French frigate Psyche (1804)
| History | |
|---|---|
 France
|
|
| Name: | Psyché |
| Namesake: | Psyche |
| Builder: | Louis and Antoine Crucy, Basse-Indre yard, near Nantes |
| Laid down: | February 1798 |
| Launched: | 1798 |
| In service: | February 1804 |
| Captured: | 14 February 1805 |
 Great Britain
|
|
| Name: | Psyche |
| Acquired: | 14 February 1805 by capture |
| Honours and awards: |
Naval General Service Medal with the clasp "Java" |
| Fate: | Broken up in 1812 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 846 22⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | 36 ft 10 1⁄8 in (11.2 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement: | 339 (French service) |
| Armament: |
|
Psyché was a 36-gun vessel built between February 1798 and 1799 at Basse-Indre (Nantes) as a privateer. As a privateer she had an inconclusive but bloody encounter with HMS Wilhelmina of the Royal Navy, commanded by Commander Henry Lambert, off the Indian coast in April 1804. The French then brought her into service in June 1804 as the frigate Psyché. In February 1805 she encountered San Fiorenzo, under the command of the same Henry Lambert, now an acting captain. After a sanguinary engagement of over three hours, Psyché surrendered. The British took her into service as HMS Psyche. In British service she captured several prizes and took part in the capture of Mauritius and in an operation in Java. She was broken up at Ferrol in 1812.
In 1802, Psyché sailed the Indian Ocean as a merchantman under Captain Jacques Bergeret.
On 1 January 1804 Psyché captured the East Indiaman Admiral Aplin, of 558 tons (bm), near Mauritius.
On 9 April 1804, while under the command of Captain Trogoff, she encountered HMS Wilhelmina, which was escorting the country ship William Petrie to Trincomalee. The Psyché outgunned the Wilhelmina, which was armed en flûte. She had only 21 guns: eighteen 9-pounder and two 6-pounder cannon, and one 12-pounder carronade.Psyché carried 36 cannon, a broadside that was more than double that of Wilhelmina: twenty-four 12-pounder guns, two 6-pounders and ten 18-pounder carronades. Psyché also had a crew of 250 men, compared with Wilhelmina's 124. Nevertheless, Captain Henry Lambert of Wilhelmina sailed towards Psyché to give the William Petrie a chance to escape.
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Wikipedia