HMS Resource (1778)
HMS "Resource" was a 28-gun sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1778 and sold for breaking up in 1816. Career. "Resource" was first commissioned in July 1778 under the command of Captain Patrick Fotheringham. On 19 April 1781 "Resource" recaptured the 20-gun post ship , which the French frigate "Andromaque" had captured on 4 September 1780. "Resource" had reached Cape Blaise by noon and at 2pm spotted a strange sail. By 4:30 "Resource" was close enough that both vessels began to exchange fire. After an hour and a half, the  French vessel struck. She turned out to be "Unicorn", and armed with twenty 9-pounder guns and eight 12-pounder carronades. She had a crew of 181 men under the command of "Chevalier" de St. Ture. In the engagement, "Resource" lost 15 men killed and 30 wounded; "Unicorn" lost eight men killed and 30 wounded, four of whom died later. Ten crew members were drowned in October 1799 when the ship's boat foundered in The Downs while returning to "Resource" after a journey to the shore. The dead included the captain of marines and the ship's purser. Because  Resource served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (8 March to 2 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty authorised in 1850 for all surviving claimants. With the resumption of war with France in 1803 Britain feared an invasion from France. Around 24 September 1803 the Admiralty decided to bring "Unite", , , , , , , "Retribution", , and "Resource", out of ordinary and to sail them under jury rig to Long Reach to rearm. They were then to proceed to the Lower Hope, to be moored across the River for the protection  of the Thames. Trinity House would be responsible for manning them. Between September and October 1803 "Resource" was at Deptford being refitted for Trinity House. In May 1805 "Resource" was still at Lower Hope in Ordinary, serving as a floating battery. On 17 April 1806 "Resource" was renamed "Enterprise" and assigned to service off the Tower of London. Fate. The "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy" offered "Enterprise, of 28 guns and 603 tons", "lying at Deptford" for sale on 28 August 1816. She was sold on that day for £1,420. Notes, citations, and references. Notes  Citations References