HMS Malacca (1809)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
|
|
| Name: | Penang |
| Ordered: | 19 February 1807 |
| Builder: | Prince of Wales Island |
| Laid down: | February 1808 |
| Launched: | 6 March 1809 |
| Renamed: | Malacca (1808) |
| Fate: | Broken up 1816 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Apollo-class frigate |
| Tons burthen: | 989 (bm) |
| Length: | 151 ft 11 in (46.3 m) (gundeck); 124 ft 4 5⁄8 in (37.9 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 38 ft 8 in (11.79 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 13 ft 2 in (4.01 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Complement: | 264 |
| Armament: |
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HMS Malacca was an Apollo-class frigate of the Royal Navy that the Admiralty ordered from the British East India Company to be built at Prince of Wales Island (Penang), under the name Penang. Prior to her launch in 1809 the Admiralty changed her name to Malacca, but she sailed to England in 1810 as Penang. The Navy commissioned her as Malacca in 1810 and sent her out to the East Indies. She had a brief career there, participating in one small punitive expedition, before she was paid-off in 1815 and broken up in 1816.
The Royal Navy ordered 36 vessels to the same design, with Malacca the only one being built outside Great Britain. She was built of a variety of timbers and her dimensions deviate noticeably from those of the design and her class-mates. One could argue that she is only nominally a member of the Apollo class.
The dockyard at Prince of Wales's Island built less than a handful of vessels before ceasing operations, and apparently Malacca was the first.
The EIC sent Captain Charles Henry Pendares (or Pindarves) Tremenheere out to Penang to take command of Penang and sail her back to England. (He had just lost his ship, the East Indiaman Asia, and was a senior, experienced captain.) She arrived in England in July 1810.
The Royal Navy took Malacca into service on 11 August. She then underwent fitting at Woolwich between 16 August and 28 October 1810. The Navy commissioned Malacca in October under the command of Captain W. Butterfield. He left for the Cape of Good Hope on 31 December 1810, in company with the frigates HMS President and HMS Galatea. After the Cape Malacca remained in the Indian Ocean, while the other two vessels proceeded on to India and Java. Malacca would spend the rest of her military career in the East Indies.
Butterfield cruised off Île de France until he was ordered to the East Indies. There, in August 1812, a court-martial dismissed him from command of Malacca for having exceeded his authority when, at the behest of the merchants, he had HMS Minden escort the October (1811) convoy to England. Captain the Honourable Henry John Peachey received promotion to post captain on 7 August 1812 and replaced Butterfield at that time.
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Wikipedia