Dutch ship Beschermer

Figurehead of the ship Beschermer.
History
Dutch Republic
Name:	Beschermer
Builder:	Enkhuizen
Laid down:	1781
Launched:	1784
Batavian Republic
Name:	Beschermer
Captured:	30 August 1799
UK
Name:	HMS Beschermer
Acquired:	1799
Commissioned:	1799
Decommissioned:	1806
Out of service:	Lent to the East India Dock Company in 1806
Reclassified:	Guard ship in 1801 Store ship from 1805
Fate:	Sold, September 1838
General characteristics
Class and type:	54-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen:	1,051  ^67⁄94 (bm)
Length:	145 ft 1 in (44.2 m) (gundeck) 118 ft 7 in (36.1 m) (keel)
Beam:	40 ft 10 in (12.4 m)
Depth of hold:	16 ft 4 in (5.0 m)
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	In British service Lower gundeck: 24 × 18-pounder guns Upper gundeck: 24 × 32-pounder carronades Quarterdeck: 6 × 32-pounder carronades Forecastle: 2 × 32-pounder carronades As refitted 20 × 24-pounder guns 20 × 18-pounder guns Quarterdeck: 6 × 6-pounder guns Forecastle: 2 × 6-pounder guns

The Beschermer (Protector) was a Dutch 54-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the navy of the Dutch Republic, the Batavian Republic, and the Royal Navy. The order to construct the ship was given by the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier. ^[1]

In 1795, the ship was commissioned in the Batavian Navy.

On 11 October 1797 the Beschermer took part in the Battle of Camperdown under Captain Dooitze Eelkes Hinxt. The ship escaped the battle after Hinxt was severely wounded. ^[2]

In 1799, the Beschermer, under Captain Eilbrach, was surrendered to the British during the Vlieter Incident. In 1801, the Beschermer served as a guard ship in the Swin. She was fitted as a storeship in 1805. The Beschermer was lent to the East India Dock Company for use as a hulk at Blackwall in 1806 until she was sold for breaking up in September 1838.^[3][4]

Notes

1. J.F. Fischer Fzn. De Delft: De dagjournalen met de complete en authentieke geschiedenis van 's Lands schip van oorlog Delft en de waarheid over de zeeslag bij Camperduin (Franeker: Van Wijnen, 1997), 135.
2. J.F. Fischer Fzn. De Delft: De dagjournalen met de complete en authentieke geschiedenis van 's Lands schip van oorlog Delft en de waarheid over de zeeslag bij Camperduin (Franeker: Van Wijnen, 1997), 342.
3. "BESCHERMER (54) [1799]". Ageofnelson.org. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
4. Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail 1793–1817. p. 269.

References

• Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.