HDMS ''Thetis'' was a frigate of the

Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy The history of the Danish navy began with the founding of a joint Dano-Norwegian navy on 10 August 1510, when King John appointed his vassal Henrik Krummedige to become "chief captain and head of all our captains, men and servants whom we now h ...

, which she served from 1790 to 1850. She is remembered as the ship that carried a young

Bertel Thorvaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in 1796. The sculptor ended up living and working in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

the next more than forty years. He created a large number of small portrait drawings of the officers on board the ship.

Construction and design

''Thetis'' was built at Nyholm to a design by

Ernst Wilhelm Stibolt Ernst Wilhelm Stibolt (born 14 February 1741 29 February 1796) was a Danish naval officer and ship builder, who served in the French navy for four years.Topsøe-Jensen Vol 2 pp 554 – 557 and became a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Scienc ...

She was laid down on 19 August 1789 and the construction was completed on 19 May 1792. She was launched on 7 August 1790. ''Thetis'' was long, with a beam of and a draught of .She displaced 658 ''læster''. Her complement was approximately 380 men. Her armament was 26 x 18-pounder guns, 14 6-pounder guns, 4 x 12-pounder howitzers and 6 x one-pounder falconettes.

Career

''Thetis'' was sent on a diplomatic mission to the Mediterranean in 1796–97. She was under command of captain

Lorentz Fisker Lorentz Fisker (1753–1819) was a Danish naval officer who charted the waters of southern Norway and the Kattegat, and organised Norwegian defences against Britain and Sweden.Project Runeberg – DBvol. 5, pages 180 - 182/ref>Topsøe-Jensen Vo ...

and with Captain lieutenant Claus Hvidtfeldt Blom as second-in-command. Fisker had two missions: first, to escort the annual "gift ship" to Algiers, and second, to arrange for the freeing of two Danish vessels and their crews in Tripoli. The other officers were Gerhard Sievers Bille (first lieutenant), Laurits Jensen Grove (first lieutenant), Johannes Krieger (1773-1818, second lieutenant), Andreas Christian Lütken (second lieutenant), Johan Joachim Uldall (second lieutenant), Johan Christian Gustav Hohlenberg (second lieutenant), Peder Pavels (chaplin), Christian Georg Hansen (chief surgeon), Blankfordt (junior surgeon), G. Rørbye (''Skibsproviantforvalter''), Hassing (død 28.4.1797, ''Underproviantskriver''), H. A. Schmidt (''Skibssekretær''), Hans Jørgen Tronsen )chief mate) and Gregorius (''hovmester''). The sculptor

was granted permission to travel to Rome with the ship. He visited Fisker and his wife in their home on Toldbodvej several times prior to the ship's departure. He boarded the ship on 29 August 1796. ''Thetis'' set sail from Copenhagen on 30 August, On 68 September, she fired some warning shots at some British naval ships in the North Sea. On 9 September, she anchored off Dover due to heavy fog. On 2 October, she exchanged some gun shots with a couple of Portuguese naval vessels off the coast of Portugal. On 8 October, ''Thetis'' anchored at the Roads of Malaga. Her departure from Malaga was delayed by lack of wind. Thorvaldsen and some of the officers spent the time touring the town, visiting some of its churches and coffee houses. ''Thetis'' departed from Malaga on 11 October, bound for Algiers. On 16 October, she left the tribute ship ''Laurentius'' behind in Algiers, continuing alone to Malta. At Valetta, on 24 October, ''Thetis'' was placed under a 40-day plague quarantine. On 3 November, Malta's health commission decided to maintain the 40-day quarantine plus an extra 20 days in case the ship decided to call at Tripoli in the meantime. On 7 November, ''Thetis'' continued to Tripoli. On 14 November, Fisker engaged in diplomatic, but unsuccessful, negotiations with the old

Pasha of Tripoli Pasha of Tripoli was a title that was held by many rulers of Tripoli in Ottoman Tripolitania. The Ottoman Empire ruled the territory for most time from the Siege of Tripoli in 1551 until the Italian invasion of Libya in 1911, at the onset of t ...

Yusuf Karamanli Yusuf (ibn Ali) Karamanli, Caramanli or Qaramanli or al-Qaramanli (most commonly Yusuf Karamanli), (1766 – 1838) was the longest-reigning Pasha of the Karamanli dynasty of Tripolitania (in present-day Libya). He is noted for his role in the ...

. A storm forecast forced ''Thetis'' to exit the Port of Tripoli, leaving behind her captain. On 23 November, she was finally able to return to Tripoli. ''Thetis'' left Tripoli again on 25 November, bound either for Sicily or Malta. On her arrival at Valetta, on 2 December, she was placed under plague quarantine until 18 December. On 17 January 1797, ''Thetis'' departed from Valetta.

Legacy

Thorvaldsen created a number of miniature portrait drawings of the officers on board the ''Thetis'' ''en route'' to the Mediterranean in 1796. File:Lorentz Henrik Fisker (1753-1819).jpg, Lorentz Fisker File:Skibsproviantforvalter G.F. Rørbye.jpg, G.F. Rørbye

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thetis (1790), HDMS Frigates of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy Sailing ships of Denmark Ships built in Copenhagen 1790 ships Ships designed by Ernst Wilhelm Stibolt Bertel Thorvaldsen