HMS Sheerness – Part 2

I am now continuing my description of how I modelled HMS Sheerness, a 24 gun 6th Rate Frigate, by converting an Airfix 1:87 model of HMS Bounty. In my last post, I finished by completing the hull.

HMS Sheerness – Part 1

I have previously made a couple of Naval vessels to represent those which took part in coastal or river operations during the Jacobite Rebellion. These were a 12 gun Royal Navy brig (two masted ship) and a merchant brig. These could represent HMS Hazard, captured by the Jacobites in Montrose Harbour in November 1745, and the French Armed Transport La Renommée which assisted in this. They could also represent HMS Vulture which unsuccessfully attempted to prevent a Jacobite merchant brig transporting French supplied siege artillery across the River Forth at Alloa in January 1746. Finally, the Royal Navy brig could represent the French ship “le Prince Charles” (the captured HMS Hazard) which was carrying £13,000 in gold for the Jacobites (worth £25 million today) but which was forced ashore in March 1746 in the Kyle of Tongue, by the 24 gun Frigate, HMS Sheerness.

I needed a model for HMS Sheerness, a larger three masted frigate than the other two, and which looked like this.

Jacobite Boats – Part 2

In Part 1, I described the background to my modelling of some Jacobite Boats, as used in their successful amphibious assault at Dornoch Firth on 20th March 1746. The first Jacobite boat I completed was shown in Part 1 and is shown again below.

Jacobite Boats – Part 1

I had previously modelled a pair of Royal Navy boats, which were used by 27th Foot (Inniskillings) and a Naval Landing Party, as part of a joint operation with a pair of small Royal Navy Brigs, in their unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Jacobites ferrying their siege guns across the Forth to help besiege Stirling Castle. These can be seem here and a photo of these boats is below.

However the largest amphibious operation of the ’45 was not British but Jacobite and, unlike the British one, it was entirely successful. I wanted the model the boats for this.

Additional Crew for Merchant Brig

I originally modelled a 6 man crew for the merchant brig which transported Jacobite siege artillery across the Forth in January 1746.  However, when I modified that same brig to represent the French transport, La Renommée, I gave it six guns.  I therefore needed more crew for its original merchant brig role.

French Transport “La Renommée”

 

When I wrote my original post about the capture of HMS Hazard in Montrose Harbour in November 1745, I understood that the French ship involved was the 26 gun French Frigate “La Renommée”, which is what Christopher Duffy said on page 527 of his “Fight for a Throne”.

However, I have since had an online conversation with David Stockman, the author of the excellent (and free) PDF booklet on that famous French Frigate.   He kindly shared the original French report of the action at Montrose with me, which makes it clear that the vessel involved was a much smaller 12 gun chartered French merchant transport, also of that same name.  I therefore amended my original post and also needed a model for that merchant vessel.

French Brig Sloop – Le Prince Charles

As recorded in my earlier post here, the French captured HMS Hazard in Montrose Harbour, on the east coast of Scotland, in November 1745, sailed her to France and renamed her as “Le Prince Charles”, sailing under French colours.

 

In March 1746 she was chased into the Kyle of Tongue, in the far north of Scotland, by a British Frigate, HMS Sheerness.  Le Prince Charles ran aground and her crew abandoned her, taking with them £13,000 in gold, worth £25 million today.  The crew and most, but not all, of the gold were captured by a force of Loyalist Highlanders (one company of Loudoun’s 64th Foot and two Highland Independent Companies of MacKays).

French Frigate “La Renommée”

In my last post, I originally assumed that the French ship, La Renommée, which captured HMS Hazard in Montrose Harbour was the famous French Frigate of that name.

However I have had a conversation online with David Stockman, the author of an excellent booklet regarding that Frigate, and now realise that the French ship involved in the action at Montrose was a smaller transport ship with the same name.  I have therefore amended my post.

The booklet about the French Frigate La Renommée can be downloaded as a free PDF here.

Royal Navy Brig Sloop

Following on from my modelling of a Merchant brig (2 masted ship), I have made a Royal Navy Brig Sloop.  This will represent two very similar vessels, HMS Vulture, which took part in the Battle of the River Forth (described in my post on the Merchant Brig) and HMS Hazard, which was captured in Montrose Harbour in November 1745.

Montrose was being used by the Jacobites to receive French ships bringing troops, money and equipment from France.  In November 1745 HMS Hazard sailed into the harbour to prevent this.  Unfortunately she was trapped in the harbour by an easterly gale, which also blew a French transport vessel (La Renommée) into the Harbour.

La Renommée was carrying some 150 men of the Royal Ecossais Regiment, siege artillery and other equipment and money for the Jacobites.

The French ship became stuck on a sandbank but unloaded some on its guns onto the southern cliffs overlooking the harbour and the Jacobites seized the harbour entrance guns.  The combination of these forced HMS Hazard to surrender.

Merchant Brig

And now for something completely different!!!

I have modelled my first ever ship, or to be accurate a two masted brig.  I did this because I wanted to model several of the amphibious or coastal operations which took place during the Jacobite Rebellion.  One of these was the Battle of the Forth on 11th January 1746 which was an unsuccessful attempt by the Royal Navy and a composite infantry/naval force to block a Jacobite Merchant Brig ferrying heavy guns across the Forth to besiege Stirling Castle.  A map of the action is shown below: