HMS Antelope (1703)

HMS "Antelope" was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Rotherhithe on 13 March 1703. She was rebuilt once during her career, and served in the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War.

Orders were issued on 9 January 1738 for "Antelope" to be taken to pieces and rebuilt according to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment at Woolwich, from where she was relaunched on 27 January 1741.

Career

On 16 June 1756, she sailed from England for Gibraltar with Vice Admiral Sir Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke and Rear Admiral Charles Saunders. She arrived there on 3 July with an order to supersede Admiral John Byng. "Antelope" returned to England with Byng, sailing on 9 July and arriving at Spithead on 26 July, where Byng was arrested before being landed on 19 August. His trial started on board "Monarch" on 27 December.

On 30 April 1757, Captain Samuel Hood took command of "Antelope". On 15 May, after a short action off Brest, France, the French "Aquilon", 50, was driven on to the rocks in Audierne Bay where she was wrecked. Then, on 31 October 1758, off Barnstaple, "Antelope" took HMS|Belliqueux|1758|2, 64, one of a French squadron returning from Quebec.

Not every action was a success. In 1759, under the command of Captain James Webb, "Antelope" was attached to Commodore William Boys's squadron, which had been blockading François Thurot in Dunkirk throughout the summer and early autumn. On 15 October, when the squadron had been driven off station during a gale, Thurot made his escape with six frigates and corvettes carrying 1300 troops and sailed to Gothenburg.

In 1762, "Antelope" was stationed in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, under the command of Captain Thomas Graves, who was acting Governor of the island. A French fleet from Brest, under M. de Ternay, with 1500 troops commanded by the Comte d'Haussonville, sailed into St. John's and captured the town on 24 June. Captain Graves immediately sent word to Commodore Lord Colville at Halifax who joined him in blockading the French, and brought troops over from Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island on 11 September. During a gale on 16 September de Ternay evaded the blockade and, abandoning the troops, sailed back to France.

On her way home to England "Antelope" encountered "Marlborough", under Captain Thomas Burnett, which had sailed from Havana as part of the escort of a convoy of prizes and transports, but had become separated in very heavy weather. She was leaking so badly that her guns had to be thrown overboard and the pumps kept working. "Antelope" took all her people off on 29 November when she started to founder and she was allowed to sink.

Later, in 1780, "Antelope" was again patrolling the Labrador coast and intercepted the American ship "Mercury". As the vessels came to close quarters, a package was thrown overboard from the latter. One of the sailors on "Antelope" dived from the deck and rescued the package, which contained details of secret negotiations then being conducted between the United States and the United Provinces. Antelope Harbour, Labrador, is named for this incident.

"Antelope" was sold out of the service on 30 October 1783.

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (2003) "The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850". Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.