French brig Lutin (1788)

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

History
France
Name	Lutin
Builder	Bayonne. Commencé
Laid down	October 1787
Launched	February 1788
Captured	25 July 1793
Great Britain
Name	HMS Lutin
Acquired	1793 by purchase of a prize
Fate	Sold 26 January 1796
General characteristics [1][2][3]
Class and type	Hazard-class brig-aviso
Tons burthen	180(French "of load"), or 267 (bm)
Length	Overall: 84 ft 0 in (25.60 m) Keel: 70 ft 9 in (21.56 m)
Beam	24 ft 0 in (7.32 m)
Depth of hold	11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Complement	100–110 (French service)
Armament	French Navy Originally: 6 × 6-pounder guns Later: 16 × 6-pounder guns Royal Navy:12 × 4-pounder guns + 4 × 12-pounder carronades

Lutin was a Hasard-class brig-aviso launched at Bayonne in 1788 for the French Navy. Shortly after the outbreak of war with England, the British Royal Navy captured her off Newfoundland. The British took her into service as HMS Lutin. After some two years on the Newfoundland station Lutin sailed to Plymouth where the Navy sold her.

Career

On 1 June 1788 Lutin sailed from Rochefort to Brest in company with the frigates Gracieuse, Néréide, and Courageuse, and her sister-ships Hazard and Espoir.^[1]

In November 1790 Lutin, under the command of lieutenant de vaiseau Prévost de La Croix, carried guns from Saint Lucie to Fort Royal, Guadeloupe, and Saint Barthélemy. She then returned to Rochefort.^[1]

In March 1793 Lutin was at Martinique, under the command of commandante Coquet.^[1]

Capture

HMS Pluto captured Lutin off Newfoundland on 25 July 1793.^[4][2] Lloyd's List reported that Pluto had captured a French packet ship bound for France from Martinique. It further reported that the packet had a crew of 100 men and had suffered one man killed and seven wounded.^[5] The biography of Commander James N. Morris, Pluto's captain, stated that the action took some 15 minutes, that Lutin had a crew of 70 men, and that she had suffered three killed and four wounded.^[6] The Royal Navy took Lutin into service as HMS Lutin and registered her at Newfoundland on 19 December.^[3]

Royal Navy

HMS Lutin was commissioned in December 1793 under Commander James Thresher. In June 1794 Commander Ambrose Crofton replaced Thresher. She arrived at Plymouth on 15 November 1795 and was paid off in December.^[3] Crofton transferred from Lutin to take command of Pluto.^[7]

Fate

Lutin was sold at Plymouth on 26 January 1796 for £800.^[3]

Citations

1. Roche (2005), p. 288.
2. Winfield & Roberts (2015), p. 204.
3. Winfield (2008), p. 283.
4. Schomberg (1802), p. 255.
5. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 2540. 6 September 1793. hdl:2027/hvd.32044050633098. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
6. Marshall (1823), p. 489.
7. Marshall (1832), p. 435.

References

• Marshall, John (1832). "Crofton, Ambrose" . Royal Naval Biography. Vol. 3, part 2. London: Longman and company. p. 435.
• Marshall, John (1823). "Morris, James Nicoll" . Royal Naval Biography. Vol. 1, part 2. London: Longman and company. p. 488–491.
• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
• Schomberg, Isaac (1802). Naval Chronology, Or an Historical Summary of Naval and Maritime Events from the Time of the Romans, to the Treaty of Peace 1802: With an Appendix. London: T. Egerton.
• Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.
• Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S. (2015). French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.