HMS Lowestoffe (1761)

Capture of La Minerve off Toulon, June 24th, 1795 by Thomas Whitcombe. In the foreground the damaged and dismasted Minerve duels with HMS Dido, while in the background Lowestoffe pursues a fleeing Artémise.
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Lowestoffe
Ordered	15 February 1760
Builder	Thomas West, Deptford Dockyard
Laid down	9 May 1760
Launched	5 June 1761
Completed	1 August 1761
Honours and awards	Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Lowestoffe 24 June 1795"[1]
Fate	Wrecked on 11 August 1801
General characteristics
Class and type	32-gun fifth-rate frigate
Tons burthen	71716⁄94 (bm)
Length	130 ft 6 in (39.8 m) (gundeck) 108 ft 1 in (32.9 m) (keel)
Beam	35 ft 3+3⁄4 in (10.8 m)
Draught	9 ft 4 in (2.8 m)
Depth of hold	12 ft 6 in (3.8 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	220
Armament	Gun deck: 26 × 12-pounder guns Quarterdeck: 4 × 6-pounder guns Forecastle: 2 × 6-pounder guns + 12 × 1⁄2-pounder swivels

HMS Lowestoffe was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Built during the latter part of the Seven Years' War, she went on to see action in the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary War, and served often in the Caribbean. A young Horatio Nelson served aboard her shortly after passing his lieutenant's examination.

Originally commissioned near the end of the Seven Years' War, Lowestoffe patrolled in British waters until 1773, when it underwent repairs. She was recommissioned in 1777 and served throughout the American War of Independence, including at the Battle of San Fernando de Omoa. After the bulk of the fighting ended, she returned home to Portsmouth in 1782, and did not see battle for the next decade. She spent most of her later years in British and Mediterranean waters, winning particular glory for her part in an engagement with two French frigates in 1795. Her final duties were back in the familiar waters of the West Indies, where she was wrecked in 1801 while escorting a convoy in the Caicos Islands.