French frigate Volontaire (1796)
| History | |
|---|---|
  France | |
| Name: | Volontaire |
| Builder: | Bordeaux |
| Laid down: | September 1794 |
| Launched: | 7 June 1796 |
| Fate: | Captured by the British Navy on 4 March 1806, becoming HMS Volontaire |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Virginie class frigate |
| Displacement: | 720 tonnes |
| Length: | 47.4 m (156 ft) |
| Beam: | 11.9 m (39 ft) |
| Draught: | 5.5 m (18 ft) |
| Armament: | 44 guns |
| Armour: | Timber |
The Volontaire was a 40-gun Virginie class frigate of the French Navy.
On 20 November 1798, along with Insurgente, Volontaire, under Captain Laurent, captured the 14-gun corvette USS Retaliation.[1]
She took part in the Atlantic campaign of 1806 and was captured by HMS Diadem on 4 March 1806.[2] She sailed into Table Bay, unaware that the British had captured Cape Town. HMS Diadem, flying a Dutch flag, came alongside. When Diadem ran up the British flag, Volontaire surrendered. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Volontaire. Captain Josceline Percy commissioned her and sailed her to St Helena. There he took charge of a convoy for England.
Volontaire was broken up in February 1826.
References
- ↑ Troude (1867), p. 168.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 15919. pp. 601–602. 13 May 1806.
- Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, 1671–1870. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. p. 474. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867). Batailles navales de la France. 3. Challamel ainé.