Capture of HMSSt. Fermin
Part ofAmerican Revolutionary War
Squared-rigged xebec of the 1780-1815 period
Date 4 April 1781 Location OffMálaga,Mediterranean Sea 36°30′21″N4°12′38″W / 36.5058940°N 4.2105100°W /36.5058940; -4.2105100 Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Spain	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
J. Herrera-Dávila	Jonathan Faulknor
Strength
2xebecs	1sloop-of-war
Casualties and losses
None	138 prisoners 1 sloop-of-war captured

TheCapture of HMSSt. Fermin was a naval engagement that took place offMálaga on 4 April 1781, during theAmerican Revolutionary War. SpanishxebecsSan Antonio andSan Luis captured thesloop-of-warHMSSt. Fermin.

At the end of December 1779, a large fleet sailed from Great Britain under the command of Admiral SirGeorge Brydges Rodney, being one of the purposes of this British fleet to resupplyGibraltar, a place that wasunder siege by Spanish and French forces. During the trip, Rodney intercepted a Spanish convoy of theRoyal Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas atCape Finisterre on 8 January 1780,capturing the entire convoy.^[1]

Among the ships captured by Rodney's fleet was the 16-gunarmed merchantmanSan Fermín, which he took to Gibraltar. The British subsequently commissionedSan Fermín into the Royal Navy as the 16-gunsloop-of-warSt. Fermin,^[2] under the command of CommanderJonathan Faulknor.St. Fermin, under Faulknor's command, participated in a number of military actions during the siege of Gibraltar.

On the evening of 3 April 1781,St. Fermin departed from Gibraltar toMenorca bearing dispatches. At that time, the British maintained contact with the British garrison there, at least until 1782 when theSpaniards conquered the island, sending fast sailships to avoid the Spanish blockade.

St. Fermin managed to pass the waters of theStrait of Gibraltar without problems, but the Spaniards had several naval stations in the area from where they could detect and intercept British ships. From the naval station ofPunta del Carnero, an enclave south ofAlgeciras, two square-rigged xebecs of theSpanish Navy sailed to chase the British ship.^[3] The xebecs were the 26-gunSan Antonio under Captain José Herrera-Dávila and the 24-gunSan Luis under LieutenantFederico Gravina, manned by more than two hundred men.^[3] That night, Faulknor saw the two Spanish ships approaching and did everything possible to escape.^[4] At eleven o'clock at night the Spaniards lost sight of him, but half an hour later they spotted him again. At four o'clock in the morning, the Spaniards were within striking distance ofSt. Fermin, beginning the attack with theirchase guns, responding to the British ship with their stern guns.^[A] Herrera-Davila's ship approached the British ship's port flap and fired several shots, which was enough for Faulknor tosurrender.^[5] The two Spanish ships could have made a boarding attack if the fight had continued. The night action took place about 10 miles (16 km) off Málaga.^[4]

The British ship had a crew of 138 men,^[3][B] which were taken prisoner by Spanish forces led byTeniente Miguel Pedrueca. The Spanish took the captured ship toCartagena.^[4] She was then assigned to the Spanish Navy as the 16-gunSan Fermín, until she was laid up in 1785.^[5]

• Hepper, David J. (1994).British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650–1859. Jean Boudriot.ISBN 0-948864-30-3.
• Vela, Rubén (2017).Presas de la Armada española, 1779–1828: Listado de buques de guerra apresados e incorporados a la Real Armada por apresamiento (in Spanish).ISBN 978-1-86176-030-2.

• 1781 in Spain
• Conflicts in 1781
• Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Great Britain
• Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Spain
• Naval battles of the Anglo-Spanish War (1779–1783)

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