HMS Constant (1801)
| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain
|
|
| Name: | Constant |
| Ordered: | 30 December 1800 |
| Builder: | John Dudman, Deptford Dockyard |
| Laid down: | January 1801 |
| Launched: | 28 April 1801 |
| Completed: | 10 June 1801 |
| Commissioned: | May 1801 |
| Decommissioned: | February 1816 |
| In service: | 1801–1816 |
| Honours and awards: |
Naval General Service Medal with clasp "St. Sebastian" |
| Fate: | Sold out of service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Archer-class gun-brig |
| Tons burthen: | 179 24⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | 22 ft 7 in (6.88 m) |
| Draught: | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) |
| Sail plan: | brig-rig |
| Complement: | 50 |
| Armament: | 2 x 18 or 32-pounder bow carronades + 10 x 18-pounder carronades |
HMS Constant was an Archer class gun-brig of the Royal Navy, built for service against the French during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. In service from 1801, she was variously stationed in English home waters, the Baltic, the Caribbean and off the coast of Spain, and was responsible for the capture of at least seven enemy vessels during her fifteen years at sea.
Constant was sold out of service at Chatham Dockyard in 1816.
Constant was one of ten Archer-class gun-brigs ordered as a batch in December 1800 to a design by Navy Surveyor Sir William Rule. The gun-brigs were intended to bolster the Royal Navy's capacity to hunt small French privateers, and to act as anti-invasion craft should France attempt to land troops in the British Isles.
In keeping with her class, Constant was two-masted and brig-rigged, with an overall length of 80 ft 2 in (24.4 m) including bowsprit, a 65 ft 11 in (20.1 m) keel, and measuring 179 24⁄94 tons burthen. Her draft was 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), sufficiently shallow to permit operations close to shore. She was also heavily armed relative to her size, with two 18 or 32-pounder bow carronades and ten 18-pounder carronades in side ports along her deck.
Constant's crew complement was 35, including a Navy Lieutenant, a sailing master, a surgeon's mate, midshipman, six petty officers and 25 able or ordinary seamen. The crew was supported by a detachment of 15 Royal Marines, bringing total on-board personnel to 50 men.
Constant was commissioned in May 1801 under Lieutenant James Bremer and stationed in English home ports for the following two years. In April 1803 she sailed to Leith in Scotland for patrols in the North Sea, including to hunt for privateers seeking to attack the British whaling fleet. She returned to Deptford at the conclusion of the whaling season, and in August 1803 her command was transferred to Lieutenant John Stokes who would remain with her for the next ten years.
...
Wikipedia