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HMS Penelope (1798)
Guillaume Tell PU5634
Capture of the William Tell, by Robert Dodd. The Penelope is seen raking the William Tell as the two ships of the line close in
Career (United Kingdom) Royal Navy Ensign
Name: HMS Penelope
Builder: Burlesdon
Launched: 1798
Honours and
awards:
Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Egypt"[1]
Fate: Wrecked in 1815
General characteristics
Class & type: 36-gun fifth rate

HMS Penelope was a fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, launched in 1798 and wrecked in 1815.

Career[]

Under Sir Henry Blackwood, she took part in the battle of 30 March 1800 against the Guillaume Tell. Penelope was credited with engaging and dismantling the masts of Guillaume Tell with two raking broadsides over her stern. This delayed Guillaume Tell and allowed Foudroyant and Lion to catch up and capture Guillaume Tell after a fierce battle. Penelope lost two killed and two wounded.

Northumberland, Alexander, Penelope, Bonne Citoyenne, and the brig Vincejo shared in the proceeds of the French polacca Vengeance, captured entering Valetta, Malta on 6 April.[2]

Because Penelope served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (2 March to 8 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty authorised in 1850 for all surviving claimants.[Note 1]

From 1803, Penelope served in the English Channel under William Robert Broughton.

Penelope shared with Moselle and Boadicea in the proceeds of the Jonge Obyna, Smidt, master, on 13 June 1805.[Note 2]

Fate[]

On 27 April 1815, Penelope, under James Galloway, ran aground near the Cap des Rosiers in Canada. In the night, she broke into three pieces, killing 40 of her crew.

External links[]

Notes and citations[]

Notes
  1. A first-class share of the prize money awarded in April 1823 was worth £34 2s 4d; a fifth-class share, that of an able seaman, was worth 3s 11½d. The amount was small as the total had to be shared between 79 vessels and the entire army contingent.[3]
  2. A seaman's share of a £1700 advance on the prize money was 16s 2½d.[4]
Citations

References[]

Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475. 


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