HMS Phoenix ( 1783 ) HMS " Phoenix " was a 36 - gun " Perseverance " - class fifth - rate frigate of the Royal Navy . The shipbuilder George Parsons built her at Bursledon and launched her on 15 July 1783 . She served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and was instrumental in the events leading up to the battle of Trafalgar . " Phoenix " was involved in several single - ship actions , the most notable occurring on 10 August 1805 when she captured the French frigate " Didon " , which was more heavily armed than her . She was wrecked , without loss of life , off Smyrna in 1816 . Active service . She was commissioned in October 1787 under Captain John W . Payne , and paid off in December . Recommissioned in October 1788 , she sailed for the East Indies in November under Captain George A . Byron . East Indies . In the beginning of November 1791 , , Commodore William Cornwallis , " Phoenix " , Captain Sir Richard Strachan , and , Captain Isaac Smith , were off Tellicherry , a fort and anchorage situated a few leagues to the south of Mangalore . Cornwallis ordered " Phoenix " to stop and search the French frigate " Résolue " , which was escorting a number of merchant ships that the British believed were carrying military supplies to support Tippu Sultan . " Résolue " resisted " Phoenix " and a brief fight ensued before " Résolue " struck her colours . " Résolue " had 25 men killed and 40 wounded ; " Phoenix " had six men killed and 11 wounded . There was no contraband on the French vessels . The French captain insisted on considering his ship as a British prize , so Cornwallis ordered Strachan to tow her into Mahé and return her to the French commodore . " Phoenix " came home in August 1793 . North Sea . She was commissioned in October 1795 under Captain Lawrence Halsted , at first attached to the fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan , operating in the North Sea . On 12 May 1796 at daybreak the 28 - gun and the brig - sloop brought Duncan the news that a Dutch squadron consisting of the 36 - gun frigate " Argo " and three brig s had departed Flickeroe , Norway , bound for the Texel . Duncan took his fleet to intercept them , sending a squadron the included " Phoenix " , the 50 - gun , " Pegasus " , " Sylph " and under the overall command of Halsted , northward of the Texel . The British intercepted the Dutch at 5am in the morning of 12 May . " Phoenix " and " Leopard " chased " Argo " , while " Pegasus " and " Sylph " made after the brigs . " Leopard " eventually fell some way behind , and consequently it was " Phoenix " alone that brought " Argo " to the Action of 12 May 1796 at 8am . After twenty minutes of fighting Halsted forced " Argo " to strike her colours . " Phoenix " carried eight 32 - pounder carronade s in lieu of her lighter guns in the upper works as well as her main battery of twenty - six 18 - pounders , and a crew of 271 men and boys . The only damage she sustained was in her rigging and sails , and her only loss was one man killed and three wounded . " Argo " was armed with 26 long 12 - pounders , six long 6 - pounders , and four brass 24 - pounder carronades , with a crew of 237 men and boys , and thus was substantially outgunned . She lost six men killed and 28 wounded . The third rate then came up to assist " Phoenix " in dealing with the prisoners . " Phoenix " also captured a cutter , which turned out to be the packet ship " Duke of York " , which " Argo " had captured the day before . " Duke of York " had been sailing from Yarmouth to Hamburg . Meanwhile " Pegasus " and " Sylph " forced two of the brigs aground at Bosch , about 10 leagues east of the Texel ; these were the " Echo " , of 18 guns and the " De Grier " of 14 guns . One floated off but then grounded and was last seen sending out distress signals . " Pegasus " and " Sylph " then captured the third brig , the 16 - gun " Mercury " . The Royal Navy took both " Argo " and " Mercury " into service , " Argo " became while " Mercury " became . After this success Halsted was assigned to operate off the Irish coast . On 12 February 1797 " Phoenix " was in company with , , and at the capture of the French privateer " Difficile " . She was armed with 18 guns and had a crew of 206 men . She was three days out of Brest . The same four ships also captured the " Jeune Emilie " and the " Recovery " . On 18 May 1797 " Phoenix " captured the French privateer lugger " Espiègle " off Waterford . " Espiègle " was armed with four guns and had a crew of 38 men . she had captured a brig that " Phoenix " had recaptured and that had put her on the trail of the lugger . On 24 April 1798 " Phoenix " captured the French privateer " Brave " . She was pierced for 22 guns and was carrying eighteen , mixed 12 and 18 - pounders . " Brave " resisted capture , suffering several men killed and 14 wounded , before she surrendered . " Phoenix " had no casualties and suffered trifling damage to her sails and rigging . " Brave " had a crew of 160 men , and there were also some 50 English prisoners on board , none of whom were injured . Halsted described " Brave " as being " a very fine ship , of 600 Tons , is coppered , and sails exceedingly fast . " The Navy took " Brave " into service as . The next day , " Phoenix " recaptured the " Thetis " , an American ship that had been sailing from Charlestown to London when " Brave " had captured her . Then one month later , on 31 May , " Phoenix " captured the French privateer " Caroline " and her prize , the brig " Henry " . Halsted had been searching for " Caroline " after being alerted to her presence by the transport " Success " two days earlier . " Caroline " was only eight months old and a fast sailer , ten days out of Nantes . She was pierced for 20 guns , 16 and 6 - pounders , but had thrown most overboard while trying to escape . She had a crew of 105 men . She had only captured the " Henry " and a small Danish ship . " Henry " had been sailing to Jamaica when " Caroline " captured her on 3 May , on which day " Phoenix " had also sent in an American ship , the " Emily Grant " that she had encountered a few days earlier . The Royal Navy took " Caroline " into service as the 18 - gun sloop . On 23 January 1799 " Phoenix " captured the 20 - gun French privateer " Foudroyant " on the Irish station after a pursuit of some 12 hours that covered over 120 miles . She was pierced for 24 guns , but mounted 20 brass 12 - pounder and iron 6 - pounder guns , of which she jettison ed eight during the chase . She had been launched at Bordeaux about three months earlier and had sailed on this cruise about nine weeks earlier . During the cruise she had captured two English and one American vessel . The British vessels were the brig " Malbridge " , sailing from Martinique to London , and the brig " Duncan " , sailing from Halifax to London . The American vessel was the ship " Argo " , sailing from Sweden to Charlestown . The Royal Navy took " Foudroyant " into service as the 20 - gun post ship . On 5 April " Phoenix " captured the French privateer " Coureur " . Mediterranean . On 11 February 1800 " Phoenix " and the fireship captured the French privateer " Éole " off Cape Spartel . " Éole " was armed with 10 guns and had a crew of 89 men . She was ten days out of Guelon , Spain and had not taken any prizes . On 3 June " Phoenix " and captured the 14 - gun brig " Albanaise " . She was sailing from Toulon with provisions for Genoa when she encountered the " Port Mahon " , which initiated the chase about 35 miles west of Corsica . The chase lasted until early evening when " Phoenix " came up as " Albanaise " was just six miles out of Porto Ferraio on Elba . Lieutenant Etiénne Rolland fired two broadsides and then struck . ( A subsequent court martial exonerated Rolland of the loss of his vessel . ) The British took her into service as HMS " Albanaise " . On 17 June boats from " Phoenix " took the French naval vessel " Revanche " near Hieres Island in the Mediterranean . She was armed with four carriage guns and four swivel gun s had a crew of 27 men . She was partly laden with brandy , wine , cheese and pork , two days from Toulon on her way to Malta with dispatches , which she threw overboard prior to her capture . In capturing " Revanche " " Phoenix " lost one man . Furthermore , " Revanche " capsized the next day , though no lives were lost . On 16 September " Phoenix " captured the Spanish schooner " Felix " . She was armed with four guns and was carrying merchandise from Corunna to Veracruz . On 14 February 1801 , " Phoenix " captured the Danish ship " Minerva " . She was sailing from Ivica to Holmitand with a cargo of salt . Later in 1801 " Phoenix " was involved in supporting operations for the British expedition to Egypt . Around 2 May she left her station off Porto - Ferrajo , which gave the French the opportunity to establish a blockade that lasted until 1 August when Sir John Borlase Warren with his squadron arrived to lift it . On 3 August 1801 the frigates " Phoenix " , , and captured the Venetian - built but French 44 - gun frigate " Carrère " and her crew of 356 men at the mouth of Elbe after a short fight . She was escorting a small convoy from Porto Ercole to Porto Longone . " Pomone " was the actual captor and lost two men dead , two more died of wounds shortly thereafter , and two more lightly wounded . " Phoenix " could not get close enough to do more than fire a few random shots and " Pearl " positioned herself between " Carrerre " and the port to cut her off if necessary . The Royal Navy took under her own name but rated as an 18 - pounder frigate of 36 guns . Frederick Lewis Maitland was her first captain . Almost a month later , on 2 September , " Phoenix " , " Pomone " , and " Minerve " re - captured the frigate , a former British 32 - gun fifth - rate frigate under the command of Monsieur Britel . ( The French had captured " Success " in February , off Toulon . ) They also ran onshore the 46 - gun French frigate " Bravoure " , under the command of Monsieur Dordelin , but were unwilling to set her on fire because not all her crew had gotten off Thomas Baker took command of " Phoenix " on 28 April 1803 . He was assigned to the Channel Fleet under Admiral William Cornwallis , and on 10 August 1805 he came across the 40 - gun French frigate off Cape Finisterre . Prior to the sighting the " Phoenix " had intercepted an American merchant , en route from Bordeaux to the United States . The American master had been invited onto the " Phoenix " , sold the British some of his cargo of wine , and had toured the " Phoenix " before being allowed to continue on his way . The " Phoenix " had at this time been altered to resemble from a distance a large sloop - of - war . The " Didon " , which was carrying despatches instructing Rear - Admiral Allemand ' s five ships of the line to unite with the combined Franco - Spanish fleet under Vice - Admiral Pierre - Charles Villeneuve , intercepted the American merchant and from him received news that a 20 - gun British ship was at sea and might be foolish enough to attack the " Didon " . The " Didon " s commander , Captain Milius , decided to await the arrival of the British ship , and take her as a prize . The " Phoenix " was therefore able to approach and engage the " Didon " before the French realised that she was a larger frigate than they had anticipated . After a sharp action lasting several hours , with Baker on one occasion having his hat shot off his head , the French surrendered . The " Phoenix " had 12 killed and 28 wounded ; the French sustained losses of 27 killed and 44 wounded . By intercepting the ship carrying the despatches for Allemand , Baker had unwittingly played a role in bringing about the battle of Trafalgar , but he was to play an even greater role a few days later , possibly even staving off an invasion of England . In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General service Medal with clasp " Phoenix 10 Augt . 1805 " to all surviving claimants from the action . While sailing to Gibraltar with his prize in tow , Baker fell in with the 74 - gun on 14 August . The following day the combined fleet under Villeneuve , heading for Brest and then on to Boulogne to escort the French invasion forces across the Channel sighted the three British ships . Villeneuve mistook the British ships for scouts from the Channel Fleet and fled south to avoid an action . A furious Napoleon raged ' What a Navy ! What an admiral ! All those sacrifices for nought ! ' Villeneuve ' s failure to press north was a decisive point of the Trafalgar Campaign as far as the invasion of England went , for abandoning all hope of fulfilling his plans to secure control of the Channel Napoleon gathered the Armée d ' Angleterre , now renamed the Grande Armée , and headed east to attack the Austrians in the Ulm Campaign . The British ships altered their course and made for Plymouth , where they arrived on 3 September , having prevented an attempt by their French prisoners to capture the " Phoenix " and retake the " Didon " . Channel . Although " Phoenix " had missed the battle of Trafalgar , she saw action in November 1805 . Baker was under orders to patrol west of the Isles of Scilly when meeting some merchantmen he received intelligence that they had seen a small squadron of presumably French ships of the line in the Bay of Biscay . The British were looking for the celebrated Rochefort squadron of five sail of the line , three frigates , and two brigs , under Rear - admiral Zacharie Allemand , which was loose somewhere in the Atlantic ( the Allemand ' s expedition of 1805 ) . Baker decide to investigate . On 2 November 1805 , " Phoenix " discovered four ships , which Baker presumed to be part of the Rochefort squadron , but were actually vessels under Rear Admiral Dumanoir , consisting of four French ships of the line that had escaped Trafalgar . " Phoenix " sailed in search of Sir Robert Strachan ' s squadron to report the find , who , as it happened , was fairly close by . During the ensuing Battle of Cape Ortegal , " Phoenix " and the other British frigates harassed the French rear . While doing so , she helped to capture the French ship " Scipion " , which was then commissioned into the Royal Navy . During the action " Phoenix " lost two men killed and four wounded . Serving aboard " Phoenix " at this time , as First lieutenant was Samuel Brown , later to become a distinguished engineer and reach the rank of captain . In December 1805 , Captain Zachary Mudge took command of " Phoenix " . On 17 January 1808 off Rochefort , she observed a French squadron , under Admiral Ganteaume putting to sea . " Phoenix " despatched the 18 - gun brig - sloop to England with the information and sailed in search of the watching squadron under Strachan , which bad weather had driven out to sea . Not finding Strachan , " Phoenix " too sailed for England , having informed the gun - brig of the news . " Attack " found Strachan on 23 January , but bad weather and other difficulties delayed Strachan and he was unable to intercept the French before they reached Toulon . In March 1809 " Phoenix " received some 32 - pounder carronades . On 28 January 1810 " Phoenix " , with the ship - sloop , chased the 14 - gun French privateer " Charles " , but lost her in thick fog . The next day " Phoenix " discovered " Charles " anchored close under the French coast . A cutting out expedition then went in in boats . The " Charles " resisted , killing one seaman on " Phoenix " and wounding another . Still , the boats succeeded in taking the " Charles " , where they found two English masters and 13 seamen who had been taken out of vessels a few days previously . East Indies . In 1810 Captain James Bowen assumed command of " Phoenix " and sailed her for the East Indies on 11 May 1810 . General service . Captain William Webley commanded " Phoenix " in 1813 and until September 1814 . From 14 September 1814 on , her last captain was Charles Austen , brother of the novelist Jane Austen . In 1815 , following Napoleon ' s escape from Elba , the Admiralty sent " Phoenix " , and to the Adriatic to co - operate with the Austrians and to prevent the escape of some Neapolitan warships . " Phoenix " and " Garland " watched two large frigates at Brindisi , while " Undaunted " searched the coast to the northward . After the surrender of Naples , following the military convention of Casalanza , Austen persuaded the captains of the two Neapolitan frigates to switch their allegiance to the restored monarch , Ferdinand IV of Naples . " Phoenix " , , " Garland " and next proceeded to the Greek Archipelago in search of a French squadron comprising the frigate " Junon " , the 32 - gun corvette " Victorieuse " , two brigs and two large schooners , which had been preying on trade in the area . Unfortunately Austen discovered that the enemy was no longer in the islands ; shortly afterwards peace was restored . Fate . " Phoenix " was lost in a storm off Smyrna ( Izmir ) on 20 February 1816 , due to the ignorance of her pilots when a sudden change of wind threw her on the shore . Fortunately , all aboard her survived ; the vessel was so close to the shore that her fallen top - gallant mast reached from the wreck to the shore . Also , helped save her crew . Austen was able to procure a storehouse for the crew where they were provided with fires , bread and wine . Mr . Curotavich of Chisme took in Austen and his officers , supplying them with clothes , food , and beds . While the crew was in Smyrna Austen had to have several members flogged for drunkenness and thieving . On 2 March the British burnt " Phoenix " to the water ' s edge to get her copper bolts . They then sold the remains to Mr . Curotavich that same day for ₤600 . The transport " Zodiac " took the crew to Malta . The subsequent court martial absolved Austen of blame . Miscellany . The earliest example of the use of HMS as an abbreviation is a reference to HMS " Phoenix " in 1789 .