HMS Plumper (1804)

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Plumper
Ordered	9 January 1804
Builder	(John) Dudman & Co., Deptford
Laid down	April 1804
Launched	7 September 1804
Captured	16 July 1805
France
Name	Plumper
Acquired	July 1805 by capture
Commissioned	30 August 1805
Renamed	Argus (24 September 1814), Plumper (22 March 1815), and Argus (15 July 1815)[1]
Fate	Struck 1827
General characteristics [2]
Type	Archer-class gunbrig
Tons burthen	179 57⁄94 (bm)
Length	80 ft 1 in (24.4 m) (overall) 65 ft 11+1⁄2 in (20.1 m) (keel)
Beam	22 ft 6 in (6.9 m)
Depth of hold	9 ft 5+1⁄2 in (2.9 m)
Sail plan	Brig
Complement	50
Armament	10 × 18-pounder carronades + 2 × 12-pounder chase guns

HMS Plumper was a later Archer-class gun-brig of the Royal Navy, launched in 1804. The French captured her in 1805 and took her into their Navy under her existing name. Between 1814 and 1815 her name alternated between Plumper and Argus, finally settling on Argus. As Argus she sailed to Senegal in 1816 in company with Méduse, whose shipwreck gave rise to a famous painting. In 1818 Argus was assigned to colonial service. She was condemned in October 1822 at Saint-Louis, Senegal, and struck in 1827.