HMS Scylla (1809)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
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| Name: | HMS Scylla |
| Ordered: | 5 September 1808 |
| Builder: | Robert Davy, Topsham |
| Laid down: | December 1808 |
| Launched: | 29 June 1809 |
| Completed: | By 9 December 1809 |
| Fate: | Broken up in January 1846 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Cruizer-class brig-sloop |
| Tons burthen: | 385 (bm) |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 30 ft 6 1⁄2 in (9.3 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 12 ft 10 in (3.9 m) |
| Sail plan: | Brig |
| Complement: | 121 |
| Armament: | 16 × 32-pounder carronades + 2 × 6-pounder bow chasers |
HMS Scylla was an 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. The first to bear the name Scylla, she was launched in 1809 and broken up in 1846.
Commander Arthur Atchison commissioned Scylla in September 1809. On the morning of 8 May 1811, Scylla was off the Isle of Bas when she observed a convoy of five vessels under the escort of a naval brig. After a chase of two hours, Scylla caught up with the convoy and opened fire. Being close to shore and with prospects of running on shore to evade capture, the brig resisted strongly. Finding himself among Les Triagos and Pontgalo rocks, and fearing that the French would be able to beach themselves, Atchison ran Scylla into the brig while travelling at eight knots. Within two minutes the British had captured the brig.
The brig was the Cannonière, of ten 4-pounder guns, one 24-pounder carronade, and four swivel guns, and 77 men under the command of enseigne de vaiseau Jean Joseph Benoit Schilds. In the engagement the French lost Schilds and five of his men killed, and 11 men wounded; British casualties were two killed and two wounded. The convoy was two hours out of Perros, sailing towards Brest. Scylla also captured one vessel of the convoy, a sloop with a cargo of wheat. The other four vessels had gotten within the rocks and run themselves on shore. Wind and sea conditions were such that Atchison decided not to attempt to seize them.
Then on 4 June Scylla recaptured the Wellington, and on 29 December captured the American schooner Fly. The Royal Navy took Fly into service as HMS Sealark.
Scylla and Unicorn captured the American ship Manlius on 21 January 1812. Similarly, Scylla and Semiramis were in company at the capture of the Jenny on 1 May.Pheasant shared in the capture.
In August 1812 Commander Colin Macdonald replaced Atchison.
Scylla shared in the capture on 22 March 1813 of the American schooner Tyger with Medusa, Whitting and Iris. Tyger, of 263 tons (bm), was armed with four guns and had a crew of 25 men. She was sailing from Bordeaux to New York with a cargo of brandy, wine, and silks.
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