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History
France
Name	Diane
Namesake	Diana
Builder	Toulon
Laid down	July 1794
Launched	10 February 1796
In service	March 1796
Captured	27 August 1800
Great Britain
Name	HMS Niobe
Namesake	Niobe
Acquired	27 August 1800 by capture
Fate	Broken up in 1816
General characteristics
Displacement	1,466 tons (French)
Tons burthen	1,14215⁄94 (bm)
Length	47.6 m (156 ft)
Beam	12 m (39 ft)
Draught	5.7 m (19 ft)
Propulsion	Sail
Armament	38 to 44 guns
Armour	Timber

Diane was a 38-gun frigate of the French Navy, launched in 1796. She participated in the battle of the Nile, but in August 1800 the Royal Navy captured her. She was taken into British service as HMS Niobe, and broken up in 1816.

French career

She took part in the Battle of the Nile, managing to escape to Malta with Justice. During the battle Rear-Admiral Denis Decrès was on board Diane in his capacity as commander of the frigate squadron. He would go on to become Napoleon's Minister of Marine.^[1]

In 1800, as she tried to escape from Malta, HMS Success, HMS Northumberland, and HMS Genereux captured her. At the time she had only 114 men on board,^[1] having left the remainder at Malta to assist in its defense.^[2]

British career

The Royal Navy commissioned her as HMS Niobe, under the command of Captain John Wentworth Loring, ^[3] there already being an HMS Diana in service.

On 28 March 1806,^[4]^[5] Niobe was off Groix when she captured the 16-gun Néarque, which had just separated from Leduc's division.

Niobe, still under Captain Loring, and Argus, Commander James Stuart, captured the Danish ship King of Assianthe on 31 August 1807.^[6]

On 13 November 1810, off Le Havre along with Diana, Niobe sighted the 40-gun Amazone and the 44-gun Elisa. HMS Donegal and Revenge joined the chase, attacking the French squadron when it was anchored at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue at the action of 15 November 1810. Eventually, Elisa was wrecked near La Hougue, while Amazone escaped to Le Havre. Four months later at the action of 24 March 1811, Niobe participated in the destruction of the French frigate Amazone near the Phare de Gatteville lighthouse, Normandy.^[7]

On 24 March 1811, she sailed with a squadron comprising HMS Berwick, Amelia, Goshawk, and Hawk, again chased Amazone, which they trapped near Barfleur. Amazone's crew scuttled her to prevent her capture.

Fate

HMS Niobe was eventually sold on 31 July 1816.^[3]

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c Winfield & Roberts (2015), p. 141.
^ "No. 15300". The London Gazette. 7 October 1800. p. 1155.
^ ^a ^b Winfield (2008), p. 164.
^ Troude (1867), p. 436.
^ Roche (2005), p. 323.
^ "No. 16407". The London Gazette. 22 September 1810. p. 1500.
^ "No. 16469". The London Gazette. 26 March 1811. p. 573.

References

Naval Database
Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867). Batailles navales de la France (in French). Vol. 3. Challamel ainé.
Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.
Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S. (2015). French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.