British bomb vessel 'Aetna' (1803)

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Aetna	7638
Nominal Guns	8	BWAS-1793
Nationality	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Operator	Royal Navy
Purchased	10.1803	BWAS-1793
Shipyard	Unknown	BWAS-1793
Category	Unrated	BWAS-1793
Ship Type	Bomb Vessel	BWAS-1793
Sold	11.1.1816	BWAS-1793

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentBWAS-1793
Length of Gundeck102' 0"Imperial Feet31.0896
Length of Keel81' 0"Imperial Feet24.6888
Breadth29' 2 ½"Imperial Feet8.8519
Depth in Hold12' 6"Imperial Feet3.7338
Burthen368Tons BM

Armament

10.1803Broadside Weight = 96 Imperial Pound ( 43.536 kg)BWAS-1793
Gun Deck1 British 10" Mortar
Gun Deck1 British 13" Mortar
Upper Gun Deck8 British 24-Pound Carronade

Crew Complement

Date# of MenNotesSource
67Design Complement

10 Ship Commanders

DatesRankNameSource
12.1803 - 1.1804CommanderBWAS-17931.1804 - 12.1805CommanderBWAS-179324.12.1805 - 2.1807CaptainBWAS-17932.1807 - 6.1807CommanderBWAS-17936.1807 - 8.1809CommanderBWAS-17938.1809LieutenantBWAS-17938.8.1809 - 3.9.1810CommanderNBD18499.1811 - 11.1812CommanderBWAS-179311.1812 - 3.10.1814Commander†BWAS-17931815 - 19.8.1815LieutenantBWAS-1793

1 Petty Officer

DatesRatingNameSource
23.1.1808 - 9.1810MidshipmanNBD1849

Service History

DateEventSource
23.10.1803Began fitting at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford BWAS-1793
12.1803Commissioned for the MediterraneanBWAS-1793
31.1.1804Completed fitting at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford BWAS-1793
23.8.1807Aciton of 1807-08-23
11.4.1809Attack on the Basque Roads
8.4.1810Sailed for CadizBWAS-1793
1813In the BalticBWAS-1793
8.1814Operations in the Potomac
3.10.1814Attack on Balitimore
11.1.1816Sold for £1,850BWAS-1793

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

BWAS-1793Rif Winfield, Book

NBD1849O'Brien, Digital Book

Previous comments on this page

Posted by Jon Miller on Sunday 28th of June 2026 16:39

Portsmouth, 10 February 1816: The following ships were broke up and sold out of the service last month:- Aeolus, Etna, Alkmaar, Canso, Censor, Constant, Dexterous, Ernest, Freya, Genereux, Haughty, Hearty, Kingfisher, Lightning, Meteor, Nymphen, Paulina, Piedmontaise, Porcupine, Quail, Raven, Rota, Sabrina, Sheldrake, Sparrow, Suffolk, Tisiphone, Vengeance, Vesta, Virago, and Wizard. [Hampshire Telegraph, 12 February 1816]

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