HMS Thisbe (1824)

British Leda-class fifth-rate frigate

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

Thisbe

History
United Kingdom
Name| Thisbe
Namesake| Thisbe
Ordered| 23 July 1817
Builder| Pembroke Dockyard
Laid down| November 1820
Launched| 9 September 1824
Completed| 12 September 1821
Commissioned| Never
Reclassified| As depot ship, 1850
Fate| Sold for scrap, 11 August 1892
General characteristics
Class and type| Modified Leda-class frigate
Tons burthen| 1082 67/94 bm
Length|

* 151 ft 9 in (46.3 m) (gundeck)
* 127 ft (38.7 m) (keel)

Beam| 40 ft 4 in (12.3 m)
Draught| 15 ft 4 in (4.7 m)
Depth| 12 ft 9 in (3.9 m)
Sail plan| Full-rigged ship
Complement| 315
Armament|

* 46 guns:
* Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pdr cannon
* Quarterdeck: 14 × 32-pdr carronades
* Forecastle: 2 × 9-pdr cannon and 2 × 32-pdr carronades

HMS Thisbe was a 46-gun modified Leda-class fifth-rate frigate built for the Royal Navy during the 1820s. The ship was never commissioned and spent her entire career in reserve or on third-line duties. She was converted into a depot ship in 1850 and then into a floating church in 1863. Thisbe was replaced by a shore-based establishment, All Souls Chapel, in 1891 and sold for scrap the following year.

## Description

[edit]

Thisbe had a length at the gundeck of 151 feet 9 inches (46.3 m) and 127 feet (38.7 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 40 feet 4 inches (12.3 m), a draught of 15 feet 4 inches (4.7 m) and a depth of hold of 12 feet 9 inches (3.9 m). The ship's tonnage was 1082 67⁄94 tons burthen.[1] The modified Leda-class frigates were armed with twenty-eight 18-pounder cannon on her gundeck, fourteen 32-pounder carronades on her quarterdeck and a pair of 9-pounder cannon and two more 32-pounder carronades in forecastle. The ship had a crew of 315 officers and ratings.[2]

## Construction and career

[edit]

Thisbe, the second ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy,[3] was ordered on 23 July 1817, laid down in August 1820 at Pembroke Dockyard, Wales, and launched on 9 September 1824.[4] She was completed for ordinary at Plymouth Dockyard on 5 October 1824 and the ship was roofed over from the mainmast forward. Thisbe was converted for service as a depot ship from 1850–63 and was loaned to the Missions to Seamen on 13 August of that year as a floating church;[1] Lord Bute paid for the necessary modifications. The ship spent almost the next 30 years berthed at the Bute West Dock in Cardiff.[5] Thisbe was taken out of service in 1891 and sold to W. H. Caple for £1,005 on 11 August 1892.[1] All Souls Chapel was built nearby in 1892 as a replacement.

Another redundant Leda-class frigate, HMS Hamadryad, was also moored in Cardiff and used as a hospital ship from 1866 to 1905.

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Winfield, p. 703
2. ^ Winfield & Lyon, p. 107
3. ^ Colledge, p. 349
4. ^ Winfield & Lyon, p. 108
5. ^ Phillips, p. 64

## References

[edit]

* 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.
* Phillips, Lawrie; Lieutenant Commander (2014). Pembroke Dockyard and the Old Navy: A Bicentennial History. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-5214-9.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
* Winfield, Rif (2014). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1817-1863 (epub). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-47383-743-0.
* Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC 52620555.

Leda-class frigates

Leda class|

* Leda
* Pomone
* Shannon
* Leonidas
* Briton
* Tenedos
* Lacedemonian
* Lively
* Surprise
* Cydnus
* Eurotas
* Niger
* Meander
* Pactolus
* Tiber
* Araxes
* Tanais
* Diamond
* Amphitrite
* Trincomalee
* Thetis
* Arethusa
* Blanche
* Fisgard

Modified Leda class|

* Venus
* Melampus
* Minerva
* Latona
* Diana
* Hebe
* Nereus
* Hamadryad
* Amazon
* Aeolus
* Thisbe
* Cerberus
* Circe
* Clyde
* Thames
* Unicorn
* Daedalus
* Proserpine
* Mermaid
* Mercury
* Penelope
* Thalia

List of frigate classes of the Royal Navy