Sardine was a corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

 of the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

, designed by Broquier.

She served in the Mediterranean during the Ancien Régime. In 1792, she was used as an escort.

On 9 March 1796, while she was anchored in the neutral harbour of Tunis

Tunis

Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....

 along with Nemesis and Postillon, the French ships were attacked by boats from HMS Egmont

HMS Egmont (1768)

HMS Egmont was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 29 August 1768 at Deptford. She was designed by Sir Thomas Slade, and was the only ship built to her draught....

, HMS Barfleur

HMS Barfleur (1768)

HMS Barfleur was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Thomas Slade on the lines of the 100-gun ship Royal William, and launched at Chatham Dockyard on 30 July 1768, at a cost of £49,222. In about 1780, she had another eight guns added to her quarterdeck, making...

 and HMS Bombay Castle

HMS Bombay Castle (1782)

HMS Bombay Castle was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 June 1782 at Blackwall Yard.She was wrecked in 1796....

. All three French ships were captured.

Sardine was brought into British service as the sloop-of-war HMS Sardine. From 1805, she was at Portsmouth in ordinary

Reserve fleet

A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....

, and in 1806 she was sold and broken up.

Sources and references