British armed vessel 'Xenophon' (1798)

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...

Xenophon ➡ 1801 Investigator	3141
Nominal Guns	20	BWAS-1793
Nationality	Great Britain
Operator	Royal Navy
Previously	British Merchant collier 'Fram' (1795) (Unknown) 1795-1798 British Unknown Gun Merchant Collier
Purchased	1798	BWAS-1793
Shipyard	Sunderland - Durham	BWAS-1793
Category	Unrated	BWAS-1793
Ship Type	Armed Vessel	BWAS-1793
Sold for Break Up	11.1810	BWAS-1793

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentB028
Length of Gundeck100' 5"Imperial Feet30.607
Breadth28' 5"Imperial Feet8.5503
Burthen334Tons BM
DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentBWAS-1793
Length of Gundeck100' 4"Imperial Feet30.5816
Length of Keel77' 8"Imperial Feet23.4986
Breadth28' 5"Imperial Feet8.5503
Depth in Hold11' 0"Imperial Feet3.3528
Burthen333 ⁶⁸⁄₉₄Tons BM

Armament

8.1798Broadside Weight = 306 Imperial Pound ( 138.771 kg)BWAS-1793
Upper Gun Deck18 British 32-Pound Carronade
Upper Gun Deck2 British 18-Pound Carronade

1801Broadside Weight = 54.5 Imperial Pound ( 24.7158 kg)BWAS-1793
Upper Gun Deck2 British 18-Pound Carronade
Upper Gun Deck6 British 12-Pound Carronade
Upper Gun Deck2 British 1/2-Pound Swivel

Crew Complement

Date# of MenNotesSource
5.179880 BWAS-1793

3 Ship Commanders

DatesRankNameSource
16.2.1801 - 1803CommanderBWAS-17931805CommanderBWAS-17931805 - 1.1806LieutenantBWAS-1793

Service History

DateEventSource
4.1798Purchased at Unknown at a cost of £2900.0.0dBWAS-1793
27.4.1798Began fitting at Northfleet - Kent BWAS-1793
23.5.1798Refitted as a 18 gun Unrated Unknown
24.5.1798Completed fitting at Northfleet - Kent at a cost of £3059.0.0dBWAS-1793
24.5.1798Began fitting at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford BWAS-1793
6.8.1798Completed fitting at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford at a cost of £3143.0.0dBWAS-1793
10.1800Began fitting at Sheerness Dockyard - Sheerness BWAS-1793
1801Renamed InvestigatorB028
2.1801Refitted as a 8 gun Unrated Discovery Vessel
3.1801Completed fitting at Sheerness Dockyard - Sheerness at a cost of £2310.0.0dBWAS-1793
18.7.1801Sailed for New Holland (Australia)E-WIKI
6.12.1801Arrived at Cape LeeuwinE-WIKI
16.1.1802Commissioned for the exploration of AustraliaBWAS-1793
8.4.1802Met with the French corvette Géographe in Encounter BayE-WIKI
6.1803Condemned and brought homeBWAS-1793
1.1806Paid off into ordinary at PlymouthBWAS-1793

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

B028J. J. Colledge, Book

BWAS-1793Rif Winfield, Book

E-WIKIVarious, Web Site

Previous comments on this page

Posted by Jon Miller on Sunday 19th of July 2026 06:16

Portsmouth, 27 June 1801: The French Government have granted passports for His Majesty’s ship Investigator, Captain Flinders, now lying at Spithead, which is about to sail on a voyage of discovery. She is admirably fitted out for the intended service, and is manned with picked men, who are distinguished by a glazed hat decorated with a globe, and the name of the ship in letters of gold. The Lady Nelson, Lieutenant Grant, is to attend the Investigator in making surveys of the coast of New South Wales. Portsmouth, 27 June 1801:

Posted by Jon Miller on Friday 17th of July 2026 16:58

London, 24 June 1801: The French Government have granted passports for the Investigator, Capt Flinders, about to sail on a voyage of discovery. The Lady Nelson, Lieut Grant, is to attend the Investigator, in making a survey of the coast of New South Wales. [Hampshire Chronicle, 29 June 1801]

Posted by Jon Miller on Friday 17th of July 2026 06:28

Portsmouth, 30 May 1801: Arrived his Majesty’s ship Investigator, of 14 guns, Capt Flinders, from Sheerness. She will shortly sail from hence on a voyage of discoveries round the world. [Hampshire Chronicle, 1 June 1801]

Posted by Jon Miller on Friday 10th of July 2026 21:28

Portsmouth, 24 January 1801: Captain Martin, late of the Xenophon, is appointed to command the Explosion bomb-vessel; and the Xenophon is ordered to be fitted for the reception of astronomers and scientific men, and is going, it is said, on a voyage of discovery. [Hampshire Chronicle, 26 January 1801]

Posted by Jon Miller on Thursday 9th of July 2026 19:48

Portsmouth, 10 January 1801: His Majesty’s sloop Xenophon, of 22 guns, Capt Martin, at Sheerness, is fitting out with all possible expedition, to go out on a voyage of discover:y she is to be called the Investigator. [Hampshire Chronicle, 12 January 1801]

Posted by Jon Miller on Thursday 9th of July 2026 13:51

Portsmouth, 10 January 1801: The Zenophon [sic], of 22 guns, is fitting at Sheerness for a voyage of discovery. [Hampshire Telegraph, 12 January 1801]

Make a comment about this page

Recent comments to other pages

Date posted	By	Page
Sunday 26th of July 2026 05:57	Jon Miller	British sloop 'Hussar' (1798) (14) 1798-1800 British 14 Gun Unrated Sloop
Sunday 26th of July 2026 05:56	Jon Miller	British Fifth Rate frigate 'Oiseau' (1793) (36) 1793-1816 British 36 Gun 5th Rate Frigate
Sunday 26th of July 2026 05:55	Jon Miller	British Sixth Rate frigate 'Thisbe' (1783) (28) 1783-1815 British 28 Gun 6th Rate Frigate
Sunday 26th of July 2026 05:54	Jon Miller	British Third Rate ship of the line 'Resolution' (1770) (74) 1770-1813 British 74 Gun 3rd Rate Ship of the Line
Sunday 26th of July 2026 05:53	Jon Miller	British Third Rate ship of the line 'Argonaut' (1782) (64) 1782-1831 British 64 Gun 3rd Rate Ship of the Line

GDPR Statement