British Fifth Rate frigate 'Artois' (1794)

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Artois
Nominal Guns	38	BWAS-1793
Nationality	Great Britain
Operator	Royal Navy
Ordered	28.3.1793	BWAS-1793
Keel Laid Down	3.1793	BWAS-1793
Launched	3.1.1794	BWAS-1793
How acquired	Built by Contract	BWAS-1793
Shipyard	Rotherhithe - London - Surrey	BWAS-1793
Ship Class	Artois Class (1793)	BWAS-1793
Designed by	Sir John HenslowBritish Designer Ship Builder Dockyard Staff Service 1761-1801	BWAS-1793
Constructor	Richard WellsBritish Ship Builder	BWAS-1793
Category	Fifth Rate	BWAS-1793
Ship Type	Frigate	BWAS-1793
Sailing Rig	Ship Rigged	BWAS-1793
Wrecked	31.7.1797	BWAS-1793

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentBWAS-1793
Length of Gundeck146' 3"Imperial Feet44.5025
Length of Keel121' 9 ¾"Imperial Feet36.8999
Breadth39' 2 ½"Imperial Feet11.8999
Depth in Hold13' 9"Imperial Feet4.0386
Draught Forward10' 0"Imperial Feet3.048
Draught Aft15' 6"Imperial Feet4.6025
Burthen996 ⁵⁄₉₄Tons BM

Armament

3.1.1794Broadside Weight = 494 Imperial Pound ( 224.029 kg)BWAS-1793
Upper Gun Deck28 British 18-Pounder
Quarterdeck12 British 32-Pound Carronade
Quarterdeck2 British 9-Pounder
Forecastle2 British 32-Pound Carronade
Forecastle2 British 9-Pounder

Crew Complement

Date# of MenNotesSource
2.3.1793270Design Complement

2 Ship Commanders

DatesRankNameSource
7.12.1793 - 30.9.1794Captain Transfered ADM 6/24/289BWAS-179323.7.1794 - 31.7.1797Captain ADM 6/25/65BWAS-1793

3 Commissioned Officers

DatesRankNameSource
18.12.1793 - 1793First Lieutenant ADM 6/24/291ADM 6/2414.1.1794 - 1794Second Lieutenant ADM 6/25/4ADM 6/2527.2.1794 - 1794Third Lieutenant ADM 6/25/15ADM 6/25

1 Warrant Officer

DatesRankNameSource
15.1.1794 - 26.10.1794MasterADM 29-1

2 Petty Officers

DatesRatingNameSource
1797 - 31.7.1797MidshipmanB1451797 - 31.7.1797MidshipmanNBD1849

1 Crewman

DatesRatingNameSource
10.2.1796 - 1797Able SeamanB145

Service History

DateEventSource
3.1.1794Began fitting at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford BWAS-1793
30.3.1794Completed fitting at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford BWAS-1793
23.8.1794Destruction of the Volontaire
21.10.1794Capture of the Révolutionnaire
21.10.1794Took the Frigate TRN4
20.3.1796Action off Pointe du Raz
2.11.1796Took the Brig
16.7.1797Destruction of the Calliope
31.7.1797Wrecked on Ballieu Rocks off BrittanyBWAS-1793

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

ADM 29-1 Document

ADM 6/24 Archive

ADM 6/25 Archive

B145Charles Harding Firth, John Knox Laughton, Book

BWAS-1793Rif Winfield, Book

NBD1849O'Brien, Digital Book

TRN4William Laird Clowes, Digital Book

Previous comments on this page

Posted by Jude de angulo on Tuesday 11th of November 2025 22:15

re John Davis as midshipman then lieutenant on HMSs Active and Artois - these facts are recorded in John Davis's book "Four years and a Half in the United States of America" and in Thelma Kellogg's "Life and Works of John Davis 1774- 1853".

Posted by Cy on Thursday 8th of September 2022 07:48

There are 5 separate lieutenant John Davis' recorded as serving in the Royal Navy. However none were commissioned earlier than January 1799, so if he was a lieutenant on the Artois it can only have been in a temporary 'acting' role.

Posted by jude de angulo on Thursday 8th of September 2022 02:07

The author of the 1805 naval novel Wooden Walls Well Manned ( aka Post Captain) John Davis was a midshipman aboard HMS Artois, rising to the rank of lieutenant before it was wrecked on the Ile de Rei. WWWM/CP is considered the premier popular naval novel that sparked the genre; its format being imitated by Frederick Marryat, Patrick O'Brian, and of course C S Forester.

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