HMS Java (1811)

The capture of HMS Java by USS Constitution,
drawn by Nicholas Pocock
History
France
NameRenommée
BuilderMathurin & Antoine Crucy, Basse-Indre Nantes Ship ordered=26 March 1805
Laid downOctober 1805
Launched20 August 1808
Captured20 May 1811
United Kingdom
NameHMS Java
Acquired20 May 1811
In serviceMay 1811
Captured29 December 1812
FateBurnt on 1 January 1813
General characteristics
Class and typePallas-class fifth-rate frigate
Tons burthen1073 4194 (bm)
Length152 ft 5+12 in (46.5 m) (gundeck); 126 ft 5+12 in (38.5 m) (keel)
Beam39 ft 11+38 in (12.2 m)
Depth of hold12 ft 9 in (3.9 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement397
Armament
  • 28 × 18-pounder guns
  • 2 × 12-pounder guns
  • 18 × 32-pounder carronades
  • 1 × 24-pounder carronade

HMS Java was a British Royal Navy 38-gun fifth-rate frigate. She was originally laid down in 1805 as Renommée, described as a 40-gun Pallas-class French Navy frigate, but the vessel actually carried 46 guns. The British captured her in 1811 in a noteworthy action during the Battle of Tamatave, but she is most famous for her defeat on 29 December 1812 in a three-hour single-ship action against USS Constitution. Java had a complement of about 277, but during her engagement with Constitution she allegedly had 426 aboard, in comparison with her opponent's 475.[1]

  1. ^ Hollis, 1900 pp. 136–137