HMS ''Placentia'' was the name-ship of her two vessel class, with both vessels being launched in 1789. John Henslow designed the small sloops for coastal patrol duties off

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. She was wrecked in 1794.

Career

Lieutenant

Peter Halkett Admiral Sir Peter Halkett, 6th Baronet (''c.'' 1765 – 7 October 1839) was a senior Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century who is best known for his service in the French Revolutionary Wars. The younger son a Scottish baronet, Halke ...

commissioned her in October 1789. He was followed in 1790 by Lieutenant Caither, who was followed in 1791 by Lieutenant

Charles Herbert Charles Herbert Saperstein (December 23, 1948 – October 31, 2015), known as Charles Herbert, was an American child actor of the 1950s and 1960s. Before reaching his teens, Herbert was renowned by a generation of moviegoers for an on-scree ...

. Herbert's successor, in 1792, was Lieutenant John Tucker. ''Placentia'' was rated as an armed sloop, and then as an armed ship. In 1794 Lieutenant Alexander Shippard (or Sheppard) assumed command.

Fate

On 7 May 1794 ''Placentia'' was sailing towards Burin from Marisheen when a strong current drove her towards the island of Marticot. She anchored off a reef but next morning a swell pushed her onto the rocks. Her crew abandoned her in a sinking state.

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Placentia (1789) Sloops of the Royal Navy Maritime incidents in 1794 1789 ships Placentia-class sloops