HMS ''Actaeon'' was a 26-gun

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Career

''Actaeon'' was designed in 1827 by the School of Naval Architecture, and launched from

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...

on 31 January 1831. She was first commissioned in November 1830 under Captain Frederick William Grey for service in the Mediterranean. On 5 November 1831 she rescued the crew of ''Ariel'', which was wrecked near

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...

. ''Ariel'' was on a voyage from

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

. After serving in the Mediterranean ''Actaeon'' served off

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

from November 1834 under Captain

Lord Edward Russell Admiral Lord Edward Russell, (24 April 1805 – 21 May 1887) was a British naval officer and Whig politician. Early life He was the son of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, and his second wife Lady Georgina Gordon, and was the younger half- ...

. She was assigned to the

British Pacific Squadron The Pacific Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Navy. It was formed in 1813 during the War of 1812. It was subordinate to the South America Station until 1837, when the British naval presence was reorganised into the Pacific Station and t ...

, arriving in

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

in July 1836. She was involved in the charting of the

Acteon Group The Acteon Group (Groupe Actéon) is a rather isolated and uninhabited subgroup in the far southeast of the Tuamotu atoll group in French Polynesia. It is located about east-southeast of Tahiti at latitude: 21° 17' 60 S, longitude: 136° 29' ...

: a group of islands that Russell named after this vessel. By 1838 she was back in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

under the command of Robert Russell, who sailed her back to South America in August that year. On 23 July 1840, she ran aground at

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina whilst on a voyage from that port to Monte Video, Uruguay. She was refloated with assistance from ,

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

, and Royal Navy vessels.

West Africa Squadron

''Actaeon'' returned to

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

in 1844, before departing under Captain George Mansel in December 1844 to join the

West Africa Squadron The West Africa Squadron, also known as the Preventative Squadron, was a squadron of the British Royal Navy whose goal was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa. Formed in 1808 after the British Parliame ...

. Whilst serving on this post, she captured the slavers ''Astrea'' and ''Theresa'' on 9 September 1847.

Survey vessel

''Actaeon'' was paid off at Portsmouth in 1848, but was recommissioned again in 1857 to serve as a

survey vessel A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the purpo ...

off "the coast of China and Tartary", under the command of Captain

William Thornton Bate William Thornton Bate (31 January 1818 – 29 December 1857) was a British Royal Navy officer and surveyor. He served in First Anglo-Chinese War and Second Anglo-Chinese War. He died during the Battle of Canton in 1857. Early life Bate was b ...

. On 7 July, ''Actaeon'' ran aground on a reef in the

Gaspar Strait The Gaspar Strait ( id, Selat Gaspar) is a strait separating the Indonesian islands Belitung ( en, Billiton, link=no) and Bangka. It connects the Java Sea with the South China Sea. Etymology The strait is named after a Spanish captain, who ...

() and was damaged. She was then present at the bombardment of

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

in 1857, during the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...

, where Bate was shot and killed on 29 December. Robert Jenkins replaced Bate on 30 December, and then John Ward took command on 1 March 1858. Ward carried out surveys for further military operations in August 1859, before returning to Britain. ''Actaeon'' was at Shanghai on the night of Sunday, 7 April 1861 for the British census.

Actaeon Sound Actaeon Sound is a sound in the Queen Charlotte Strait region of the Central Coast of British Columbia, branching off northeasterly from the north side of Drury Inlet near its head on the mainland of British Columbia to the north of the town of Por ...

in the

Queen Charlotte Strait , image = Canadian pilot, near Port Hardy BC.jpg , alt = , caption = A pilot boat plies Queen Charlotte Strait near Port Hardy , image_bathymetry = Locmap-QCS-Hecate-Dixon.png , alt_bathymetry = ...

region of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, was named for ''Actaeon'' in 1865, with many neighbouring features named in association with its crew and captain in the general area of

Drury Inlet Drury inlet is an inlet in the Queen Charlotte Strait region of the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada, extending west from Wells Passage to the northwest of North Broughton Island, northwest of the town of Port Hardy. Branching off to the ...

.BC Names/GeoBC entry "Drury Inlet
/ref> ''Actaeon'' was then out of commission at Portsmouth in 1866, becoming a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. ...

. She was hulked in 1870 and lent to the

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

Harbour Board, before being sold at Portsmouth in February 1889 for breaking up.

Citations and references

Citations References * * Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif, ''The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815-1889'', pub Chatham, 2004,

External links

*
Actaeon at Ships of the Old NavyDetails of Actaeon's career
{{DEFAULTSORT:Actaeon Ships built in Portsmouth Hospital ships of the United Kingdom 1831 ships Ships of the West Africa Squadron Sixth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy Maritime incidents in July 1840 Maritime incidents in July 1857