HMS Bellona (1806)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Bellona and HMS Blanche.
History
France
Name: Bellone
Builder: Bordeaux
Launched: 1799
Captured: On 9 July 1806 by the Royal Navy
UK
Name: HMS Bellona
Acquired: Captured on 9 July 1806
Renamed: HMS Blanche in February 1808
Fate: Broken up in 1814
General characteristics
Class and type: 28-gun sixth rate frigate
Tons burthen: 642 8594 bm
Length:
  • 132 ft (40 m) (gundeck)
  • 107 ft 2 in (32.66 m) (keel)
Beam: 33 ft 7 in (10.24 m)
Depth of hold: 11 ft 4 in (3.45 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Complement: 200
Armament: 28 guns

Bellone was a French privateer frigate that cruised under Jacques François Perroud and achieved fame with the capture of large East Indiaman Lord Nelson on 14 August 1803. She was captured by HMS Powerful during the Action of 9 July 1806, and incorporated in the Royal Navy as HMS Bellona, later HMS Blanche. She was broken up in 1814.

Career

French privateer

Bellone was designed as a powerful privateer, armed with thirty-two 8-pounder long guns and a crew of 200 men. She operated from Ile de France from 1801. On 14 August 1803, she met the large East Indiaman Lord Nelson and managed to capture her by boarding.

In the Action of 9 July 1806, the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Powerful attacked Bellone. She attempted to flee for almost two hours, trading shots with the much more potent opponent, before striking her colours. Perroud was commended for his spirited defence against overwhelming odds; William James, notably, described Perroud's actions as "extraordinary".[1]

Royal Navy ship

After her capture, Bellone was incorporated in the Royal Navy as HMS Bellona, armed as a sixth-rate frigate of 28 guns.[2] She was renamed HMS Blanche in 1809.[2]

On 26 July or August 1810, Blanche captured the French privateer Confiance.[2]

Fate

Blanche was disposed of and broken up in 1814.[2]

Sources and references

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