HMS Java (1811)

The capture of HMS Java by USS Constitution, drawn by Nicholas Pocock
History
France
Name	Renommée
Builder	Mathurin & Antoine Crucy, Basse-Indre Nantes Ship ordered=26 March 1805
Laid down	October 1805
Launched	20 August 1808
Captured	20 May 1811
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Java
Acquired	20 May 1811
In service	May 1811
Captured	29 December 1812
Fate	Burnt on 1 January 1813
General characteristics
Class and type	Pallas-class fifth-rate frigate
Tons burthen	1073 41⁄94 (bm)
Length	152 ft 5+1⁄2 in (46.5 m) (gundeck); 126 ft 5+1⁄2 in (38.5 m) (keel)
Beam	39 ft 11+3⁄8 in (12.2 m)
Depth of hold	12 ft 9 in (3.9 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	397
Armament	28 × 18-pounder guns 2 × 12-pounder guns 18 × 32-pounder carronades 1 × 24-pounder carronade

HMS Java was a British Royal Navy 38-gun fifth-rate frigate. She was originally laid down in 1805 as Renommée, described as a 40-gun Pallas-class French Navy frigate, but the vessel actually carried 46 guns. The British captured her in 1811 in a noteworthy action during the Battle of Tamatave, but she is most famous for her defeat on 29 December 1812 in a three-hour single-ship action against USS Constitution. Java had a complement of about 277, but during her engagement with Constitution she allegedly had 426 aboard, in comparison with her opponent's 475.^[1]