HMS ''Jason'' was a 38-gun

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal ...

frigate of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

. She served during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

, but her career came to an end after just four years in service when she struck an uncharted rock off

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus ** Brest Region ** Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest ** Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Bre ...

and sank on 13 October 1798. She had already had an eventful career, and was involved in several engagements with French vessels.

Construction

''Jason'' was ordered on 1 April 1793 and was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

that month at the yards of John Dudman, at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

. She was launched on 3 April 1794 and had been completed at

Deptford Dockyard Deptford Dockyard was an important naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and many significant events ...

by 25 July 1794. She cost £16,632 to build; this rising to a total of £22,567 when the cost of fitting her for service was included. ''Jason'' was commissioned in May 1794 under her first commander, Captain James Douglas.

Career

''Jason'' initially served in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...

, at first under Douglas, and then by 1795 under Captain

Charles Stirling Charles Stirling (28 April 1760 – 7 November 1833) was a vice-admiral in the British Royal Navy. Early life and career Charles Stirling was born in London on 28 April 1760 and baptised at St. Albans on 15 May. The son of Admiral Sir Walte ...

. Stirling remained the ''Jason''s commander for the rest of her career. In a highly active career against French shipping he took at least six French vessels, including two that later became part of the Royal Navy. ''Jason'' was present at the

Quiberon expedition The invasion of France in 1795 or the Battle of Quiberon was a major landing on the Quiberon peninsula by émigré, counter-revolutionary troops in support of the Chouannerie and Vendée Revolt, beginning on 23 June and finally definitively r ...

in October 1795 as part of John Borlase Warren's squadron, and went on to be highly active against French

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s and raiders. In December 1796 she was part of the British squadron that frustrated the French

Expédition d'Irlande The French expedition to Ireland, known in French as the ''Expédition d'Irlande'' ("Expedition to Ireland"), was an unsuccessful attempt by the French Republic to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republica ...

, capturing the disarmed frigate . Further service in the Channel followed; ''Jason'' captured the 14-gun privateer ''Marie'' off Belle Isle on 21 November 1797, the 24-gun privateer on 23 February 1798, and in company with captured the 12-gun privateer ''Bonne Citoyenne'' on 20 March 1798. Further successes that year included the 6-gun ''Arrogante'' off

23 April 1798, and in company with , the 38-gun frigate ''Seine'' in the Breton Passage at the

action of 30 June 1798 The action of 30 June 1798 was a minor naval engagement fought along the Biscay coast of France during the French Revolutionary Wars. The French Navy had been largely driven from the Atlantic Ocean early in the war following heavy losses in a se ...

. ''Marie'' came in the Royal Navy as HMS ''Halifax'', ''Arrogante'' became HMS ''Arrogante'', later renamed HMS ''Insolent''. ''Seine'' too became a British ship, as , serving until being wrecked in 1803.

Loss

HMS ''Jason'' struck an uncharted rock on 13 October 1798 while sailing off Brest and was wrecked. She was one of a handful of frigates to be lost on the dangerous Brest blockade with three of her class being lost, as well as the following year.

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jason (1794) Frigates of the Royal Navy Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Shipwrecks in the Bay of Biscay 1794 ships Maritime incidents in 1798 Ships built in Deptford Artois-class frigates