Dutch ship Beschermer (1784)

Beschermer (Protector) was a Dutch 56-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier (one of five provincial navies of the United Provinces of the Netherlands). The order to construct the ship was given by the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier.[1]

Figurehead of the ship Beschermer.
History
Dutch Navy EnsignDutch Republic
NameBeschermer
BuilderEnkhuizen
Laid down1781
Launched1784
Batavian Navy EnsignBatavian Republic
NameBeschermer
Captured30 August 1799
Great Britain
NameHMS Beschermer
Acquired1799
Commissioned1799
Decommissioned1806
Out of serviceLent to the East India Dock Company in 1806
Reclassified
FateSold, September 1838
General characteristics
Class and type54-gun fourth-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen1,051 6794 (bm)
Length
  • 145 ft 1 in (44.2 m) (gundeck)
  • 118 ft 7 in (36.1 m) (keel)
Beam40 ft 10 in (12.4 m)
Depth of hold16 ft 4 in (5.0 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • In British service
  • Lower gundeck: 24 × 18-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 24 × 32-pounder carronades
  • Quarterdeck: 6 × 32-pounder carronades
  • Forecastle: 2 × 32-pounder carronades
  • As refitted
  • 20 × 24-pounder guns
  • 20 × 18-pounder guns
  • Quarterdeck: 6 × 6-pounder guns
  • Forecastle: 2 × 6-pounder guns

In 1795 she became part of the Batavian Navy, following the French invasion of the Netherlands.

On 11 October 1797 Beschermer took part in the Battle of Camperdown under Captain Dooitze Eelkes Hinxt. The ship escaped the battle after Hinxt was severely wounded.[2]

On 30 August 1799 Beschermer, under Captain Eilbrach, was surrendered to the British during the Vlieter Incident. The Royal Navy then took her on in various subsidiary roles.

In 1801 Beschermer served as a guard ship in the Swin. She was fitted as a storeship in 1805. Beschermer was lent to the East India Dock Company for use as a hulk at Blackwall in 1806 until she was sold for breaking up in September 1838.[3][4]

Beschermer was eventually broken up in 1838.

Citations edit

  1. ^ J.F. Fischer Fzn. De Delft: De dagjournalen met de complete en authentieke geschiedenis van 's Lands schip van oorlog Delft en de waarheid over de zeeslag bij Camperduin (Franeker: Van Wijnen, 1997), 135.
  2. ^ J.F. Fischer Fzn. De Delft: De dagjournalen met de complete en authentieke geschiedenis van 's Lands schip van oorlog Delft en de waarheid over de zeeslag bij Camperduin (Franeker: Van Wijnen, 1997), 342.
  3. ^ "BESCHERMER (54) [1799]". Ageofnelson.org. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  4. ^ Winfield (2008), p. 269.

References edit

  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.