&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Nicholas_Pocock_-_The_Frigate_%27Triton%27.jpg) Triton in three views, 1797
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | HMS Triton |
| Namesake | Triton |
| Ordered | 7 April 1796 |
| Cost | £20,722[1] |
| Laid down | April 1796 |
| Launched | 5 September 1796 |
| Completed | 31 October 1796 |
| Commissioned | September 1796 |
| Fate | Sold, 3 November 1814 OR broken up, 1820 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type | Triton-class fifth-rate frigate |
| Tons burthen | 855 80⁄94 (bm) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 36 ft 2 in (11 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Complement | 220 |
| Armament |
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HMS Triton was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy designed by James Gambier and launched in 1796 at Deptford. Triton was an experimental ship and the only one built to that design; she was constructed out of fir due to wartime supply shortages of more traditional materials and had some unusual features such as no tumblehome. Her namesake was the Greek god Triton, a god of the sea. She was commissioned in June 1796 under Captain John Gore, with whom she would spend the majority of her active service, to serve in the Channel in the squadron of Sir John Warren.
Triton was a successful ship, serving throughout the majority of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars in several capacities. She took a large number of warships and traders as prizes in the Channel and Mediterranean Sea during her service as a blockade ship and cruiser. Triton also played a prominent role in several small-scale battles, including the action of 16 October 1799 where she assisted in the capture of two powerful Spanish frigates and earned her captain one of the largest sums of prize money of the war. Her unique design was ultimately flawed, limiting her sailing abilities, and Triton only served at sea for seven years before being converted into a hulk in 1803. She served as a receiving ship and guard ship before being either sold at Plymouth in 1814 or broken up in Newfoundland in 1820.