Name Volontaire Class and type Virginie class frigate Beam 11.9 m (39 ft) Launched 7 June 1796 Weight 720 tons Builder Bordeaux | Laid down September 1794 Displacement 720 tonnes Construction started September 1794 Length 47 m Draft 5.5 m | |
Fate Captured by the British Navy on 4 March 1806, becoming HMS Volontaire | ||
Volontaire was a 40-gun Virginie class frigate of the French Navy.
On 20 November 1798, along with Insurgente, Volontaire, under Captain Laurent, captured the 14-gun corvette USS Retaliation.
She took part in the Atlantic campaign of 1806 and was captured by HMS Diadem on 4 March 1806. She sailed into Table Bay, unaware that the British had captured Cape Town. HMS Diadem, flying a Dutch flag, came alongside. When Diadem ran up the British flag, Volontaire surrendered.
The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Volontaire. Captain Josceline Percy commissioned her and sailed her to St Helena. There he took charge of a convoy for England.
Fate
Volontaire was broken up in February 1826.
References
French frigate Volontaire (1796) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA