HMS ''Aid'' was a

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 Fr ...

transport ship launched in 1809 at

Kings Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, nor ...

. She was the name ship of a six-vessel class of purpose built storeships, the only vessels built as such during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

. Ordered in 1808, she was built by Mr Thomas Brindley at

King's Lynn, Norfolk King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, ...

. She was converted to a

survey ship 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 pur ...

between December 1816 and March 1817 at Sheerness. Commander

William Henry Smyth Admiral William Henry Smyth (21 January 1788 – 8 September 1865) was a Royal Navy officer, hydrographer, astronomer and numismatist. He is noted for his involvement in the early history of a number of learned societies, for his hydrographic ...

commissioned her in January 1817. On 14 September 1817, while under Smyth's command, she was at Lebida (

Leptis Magna Leptis or Lepcis Magna, also known by other names in antiquity, was a prominent city of the Carthaginian Empire and Roman Libya at the mouth of the Wadi Lebda in the Mediterranean. Originally a 7th-centuryBC Phoenician foundation, it was great ...

), together with . There they loaded columns, marbles, and other antiquities to bring back to England. ''Aid'' was renamed HMS ''Adventure'' in 1821. As HMS ''Adventure'' the ship was deployed for five years between 1826 and 1830 in a survey of

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

, under the command of Captain Phillip King. The ship was accompanied by HMS ''Beagle'', a slightly smaller vessel (90.3 ft in length), who was on her first of three major voyages. ''Adventure'' was sold in Plymouth by the Admiralty on 19 May 1853 for £750.

Citations

References

* * Smyth, William Henry (1854) ''The Mediterranean: A Memoir Physical, Historical, and Nautical'' (John W. Parker and Son). {{DEFAULTSORT:Aid (1809), HMS Survey vessels of the Royal Navy Victorian-era auxiliary ships of the United Kingdom 1809 ships Aid-class storeship

See also

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References