HMS Albemarle (1779)

History
French Royal Navy EnsignFrance
NameMénagère
BuilderToulon shipyard
AcquiredPurchased in May 1779[1]
Captured24 September 1779, by the Royal Navy
Great Britain
NameHMS Albemarle
AcquiredCaptured on 24 September 1779
Commissioned22 November 1779
FateSold on 1 June 1784
Great Britain
NameAlbemarle
OwnerCalvert & Co.
OperatorEast India Company, 1791–1793
Acquired1784 or 1790-1 by purchase
CapturedMay 1793
FateSubsequent fate is currently unknown
General characteristics
Tons burthen520, or 530,[2] or 543 (bm)
Length125 ft (38.1 m)
Beam31 ft 7 in (9.6 m)
Depth of hold13 ft 7+12 in (4.15 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement
  • At capture:160
  • British service: 200
Armament
  • As built: 28 × 8-pounder guns
  • At capture: 30 guns
  • After fitting in 1781:
  • Upper deck: 24 × 9-pounder guns
  • QD: 4 × 3-pounder guns

HMS Albemarle was a 28-gun sixth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She had been built as the French merchantman Ménagère, which the French Navy purchased in 1779. A British squadron captured her in September and she was commissioned into service with the Royal Navy. Amongst her commanders in her short career was Captain Horatio Nelson, who would later win several famous victories over the French. The Navy sold her in 1784. She subsequently became a merchant vessel again. In 1791 she transported convicts to Port Jackson as part of the third fleet. She then sailed to India where she picked up a cargo on behalf of the British East India Company. As she was returning to England a French privateer captured her.