HMS Apollo (1794)
| History | |
|---|---|
 UK
|
|
| Name: | HMS Apollo |
| Ordered: | 28 March 1793 |
| Builder: | Perry & Hankey, Blackwall |
| Laid down: | March 1793 |
| Launched: | 18 March 1794 |
| Completed: | 23 September 1794 at Woolwich Dockyard |
| Commissioned: | August 1794 |
| Fate: | Wrecked on 7 January 1799 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 38-gun Artois-class fifth rate frigate |
| Tons burthen: | 994 12⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | 39 ft 2 in (11.9 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 13 ft 9 in (4.19 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Complement: | 270 |
| Armament: |
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HMS Apollo, the third ship of the Royal Navy to be named for the Greek god Apollo, was a 38-gun Artois-class fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She served during the French Revolutionary Wars, but her career ended after just four years in service when she was wrecked on the Haak sands off the Dutch coast.
Apollo was ordered on 28 March 1793 and was laid down that month at the yards of John Perry & Hanket, at Blackwall. She was launched on 18 March 1794 and was completed at Woolwich Dockyard on 23 September 1794. She cost £13,577 to build; this rising to a total of £20,779 when the cost of fitting her for service was included.
Apollo was launched in March 1794 and commissioned in August under her first commander, Captain John Manley. Her career began inauspiciously, when Manley accidentally ran her aground on sandbanks in the mouth of the Wash in late 1794. On Manley's orders the ship was lightened by the disposal over the side of her stores and several of her guns, after which she floated free of the sand. Her rudder had broken in the process, and after some difficulty she was sailed to Great Yarmouth for repairs.
In June 1796, she and Doris captured the French corvette Légère, of twenty-two 9-pounder guns and 168 men. Légère had left Brest on 4 June in company with three frigates. During her cruise she had captured six prizes. However, on 23 June she encountered the two British frigates at 48°30′N 8°28′W / 48.500°N 8.467°W. After a 10-hour chase the British frigates finally caught up with her; a few shots were exchanged and then Légère struck. The Navy took into her service as HMS Legere.
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