HMS Thetis (1817)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Thetis.

HMS Thetis was a 46-gun Leda-class fifth-rate frigate built for the Royal Navy during the 1810s. She was first commissioned in 1823 and was assigned to the South America Station three years later. The ship was wrecked in 1830 off Cape Frio, Brazil, with the loss of 22 crewmen; most of her cargo of bullion was successfully salvaged.

Ganges and Thetis off Rio de Janeiro, by Emeric Essex Vidal
History
United Kingdom
Name	Thetis
Namesake	Thetis
Ordered	18 December 1812
Builder	Pembroke Dockyard
Laid down	December 1814
Launched	1 February 1817
Completed	20 August 1823
Commissioned	15 March 1823
Nickname(s)	Tea Chest
Fate	Wrecked, 5 December 1830
General characteristics
Class and type	Leda-class frigate
Tons burthen	1086 32/94 bm
Length	150 ft 9 in (45.9 m) (gundeck) 126 ft 7 in (38.6 m) (keel)
Beam	40 ft 2 in (12.2 m)
Draught	14 ft 8 in (4.5 m)
Depth	12 ft 9 in (3.9 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	315
Armament	46 guns: Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pdr cannon Quarterdeck: 14 × 32-pdr carronades Forecastle: 2 × 9-pdr cannon and 2 × 32-pdr carronades

Description

Salvage of Stores and Treasure from HMS 'Thetis' at Cape Frio, Brazil by the artist John Christian Schetky

Captain Thomas Dickinson, 1786-1854 conducted the salvage operations

Thetis had a length at the gundeck of 150 feet 9 inches (45.9 m) and 126 feet 7 inches (38.6 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 40 feet 2 inches (12.2 m), a draught of 14 feet 8 inches (4.5 m) and a depth of hold of 12 feet 9 inches (3.9 m). The ship's tonnage was 1086 32⁄94 tons burthen.^[1] Thetis was armed with twenty-eight 18-pounder cannon on her gundeck, fourteen 32-pounder carronades on her quarterdeck and a pair of 9-pounder cannon and two more 32-pounder carronades in forecastle. The ship had a crew of 315 officers and ratings.^[2]

Construction and career

Thetis, the eighth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy,^[3] was ordered on 18 December 1812, laid down in December 1814 at Pembroke Dockyard, Wales, and launched on 1 February 1813.^[2] She sailed for Plymouth Dockyard on 21 August 1817 and was completed for ordinary on 20 September. Thetis cost £27,435 to build and £7,699 to fit out for ordinary. The ship's first commission began on 15 March 1823, under the command of Captain John Phillimore, and she was completed for sea duty on 20 August 1823 at the cost of an additional £12,959.^[4] Soon after this Thetis was used in an experiment reducing the onboard rum ration, for which the ship received the nickname "Tea Chest".^[5]

Thetis was assigned to the South America Station in June 1826 and Captain Arthur Bingham assumed command on 8 November. He drowned in the Guayas River on 19 August 1830 and Captain Samuel Burgess was in command by 29 November. On 5 December Thetis, the ship was wrecked off Cape Frio, Brazil; 22 crewmen drowned. Two-thirds of her cargo of bullion was subsequently salvaged.^[6] In August 1832 the Falmouth packet Mutine brought back to England 17,000 dollars salvaged from Thetis.^[7]

Notes

1. Winfield 2008, p. 686
2. Winfield & Lyon, p. 107
3. Colledge, p. 349
4. Winfield 2014, p. 577
5. Kennedy (1974), p. 100.
6. Hepper (1994), p.161.
7. "Money-Market and City Intelligence." Times [London, England] 8 Aug. 1832: 3. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 6 Aug. 2018.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Hepper, David J. (1994) British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650–1859. (Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot). ISBN 0-948864-30-3
• Kennedy, Don H. (1974). Ship Names: Origins and Usages during 45 Centuries. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia. ISBN 0-8139-0531-1.
• Phillips, Lawrie; Lieutenant Commander (2014). Pembroke Dockyard and the Old Navy: A Bicentennial History. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-5214-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793-1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates (epub). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
• Winfield, Rif (2014). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1817-1863 (epub). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-47383-743-0.
• Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC 52620555.