HMS Albemarle (1779)

History
France
Name	Ménagère
Builder	Toulon shipyard
Acquired	Purchased in May 1779[1]
Captured	24 September 1779, by the Royal Navy
Great Britain
Name	HMS Albemarle
Acquired	Captured on 24 September 1779
Commissioned	22 November 1779
Fate	Sold on 1 June 1784
Great Britain
Name	Albemarle
Owner	Calvert & Co.
Operator	East India Company, 1791–1793
Acquired	1784 or 1790-1 by purchase
Captured	May 1793
Fate	Subsequent fate is currently unknown
General characteristics
Tons burthen	520, or 530,[2] or 543 (bm)
Length	125 ft (38.1 m)
Beam	31 ft 7 in (9.6 m)
Depth of hold	13 ft 7+1⁄2 in (4.15 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	At capture:160 British service: 200
Armament	As built: 28 × 8-pounder guns At capture: 30 guns After fitting in 1781: Upper deck: 24 × 9-pounder guns QD: 4 × 3-pounder guns

HMS Albemarle was a 28-gun sixth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She had been built as the French merchantman Ménagère, which the French Navy purchased in 1779. A British squadron captured her in September and she was commissioned into service with the Royal Navy. Amongst her commanders in her short career was Captain Horatio Nelson, who would later win several famous victories over the French. The Navy sold her in 1784. She subsequently became a merchant vessel again. In 1791 she transported convicts to Port Jackson as part of the third fleet. She then sailed to India where she picked up a cargo on behalf of the British East India Company. As she was returning to England a French privateer captured her.