HMS Cuckoo (1806)
Encyclopedia
HMS Cuckoo was a Royal Navy
Cuckoo-class schooner
of four 12-pounder carronade
s and a crew of 20. She was built by James Lovewell at Great Yarmouth and launched in 1806. Like many of her class and the related Ballahoo-class schooner
s, she succumbed to the perils of the sea relatively early in her career.
On 26 December 1807, Cuckoo was in company with the frigate Aigle, Defiance
and Gibraltar when Aigle captured the Othello.
In March 1808 Cuckoo was part of a squadron off Lorient
. She was about midway between the island of Groix
and the Glénan islands
when she sighted enemy vessels in the south-east. She signaled this to the squadron and Aigle and the 74-gun third rate Impetueux sailed to intercept. Aigle exchanged fire with one, which ran herself aground on Groix under the protection of French batteries there. Aigle suffered 22 wounded, including her captain who was severely wounded, and seven men who then were invalided out of the service. The British observed seven coffins being carried from the French frigate to a church on a nearby hill. The British believed that the vessel that ran ashore was the Seine and that the one that escaped was the Italienne.Roche (2005; pp. 410 and 262) makes no mention of the engagement. Her crew later burnt Seine to prevent her being captured at Anse la Barque during Roquebert's expedition to the Caribbean
. Italienne was badly damaged at the Action of 24 February 1809 and sold for commercial service.
Cuckoo was in company with Aigle and Donegal
when Donegal captured the French chasse maree Jeune Adele on 22 May 1808.
Cuckoo accompanied the unsuccessful Walcheren Campaign
in July-August 1809, together with her half-sister schooners Pilchard
and Porgey
.
at Callantsoog
. She had been under orders to capture all foreign vessels employed in the herring or other fisheries.
She wrecked at 11pm and by 1am she was awash and her crew was forced to take to the rigging.. Two persons on Cuckoo died of exposure. One of the two fatalities was Paddon's five-year old son; the other was a seaman. During the sinking a falling spar broke Paddon’s right shoulder-blade and two of his ribs, injuries that would bother him for the rest of his life. The Dutch rescued the surviving crew who then surrendered to troops from Amsterdam.
A later court martial admonished Paddon for relying too heavily on the pilot Joseph Delaby who, by then, had deserted.Still, Paddon remained in the Royal Navy, eventually rising to the rank of Commander before retiring on half pay.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Cuckoo-class schooner
Cuckoo class schooner
The Cuckoo class was a class of twelve 4-gun schooners of the Royal Navy, built by contract in English shipyards during the Napoleonic War. They followed the design of the Bermuda-designed and built Ballahoo-class schooners, and more particularly, that of Haddock. The Admiralty ordered all twelve...
of four 12-pounder carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
s and a crew of 20. She was built by James Lovewell at Great Yarmouth and launched in 1806. Like many of her class and the related Ballahoo-class schooner
Ballahoo class schooner
The Ballahoo class was a Royal Navy class of eighteen 4-gun schooners built under contract in Bermuda during the Napoleonic War. The class was an attempt by the Admiralty to harness the expertise of Bermudian shipbuilders who were renowned for their fast-sailing craft...
s, she succumbed to the perils of the sea relatively early in her career.
Service
She was commissioned in May 1806 under Lieutenant Silas Hiscutt Paddon for the Channel and the North Sea.On 26 December 1807, Cuckoo was in company with the frigate Aigle, Defiance
HMS Defiance (1783)
HMS Defiance was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Randall and Co., at Rotherhithe on the River Thames, and launched on 10 December 1783.-History:...
and Gibraltar when Aigle captured the Othello.
In March 1808 Cuckoo was part of a squadron off Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
. She was about midway between the island of Groix
Groix
Groix is an island and a commune in the Morbihan department of the region of Brittany in north-western France.Groix lies a few kilometres of the coast off Lorient. Several ferries a day run from Lorient to Groix....
and the Glénan islands
Glénan islands
The Glénan islands are an archipelago located off the coast of France. They are located in the south of Finistère, near Concarneau and Fouesnant, and comprise seven major islands: Saint-Nicolas, the Loc'h, Penfret, Cigogne, Drenec, Bananec, and Brunec...
when she sighted enemy vessels in the south-east. She signaled this to the squadron and Aigle and the 74-gun third rate Impetueux sailed to intercept. Aigle exchanged fire with one, which ran herself aground on Groix under the protection of French batteries there. Aigle suffered 22 wounded, including her captain who was severely wounded, and seven men who then were invalided out of the service. The British observed seven coffins being carried from the French frigate to a church on a nearby hill. The British believed that the vessel that ran ashore was the Seine and that the one that escaped was the Italienne.Roche (2005; pp. 410 and 262) makes no mention of the engagement. Her crew later burnt Seine to prevent her being captured at Anse la Barque during Roquebert's expedition to the Caribbean
Roquebert's expedition to the Caribbean
Roquebert's expedition to the Caribbean, was an unsuccessful operation by a French naval squadron to transport supplies to Guadeloupe in December 1809 at the height of the Napoleonic Wars. Over the previous year, British Royal Navy squadrons had isolated and defeated the French Caribbean colonies...
. Italienne was badly damaged at the Action of 24 February 1809 and sold for commercial service.
Cuckoo was in company with Aigle and Donegal
HMS Donegal (1798)
The Barra was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was renamed Pégase in 1795, and Hoche in 1797. She was captured by the British on 12 October 1798 and recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Donegal....
when Donegal captured the French chasse maree Jeune Adele on 22 May 1808.
Cuckoo accompanied the unsuccessful Walcheren Campaign
Walcheren Campaign
The Walcheren Campaign was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Around 40,000 soldiers, 15,000 horses together with field artillery and two siege trains...
in July-August 1809, together with her half-sister schooners Pilchard
HMS Pilchard (1805)
HMS Pilchard was a Royal Navy Ballahoo-class schooner of four 12-pounder carronades and a crew of 20. The prime contractor for the vessel was Goodrich & Co., in Bermuda. She was commissioned under Lieutenant Samuel Crew in May 1804, launched in 1805, and completed at Plymouth in 1806...
and Porgey
HMS Porgey (1807)
HMS Porgey was a Royal Navy Ballahoo-class schooner of four 12-pounder carronades and a crew of 20. The prime contractor for the vessel was Goodrich & Co., in Bermuda, and she was launched in 1804...
.
Fate
Cuckoo was wrecked on 4 April 1810 on the Haak Sands off the TexelTexel
Texel is a municipality and an island in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the biggest and most populated of the Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this archipelago, which extends to Denmark...
at Callantsoog
Callantsoog
Callantsoog is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zijpe, and lies about 13 km south of Den Helder...
. She had been under orders to capture all foreign vessels employed in the herring or other fisheries.
She wrecked at 11pm and by 1am she was awash and her crew was forced to take to the rigging.. Two persons on Cuckoo died of exposure. One of the two fatalities was Paddon's five-year old son; the other was a seaman. During the sinking a falling spar broke Paddon’s right shoulder-blade and two of his ribs, injuries that would bother him for the rest of his life. The Dutch rescued the surviving crew who then surrendered to troops from Amsterdam.
A later court martial admonished Paddon for relying too heavily on the pilot Joseph Delaby who, by then, had deserted.Still, Paddon remained in the Royal Navy, eventually rising to the rank of Commander before retiring on half pay.