HMS Phoenix (1783)

An 1805 watercolor (shown here in black and white) probably depicting HMS Phoenix in chase of Didon
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Phoenix
Builder	Parsons, Bursledon
Launched	15 July 1783
Honours and awards	Naval General service Medal with clasp "Phoenix 10 Augt. 1805"[1]
Fate	Wrecked on 20 February 1816
General characteristics [2]
Class and type	Perseverance-class fifth-rate frigate
Tons burthen	884 10⁄94 (bm)
Length	137 ft 1 in (41.8 m) (overall); 113 ft 2+7⁄8 in (34.5 m) (keel)
Beam	38 ft 3+3⁄4 in (11.7 m)
Depth of hold	13 ft 5 in (4.1 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Complement	270
Armament	Gun deck: 26 × 18-pounder guns QD: 8 × 9-pounder guns + 4 × 18-pounder carronades Fc: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 4 × 18-pounder carronades

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.