HMS Diomede (1781)

Cybèle and Prudente fighting Centurion and Diomede.
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Diomede
Ordered	14 August 1779
Builder	James Martin Hillhouse, Bristol
Laid down	March 1780
Launched	18 October 1781
Completed	14 March 1782
Fate	Struck a rock on 2 August 1795 and sank almost immediately
General characteristics
Class and type	44-gun Roebuck-class two-decker fifth rate
Tons burthen	887 37⁄94 (bm)
Length	140 ft (42.7 m) (overall) 115 ft 6 in (35.2 m) (keel)
Beam	38 ft 2+1⁄2 in (11.6 m)
Depth of hold	16 ft 4 in (5.0 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	300
Armament	As built: Upper deck: 22 × 9-pounder guns Lower deck: 20 × 18-pounder guns Fc: 2 × 6-pounder guns

HMS Diomede was a 44-gun fifth rate built by James Martin Hillhouse and launched at Bristol on 18 October 1781. She belonged to the Roebuck class of vessels specially built during the American Revolutionary War for service in the shallow American coastal waters. As a two-decker, she had two complete batteries of guns, one on the upper deck and the other on the lower deck.

Diomede participated in two major actions. The first occurred in 1782 when she captured South Carolina of the South Carolina Navy. The second, the Battle of Île Ronde, took place in 1794 in the Indian Ocean. Although the action in the Indian Ocean was inconclusive and the French broke off contact after suffering much heavier casualties than the British, the French did succeed in breaking the blockade of Île de France and saved it from starvation.^[1]

Diomede was wrecked in 1795 off Trincomalee, Ceylon, during the campaign to capture Trincomalé.