virginia, and sent her into Dover.[2]
The Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy offered "His Majesty's Gun-Brigs Boxer and Rifleman, lying at Sheerness", for sale on 27 July 1809.[3]
Citations
edit- ^ a b Winfield (2008), pp.380-1.
- ^ Lloyd's List №4062. Accessed 30 October 2016.
- ^ "No. 16277". The London Gazette. 18 July 1809. p. 1143.
References
edit- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.