_-_Intrepid_(1770)%3b_Monmouth_(1772)%3b_Defiance_(1772)%3b_Nonsuch_(1774)%3b_Ruby_(1776)%3b_Vigilant_(1774)%3b_Eagle_(1774)%3b_America_(1777)%3b_Anson_(1781)%3b_Polyphemus_(1782)%3b_Magnanime_(1780)%3b_Sampson_RMG_J3629.jpg) Magnanime | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | HMSMagnanime |
| Namesake | HMSMagnanime (1748) |
| Ordered | 16 October 1775 |
| Builder | Deptford Dockyard |
| Laid down | 23 August 1777 |
| Launched | 14 October 1780 |
| Commissioned | October 1780 |
| Fate | Broken up at Sheerness Dockyard, July 1813 |
| Notes | Razeed to a 44-gun fifth rate, 1795 |
| General characteristics[1] | |
| Class & type | Intrepid-classship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1369+51⁄94bm |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 44 ft 4 in (13.51 m) |
| Depth of hold | 19 ft (5.8 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 500 (as 64-gun ship); 310 officers and men (as frigate) |
| Armament |
|
_RMG_J7596.png)
HMSMagnanime was a 64-gunthird-rateship of the line of theRoyal Navy, launched on 14 October 1780 atDeptford Dockyard. She belonged to theIntrepid class designed by SirJohn Williams[1] and later wasrazeed into a 44 gunfrigate.
Commissioned in October 1780 under Captain Charles Wolseley,Magnanime sailed in 1781 with the Relief Expedition to Gibraltar, and subsequently to the Indian Ocean, where she participated in several of the series of battles against French forces off India – including those ofProvidien,Negapatam andTrincomalee in 1782 andCuddalore in 1783. She returned to the United Kingdom and paid off intoordinary in June 1784.
From 1794 to 1795, she was cut down into a 44-gunrazeefifth-ratefrigate and recommissioned in November 1794 under CaptainIsaac Schomberg.
On 16 March 1798Magnanime was escorting a small convoy when she spied a privateer lurking about, seeking an opportunity to pick off a prize. CaptainThe Hon. Michael de Courcy setMagnanime in chase. Twenty-three hours and 256 miles later, he capturedEugénie at Latitude 42 and Longitude 12. She was armed with 18 guns, eight of which she had thrown overboard during the chase, and had a crew of 107 men. She was coppered and appeared completely new. The Royal Navy took her into service under the name HMSPandour, but never commissioned her.[2]
On 1 AprilMagnanime was again involved in a successful chase. This time one of 180 miles in 18 hours. The captured privateer was theAudacieux, of 20 guns, though pierced for 22, and carrying a crew of 137 men. She too was coppered and new. de Courcy remarked thatAudacieuz was so fast that if her captain had done a better job of steering she would have escaped.[2] She was taken into the Royal Navy as HMSAudacieux but apparently was never commissioned.[3]
Magnanime passed under the command of CaptainWilliam Taylor in spring 1799, and commanded her on African coast.[4][5] Sometime in January, 1801, possibly 17 or 18 January she exchanged fire in the night withUSSConstellation until identities were established, with the few shots fired with no material damage being done to either.[6] He took part in the capture ofGorée from the French in April 1801, while cruising with a squadron under the command of CaptainSir Charles Hamilton. Hamilton, in command of the 44-gunHMS Melpomene had received intelligence that there were three French frigates at anchor there.[7] Hamilton sailed to investigate, taking with him Taylor inMagnanime, and CaptainSolomon Ferris, in command of the 64-gunHMS Ruby. The frigates were not there, so Hamilton summoned the governor and ordered him to surrender. The governor agreed, and Hamilton and his force took possession on 5 April.[7][8]Magnanime was later in theLeeward Islands, where she remained for the rest of the French Revolutionary Wars, paying off into ordinary again in 1802.[9]
During the Napoleonic Wars she served in a variety of ancillary capacities – as a floating battery, then as a hospital ship.
Magnanime was eventually broken up in July 1813.[1]
Media related toHMS Magnanime (ship, 1780) at Wikimedia CommonsThis article includes data released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported UK: England & Wales Licence, by theNational Maritime Museum, as part of theWarship Histories project.