HMS ''Cerberus'' was a 28 gun
sixth-rate frigate 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 ...
.
Construction
She was ordered on 6 May 1757 from the yards of Pleasant Fenn,
East Cowes
East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes.
The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle ...
and was laid down on 13 June 1757. She was launched just over a year later on 5 September 1758.
The frigate was named after
Cerberus
In Greek mythology, Cerberus (; grc-gre, Κέρβερος ''Kérberos'' ), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring of the ...
, the
multi-headed dog from
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
that reputedly guarded the doors to
Hades. The choice of name followed a trend initiated in 1748 by
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS (13 November 1718 – 30 April 1792) was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten. During his life ...
, in his capacity as
First Lord of the Admiralty
The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...
, of using figures from
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
as descriptors for naval vessels. A total of six ''Coventry''-class vessels were named in this manner; a further ten were named after geographic features including regions, English or Irish rivers, or towns.
[Winfield 2007, pp. 227–231]
In sailing qualities ''Cerberus'' was broadly comparable with French frigates of equivalent size, but with a shorter and sturdier hull and greater weight in her
broadside guns. She was also comparatively broad-beamed with ample space for provisions and the
ship's mess, and incorporating a large
magazine for
powder
A powder is a dry, bulk solid composed of many very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms ''powder'' and '' granular'' are sometimes used to distin ...
and
round shot
A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...
. Taken together, these characteristics would enable ''Cerberus'' to remain at sea for long periods without resupply.
[Gardiner 1992, pp. 107108] She was also built with broad and heavy masts, which balanced the weight of her hull, improved stability in rough weather and made her capable of carrying a greater quantity of sail. The disadvantages of this comparatively heavy design were a decline in manoeuvrability and slower speed when sailing in light winds.[Gardiner 1992, pp. 111112]
Her designated complement was 200, comprising two commissioned officers
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
a captain and a lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
overseeing 40 warrant and petty officer
A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...
s, 91 naval ratings, 38 Marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
and 29 servants and other ranks.[Rodger 1986, pp. 348351] Among these other ranks were four positions reserved for widow's men fictitious crew members whose pay was intended to be reallocated to the families of sailors who died at sea.[
]
Naval career
''Cerberus'' saw action in the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. One of its first duties was to dispatch generals William Howe, Henry Clinton, and John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...
to Boston after the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The American press likened the three generals to the three-headed dog that was the ship's namesake. It provided naval reinforcement at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The ship was the target of an early torpedo attack by David Bushnell
David Bushnell (August 30, 1740 – 1824 or 1826), of Westbrook, Connecticut, was an American inventor, a patriot, one of the first American combat engineers, a teacher, and a medical doctor.
Bushnell invented the first submarine to be used in ...
's newly developed powder keg torpedoes in 1777. The attack killed four sailors in a small boat, but did not severely damage the ship.
''Cerberus'' was eventually burnt to prevent being captured by the French on 5 August 1778 during the American War of Independence, in Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sm ...
in Rhode Island. The remains of the ''Cerberus'' are now part of a site listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
, the " Wreck Sites of HMS ''Cerberus'' and HMS ''Lark''."
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerberus (1758)
Sixth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy
Archaeology of shipwrecks
1758 ships
Ships built on the Isle of Wight
Shipwrecks of the Rhode Island coast
Maritime incidents in 1778