Swiftsure (1811 brig)
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name: | Inconstant |
| Launched: | 1811 |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name: | Swiftsure |
| Fate: | Wrecked c. 1831 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Tons burthen: | 337 tons (bm) |
| Draught: | 14 feet (4.3 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Brig |
Swiftsure was built in 1811 as Inconstant. At some point British owners purchased her. Swiftsure was wrecked off the coast of Queensland in 1831.
Note: This is not the Inconstant that carried Napoleon from exile on Elba to the Hundred Days.[2] That was another brig Inconstant, of roughly the same size as Swiftsure, and also launched in 1811. However, the vessel that transported Napoleon belonged to the French Navy, and was broken up at Brest in 1843.[3]
History
Swiftsure was built in 1811 as the single-decked brig-rigged Inconstant for a French owner.[1] By 1820, Inconstant was under British ownership under the name Swiftsure. Lloyd's Register for 1820 gives the name of her master as I. Nicholls, and her owner as Nicholls & Co. Her trade is Greenock-St Thomas.[4]
By 1828 Swiftsure was sailing between the United Kingdom, New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land.[5]
Loss
Sometime before 10 July 1831, she was wrecked in the Torres Strait 3.8 nautical miles (7 km) off the Cape York Peninsula, near the mouth of the Lockhart River.[2][6]
The wreck of Swiftsure was discovered in November 2014. The discovery was officially announced in June 2015.[2]
Citations and references
- Citations
- 1 2 "Lloyd's Register of Shipping". Lloyd's of London. 1830: 584. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- 1 2 3 Ferrier, Tracey. "Napoleon's getaway ship 'found in Queensland'". MSN News Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- ↑ Winfield and Roberts (2015), p.218.
- ↑ Lloyd's Register (1811), Seq. №S971.
- ↑ "(advertisement)". The Times (13608). London. 2 June 1828. col A, p. 1.
- ↑ "(untitled)". Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser. 24 November 1831.
- References
- Winfield, Rif & Stephen S Roberts (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786 - 1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. (Seaforth Publishing). ISBN 9781848322042