French frigate Calypso (1807)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Calypso.

Calypso was a 40-gun Gloire-class frigate of the French Navy, built after plans designed by Sané revised by Forfait. Under Captain Louis-Léon Jacob, she took part in the Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne, where she sustained very severe damage.^[1]

Calypso at the Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne in 1809
History
France
Name	Calypso
Namesake	Calypso
Ordered	6 April 1803 [1]
Builder	Mathurin, Louis and Antoine Crucy, Lorient[2]
Launched	8 January 1807 [1]
Commissioned	5 December 1806 [1]
Out of service	1810[1]
Fate	Sold 1814
General characteristics
Class & type	Gloire-class 40-gun frigate
Displacement	750 tonnes
Propulsion	Sail
Armament	44 guns: 28 × 18-pounder long guns 2 × 8-pounder long guns 14 × 36-pounder carronades[2]
Armour	Timber

Career

The frigate was ordered on 6 April 1803 in Nantes from the Crucy brothers, but on 14 October, it was ordered that her construction take place in Lorient instead.^[1] On 16 September, she took her name of Calypso.^[1] On 5 December 1806, she was commissioned under Captain Louis-Léon Jacob.^[1]

In 1809, she was attached to a three-frigate squadron under Commodore Jurien de La Gravière, on Italienne, along with Cybèle. Trying to make junction with Willaumez' fleet in Brest, the squadron was intercepted by a British blockade squadron under Rear-Admiral Robert Stopford, comprising the ships of the line HMS Caesar, HMS Defiance. and HMS Donegal, the frigate HMS Amelia, and the brig-sloop HMS Doterel. In the ensuing Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne, Calypso sustained extensive damage and was driven ashore,^[3] but managed to take shelter in Les Sables-d'Olonne harbour.^[1]

Unable to effect heavy repairs, Calypso remained stranded in Les Sables-d'Olonne harbour in her battered state,^[1] until she was struck from the navy list in January 1813.^[2] She was eventually sold for use as a merchantman circa 1814.^[2]