HMS Alert (1804)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Alert.

History
United Kingdom
NameOxford
OwnerChampion & Co, London[1]
BuilderHowdon Pans[1] Newcastle-on-Tyne
Launched1803
FateSold May 1804
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Alert
Acquired1804 by purchase
Captured13 August 1812
United States
NameUSS Alert
Acquired1812 by capture
FateBroken up 1829
General characteristics [2]
TypeShip sloop
Tons burthen325,[3] or 390,[4] or 393[1] (bm)
Length
  • Overall:105 ft 0 in (32.0 m)
  • Keel:85 ft 10+1⁄2 in (26.2 m)
Beam29 ft 4 in (8.9 m)
PropulsionSail
Complement
  • Royal Navy:80
  • US Navy:100[3]
Armament
  • Collier:4 × 6-pounder guns[4]
  • Royal Navy:2 × 9-pounder guns + 16 × 18-pounder carronades
  • US Navy:2 × 12-pounder guns + 18 × 32-pounder carronades[3]

HMS Alert was the collier Oxford, launched at Howdon in 1803 that the Royal Navy purchased in 1804 and renamed HMS Alert. She had a mundane career in the Royal Navy escorting convoys until in 1812, shortly after the outbreak of the War of 1812, she had the misfortune to encounter the frigate USS Essex, which captured Alert. The US Navy used Alert as a storeship and a receiving ship until it had her broken up in 1829.

  1. ^ a b c Tyne Built Ships: Oxford.
  2. ^ Winfield (2008), p. 271.
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference DANFS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference RS1804 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).