HMS ''Saldanha'' was a 36-gun ''Apollo''-class frigate of the British

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 ...

, launched in 1809 and wrecked on the coast of Ireland in 1811. Before she was wrecked she participated in the capture of a noted French privateer.

Service

''Saldanha'' was first commissioned in April 1810 under Captain John Stuart, who died on 19 March 1811. Captain William Pakenham then was assigned to command her, though in the Spring, ''Saldanha'' was temporarily under the command of Captain Reuben Mangin. On 11 October 1811, and ''Saldanha'', under Pakenham, took the French privateer ''Vice-Amiral Martin''. The privateer carried 18 guns and a crew of 140 men. On this cruise ''Vice-Amiral Martin'' was four days out of Bayonne and had not taken anything. Captain H. Vansitart of ''Fortunee'' remarked that ''Vice-Amiral Martin'' had superior sailing abilities that in the past had helped her escape British cruisers, and that though this time each of the British vessels was doing , she would have escaped if the British had not had two vessels.

Loss

''Saldanha'' and the sloop-of-war were based together in

Lough Swilly Lough Swilly () in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three glacial fjords ...

, Donegal when on 30 November they set out on a cruise to the west. ''Saldanha'' shipwrecked in a

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).

Postscript

On 4 December 2011 a special ceremony was held to mark the 200th anniversary of sinking in Lough Swilly of HMS ''Saldanha''. It was the first commemorative event recalling what is one of Ireland's worst ever marine disasters. Until then there had been no permanent memorial to their deaths.''Derry Journal''
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Notes, citations, and references

Notes Citations References * * * Long, W.H. (1899) ''Naval yarns : letters and anecdotes, comprising accounts of sea fights and wrecks, actions with pirates and privateers from 1616 to 1831'', pp. 257–63. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saldanha (1809) 1809 ships Ships built by Temple shipbuilders Maritime incidents in 1811 Shipwrecks of Ireland Apollo-class frigates