HMS Imperieuse (1805)

Destruction of the French Fleet in Basque Roads. Thomas Whitcombe 1817. HMS Imperieuse (right) engages the grounded French ships.
History
Spain
Name	Medea
Builder	Ferrol shipyard
Launched	9 November 1797
Captured	By the British on 5 October 1804
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Iphigenia
Acquired	Captured on 5 October 1804
Renamed	HMS Imperieuse in 1805
Reclassified	Quarantine ship from 1818
Fate	Sold and broken up in 1838
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	38-gun fifth-rate frigate
Tons burthen	1,04561⁄94 (bm)
Length	147 ft 2 in (44.9 m) (overall) 122 ft 4 in (37.3 m) (keel)
Beam	40 ft 1 in (12.2 m)
Depth of hold	12 ft (3.7 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	284 (later 315)
Armament	British service: Upper deck: 28 × 18-pounder guns Quarterdeck: 10 × 32-pounder carronades Forecastle: 2 × 9-pounder and 2 × 32-pounder carronades

HMS Imperieuse was a 38-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Built in Ferrol, Spain, for the Spanish Navy she was launched as Medea in 1797. In 1804 she was part of a squadron carrying gold from South America to Spain that was seized by the British while Spain and Britain were at peace. Medea was subsequently taken into service with the Royal Navy and was briefly named HMS Iphigenia before being renamed Imperieuse in 1805.

In 1806 command of Imperieuse was given to Lord Cochrane. She was dispatched to the Mediterranean where she undertook a series of notable exploits, capturing a large number of war prizes and carrying out raids against enemy positions along the French and Spanish coastline. After a brief return to England, Imperieuse assisted with the attack on the French fleet at Basque Roads in 1809. During the battle she was heavily engaged, assisting with the destruction of four French ships of the line and a frigate. Later that year she took part in the unsuccessful Walcheren Campaign.

In 1811 Imperieuse returned to the Mediterranean under the command of Henry Duncan where she was employed along the coast of Italy, operating with success against Neapolitan and French shipping and shore fortifications. She returned to England in 1814 and was paid off and placed in ordinary the following year. Converted to a quarantine ship in 1818, she was eventually sold and broken up in 1838.