HMS Weazel (1745) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Weazel
Builder	James Taylor & John Randall, Rotherhithe
Launched	22 May 1745 at Rotherhithe
Completed	24 June 1745 at Deptford Dockyard
Acquired	22 April 1745
Commissioned	May 1745
In service	1745–1749 1752–1756 1757–1764 1769–1779
Out of service	1779
Honours and awards	Second Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)
Captured	13 January 1779 by French frigate Boudeuse
General characteristics
Class and type	16-gun ship-sloop
Tons burthen	307 65⁄94 bm
Length	94 ft 6.75 in (28.8 m) (gundeck) 76 ft 4.5 in (23.3 m) (keel)
Beam	27 ft 6.25 in (8.4 m)
Depth of hold	12 ft 0 in (3.7 m)
Sail plan	Ship rig
Complement	110 (1745–1749) 125 (1749–1779)
Armament	16 × 6-pounder guns 14 × ½-pdr swivel guns

HMS Weazel was a small warship with 16 cannons, known as a ship-sloop. She served in the Royal Navy for many years. Weazel was active during three major conflicts: the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, and the American Revolutionary War.

Launched in 1745, this ship remained in British service until 1779. During her time, she captured 11 enemy ships. She was also present at the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747) in 1747, though she didn't fight directly. In 1779, the French captured Weazel, and she was later sold.

Building a Warship: HMS Weazel

The ship that became Weazel was first built by James Taylor and John Randall in Rotherhithe. They were skilled shipbuilders, called shipwrights. This vessel was originally meant to be a private merchant ship.

However, the Royal Navy bought the half-finished ship on April 22, 1745. They then hired Taylor and Randall to finish building her for naval use. The cost for the ship and its completion was about £2,387. This would be like £361,000 today.

Once the Navy owned the ship, they asked the builders to finish her with a special design. Weazel became the Royal Navy's first three-masted ship-rigged sloop. This meant she had three masts with square sails, like a larger ship. Her quarterdeck, the deck at the back, was made longer to fit a third mast. The goal was to make her faster and easier to steer than older two-masted sloops. This new design worked so well that it became the standard for all similar Navy sloops after 1756.

When built, Weazel was about 28.8 meters (94 feet 6.75 inches) long on her main deck. She was about 8.4 meters (27 feet 6.25 inches) wide. She had 18 places for cannons on her sides and two cannons at the front. Even though she only carried 16 cannons, she was the most heavily armed sloop in the Navy when she launched. Her crew usually had 110 sailors from 1745 to 1749. This number increased to 125 after 1749.

Weazel's Navy Adventures

Early Service in Europe

The waterfront at Deptford, where Weazel was prepared for service in 1745.

Weazel was launched on May 22, 1745. She then sailed to Deptford Dockyard to get her equipment, weapons, and crew. She officially joined the Royal Navy on June 24, under Commander Thomas Craven. This was during the War of the Austrian Succession, a big conflict between European powers.

Commander Craven's first orders were to patrol the English Channel. He was looking for enemy privateers. Privateers were armed ships owned by private people but allowed by their government to attack enemy merchant ships. Weazel quickly found action. She captured the French privateer Le Renard on November 23.

In February 1746, Lieutenant Hugh Palliser took over as commander. Weazel continued her patrols. She captured the French privateer La Revanche on March 27. Then, on April 1, she captured La Charmante. Another privateer almost got away near Spithead when Weazel was slowed by light winds. The French ship escaped by throwing its cannons overboard to speed up.

More victories followed that year. Weazel captured L'Epervier on July 29, Le Delangle on August 3, and both La Fortune and La Jeantie on October 8. In November, she met a large 30-gun French privateer in the Bay of Biscay. Weazel bravely fought the bigger ship. A newspaper at the time said her crew fought "very bravely for a considerable time." The British gained the upper hand when the larger 58-gun HMS Princess Louisa arrived. The privateer tried to escape but was forced ashore and destroyed near Port-Louis, Morbihan.

At the end of 1746, Commander Palliser was promoted. Commander Samuel Barrington became the new commander of Weazel. On April 24, 1747, Weazel was off the Dutch coast with HMS Lys. They found and defeated the privateers La Gorgonne and La Charlotte.

In June 1747, Weazel returned to Plymouth. Commander John Midwinter replaced Barrington. On August 30, she joined a group of ships led by Admiral Peter Warren. Their mission was to help a British fleet near the French island of Ushant. Bad weather delayed them, and Weazel arrived on September 26. The fleet commander, Admiral Edward Hawke, used Weazel to carry messages between his larger ships.

On October 14, the fleet was near Cape Finisterre. They found a French force of eight warships protecting 252 merchant ships. Admiral Hawke ordered a "general chase," meaning his captains could break formation and attack freely. The British ships quickly caught up to the French line. They captured six French warships. About 4,000 French sailors were captured or killed, while the British had 757 casualties.

During the battle, the French merchant ships and two warships escaped towards the Caribbean. Weazel was too small to join the main battle. However, Admiral Hawke sent her quickly to the Royal Navy's base in Jamaica. She carried a message about the French convoy's likely route. Weazel reached the Caribbean before most of the French ships. The Royal Navy squadron there immediately sailed out. They successfully stopped 40 French ships and took 900 prisoners.

During the Seven Years' War, in December 1757, Commodore John Moore sent Weazel to the neutral Dutch island of Sint Eustatius. The ship warned the island's governor that nearby French islands were being blocked by the British. Any ships trying to break the blockade would be attacked. Weazel's arrival caused a panic on the island, and the governor temporarily stopped all outgoing trade.

Later, on September 7, the American ship USS Raleigh attacked a British convoy. She fought HMS Druid and damaged her. But when other British escort ships, HMS Camel and Weazel, approached, Raleigh had to retreat.

Weazel's Final Journey

In 1779, Weazel was near the Caribbean island of St Eustatius. There, the 32-gun French frigate Boudeuse, commanded by Lieutenant Grenier, captured her. The French took their captured ship to the Antilles. They removed her cannons and gave them to Admiral d'Estaing's squadron. Weazel was then sold in Guadeloupe in 1781.