HMS Melampus (1820)

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

Plan showing the midship section for Melampus
History
United Kingdom
Name	Melampus
Namesake	Melampus
Ordered	1 May 1815
Builder	Pembroke Dockyard
Laid down	August 1817
Launched	18 August 1820
Completed	18 May 1845
Commissioned	12 March 1845
Fate	Sold for scrap, 3 April 1906
General characteristics
Class and type	Modified Leda-class frigate
Tons burthen	1088 56/94 bm
Length	151 ft 10 in (46.3 m) (gundeck) 127 ft 1 in (38.7 m) (keel)
Beam	40 ft 6 in (12.3 m)
Draught	14 ft 7 in (4.4 m)
Depth	12 ft 9 in (3.9 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	315
Armament	46 guns: Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pdr cannon Quarterdeck: 14 × 32-pdr carronades Forecastle: 2 × 9-pdr cannon and 2 × 32-pdr carronades

HMS Melampus was a 46-gun modified Leda-class fifth-rate frigate built for the Royal Navy during the 1810s. Completed in 1820, she was not commissioned until 1845 for the South America Station and was converted into a store and receiving ship in 1855. The ship was briefly assigned as a coast guard ship before being paid off in 1858. Melampus was converted into a Roman Catholic chapel ship in 1866 and then became a store ship twenty years later. The ship was sold for scrap in 1906.

Description

Melampus had a length at the gundeck of 151 feet 10 inches (46.3 m) and 127 feet 1 inch (38.7 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 40 feet 6 inches (12.3 m), a draught of 14 feet 7 inches (4.4 m) and a depth of hold of 12 feet 9 inches (3.9 m). The ship's tonnage was 1088 56⁄94 tons burthen.^[1] The modified Leda-class frigates were armed with twenty-eight 18-pounder cannon on her gundeck, fourteen 32-pounder carronades on her quarterdeck and a pair of 9-pounder cannon and two more 32-pounder carronades in forecastle. The ship had a crew of 315 officers and ratings.^[2]

Construction and career

Melampus, the second ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy,^[3] was ordered on 1 May 1816, laid down in August 1817 at Pembroke Dockyard, Wales, and launched on 10 August 1820.^[2] She was completed for ordinary at Plymouth Dockyard 2–23 September 1829 and was roofed over from the mainmast forward. The ship cost £23,007 to build and £7,072 to fit out for ordinary. She was fitted out for sea at a total cost of £9,156 from March to 18 May 1845.^[1]

Melampus's first commission began on 12 March with Captain John Campbell in command and she was ready for sea on 18 May.^[1]

Notes

1. Winfield, pp. 586–87
2. Winfield & Lyon, pp. 107–08
3. Colledge, pp. 221–22

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Phillips, Lawrie; Lieutenant Commander (2014). Pembroke Dockyard and the Old Navy: A Bicentennial History. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-5214-9.
• Winfield, Rif (2014). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1817-1863 (epub). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-47383-743-0.
• Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC 52620555.