HMS Calypso (1783)

HMS Calypso [2] was a Royal Navy Echo Class ship-sloop. She was built at Deptford between 1781 and 1783, launched on 27 September 1783 and first commissioned on 1 December 1783 for service off Northern Ireland and Scotland. She served in the North Sea, Atlantic, and the West Indies. Calypso was sunk whilst acting as a convoy escort on 30 July 1803 after colliding with a West Indiaman merchant ship during a violent storm.

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

HMS Calypso
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Calypso
Ordered: 28 December 1781
Builder: Edward Graves, Deptford, London
Laid down: May 1782
Launched: 27 September 1783
Commissioned: 1 December 1783
Fate: Sunk in collision 30 July 1803
General characteristics [1]
Class and type: Echo Class
Type: Sloop-of-war
Tonnage: 342​2⁄94 (bm)
Length:
  • 101 ft 6 in (30.9 m)(gundeck)
  • 83 ft 7 in (25.5 m)(keel)
Beam: 27 ft 9 in (8.5 m)
Draught:
  • 6 ft 9 in (2.1 m) (unladen);
  • 9 ft 9 in (3.0 m) (laden)
Depth of hold: 12 ft 10 2⁄3 in (3.9 m)
Sail plan: Brig-rigged
Complement:
  • Originally:125
  • 1794 on:121
Armament:
  • Upper Deck:16 × 6-pounder guns
  • QD:4 × 12-pounder carronades
  • Fc:2 × 12-pounder carronades

Construction

Calypso was built to the same technical drawings as the five other Echo-class ships: Echo, Rattler, Brisk, Nautilus, and Scorpion. The class was designed to be 16-gun ship sloops with quarterdecks and forecastles.[3]

All use the same plans for frame,[4] Inboard profile,[5] Lines,[6] Stern,[7] and upper and lower decks

Service history

Calypso was first commissioned in September 1783 under Commander Ralph Dundas for service on the Irish and Scottish stations. She was then refitted at Plymouth and placed in ordinary in October 1785. She was paid off in October 1786.[1]

Her second commission began in January 1787 under Commander William Mitchell. After fitting for Channel service she sailed for Jamaica on 16 April 1787,[1] returning to home waters in 1790 and once more being placed in ordinary.

Calypso underwent a period of repair and was refitted at Portsmouth between July 1793 and March 1796. Her third commission began in January 1796 under Commander Andrew Smith, who took her to sea following her repair and refit to join Admiral Duncan's North Sea Fleet.[1]

In January 1797 Commander Richard Worsley took command and operated Calypso as a convoy escort and cruiser. Commander C. Collis succeeded Worsley in November 1797. Collis continued operating in this role until April 1798 when Calypso returned to Portsmouth for refit.[1]

Commander Henry Garrett took command in April 1799 and was succeeded by Commander Joseph Baker in November of that year. Baker took Calypso to the Caribbean, sailing for the Leeward Islands in February 1800. Whilst under Baker's command on this station, Calypso participated in several notable actions.[1]

  • 13 April 1800 - Her cutter took the schooner Diligente (6-guns)[1][Note 1]
  • 15 November 1800 - Fought off a French squadron, saving a convoy and capturing 16-gun sloop Ganso (with HMS Crescent)[1]

In October 1801 Commander Robert Barrie assumed command, followed by Commander Edward Brenton in April 1802, and finally by Commander William Venour in August 1802.[1]

Fate

On 30 July 1803, Calypso and the 74-gun Goliath were escorting a convoy of heavily laden West Indiamen from Jamaica. The convoy was caught in a violent storm that dismasted 21 of the vessels. One of the merchantmen ran down Calypso, sinking her with the loss of all hands.[9]

Commanding officers

As an unrated sloop-of-war Calypso was too small a ship to warrant a Post-captain and was instead commanded by an officer in the rank of Commander, although aboard ship he was afforded the courtesy title of Captain. The commanders of HMS Calypso were:[1]

  • Cmdr Ralph Dundas (September 1783 - October 1785)
  • Cmdr William Mitchell (January 1787 - 1790)
  • Cmdr Andrew Smith (January 1796 - January 1797)
  • Cmdr Richard Worsley (January 1797 - November 1797)
  • Cmdr William Collis (November 1797 - April 1798)
  • Cmdr Henry Garrett (April 1799 - November 1799)
  • Cmdr Joseph Baker (November 1799 - October 1801)
  • Cmdr Robert Barrie (October 1801 - April 1802)
  • Cmdr Edward Brenton (April 1802 - August 1802)
  • Cmdr William Venour (August 1802 - July 1803)

Crew

From 1794, the Admiralty allowed a crew of 121 for a 16-gun sloop such as HMS Calypso. The Commander and Lieutenants were professional sea officers, trained in gunnery, navigation and seamanship in equal measure and appointed to the ship by Admiralty Commission. The Lieutenants were all at least nineteen years of age, having served a minimum six-year apprenticeship as Midshipman or Master's Mate before undertaking and passing the examination for Lieutenant. The Commander would usually have been an experienced Lieutenant who had come to the attention of the Admiralty or his Commander-in-Chief through some distinction in service or by having an influential patron. The Commander's duties were almost identical to those of a Post Captain, although on a smaller scale, the exception being that as a Commander he had no automatic rights of promotion to the flag list and could quite easily remain a Commander for the rest of his career.

The Warrant Officers were specialists appointed to the ship by Navy Board Warrant. The Wardroom Warrant Officers were allowed all the privileges of a Commissioned Officer, eating and sleeping with the Lieutenants. The Standing Warrant Officers stayed with the ship throughout its commission and remained aboard when the ship was placed in ordinary. They were heavily involved with the fitting out of the ship and general maintenance. Cockpit Officers had a higher status than the Petty Officers and could generally expect to reach the Wardroom in time, with its members aspiring to be Lieutenants, Masters, Pursers or Surgeons. Petty Officers performed particular roles that required additional skills or expertise, and they were usually rated by the Captain or First Lieutenant on joining the ship. Unlike the Warrant Officers, the Petty Officers had no security in his rank; the Captain could demote a Petty Officer for negligence. A Petty Officer could also lose his rating on moving to a new ship.

The seaman were classed as either Able Seaman, Ordinary Seaman, or Landsman. An Able Seaman was an expert all rounder, happy aloft in the rigging or taking the helm and all other aspects of shipboard life. An Ordinary Seaman was one who had a grasp of basic seamanship and could be useful aboard ship but was not yet an expert or skillful sailor. A Landsman was a man with very little or no prior sea experience at all, most commonly a product of the press gang.

The full crewing requirements for a 16-gun sloop are given in the table below.[10]

Commissioned OfficersQty
Commander1
Lieutenant2
Wardroom Warrant OfficersQtyStanding Warrant OfficersQtyCockpit OfficersQty
Master1Boatswain1Clerk1
Purser1Carpenter1Master's Mate1
Surgeon1Gunner1Midshipman2
Surgeon's Mate1
Senior Petty OfficersQtyPetty OfficersQtyJunior Petty OfficersQty
Armourer1Armourer's Mate1Captain of the Afterguard1
Carpenter's Mate1Boatswain's Mate1Captain of the Forecastle2
Caulker1Coxswain1Captain of the Foretop2
Ropemaker1Gunner's Mate1Captain of the Maintop1
Quarter Gunner4Carpenter's Crew2
Quartermaster1Cook1
Sailmaker1Sailmaker's Crew1
Ship's Corporal1Steward1
Yeoman of the Powder Room1Quarter Gunner4
Yeoman of the Sheets1Quartermaster's Mate2
Seaman & ServantsQty
Seaman (Able/Ordinary/Landsman)42
Boys & Servants12
Marine DetachmentQty
Lieutenant RM1
Sergeant1
Corporal1
Marine16

Notes, citations, and references
Notes
  1. Head money for 57 men was paid in October 1829. A first-class share was worth £31 6s 4½d; a fifth-class share, that of a seaman, was worth 4s ½d.[8]
Citations
  1. Winfield (2008), p.249.
  2. An aquatinted etching of HMS Calypso (1783), the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
  3. Plan showing the inboard profile, upper deck, and lower deck
  4. Frame plan
  5. Inboard profile plan
  6. Lines plan
  7. Stern plan
  8. "No. 18610". The London Gazette. 11 September 1829. p. 1689.
  9. Hepper (1994), p.102.
  10. Lavery (2009), p.328.
References
  • Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 0-948864-30-3.
  • Lavery, Brian (2009). Nelson's navy : the ships, men and organisation 1793-1815 (Rev. ed.). London: Conway Maritime. ISBN 9780851775210.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships of the Age of Sail, 1793-1817. Barnsley: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84415-717-4.
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