HMS Aigle (1801)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
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| Name: | HMS Aigle |
| Ordered: | 15 September 1798 |
| Builder: | Balthazar and Edward Adams |
| Cost: | £14,335 |
| Launched: | 23 September 1801 |
| Commissioned: | December 1802 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Aigle-class fifth-rate frigate |
| Tons burthen: | 970 84⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 38 ft 8 in (11.8 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 13 ft 0 in (4.0 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Fully Rigged Ship |
| Complement: | 264 |
| Armament: |
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HMS Aigle was a 36-gun, fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Ordered on 15 September 1799 and built at Bucklers Hard shipyard, she was launched 23 September 1801. More than fifty of her crew were involved in the Easton Massacre when she visited Portland in April 1803 to press recruits. Much of her career as a frigate was spent in home waters where she fought the Battle of Basque Roads in 1809; initially providing support to the crews of the fireships, then forcing the surrender of the stranded French ships, Varsovie and Aquilon. Later that year she left The Downs to take part in the Walcheren Campaign where she carried out a two-day long bombardment of Flushing, leading to its capitulation on 15 August.
In October 1811, Aigle was sent to the Mediterranean where she and her crew raided the island of Elba before being asked to provide naval support during the invasion and occupation of Genoa. Refitted in January 1820, her square stern was replaced with a circular one, giving her a wider angle of fire and improved protection at the rear. Converted to a corvette in 1831, she returned to the Mediterranean under Lord Paget. From 1852, she became a coal hulk, then a receiving ship before being used as a target for torpedoes and broken up in 1870.
Aigle was the first of two, Aigle-class frigates designed by naval surveyor, Sir John Henslow. Built under contract by Balthazar Adams, she was ordered on 15 September 1798 and her keel was laid down in November at Bucklers Hard shipyard in Hampshire. Launched on 23 September 1801, her dimensions were: 146 feet 2 inches (44.6 metres) along the gun deck, 122 ft 1 in (37.2 m) at the keel, with a beam of 38 ft 8 in (11.8 m) and a depth in the hold of 13 ft 0 in (4.0 m). This made her 970 84⁄94 tons burthen (bm).
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