French frigate Créole
| History | |
|---|---|
| France | |
| Name | Créole |
| Builder | Louis and Antoine Crucy, Basse-Indres, Nantes |
| Laid down | 5 January 1794 |
| Launched | 27 June 1797 |
| In service | January 1799 |
| Captured | 30 June 1803 by the Royal Navy |
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Creole |
| Acquired | 30 June 1803 |
| Fate | Wrecked on 2 January 1804 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 1,350 tons (French) |
| Length | 48.93 m (160.5 ft) |
| Beam | 11.91 m (39.1 ft) |
| Draught | 5.8 m (19 ft) |
| Complement |
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| Armament |
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Créole was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, a one-off design by Jacques-Augustin Lamothe. The French Navy loaned her to a privateer in 1797. Later, she served in the Brest squadron, took part in Ganteaume's expeditions of 1801 to Egypt, and was involved in the French acquisition of Santo Domingo (also known as the Era de Francia) and briefly detained Toussaint Louverture before he was brought to France. The 74-gun ships HMS Vanguard and HMS Cumberland captured her in Santo Domingo on 30 June 1803. The Royal Navy took her into service but she foundered soon afterwards during an attempt to sail to Britain; her crew were rescued.