French frigate Africaine (1798)
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| History | |
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 France
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| Name: | Africaine |
| Namesake: | Africa |
| Builder: | Rochefort |
| Laid down: | March 1795 |
| Launched: | 3 January 1798 |
| Commissioned: | May 1798 |
| Captured: | 19 February 1801 |
 United Kingdom
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| Name: | Africaine |
| Acquired: | Captured, 19 February 1801 |
| Fate: | Broken up, 1816 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Preneuse-class frigate |
| Displacement: | 720 tonnes |
| Length: | 47.8 m (157 ft) |
| Beam: | 11.9 m (39 ft) |
| Draught: | 5.8 m (19 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: | Timber |
Africaine was one of two 40-gun Preneuse-class frigate of the French Navy built to a design by Raymond-Antoine Haran. She carried twenty-eight 18-pounder and twelve 8-pounder guns. The British captured her in 1801, only to have the French recapture her in 1810. They abandoned her at sea as she had been demasted and badly damaged, with the result that the British recaptured her the next day. She was broken up in 1816.
She was commissioned on 14 September 1799 under Capitaine de frégate Magendie. In 1800, she sailed to Saint-Domingue. She then sailed from Rochefort with Régénérée to try to resupply the French forces in Egypt. She was carrying ordnance, stores and 400 soldiers to Napoleon's army in Egypt.
At the Action of 19 February 1801, HMS Phoebe, under Captain Robert Barlow, captured her east of Gibraltar. Phoebe, which had the weather gage, overtook Africaine and engaged her at close range, despite the French soldiers, who augmented the frigate's guns with their musket fire. Phoebe's guns inflicted more than 340 casualties on Africaine before she struck at 9:30PM. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Africaine.
Africaine was commissioned under Commander J. Stewart in April. Then in July Captain Stevenson took command, only to be replaced in September by Captain George Burlton. On 31 January 1802 she arrived in Portsmouth from Malta and sailed again to Chatham on 7 February to be paid off before being re-fitted. She arrived in at Deptford on 17 February 1802 for refitting.
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Wikipedia