British Fifth Rate frigate 'Active' (1780)

Three Decks' Forum

Come and ask, answer or inform.

Recent updates

Update
Pedro de Linze y BerasteguiSpanish
Ship Owner
Service 1754-1769
Update
Galga (36) 1744-1784
Spanish 36 Gun
Privateer Frigate
Added
Lorenzo BeyenisSpanish
Ship Owner
Service 1769
Update
Juan Agustin de IradySpanish
Naval Sailor
Update
Guipuzcoano (64) 1778-1780
Spanish 64 Gun
Merchant Ship of the Line
Update
San Rafael (30) 1774-1780
Spanish 30 Gun
Merchant Frigate
Update
Luis ArburuSpanish
Naval Sailor
Update
Fermín UrtizbereaSpanish
Naval Sailor
Service 1780
Update
San Carlos (32) 1772-1780
Spanish 32 Gun
Merchant Frigate
Added
San Ignacio de Loyola (50) 1766-1779
Spanish 50 Gun
Merchant Ship
See more...

Active	2878
Nominal Guns	32	BWAS-1714
Nationality	Great Britain
Operator	Royal Navy
Ordered	10.12.1778	BWAS-1714
Keel Laid Down	2.1779	BWAS-1714
Launched	30.8.1780	BWAS-1714
How acquired	Purpose built	BWAS-1714
Shipyard	Northam - Devon	BWAS-1714
Designed by	Edward HuntBritish Ship Builder Administrator Dockyard Staff Service 1757-1809	BWAS-1714
Category	Fifth Rate	BWAS-1714
Ship Type	Frigate	BWAS-1714
Sailing Rig	Ship Rigged	BWAS-1714
Wrecked	13.7.1796	BWAS-1714

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentBWAS-1714
Length of Gundeck126' 0"Imperial Feet38.4048
Length of Keel103' 9 ⅞"Imperial Feet31.4166
Breadth35' 7"Imperial Feet10.7036
Depth in Hold12' 2"Imperial Feet3.683
Burthen699 ²³⁄₉₄Tons BM

Armament

30.8.1780Broadside Weight = 246 Imperial Pound ( 111.561 kg)BWAS-1714
Upper Gun Deck26 British 12-Pounder
Quarterdeck4 British 24-Pound Carronade
Quarterdeck4 British 6-Pounder
Forecastle2 British 24-Pound Carronade
Forecastle2 British 6-Pounder

Crew Complement

Date# of MenNotesSource
1778250Design Complement

8 Ship Commanders

DatesRankNameSource
11.8.1780 - 1.1.1783Captain Transfered ADM 6/22/160BWAS-17141.1.1783 - 23.12.1783Captain ADM 6/23/233
Issued by , East Indies - Asia
Confirmed 21.7.1784BWAS-171423.12.1783 - 7.1786Captain ADM 6/23/316
Issued by , East Indies - Asia
Confirmed 18.2.1786BWAS-171421.9.1790 - 22.11.1790Captain ADM 6/24/68ADM 6/2422.11.1790Captain ADM 6/24/88ADM 6/2424.1.1793 - 22.7.1794Captain Transfered ADM 6/24/197ADM 6/2423.7.1794 - 1795Captain ADM 6/25/65BWAS-17141796 - 13.7.1796CaptainBWAS-1714

10 Commissioned Officers

DatesRankNameSource
22.11.1790 - 21.3.1791First Lieutenant Transfered ADM 6/24/92ADM 6/2422.11.1790 - 31.3.1790Second Lieutenant Transfered ADM 6/24/93ADM 6/2424.1.1793 - 24.3.1793Second Lieutenant ADM 6/24/197ADM 6/2430.1.1793 - 24.3.1793First Lieutenant ADM 6/24/199ADM 6/2415.3.1793 - 24.3.1793Third Lieutenant ADM 6/24/209ADM 6/2425.3.1793 - 1793First Lieutenant ADM 6/24/222ADM 6/2425.3.1793 - 8.8.1793Second Lieutenant Transfered ADM 6/24/222ADM 6/2425.3.1793 - 8.8.1793Third Lieutenant ADM 6/24/222ADM 6/247.8.1793 - 1793Third Lieutenant ADM 6/24/260ADM 6/249.8.1793 - 4.7.1794Second Lieutenant Transfered ADM 6/24/260ADM 6/24

Service History

DateEventSource
30.8.1780building at Northam - Devon at a cost of £8285.4.3dBWAS-1714
2.9.1780Began coppering and fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth BWAS-1714
18.11.1780Completed coppering and fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth BWAS-1714
13.3.1781Sailed for the East IndiesBWAS-1714
16.4.1781Battle of Porto Praya
1.7.1781Took the Ship near Saldhana Bay
21.7.1781Attack in Saldanha Bay
3.9.1782Battle of Trincomalee
7.1786Returned home to be paid offBWAS-1714
11.1791Began fitting at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford BWAS-1714
1.1793RecommissionedBWAS-1714
3.1793Completed fitting at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford at a cost of £17845.0.0dBWAS-1714
13.7.1796Wrecked on Anticosti island in the St Lawrence estuaryBWAS-1714
30.7.1796AbandonedBWAS-1714

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

ADM 6/24 Archive

BWAS-1714Rif Winfield, Book

Previous comments on this page

Posted by Jon Miller on Saturday 20th of June 2026 16:47

Southampton, 19 August 1780: Te Active, an excellent constructed frigate of 31 guns, will certainly be launched at Northam on Wednesday, the 30th of September. The Stately, of 64 guns, and Mediator, of 44, now building in the same yard with the above frigate, attract the observation of every stranger. [Hampshire Chronicle, 21 August 1780]

Posted by Frank van Andel on Sunday 5th of February 2017 19:33

What happened to the crew of the Held Woltemade, which was taken near Saldhana Bay? In the VOC log it doesn't say they were killed, just "lifted" (= taken from board by the British)

Posted by Ian Bates on Friday 5th of October 2012 12:03

The captain of this frigate when it was wrecked in 1796 was Captain Edward Leveson-Gower (8 May 1776 – 6 December 1853).
Captain Sir Erasmus Gower was in command of HMS Triumph (74) at this time, not HMS Active (32).

Make a comment about this page

Recent comments to other pages

Date posted	By	Page
Friday 24th of July 2026 08:52	Jon Miller	Philip AffleckBritish Naval Sailor Service 1743-1799
Friday 24th of July 2026 08:41	Jon Miller	George SarradineBritish Naval Sailor Service 1794-1802
Friday 24th of July 2026 08:28	Jon Miller	British Other Vessels discovery vessel 'Discovery' (1789) (10) 1789-1834 British 10 Gun Other Discovery Vessel
Friday 24th of July 2026 08:15	Jon Miller	Mark RobinsonBritish Naval Sailor Service 1740-1787
Friday 24th of July 2026 06:56	Jon Miller	British Fifth Rate frigate 'Ethalion' (1797) (38) 1797-1799 British 38 Gun 5th Rate Frigate

GDPR Statement