French ship Belle Poule (1802)
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Capture of the 'Gypsy', 30 April 1812: left to right: HMS Belle Poule, Gypsy, and HMS Hermes, by Thomas Buttersworth
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| History | |
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| Name: | Belle Poule |
| Laid down: | June 1801 |
| Launched: | 17 April 1802 |
| Fate: | Captured by Royal Navy, 13 March 1806 |
 United Kingdom
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| Name: | HMS Belle Poule |
| Acquired: | Captured on 13 March 1806 |
| Reclassified: |
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| Honours and awards: |
Naval General Service Medal with clasp "14 Dec. Boat Service 1814" |
| Fate: | Sold on 11 June 1816 |
| General characteristics as built | |
| Class and type: | 40-gun Virginie-class frigate; re-rated as 36-gun fifth rate after capture |
| Tons burthen: | 1076 (bm) |
| Length: | 127 ft 8 in (38.9 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 39 ft 11 in (12.2 m) |
| Draught: | 13 ft 4 in (4.1 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Complement: | 284 (later 315) |
| Armament: |
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HMS Belle Poule was a Royal Navy fifth rate frigate, formerly Belle Poule, a Virginie-class frigate of the French Navy, which was built by the Crucy family's shipyard at Basse-Indre to a design by Jacques-Noël Sané. She was launched on 17 April 1802, and saw active service in the East, but in 1806 a British squadron under Sir John Borlase Warren captured her off La Palma in the Canary Islands. The Admiralty commissioned her into the Royal Navy as HMS Belle Poule. She was sold in 1816.
In March 1803, she joined the fleet of Rear-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois, whose mission was to re-take the colonies of the Indian Ocean, given to English at the peace of Amiens. The fleet included the 74-gun ship of the line Marengo, the frigates Atalante, Belle Poule and Sémillante, troop ships and cargoes with food and ammunition.
On 15 June 1803 Belle Poule landed troops at Pondichéry in India. The French fleet however, left the next day and the troops surrendered in September.
At the beginning of November, the division set sail for Batavia to protect the Dutch colonies. En route, Linois destroyed the English counters in Bencoolen, capturing five ships, and sailed for the South China Sea, where the China Fleet of the British East India Company was expected. The fleets met in the Battle of Pulo Aura, but the greater numbers and aggressive action of the British East Indiamen, some of whom flew Royal Navy flags, drove the French away. Linois returned to Batavia. He dispatched Atalante and Belle Poule to the Gulf of Bengal, where Belle Poule captured a few ships before returning to Ile de France. Among the ships was Althea, which Atalanta and Belle Poule captured on 17 April 1804.
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