HMS Siren (1773)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Siren.

HMS Siren (or Syren^{[Note 1]}) was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Siren was first commissioned in August 1775 under the command of Captain Tobias Furneaux, her only commanding officer.

Siren, a 28-gun, sixth-rate frigate, as built by Henri at Chatham[1]
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Siren
Ordered	25 December 1770
Builder	John Henniker & Co, Chatham
Laid down	April 1771
Launched	2 November 1773
Completed	5 October 1775 at Chatham Dockyard
Commissioned	August 1775
Fate	Grounded and abandoned under fire, 6 November 1777
General characteristics
Class & type	28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate
Tons burthen	603 40⁄94 bm
Length	120 ft 10 in (36.83 m) (overall) 99 ft 7.5 in (30.366 m) (keel)
Beam	33 ft 9 in (10.3 m)
Depth of hold	10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	200 officers and men
Armament	28 guns comprising Upper deck: 24 × 9-pounder guns Quarterdeck: 4 × 6-pounder guns Forecastle: nil 12 × swivel guns

Service

She took part in the Battle of the Rice Boats on 2–3 March 1776 on the border between the Province of Georgia and the Province of South Carolina and in the Battle of Sullivan's Island of 28 June 1776 upon Charleston, South Carolina. On 5 June 1777 she captured Jammy off Cape Sambro. Sometime in September 1777 she captured Batchelor off Block Island and sometime in the 1st week of November she captured Success also off Block Island.^[2]

Fate

Siren, escorting a convoy in poor visibility, ran aground at about 6:00 am on 6 November 1777 near Point Judith, along with two other ships. Efforts were made to bring her off, but American forces ashore brought up field artillery and prevented salvage operations. Siren was abandoned with the loss of 2 killed and 5 wounded.^{[3] [4][Note 2]}

Post script

The sloop Mary Ann, which had a diving machine, arrived at Newport, Rhode Island on 24 July 1815. She had retrieved Syren's best bower anchor and a quantity of iron knees.^[6]

Notes

1. Spelling during the period was not fixed.
2. Some sources have 10 November,^[5] but the court martial records and other official documents show 6 November.^[4]